Rare’s Banjo and Kazooie will be joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as part of the planned DLC this year. The historic pair were shown off along with Dragon Quest’s Hero at Nintendo’s E3 Direct.
Banjo and Kazooie both debuted on the N64 in 1998’s critically acclaimed Banjo and Kazooie. Rare’s partnership with Microsoft would have, at one stage, made the inclusion feel all but impossible:
Dragon Quest’s character called ‘The Hero‘ will also make an appearance — including the protagonists from Dragon Quest 3, 4 and 8:
When are they released? Banjo and Kazooie are out autumn 2019, while The Hero joins at some point this summer.
As the Smash Bros. series inevitably ages, with Nintendo’s core cast very much present and accounted for, it’s up to obscure and third-party characters to take on the duty of being all-important newcomers. And what a new pair we have.
Simon Belmont, King K. Rool – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The Nintendo Direct today revealed famous ‘vampire killer’ Simon Belmont from the legendary Castlevania series and Donkey Kong’s arch-villain King K. Rool.
Simon Belmont – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Simon’s inclusion seems to be a long time coming, especially as Castlevania was synonymous with Nintendo platforms for years. King K. Rool, on the other hand, is fan service through and through – he’s one of the most highly requested characters in Smash Bros. history.
Masahiro Sakurai, let’s be honest, Nintendo’s personal curator, stated that his music team adores Castlevania’s tunes, so, naturally, they decided to add 34 tracks to Simon’s stage – Dracula’s Castle – alone. Simon obviously fights with his famous holy whip and can use moves such as ‘holy water’, ‘uppercut’ and ‘axe’.
The Vampire Killer strikes again
Moving on, King K. Rool was announced as a surprise, right at the end of the Direct, and can be seen using famous moves like his blunderbuss and crown toss, which recalls memories of playing Donkey Kong Country and controllers being smashed on the floor in anger while doing so.
King K. Rool in action
Other Characters Shown
Other rather obscure characters, in the form of Echo Fighters (characters with different models, same moves) announced include:
