Gloop

Gloop is a blue fish whose movements carry him around the chamber at the bottom of Clanker’s chain. He is a helpful inhabitant rather than an underwater enemy, and approaching him brings an introduction instead of an attack. His most useful action is blowing streams of bubbles as he swims. These arrive in short sequences with pauses between them, so there is not a continuous supply at every point along his route. Watching the fish and the bubbles together is more useful than waiting in one place for a refill that may already have drifted away. His brief greeting explains the connection between those bubbles and the duo’s dwindling air supply without demanding an item or payment first.

The route to Gloop begins in the world’s main flooded chamber, reached through the underwater passage from the entrance area. Clanker occupies the middle of this room and complains about being kept in dirty water when he wants fresh air. A heavy chain descends from his underside into a deep opening in the cavern floor. Refill the oxygen meter at the surface before following that chain down. The shaft leads to the large anvil that anchors Clanker, with Gloop circling nearby. This is considerably deeper than the ordinary passages around the main chamber, so arriving with a nearly empty meter leaves little time to find the fish or line up with the key.

Banjo-Kazooie displays the duo’s remaining oxygen as six blue honeycomb units. Swimming into one of Gloop’s bubbles restores two units, up to that maximum; merely swimming beside the fish does not refill the gauge. Match the bubble’s depth and steer through it, then check that the meter has actually increased before returning to the task. On Nintendo 64, holding A gives the steadier foot-kick swim, while B uses Kazooie’s faster wing-powered movement. Pressing A during that boost helps brake for a small target. The slower approach is useful around bubbles and the key, whereas speed is more useful when retreating up the shaft. Running out of air causes drowning even if the duo still have health, so seek a refill well before the last unit disappears.

The release mechanism is the large golden key beside the anvil. Swim through the opening in its head three times, allowing each successful pass to register and turn the mechanism before lining up for another. Simply circling the anvil or touching the outside of the key does not complete the rescue. Use Gloop’s bubbles between passes whenever the oxygen gauge needs attention, rather than trying to perform all three crossings on the air left after the descent. Once the third pass has registered, the chain allows Clanker to rise towards the surface. Gloop does not need to be attacked, fed or pushed through the key; the bear and bird perform the release while the fish provides breathing room.

Players who find the bubbles difficult to catch can divide the job into shorter dives. Begin with a full oxygen meter, follow the chain down, make one successful crossing of the key and return to the main chamber’s surface. Refill there before repeating the trip. The registered turns remain in place while the duo surface and dive again during the same attempt, so the three crossings need not happen on one uninterrupted breath. This approach also works for collecting individual items from the bottom chamber. It is slower than staying with Gloop, but reduces the need to judge moving bubbles under pressure. It still requires leaving enough air for the ascent; resurfacing is a planned part of the route, rather than a last-second escape after the meter is nearly exhausted.

The bottom chamber contains seven Musical Notes around the anvil and the world’s green Jinjo near its base. These are separate objectives from the three key crossings, and a successful rescue does not automatically collect them. Use a bubble to replenish oxygen before making a circuit of the Notes, then approach the Jinjo close to the anvil and check the meter again before climbing back up the shaft. The green Jinjo contributes to the reward for rescuing all five Jinjos in Clanker’s Cavern; it is not a second prize handed out by Gloop. Keeping track of the bottom collectibles during the rescue avoids reaching the end of the world with missing Notes or one unrescued Jinjo and having to repeat the deep descent.

After Clanker rises, return to the surface and use one of his fins to climb onto his back, where the rescue Jiggy can be collected. Raising him also changes how the duo can reach the upper parts of the cavern, including routes involving his tail and blowhole. Those later tasks are distinct from Gloop’s assistance at the anvil. Take the rescue Jiggy before leaving the world or losing a life: if it has not been collected, Clanker can be submerged again and the key sequence must be repeated. Gloop supplies temporary oxygen rather than a permanent swimming upgrade, so his bubbles help while the duo are near him without increasing the maximum size of their air meter.

Gloop’s identity is tested later in Grunty’s Furnace Fun, where the question about the bubble-blowing fish calls for his name. Remember Gloop rather than Clanker, who is the larger creature the duo rescue. A similar-looking fish in Hailfire Peaks in Banjo-Tooie has led to speculation that Gloop returns there as the fish given to Boggy. That resemblance does not establish that the two are the same individual, so the Hailfire Peaks encounter should not be treated as a confirmed continuation of Gloop’s story. His established role is the friendly underwater helper whose bubbles make Clanker’s rescue and the nearby collecting tasks possible.