Banjo and Kazooie, the main characters in Rare's somewhat neglected
Banjo-Kazooie series, have been getting a lot of attention lately; mainly because the iconic duo have been recently brought back as playable characters in
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
The
Banjo-Kazooie series have been pretty dormant in the last few years, and fans have began wondering if the series could also end up making a comeback now that Rare and Microsoft have seen the overwhelmingly positive reaction the characters have had from fans.
Grant Kirkhope, who composed the soundtrack for the first titles in the Banjo-Kazooie series, has previously revealed that he doesn't necessarily think
the attention the characters have been given is enough to warrant a brand-new game, but the man who created the characters is a little bit more optimistic.
In a recent column written on VGC, Steve Mayles — the man who designed both Banjo and Kazooie — has revealed that the original
Banjo-Kazooie games being remastered, in the same way that the
Crash Bandicoot trilogy was remastered, could gauge demand for a brand-new entry in the series.
"
Now [Banjo and Kazooie] have returned in Smash [Bros. Ultimate], I’ve been surprised by the reception. Part of it is being away for so long, and a part of it is returning to a Nintendo console. And maybe just a small part because they are decent characters!"
"
Could the reaction of fans to Banjo and Kazooie in Smash persuade Microsoft to make another Banjo game? The revival of Spyro and Crash went pretty well after all… I think a fairly safe way to gauge demand for a new game would be a remaster of the original two games," added Mayles.
"
Then if the interest is there perhaps we could see Banjo return in the new no-expense-spared game he and Kazooie deserve."
While Steve Mayles may have designed the characters, he probably doesn't have the pull with the higher-ups at Microsoft or even Rare, but he is very right about the fact that the
Banjo-Kazooie series getting a remaster would definitely help making both Microsoft and Rare realize that there is still a market for the series. Fingers crossed.