Quick Analysis
Leave it to Rare to give you the "final Boss" battle, and then yank the carpet under you just when you think you're done. The only advice I can offer: You'll save a lot of time if you find at least 882 notes and 98 puzzle pieces.

After collecting 765 notes, you'll have the chance to face Gruntilda - it's possible to reach this point without ever entering Level 9! However, that wouldn't be a good idea, because this Boss battle requires you to summon all your knowledge about Banjo-Kazooie's world in a trivia board game. As you hit each square, Gruntilda will serve up a trivia question or challenge to face. Answer right to move to the next square; answer wrong and you'll lose a honeycomb. You win if you can make it to the other side. The map below shows the game board.

Map
Show me the map of Gruntilda's Fiery Furnace Game.

Tips
Below is a key to the squares from best to worst (in terms of difficulty):

J The Joker (White): These are the best squares-it's worth trying to hit as many as possible. Answer a trivia question right to get a card that lets you skip the square of your choice.

B Banjo-Kazooie (Blue): Here Gruntilda will ask a standard trivia question from the game; from the name of a character to the items found in a level and everything in between.

O The "Eye See" (Orange): Here Gruntilda will show you a part of a level or a character from the game. Just guess the level or character's name and you're set. The catch? She picks these crazy camera angles and close-ups. The pictures repeat after a while, so they're easy to get if you've played through the whole game or through the final Boss stage.

W The Witch (Purple): Remember when the good witch told you to write down all those tidbits about her sister? Well, these trivia questions are all based on knowing Gruntilda's profile. They change every time a new game's started, so the answers from one game won't match those in another (Just like on high school exams)! This is an easy square as long as you took good notes on the good witch's comments.

N Notes (Green): Hope you didn't play this game with the sound turned down. These questions require you to identify music from a level, or various sound effects for both characters and power-ups. (Those sounds aren't so annoying anymore, eh?)

T Timed Battle (Pink): Remember all those minigames and battles in previous levels? Well, Gruntilda calls one up at random and sets a time to beat it in. The scary part is that you can die from getting hit in these minibattles. If possible, use the Joker to skip these squares.

S Skull O' Death (Red): These are random trivia questions. The questions aren't that tough, but it's instant death if you answer wrong. Better skip these unless you know the game inside out or if you've got lives to spare.

More Boss Notes
- Sidestep the honeycomb pieces on the boarrd (the yellow circles on the map). Save them for when you really need them since you can always backtrack.
- Although you don't need eggs or gold featthers to play the game, they may prove useful in the Timed Battles. Make sure you're stocked up.
- If you're forced to guess on a question, weed out the one answer that's totally unlike the rest. Usually, the computer shows the right answer along with a wrong answer that's similar to the right one.

After the Boss
You'll see an ending - we won't spoil it here. But it's not the real end of the game! More surprises from Gruntilda await behind the 810 - Note Door. Here's what's next.

Beating Gruntilda, Once and for All!
If you took good notes on Brentilda's comments about her evil sister, and made an effort to collect jokers to skip tough spots on the game board (Timed Battles/Instant Death squares), you'll see the game's second ending. (The first ending is actually the first Game Over screen, seen the first time you save and quit or run out of lives.) Of course, leave it to your sister to ruin the party! Noting that Gruntilda isn't dead yet, she orders you to finish the job.

The End of the Overworld
Have at least 810 notes? Good! Go up the stairs to this series of rooms and open the door. Now comes all sorts of bad news.

Map
Show me the map of The End of the Overworld (19 K).

-The Game Over Room! Remember the beauty trransformation machine Gruntilda was using? You can see it in person! It doesn't seem like it's operational now. The doors to the left and the right of the room look suspicious as well, but as of this point in time, they're only eye candy....

-The Level 10 Picture! Have at least 25 puzzzle pieces? You should if you followed this strategy guide. But if not, drop your head and head back to the Overworld. Once you complete this picture, you'll unlock the door to your left, which leads to....

-Dingpot! This cranky iron cauldron will shhoot you up to the roof to face Gruntilda - for real! But don't rush off yet. You'll see four doors surrounding the rooms. If you have at least 882 notes and four puzzle pieces collected total, you'll be able to unlock all the bonuses. Here's how it breaks down:

828 notes: 100 percent eggs refill
846 notes: 100 percent red feathers refill
864 notes: 100 percent gold feathers refill
882 notes: There's an incomplete honeycomb puzzle picture here. Use four extra puzzle pieces to complete it, and double your life bar with red honeycombs! You'll need it in the final showdown.