Banjo and Kazooie
Chance - 1%
They have a lot going for them.
- Likely did super well in the Smash Ballot
- Characters have extremely strong ties with Nintendo
- Microsoft and Nintendo have been pretty buddy-buddy as of late, collaborating on cross-platform games such as Rocket League and Minecraft
- Even appeared on the Switch itself through Minecraft
However, one thing above all else really throws a wrench into things:
- Owned by a direct competitor
We've gotten characters that have heavy ties to non-Nintendo platforms (Cloud, Snake, Ryu), but never have we seen a character owned by one of Nintendo's biggest competitors. I really doubt Nintendo would want to do something like that, over promoting a character with more relevancy with a company that has better ties with Nintendo.
The fact that
Phil Spencer has come out in saying that he still wants them in Smash, if anything, just kills his chances even more. The timing of the tweet means that the roster had most likely been decided at that point, and in the case Banjo and Kazooie WERE in Smash, then I bet he would've had to have been hush-hush about it.
Even in terms of Microsoft representation, he faces direct competition from Steve (Minecraft), who seems to have significantly more recognizability around the world, while also representing and promoting a game currently on Nintendo consoles.
Want - 50%
I'm not a fan of adding new third parties. Especially third parties from companies with little relationship to Nintendo. Especially western companies. Especially with characters who are hardly iconic.
However, I adore the Bear and Bird. Can't state that enough. The franchise is just so charming, with its lovable characters, incredible music, and great gameplay. I'd love to see them in Smash: what they could bring to the table, what tunes they could bring with them (honestly just having Grant Kirkhope on Smash 5's soundtrack would make their inclusion worth it), the interactions they could have with their old N64 buds, all of that.
I think this is the highest I'll ever give any non-Konami third party character in terms of want.
(And tomorrow I'll probably be giving my first double zeroes. What a contrast!)
Nominations:
Mipha (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) x5