Oh man, where do I begin?!
So Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie were original Nintendo 64 platformers that revolutionized the 3D platforming genre that Super Mario 64 two years earlier had pioneered. Their parent company Rare had already worked with Nintendo many times before, bringing such masterpieces to their systems such as a newly revamped Donkey Kong Country series, Diddy Kong Racing, GoldenEye 007, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, among others. These two games though, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, were the piece de resistance, they had incredible levels, gameplay, finely-tuned controls, funny and memorable characters and writing, and freaking stellar music. When Rare was bought out by Microsoft shortly after the end of the N64 era, it was a blow to many fans of the series including myself. They've faded away into obscurity, having only one new, less-than-stellar incarnation, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts n' Bolts, which strayed away from what made the original games so memorable and classic.
I can't really describe what makes Banjo-Kazooie such an iconic pair of characters. For me, personally, I feel like the simple visual of a cartoony bear wearing yellow shorts and a blue backpack carrying his red winged pal Kazooie is such a pleasing thing to see. They have a ton of personality, both of them clash with each other despite being buddies, Banjo being laid back and easygoing and Kazooie being abrasive and obnoxious. In their game series, they have a TON of moves for traversing the many worlds they travel to and attacks to defend themselves against their enemies. All of these moves translate incredibly well to Smash Bros. Every last move they have in their home games would easily work with any input in Smash. They have tons of visual references from their games that would translate well to Smash, such as their on-screen entrance to battle being their exit pad from Banjo-Kazooie that has them teleport onto each world and their idle animations and victory animations being easily adapted from their games. Even their universe icon is simple but effective, a jiggy or jigsaw puzzle, the most important items they collect in their home series of which collecting is the ultimate objective.
It's with their departure from Nintendo and their lack of presence in recent years that makes me yearn to see them make a comeback in the Smash Bros. series. Smash Bros. has been known in recent years for bringing back obscure and irrelevant characters including the Ice Climbers, Kid Icarus' Pit, and the Robotic Operating Buddy or R.O.B. It's actually their 20th anniversary this year since their first solo game. Banjo actually first appeared solo in Diddy Kong Racing as a racer, but his appearance with Kazooie in Banjo-Kazooie is what is really important. And I feel that with this new game for the Switch projected to release this year as well, its an opportune time for the bear and bird to make an appearance. It all depends on Microsoft and Nintendo coming to some sort of arrangement to allow them in. I have my fingers crossed that they'll work something out. Because honestly, Banjo-Kazooie would be a fun and unique addition to Smash that would be fun to see them interact with Nintendo's all-star line up and pay homage to the underrepresented N64 era of Nintendo's history that I know many people, especially myself, would be hyped about akin to Mega Man's announcement since he too first appeared on Nintendo consoles only to suffer from a lack of positive representation. I feel in spite of their being owned by Microsoft, they are one of the most viable third party entries to be chosen for Smash thanks to their history. But we will see what Nintendo has in store for Smash come E3.