Fans of the
Super Smash Bros. series have been asking for years that Nintendo adds Banjo and Kazooie to any of the game's roster. In fact, they've been asking for the characters to be added pretty much before
Super Smash Bros. Melee was released; that's 18 years, mind you.
When Banjo and Kazooie, from the acclaimed
Banjo-Kazooie series by Rare, were revealed to finally be joining the roster in
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, fans went crazy — as Nintendo had scratched an almost 20-year itch.
It wasn't just fans who got excited for the reveal, however, as former Rare employees who had worked on the original games released on the Nintendo 64 were also thrilled to see these characters finally joining the
Super Smash Bros. series.
In a recent interview with
YouTube channel Sheesez, Steve Mayles and Grant Kirkhope — character designer and composer for the
Banjo-Kazooie series — revealed that they were also ecstatic to see these characters back on a Nintendo console, as the character rights are now owned by Microsoft.
"
I just couldn’t take it in. I had to watch the reveal later in the day about 10 or 20 times just to take in everything that was going on. It was just really surreal," revealed Mayles — who is now working for Playtonic; the studio who made
Yooka-Laylee, which is a
Banjo-Kazooie series' spiritual successor.
"
It’s just surreal to see these characters I made 20, well more than 20 years ago in some cases, and they’re back in high resolution looking as I originally created them. It’s just strange but awesome at the same time."
Grant Kirkhope — who has worked with Rare on
Banjo-Kazooie,
Donkey Kong 64, and
Perfect Dark, to name but a few — revealed that he was not expecting fans to react the way they did; mentioning that he even got emotional at the overwhelmingly positive reception the reveal trailer had.
"
It was absolutely perfect, Nintendo did a fantastic job. It ticked all the boxes. It was nostalgic and it touched the heartstrings — I was crying along with everyone else while I was watching it. I didn’t really expect people to go that crazy. When you see someone totally lose it with happiness, like in some of those fan videos, it really touches your heart because everyone connects on that human level. To see people crying and laughing at the same time – I was the same – I think those things are once in a lifetime."
As mentioned earlier, Banjo and Kazooie joining the roster in
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a dream come true for fans of both series, and the fact that the creators themselves were also excited to see them become part of Nintendo's crossover fighting series is certainly soothing.
Be sure to check out the full interview down below:
Legendary game worlds and fighters collide in the ultimate showdown—a new entry in the Super Smash Bros. series for the Nintendo Switch system! New fighters, like Inkling from the Splatoon series and Ridley from the Metroid series, make their Super Smash Bros. series debut alongside every Super Smash Bros. fighter in the series…EVER!
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is currently available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.