Gruntilda Winkybunion

In Banjo-Kazooie, Gruntilda lives in the enormous head-shaped lair above Spiral Mountain. She asks her cauldron, Dingpot, to confirm that she is the most attractive woman around. His description of Banjo’s younger sister, Tooty, provokes her jealousy, and she flies down to kidnap the little bear while Banjo is asleep. Tooty is imprisoned beside Gruntilda’s beauty-transfer machine, which Klungo prepares to operate. Banjo and Kazooie must work through the lair’s worlds, using Jiggies to complete entrance pictures and Musical Notes to pass its numbered doors. The witch comments on their progress, mocks their appearance and threatens them when they find Cheato’s useful spells. Her likeness appears throughout the building in portraits, statues and the Witch Switches that reveal its additional Jiggies. Brentilda secretly supplies facts about her sister’s habits and personal life. Those answers vary between save files, so remember the information given in the current adventure before reaching the quiz. Beyond the 765-Note Door, Grunty’s Furnace Fun turns the rescue into a board-game show over lava. Questions draw on the adventure, pictures, sounds and Brentilda’s information, while timed spaces revisit earlier challenges. Ordinary mistakes cost health; a failed Skull space can end the attempt. Joker cards let the duo bypass troublesome spaces. Winning releases Tooty and prompts a celebration with an initial set of credits, but the witch escapes upstairs. Tooty then reminds Banjo that Gruntilda herself still needs to be dealt with. Open the later 810-Note Door and complete the 25-Jiggy portrait to reach Dingpot, who offers to launch the pair to the rooftop confrontation. Nearby optional Note Doors provide ammunition refills. The health picture behind the 882-Note Door takes four additional Jiggies and doubles the strength of the health meter, making it useful preparation for the fight. The machine’s successful beauty exchange is shown in the game-over sequence, where Tooty becomes monstrous and Gruntilda becomes glamorous; the normal rescue route prevents that outcome.

Gruntilda begins the final battle on her broomstick, swooping low across the circular roof. Keep her in view and move sideways as she dives, then approach when the broom sputters and slows. Rat-a-tat Rap or well-aimed Eggs can hit her during that pause. Four successful hits finish this opening stage, with longer runs of swoops before the later openings. Move away from the fireball she throws in retaliation after being struck. She then sends a guided spell that follows Banjo; use Wonderwing to let it break harmlessly against the Golden Feather protection. During the next stage she hovers outside the battlements and throws a short succession of fireballs. Let each shot commit to its path, dodge it and climb onto the appropriate edge when she pauses. Fire three Eggs into her before she moves to another position, repeating the process around the roof. The vulnerable pauses become shorter, so line up quickly rather than spending them climbing from the centre. Another guided spell separates this stage from the aerial fight. Bottles activates a Flight Pad in the middle, allowing Kazooie to pursue the witch. Gain height, follow her turns and use Beak Bomb when she briefly stops. Missing can send the pair beyond the roof, so leave enough space to turn back towards the arena. Four hits end the flying pursuit, but Gruntilda raises a protective barrier. Land to use the four Jinjo statues around the edge. Shoot three Eggs into each one to release its Jinjo, which flies through her defences and attacks. The statues do not block her fireballs, so continue dodging while supplying them. Those attacks bring her down from the broom, after which a much larger statue rises in the centre. This contains the Mighty Jinjonator and has an opening on each of its four sides. Fill each opening with five Eggs while moving between the witch’s volleys. Her guided spell still requires protection, and a pause after it gives a useful chance to finish an opening. Collect dropped honey energy when needed rather than using it while already healthy. Completing the statue releases the Jinjonator, whose repeated charges finally knock Gruntilda from the tower. She throws one last spell as she falls, but it misses the heroes. The witch crashes into the ground near her lair, and a large boulder seals her underneath. Banjo, Kazooie and Tooty can celebrate on the beach while Klungo attempts to move the rock. The final scene leaves Gruntilda alive beneath it, still threatening revenge.

Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge takes place two months after that fall, while Gruntilda’s body is still trapped. Klungo builds a mechanical likeness of her, and she uses a spell to move her spirit into it. As Mecha-Grunty, she abducts Kazooie and travels into the past, intending to prevent the partnership responsible for her defeat. Mumbo sends Banjo after her, but the bear initially has to explore and fight without his companion. Their first confrontation takes place at the Breegull Beach quarry, where Kazooie is caged among the captive Breegulls. The robot moves around behind a protective shield, with Klungo explaining that its batteries are still recharging. Avoid its attacks and wait for the protection to drop before striking with Pack Whack. Defeating it sends Gruntilda away and allows Banjo to free Kazooie, restoring the pair’s combined moves. She returns in a much larger machine above the lighthouse in Spiller’s Harbor. This battle uses the first-person aiming view and Ice Eggs to attack the exposed parts while avoiding the robot’s projectiles. Breaking those parts forces another retreat, and the witch orders further improvements. Fifty Jiggies open the route to her stronghold in the still unfinished lair. The final approach is a gauntlet of robot encounters, Klungo fights, quiz questions and intervening activities before the pair reach Winkybunion Tower. On its roof, Mecha-Grunty charges around the circular platform, fires electric attacks, strikes the ground and releases airborne hazards. Keep moving clear of the charges and shockwaves, then attack during the openings between sequences. Destroying the suit releases Gruntilda’s ghost, which continues the fight with two copies. Look for the real spirit’s shadow and roll into that one; hitting a decoy costs health. The correct hits end her attempt to change history. Her spirit flies back to the present and rejoins the body under the same boulder, leaving the original defeat intact. Gruntilda tells Klungo that, if he insists on struggling with the rock, he should first contact Mingella and Blobbelda. Banjo and Kazooie return to their own time with Mumbo’s help, while the witch’s request connects this failed escape with her sisters’ arrival in Banjo-Tooie.

Two years after the original battle, Banjo-Tooie begins with Mingella and Blobbelda tunnelling into Spiral Mountain in HAG 1. Their magic removes the boulder, but Gruntilda emerges as a skeleton in the remains of her familiar clothes. She demands help restoring her body. Mumbo witnesses the reunion and flees towards Banjo’s house when the witches notice him. Gruntilda follows and launches a powerful spell at the building. Banjo, Kazooie and Mumbo escape, but Bottles stays behind, believing the warning is a trick connected with their card game, and is killed in the explosion. The witches depart for Cauldron Keep, where the sisters reveal the Big-O-Blaster, or B.O.B. This machine extracts life force and stores it for transfer to Gruntilda. She tests it on King Jingaling after discovering that he has helped the heroes, leaving him a zombie inside his ruined throne room. Her larger plan is to drain the entire Isle o’ Hags, although B.O.B. needs time to recharge before firing on that scale. Mingella and Blobbelda also persuade her to stop rhyming. During the adventure, Gruntilda comments on minigames, the Jinjos need rescuing from the disruption of their homeland, and the witch’s influence is visible in places such as Witchyworld and Grunty Industries. Her old lair is now partly collapsed, and Cheato’s torn-out pages reflect her punishment of the disloyal spellbook. The pursuit eventually reaches Cauldron Keep and Tower of Tragedy, another quiz show hosted by the witch. The losing contestant in each elimination round is crushed under a heavy weight. Mingella and Blobbelda both lose, and Gruntilda dismisses the final result against her as faulty scoring before escaping upwards. The duo reverse B.O.B.’s extraction to restore Jingaling and Bottles instead of supplying the witch with a body. Seventy Jiggies are needed for the final challenge that opens the rooftop route. Gruntilda has enclosed the top of the keep beneath a dome, preventing a repeat of the fall that defeated her before. She waits there inside HAG 1, introduced as the Monstrous Mechanical Mud-Muncher, for the final confrontation.

HAG 1 gives Gruntilda a 100-point health meter and a succession of mechanical attacks. At first, keep clear of its rotating laser beams, jumping or moving through the gaps as the machine turns. When Gruntilda opens the hatch, she asks a quiz question before the shooting exchange. A correct answer makes her return fire slower and gives more time to aim. Use Breegull Blaster to fire Eggs at her exposed head while strafing away from the green spells. Fire Eggs have a useful firing rate; Grenade Eggs hit harder individually but are slower. Later rounds activate more lasers, then replace them with mortar shells that burst into spreading shrapnel. Jump for the impact and remain airborne long enough to clear the fragments. A second mortar increases the pressure before the drill itself starts moving around the arena. Stay towards the rear of the machine while avoiding its active lasers and turning drill. Gruntilda drops honey energy between sections, and unused pieces remain available for later recovery. When the digger stalls and its exhaust stops smoking, fire a Clockwork Kazooie Egg into the opening at the back. Guide the little bomb over the internal cables, past the guarding Ugger and beside one of the large batteries, then detonate it. Return to the arena for another drill-and-laser sequence before using a later stopped exhaust to enter again. This second trip has more opposition inside; reach and destroy the remaining battery. With its power disabled, HAG 1 stops driving, but Gruntilda continues firing from the hatch. The quiz interruptions end and the confrontation becomes a sustained exchange of spells and Eggs. She adds an Ugger to the arena, replacing it if it is defeated, so watch its approach while keeping the witch in the aiming view. Later she releases pink poisonous gas beneath the dome and adds another attacker. The air meter now limits the time available to finish the exchange. Roysten’s extra-air upgrade helps, but accurate shooting and continuous movement still matter. At the last point of health, Gruntilda changes to a particularly fast pink spell. Dodge it and hit her while she is preparing the next one. The interruption makes her drop the spell into her own machine. HAG 1 explodes, destroying her remaining body and leaving only a talking skull. Banjo and the others arrive too late for Bottles’s party food, then find another way to celebrate: Kazooie suggests a kick-around with Gruntilda’s head. Mumbo, Humba Wumba and Jamjars join them, and the witch loses an eye during the game. Her closing threat promises revenge in Banjo-Threeie. The completed fight also becomes available through the boss-replay menu, separate from the story’s ending.

Gruntilda can be controlled directly in Banjo-Tooie’s multiplayer shootouts. Her selectable form has sixteen honeycombs, making her the durable choice among the combatants, but she is also a large target and moves slowly. That trade-off applies to the multiplayer versions of Targitzan’s Temple, Ordnance Storage and Clinker’s Cavern. The player uses the same first-person egg-shooting rules as the other participants, rather than taking control of HAG 1 or her single-player spell attacks. Banjo-Pilot gives her another playable role, returning her to the fleshy green appearance associated with the first game. Her aircraft is shaped around the witch’s broomstick, combining the familiar silhouette with the machinery used by the other racers. She is the champion opponent at the end of the Broomstick Cup in the reverse-course Grunty Grand Prix. Qualify through the cup’s races to enter Grunty Gallop, then defeat her in its dogfight to make her available for purchase from Cheato. The battle alternates between chasing the witch and defending against her fire as the camera turns to show the player from the front. During an attacking turn, line up the built-in gun with her aircraft; during defence, move away from the incoming shots and obstacles until the view changes again. Emptying her health meter wins the encounter. Purchasing the unlocked character then allows her to compete in the ordinary racing modes. Her statistics give her five stars for top speed but only one each for acceleration and handling. She can travel quickly on a clean straight, while recovering from a hit or correcting a poor corner takes longer. The Grunty Grand Prix itself consists of the Pumpkin, Cauldron, Skull and Broomstick Cups, using the reversed routes. Its name and witch-themed trophies are part of the racing game’s structure; this appearance does not depict her escaping from the boulder or restoring the skeletal body within the main adventures’ story.

Eight years after Tooie, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts brings Gruntilda back to Spiral Mountain as a skull. Banjo and Kazooie have become inactive and out of shape, but their attempted rematch is interrupted by L.O.G.. He first scatters badges for a collecting contest, then abandons that slow spectacle in favour of vehicle challenges. The prize is ownership of Spiral Mountain; the loser must work in his video-game factory. L.O.G. restores the heroes’ fitness, equips Kazooie with a Magic Wrench and supplies Gruntilda with an artificial body whose glass head-container holds her skull. He also gives her Piddles as a replacement for Klungo, who has moved into game development. The cat attacks Gruntilda after the witch kicks her, but later assists as a passenger gunner. In Showdown Town, Gruntilda treats parts of the contest as a holiday, sends Gruntbots against the heroes and replaces imprisoned Minjos with innocent Jinjos. Her world challenges also control upgrades for the town trolley. In Nutty Acres Act 3, she tries to steal the giant Loco Coco. Knock the nut from her vehicle to earn High-Grip Wheels, allowing the trolley to climb the town’s steep slopes. LOGBOX 720 Act 3 contains Flush the Floater: Gruntilda threatens to contaminate the coolant with Piddles and challenges Banjo to a race around its tank. Victory supplies Floaters for water travel. In Banjoland Act 4, Spring Break! requires dismantling her bouncing vehicle before she escapes the museum. A Freezeezy can hold it still while weapons break its parts; winning provides Springs for reaching higher town ledges. The Jiggosseum has two different confrontations. Act 4’s Who Left the Tap On? floods the stadium for water polo, with the witch creating waves while Banjo sends beach balls through the goal. Its Scuba Seat reward lets the trolley travel underwater. In Act 5, 9-Ball Nightmare asks the pair to protect billiard balls from her laser vehicle. Keeping the marked ball away, freezing the attacker or restraining the machine with a Sticky Ball buys time. Winning supplies the trolley’s Laser for the red security gates. Finally, Terrarium of Terror Act 5 pits the duo against her foliage-destroying flying vehicle. Destroy its Chameleon to expose the craft, then concentrate fire on its remaining parts. The Horn reward can clear the ghostly pig guards in town. Collecting these upgrades changes where the trolley can travel between world visits.

Bank 75 Jiggies to open the return to Spiral Mountain, then complete L.O.G.’s Six of the Best before challenging Gruntilda. Her intended redevelopment is Grunty Acres, an industrial replacement for the heroes’ home. Spiral Mountain Showdown gives her five machines in succession, so bring a design that can fight on land and pursue an airborne target. The opening monster truck charges along the roads. Attack its parts or use a powerful vehicle to force it into the water. She next takes a boat onto the lake, where ranged fire can break its structure without requiring the player to ram it directly. The third machine uses camouflage on the ground. Track its outline and movement, then damage the concealment equipment or the vehicle itself to make the target easier to follow. The fourth is a heavily armed, largely stationary fortress. Keep away from its concentrated weapons while using range or a suitably strong Sticky Ball design to dismantle or displace it. For the last stage, she unveils a fast jet-powered broomstick with Piddles firing an Egg Turret. Take to the air, follow its route and use aimed or homing weapons to break the flying machine. The ordinary land-vehicle water tactic does not replace this aerial pursuit. Her dialogue announces each new machine and becomes increasingly frustrated as the options disappear. When the broom is destroyed, Gruntilda’s skull falls from its container and Piddles helps knock it back inside. L.O.G. intervenes before the witch can continue the argument, awards Spiral Mountain to Banjo and sends the defeated pair to his factory. The final scene shows Gruntilda sweeping while Piddles demands brushing and milk from a perch on stacked boxes. Gruntilda still sees an opportunity: she threatens to make a devious game of her own from inside the factory. Her association with Klungo’s games also appears in his arcade fiction. Hero Klungo Sssavesss Teh World uses her as its villain, while the downloadable Hero Klungo Sssavesss Teh Universsse brings her into the final-stage action and places a threatening illustration of her beside the enormous picture of Piddles surrounding the playfield. These are roles inside Klungo’s games, alongside the witch’s separate fate in the main story.

Gruntilda’s image and name also appear outside her principal adventures. Grabbed by the Ghoulies includes Grunty’s Tinned Carrots among its parody food products, a reference to the witch among many Banjo-related items scattered through Ghoulhaven Hall. The familiar games and their versions of Gruntilda are included again in Rare Replay, preserving the existing stories and battles. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gives her a new background model on its Spiral Mountain stage. She flies around on her broom in her original green form, retaining the broad hat and purple scarf, while the lair overlooks the fighting area. Her presence is scenery rather than a selectable fighter. She also appears as support spirit number 1,344 on the Banjo-Kazooie DLC Spirit Board. This is a Legendary spirit occupying three support slots, with Poison Power Up strengthening a fighter while poisoned. Its battle represents the witch with a giant green King Dedede carrying a Star Rod. Three Dr. Mario reinforcements represent Klungo’s repeated attempts to stop the heroes. The encounter takes place on the flat form of Find Mii, with a poisonous floor and stamina-based health. Defeat the main Dedede opponent to win; the helpers add pressure while he remains active. Poison-floor protection can make the stage easier to manage, while watching for Dedede’s ranged Star Rod shots reflects the original witch’s use of magic from a distance. The portrait uses a newly rendered version of her classic design, separate from the skeleton and jar-headed bodies seen in her later adventures. Her name, battle representation and background cameo therefore serve different purposes within Ultimate. The playable Banjo and Kazooie also call on the Mighty Jinjonator for their Final Smash, recalling the ally who originally knocked Gruntilda from her tower.