In an announcement everyone was hoping for, our beloved Rareware heroes Banjo and Kazooie have been confirmed in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. Banjo-Kazooie will take to the fight with jiggies intact this fall.
The beloved bear and bird have been fan-favorites for Super Smash Brothers Ultimate DLC for a long time. As the trailer showed a shadow of a bird and larger animal, Nintendo pulled off what was almost the biggest bait-and-switch of E3 by revealing the source of the shadows to be the Duck Hunt dog and bird. As the dog began laughing, Banjo and Kazooie burst onto the scene and put the smarmy canine in his place.
Fans have been waiting for the titular heroes of 1998’s Banjo-Kazooie to join the Smash roster for a long time. In 2008, Nintendo conducted a three-week long poll asking fans for their most desired additions to the Smash lineup. Over 20,000 players responded and Banjo and Kazooie were the winners, beating Geno of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Isaac from the Golden Sun series for the number one spot. It looks like Nintendo followed through on fan demand.
We didn’t get to see much of their combat mechanics in the trailer, so we can expect more reveals before they finally arrive in the Smash arena. Banjo and Kazooie will join a roster of over 70 characters strong, including characters from Microsoft, Sega, and Sony. Smash Ultimate lives up to its name with the diverse cast that continues to grow through DLC. Characters released earlier include the Piranha Plant from the Mario series and Joker from Persona 5. Judging from another Nintendo announcement, we can expect a cast of characters from Dragon Quest to join the fray as well.
This fall, we can finally fight with our beloved bear and bird! Their exact release date is yet to be announced, so make sure to keep an eye out for updates!
