Roster Dreams: ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ Makes a Rare ‘Smash Bros.’ Appearance

Banjo-Kazooie might feel like a Nintendo classic (after all, the game did launch on N64 in 1998) but it’s actually owned by Microsoft. You see, the classic platformer was developed for Nintendo by iconic video game studio Rare, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2002. But that doesn’t mean the dynamic duo can’t appear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Does it?

Welcome to Roster Dreams, a special series from Inverse discussing some of the best fan-suggested additions to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster.

Microsoft’s Xbox chief Phil Spencer actually said that he’d be down to bring Banjo the bear and Kazooie the bird to Super Smash Bros. back in 2015. We haven’t heard much since then, but the ball is presumably in Nintendo’s court. In the meantime, Reddit user Tevlev14 offered up a detailed breakdown of how a Banjo-Kazooie character might play in the Smash universe based on the characters’ moves from the original game.

A lot of these moves rely heavily on Kazooie, including an A Side attack that lunges forward beak-first at your enemies and a B Side that sends the fighter flying across the stage. However, the theoretical moveset also leverages Banjo’s weight with a Ground Pound-style B Down and a running summersault for Side A.

Overall, this Banjo-Kazooie moveset offers a pretty potent mix of powerful close combat and more ranged attacks. It’s a good representation of the original game’s two distinct main characters and how they work together to solve various puzzles and challenges.

The only real question is whether this Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character would play as two distinct fighters working in unison (like the Ice Climbers) or as a single fighter (like Duck Hunt). But that’s for Nintendo to decide — assuming they ever take Microsoft up on this very generous offer.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches December 7 for Nintendo Switch.