There’s something that just feels right about seeing Banjo and Kazooie in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, right back where they started on a Nintendo platform. What’s even better is that this is the best the bear and bird have ever looked; complete with a modern makeover that stays true to their N64 designs while simultaneously making them more expressive than ever.
But as much as I love the look of Banjo and Kazooie in Smash, as much as I love the soundtrack remixes arranged by original composer Grant Kirkhope, and as much as I love the simple fact that they are finally in this game at all, their actual moveset feels like the most underwhelming part of the package.
Unlike Hero and Joker, both of whom had very unusual characteristics that set their playstyles dramatically apart from the rest of the roster, Banjo and Kazooie feel pretty straightforward. Their attacks are a tiny bit on the slow side and lack combo potential, making them feel more like a bruiser-style of character than their smallish stature might indicate, defined by hard hitting single strikes and a willingness to plow through attacks to deliver their own.
What’s wonderful is that fans of the Banjo-Kazooie games will immediately feel familiar with all of their moves. They’ve got their forward roll on their dash attack, the Rat-a-tat-rap on their jab combo, Beak Barge on their down-tilt, Breegull Bash on their forward-smash, and Beak Buster on their down-air, all of which were either inspired by or taken directly from attacks in their own games. That extends to their specials too, which feature the egg shot, grenade egg bombs, and most notably, the Wonderwing on forward-B – a move that nearly defines this fighter in Ultimate.
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A ton of love and care went into making Banjo and Kazooie look, sound, and feel just like they you’d expect them too, and it absolutely shows. Beyond just their moves, their idle poses, taunts, sounds, and win screens all feel lovingly reimagined from the N64 titles, which is just awesome to experience as a huge fan of those games.
As satisfying as all of that is though, Banjo and Kazooie feel very middle of the road in terms of how fun they are to play. Their standout trait is the Wonderwing side-special move, which is just unbelievably powerful. It’s a forward dashing special move that is nearly invulnerable once it gets going, can deal about 27% damage on hit, and is a reliable kill move when your opponent is at 90-100% and above. It’s absurdly strong, punishes just about anything, but is somewhat balanced by the fact that it’s extremely punishable if you whiff or if your opponent shields it, and Banjo only has five uses of the move per stock.
It’s by far their most reliable kill move and punish, and it also helps them recover back to the stage. It’s so necessary to Banjo and Kazooie’s game, in fact, that if you burn through all five of the golden feathers that dictate its usage, they’re left feeling a bit underpowered compared to the rest of the roster since that one attack makes up for many of the other weaknesses in their moveset. With a feather, Banjo and Kazooie must be respected by opponents since they can bully their way through just about anything, effectively nullify certain edge guarding tactics by being completely invulnerable on their way back to the ledge, and punish those trying to keep them out with projectiles. Without a feather, they become incredibly straightforward, armed with just a slow forward-smash, a slow forward-air, and short range up and down smashes as their main kill moves.
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That said, their down-B egg bomb is very noteworthy, as it gives Banjo and Kazooie an explosive throwable projectile, much like Snake’s grenade. Using this move, which can only be fired backwards, will definitely be the one that separates the good Banjo players from the great ones, as skillful use of it can help combo into Banjo’s side-B as a kill set up. Skillful players can also use it to aid Banjo’s recovery options by grabbing the bomb in air, blowing themselves up, getting their up-b back.
Banjo and Kazooie also come with their own new stage in Spiral Mountain, which is a nice, simple stage that features a small flat central platform that rotates, showing off all of the recognizable landmarks of the original Spiral Mountain from Banjo-Kazooie – including Banjo’s House, Gruntilda’s lair, and all the various training areas, complete with cameos from Gruntilda, Tooty, and Bottles. It’s a great stage that provides just the right amount of variation to be interesting for those looking for something more than just a Battlefield or Final Destination, without having any gimmicks that could dramatically affect the outcome of a battle.
