Super Smash Bros. Switch has already seen a flurry of fan hopes and dreams come to the fore when talking about the game’s inevitably star-studded roster. One pair of (ex) Nintendo icons, however, could surprisingly be coming out of hibernation and making their way to the party. Banjo-Kazooie may or may not be heading to Super Smash Bros. Switch – but it’s been given a big Microsoft seal of approval anyway.
While the Banjo-Kazooie license is a minefield of red tape, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer managed to cut through all of the potential legalese surrounding a deal by offering up one very simple response to a request to have the platforming bird and bear included as part of Super Smash Bros. Switch: “Yep.”
Yep.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) 20 March 2018
This certainly wouldn’t be the first time a third-party character has forced its way into the all-star fighting extravaganza (think Sonic and Solid Snake for starters), but it really would mark a watershed moment to have an explicitly Microsoft-owned brand show up on a Nintendo console and in a flagship game such as Super Smash Bros. Switch.
If nothing else, it would be great to see Banjo and Kazooie spread their wings and get a new lease of life elsewhere having been last seen on the Rare Replay collection in 2015 and seemingly condemned to a nostalgic graveyard on Xbox.
Of course, it’s still very unlikely to happen. The headaches surrounding a deal would probably far outweigh the benefits but, hey, it’s nice to dream. It’s also indicative of the blurring of boundaries between console developers who previously inhabited their own little worlds. What next, Master Chief in Mario Party? Make it happen, Nintendo. Make. It. Happen.
