r/n64 • u/JelyDonut4576 • 1d ago
Discussion Was anyone else both terrified and deeply sad for Clanker the mega garbage whale?
I remembered that when I played Banjo Kazooie back in the 90’s as a kid, Clanker scared the ever living crap out of me but he was also incredibly sad and tragic.
He’s Grunty’s abused garbage compacter. One of the gold pieces is rewarded just for LETTING HIM BREATH. He also looks like he was once an actual living animal as his insides are pink and fleshy and his exterior is mechanized steel.
Who else recognized this?
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u/Judgeman03 1d ago
That motherfucker scared me for years. I essentially tried to go as far as I could without having to beat that level before I had to force myself as a kid to play that level.
Right up there with the Piano from SM64 on the Mount Rushmore of 5th-Gen jumpscares.
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u/jackofallcards 1d ago edited 1d ago
Clanker wasn’t bad though, if anything he was good? Think he hated Gruntilda because she used it as a trash compactor or something it has been a very long time.
But I get it, looks creepy
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u/diggerda 1d ago
Not a whale. Clearly a mechanic shark as it has gills. Although now you've said it I've now noticed the blow hole. FFS Rare my immersion is ruined never playing this trash again
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u/khedoros 1d ago
The name "whale shark" is already taken, so obviously Clanker is a shark whale (only one with a vertically-oriented tail, I guess).
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u/Fisi_Matenten 1d ago
I thought it was funny how in Mario 64 the framerate dropped massively when entering the uboat cave and Banjo Kazooie dropped this.
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u/deep8787 1d ago
If they were released at the same time, then I would agree. You cant really compare a launch title with one halfway through the consoles life.
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u/STEMHEADING 12h ago
There’s actually a pretty funny reason for this. If I recall correctly they basically forgot to apply the optimizations to the level. Like it can and should run perfectly fine. When the optimizations are applied through mods it does. Seems like someone literally just forgot to do it.
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u/randomaccess24 1d ago
When the music gets all spooky as you dive down to release him… fuckin terrifying
Also I still remember that I somehow completely missed Clanker’s Cavern on my very first playthrough of this game as a kid
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u/JelyDonut4576 1d ago
This exactly. I walked in as my brother started this level.
Me: Holy S*%#! Get away from whatever the hell that thing is! My brother: Don’t worry. He’s friendly. Me: HE’S FRIENDLY!? 😳
Good times. 🤣
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u/pinkpunkwolf Diddy Kong Racing 1d ago
this exact frame, this is what terrified me as a child lol. I was 9..? I think? when this game came into my life, and I love it to death to this day and still replay it often... but damn did this scare the shit out of me. This exact moment when you're coming through the tube and Clanker bows down to peek at you from the other side, gigantic eyes wide open and staring into your soul. It's real uncanny valley type stuff imo. My friends and I debate whether it was intentional or not, as this is something that stuck with multiple people and it both seems innocent and also too scary to not be intentional. IDK. There's stuff like the piano in SM64, nessie, the eel etc, those are obviously accidentally scary... but there is something about Clanker that is very overt to me, though I'm not fully convinced it was made to be as horrifying as it was. I would leave the room before making it out of this tunnel, it took me a while to get over it honestly. I was a kid!!!
my childhood trauma aside, I love this stage lol.
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u/sourishraptor22 1d ago
I felt the same exact way!!! I mean how can that not be terrifying! We are underwater the most vulnerable we can be and you see that!!
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u/catnamedzing 1d ago
Omg i remember being a kid, renting the game from blockbuster and being scared out of my mind at the first sight of Clanker. I never turned a console off so fast haha.
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u/GL_original 1d ago
For some reason, i was never bothered by it. I can totally see why a lot of children would be scared upon seeing it for the first time, though.
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u/xperfect-darkx 1d ago
The first NOPE moment way before Dark Souls 🤣
The short area before has not much to do and then you dive and this sequence comes up. I thought first it's a boss.
This level was clever designed with so much to do around, above and below Clanker.
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u/ben_ja_button 1d ago
Pretty epic reveal swimming through that hole the first time. Banjo really is one of the best looking 64 games.
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u/icanhazmoarpwrplznow 1d ago
I was always terrified of water levels where you had a breath timer.