Smashmania: We did it! Banjo-Kazooie in Smash! ...And that worries me.

There’s no better promotion in the videogame world than a character who’ll never come back to Nintendo appearing in Smash

I’m totally happy about this: one of the most requested characters of all time finally appearing in Smash in a movement I thought will never happened and for me, a guy who’s first console was an N64, but didn’t play the original game until my 20’s (which means, at an age I can no longer connect with the character), it unbelievable. However, I’m a little worried about this because they’re the definition of fan pandering, his inclusion won’t make any benefit or difference for Nintendo.

Before starting, let me set one thing clear: I’m happy to whoever will come as DLC. Honestly, I don’t expect any of my desire characters to be included, almost all of them are already in as assist trophies or spirits.

Nintendo and Microsoft have done the impossible: make an alliance to permit a beloved character to be in Smash (among other things). But at wat cost? Despite the fanservice, I see more conveniences for Microsoft. With so many games coming for Switch, it’s obvious the commercial gains will go to them as well as exclusivity for the console, but what about Nintendo? Maybe some financial profits, but that’s it. Like King K. Rool, the trailer itself was better than the revealed character.

In a longrun, Banjo’s inclusion it’s nothing for the big N. With Dragon Quest XI and more games for the franchise coming, Hero’s inclusion is justified. With Joker, I can easily see a Persona 5 port for the Switch in the future. With Banjo? Absolutely nothing. Not a Rare Replay port, not an HD remake of the first 2 games, nothing. Even Microsoft doesn’t have plans for the franchise in the near future.

Back in December, Reggie said that the future DLC will be franchises with no representation in Smash and will be done in order to attract future customers. From a financial point, Banjo was not the right inclusion for Smash. Yes, it has a nostalgic appealing and that sells and it fulfils one of the requisites. However, B-K fans and old Rare fans already stayed with Nintendo because they didn’t like how Microsoft has treated the company since its purchase and have taken Retro Studios as the new Rare, which means that a vast majority of them have a Switch right now. Therefore, they were not the right audience to target with. Whether we like it or not, Steve from Minecraft was a better choice (I don’t like Minecraft, simulation is not my genre, but it fulfils every requirement needed to be in Smash). Despite all complains and what “the rules” say, a character still needs to be relevant to be in Smash, that’s why Luminary was chosen as the default costume for Hero instead of Erdrick. And before any of you tell me “but King K. Rool is not relevant anymore and yet he’s in Smash”... he only got in because of popular demand. Appearing in Smash doesn’t necessarily mean Retro Studios (for example) is going to use him in future Donkey Kong Country games.

How much of the fans’ idealized moveset will be part of the character and how much did Sakurai left for any creative choices he wanted to add? One of the reasons King K. Rool didn’t click with me was the moveset. With characters such as Isaac, Shovel Knight, Shantae, Rayman and even the fucking Waluigi and Steve himself, I’ve seen a great variety of possible options that make sense and although Sakurai could take one or two for instance, there’s also a lot of open possibilities for him to use his imagination. King K. Rool’s final design was so closeminded and fan pandering that makes me wonder 2 things: Either every single one of us is a genius or we have a severe lack of imagination. I hope Banjo is more open-minded.

When it comes to Banjo-Kazooie in Smash, there’s a hero almost nobody is talking about: Phil Spencer. He’s the real responsible who we should thank for this action. Sakurai himself designed the moveset and agreed to his inclusion, yes, but this is a character he’d probably never take into account because he doesn’t speak English (that’s one of the reasons why all third-parties were Japanese until now, negotiations are easier in comparison). I know I’m overreacting and we don’t know the real truth behind the scenes, but I think both Nintendo and Microsoft forced Sakurai to include this character in the game, albeit the character has helped every western third-party to get in someday (Rayman being the front head). Like I said before, what would happen when all the requested characters made it into?

As for Hero, I can only expect the expected: a lame Battlefield/FD clone for a stage, 2 music tracks and no spirits.