In exciting news for Nintendo and old-school RareWare fans, iconic platformer duo Banjo & Kazooie are set to join the roster of Nintendo’s console brawler Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. They are famous for their 1998 puzzle platforming adventure on the Nintendo 64.
In a poll with over 20,000 responses from fans, Banjo-Kazooie were voted #1 most desired additions to the roster. With this news, Nintendo is set to continue pleasing fans by adding favourites to the roster post-launch, extending the playability of the game.
BALLOT:
After 3 weeks, 20,000 votes, and lots of counting we finally have the results of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Unofficial Fighter Ballot. We would like to give a special thanks to everyone who supported and participated this ballot these last 3 weeks! pic.twitter.com/ciZk0zROTf— Switch News & Updates (@DexertoBros) September 5, 2018
In a 2018 tweet to the head of Xbox Phil Spencer, a fan asked if he would be willing to support the appearance of Banjo-Kazooie in Smash Ultimate since the rights to the characters are owned by Microsoft – one of Nintendo’s two main competitors (the other being Sony).
To this, Spencer simply replied “Yep”, sparking widespread excitement in the Smash Ultimate community.
It now appears Spencer has followed through on his stance. This is an exciting time for Banjo-Kazooie fans as the duo have not appeared in a video game for quite some time.
The rights to Banjo-Kazooie and other RareWare intellectual properties including Perfect Dark and Conkers Bad Fur Day were acquired by Microsoft in their 2002 acquisition of the company.
Kevin has been contributing to multiple news websites since 2015. He started his blog back in 2016 tackling technology and business tips. His passion towards journalism and sharing relevant information with global readers pushed his to take journalism major at Boston University. He is now a full-time contributor to Kev’s Best.