Banjo & Kazooie (SSBU)

This page documents information about recently released content. Information may change rapidly as it becomes available. All information in this article must be verifiable.

This article is about Banjo & Kazooie's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the characters in other contexts, see Banjo and Kazooie.

Banjo & Kazooie in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Banjo-Kazooie
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	The Mighty Jinjonator

“	Banjo-Kazooie are Raring to Go!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Banjo & Kazooie (バンジョー&カズーイ, Banjo & Kazooie), formatted in their reveal trailer as Banjo-Kazooie, are a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. They were announced alongside the Hero during the E3 Nintendo Direct on June 11th, 2019 as the third downloadable fighter from the Fighters Pass. They are the first third party representative from Microsoft and were released on September 4th, 2019. Although they are a team, they are collectively classified as Fighter #73.

Chris Sutherland's portrayals of Banjo and Kazooie from Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts were repurposed for Ultimate.

Attributes

This article or section is incomplete. You can help SmashWiki by expanding or finishing it.

Banjo & Kazooie work in tandem with each other, most similarly to Duck Hunt. Being a Bear, Banjo gives the pair a heavy weight, being as heavy as Snake, while Kazooie's Talon Trot move from their original game helps give them a surprisingly fast dashing speed. Kazooie also helps the pair's aerial recovery, as they can double jump twice, with good speed during each jump as well. Banjo's large frame does make them a fairly big target, but their overall mobility is above average given their heavyweight status. This is further bolstered by both Wonderwing and Shock Spring Jump being excellent recovery tools that do not put them into a helpless animation.

Banjo & Kazooie's arsenal makes use of the majority of moves from their first two games, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie. Banjo's Claw Swipe and Kazooie's Rat-a-Tat Rap comprise their neutral attack. Their down tilt, Beak Barge, acts a pseudo-crawl, while their forward smash is Breegull Bash, a slow but powerful move that highlights a comical maneuver in their home game. The duo have original moves as well; with up tilt being a long ranged kick assisted by Kazooie, and down smash covering both sides simultaneously much like Palutena's down smash.

Their moveset in the air also combines old and new moves. Banjo shows off a haymaker punch in his forward aerial. Kazooie's Wing Whack, which she performed solo in Banjo-Tooie, is used as a wide ranging, high-lag neutral aerial. Rat-a-Tat Rap makes a second appearance in their back aerial moveset, while Kazooie uses a wing clap move as their up aerial which deals decent damage but low knockback. Beak Bomb makes an appearance as their down aerial, being a stall-and-fall.

The pair's ground game is varied, which some attacks like forward and up tilt coming out very quickly and having long range, while their smash attacks are more akin to their heavy-weight status, containing much more start up and/or end lag, but being strong punishing tools if used effectively. This is also true of their air game, as Banjo's forward air is powerful but has 15 frames of start up lag and moderate ending lag, while beak bomb is quick but highly punishable if it misses.

Banjo & Kazooie's special moves have lots of options among them. Their neutral special, Egg Firing, sends eggs out of Kazooie's mouth with a downward arc, dealing decent damage at the expense of a fairly slow rate of fire. Holding the button transitions into Breegull Blaster, which enables Banjo to move around freely holding Kazooie as a "gun", much like Mega Man's arm cannon shots, with low damage but faster, and constant projectiles, all while being able to move and jump freely. Wonderwing functions as an invincible dash attack, which can make it punishable on shields and misses, but it does incredible damage and knockback if it connects, especially if hitting early, and its armor lets the duo pass through any projectile and attack their opponent. It also functions as an excellent recovery option with its horizontal speed and distance. Shock Spring Jump makes an appearance in their up special, enabling the pair to gain excellent vertical distance with a brief charge while also gimping opponents below as the pad falls. Rear Egg, their down special, is a quirky move that gives them a strong defensive option when opponents are behind them, and the grenade egg is catchable and throwable. Overall, their four specials give them impressive utility with both physical and projectile options.

Banjo has a strong grab game, using above average reach to clinch his opponents. Each of their grabs have vastly different functions as well. Back throw is a useful KO tool at the edge, much like Mario's back throw, and down throw buries opponents in the ground, setting up reads, combos, and even KO set ups.

The pair is not without weaknesses. Banjo & Kazooie present a large hitbox, and they are susceptible to combos. Their powerful smash attacks all contain very harsh lag, either startup, endlag, or both. Eggs have a slow fire rate on their own and weak power when the pair transitions to Breegull Blaster. If the pair runs out of golden feathers, they lose a lot of options both offensively and defensively. Rear Egg is quite situational, and the explosion itself is not very powerful. It's also difficult to run backwards to grab the grenade and use it as a throwing item, and opponents can grab it and use it against them. Shock Spring Jump requires slight charge time to make their recovery strong, which is brief but can leave them vulnerable. Also, some of their attacks, like Kazooie's up aerial, are extremely weak, and don't have a lot of combo potential either.

Overall, Banjo & Kazooie have a lot of specialized tools to accommodate different opponents and playstyles. Their egg projectiles can be used in a multitude of ways, and their recovery is extremely strong with many different ways to get back onto the stage. The pair must find ways to land their laggy finishing moves, as all of them, including their forward aerial, smash attacks (except up smash, which starts quickly) and Wonderwing dash, all have high amounts of start up lag.

Moveset

• Banjo & Kazooie can perform two midair jumps, both of which are based off the Feathery Flap.
• Banjo's initial dash animation has him sprinting a brief distance. His dashing animation has Kazooie transition into the Talon Trot, in which she carries Banjo on her back while running. Both animations are aesthetic and do not affect the function of the duo's dash.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Claw Swipe / Rat-A-Tat Rap (Flurry)	2.2%	A combination of the Claw Swipe and the Rat-A-Tat Rap. If the Neutral Attack button is held, Banjo will swipe 3 times. If mashed, he will swipe twice, leading into Kazooie's pecking flurry before finishing with an upward shoulder bash. The third hit of the regular neutral attack launches opponents vertically, which can allow it to set up juggles due to its reasonably low ending lag.
			2.2%
			3.7%
			0.4% (loop), 1.6% (final hit)
Forward tilt		Beak Bayonet	9% (beak), 7% (close)	Banjo takes Kazooie out of his backpack and jabs forward with her beak. Deals more damage and knockback at the beak. It has decent range and a quick startup, making it a useful spacing option. Based on the ability learned in Banjo-Tooie.
Up tilt			10%	Kazooie lifts Banjo upwards while he kicks up. It is somewhat slow on startup for a tilt, however it has impressive knockback, being able to kill grounded opponents under 150%. The move also has a fairly large hitbox above Banjo which can make for an effective anti-air, and despite its power it has fairly low ending lag, which combined with its vertical launch angle can allow it to set up for juggles. However, it has a very short horizontal hitbox, which can make hitting grounded opponents difficult.
Down tilt		Beak Barge	6% (beak), 5% (close), 3% (late)	While crouching, Kazooie pokes her head out and pecks her opponent. Acts as a pseudo-crawl. It is a semi-spike, but its power and speed are poor, although it has good range and its low angle makes it a good edgeguarding tool. Also crosses up shields.
Dash attack		Forward Roll	12% (clean), 8% (late)	Banjo rolls forward into his opponent, similarly to Donkey Kong's dash attack.
Forward smash		Breegull Bash	16%	Banjo grabs Kazooie by her legs and slams her against the ground. Moderately slow, but very powerful, KOing at around 100% from center-stage. Based on an unlockable move from Banjo-Tooie.
Up smash		Bill Drill	1% (hit 1), 1.5% (hits 2-7), 3.5% (hit 8)	Banjo ducks as Kazooie drills with her beak facing upward, hitting multiple times. Powerful enough to KO at around 110%, but it has very high ending lag. However, it comes out decently fast. Based on the ability from Banjo-Tooie, although here it is an upwards attack as opposed to a ground one.
Down smash			15%	Kazooie flaps her wings downward, similar to Palutena's. Has good power for its fast speed.
Neutral aerial		Wing Whack	0.8% (hits 1-7), 4.1% (hit 8)	Kazooie rolls with her wings spread out. Deals decent damage but has surprisingly high landing lag. Based on the ability used by solo Kazooie in Banjo-Tooie.
Forward aerial			15% (clean), 12% (late)	Banjo throws an overhead with his fist, similar to Dr. Mario's forward aerial. Has 15 frames of start-up but is very powerful, being able to KO Mario at 115% from the edge of Battlefield.
Back aerial		Air Rat-a-Tat Rap	1.6% (hits 1 and 2), 4.8% (hit 3)	Kazooie pecks behind the pair 3 times.
Up aerial			1.6% (hit 1), 5.8% (hit 2)	Kazooie claps her wings upwards, functioning similarly to Sonic's up air. Somewhat lacking in power, but has good range.
Down aerial		Beak Buster	10% (dive), 2% (landing)	A stall-then-fall where Kazooie dives downward with her beak. Meteor smashes at the start of the move.
Grab			—	Banjo grabs the opponent.
Pummel			1.4%	Kazooie pecks the opponent's head.
Forward throw			5.4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Kazooie kicks the opponent forward.
Back throw			11.4% (throw), 8% (collateral)	Banjo spins the opponent around three times and then throws them, similar to Mario's back throw. Can KO at high percents.
Up throw			5.4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Kazooie pecks the opponent upward.
Down throw			5.6%	Banjo slams the opponent down into the ground, burying them similar to King K. Rool's down throw. Can set up a KO confirm into up smash.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%
Edge attack Edge getups			10%
Neutral special		Egg Firing/Breegull Blaster	5.4%-3.8% (egg), 2.4% (Breegull Blaster, first shots), 1.6% (Breegull Blaster, middle shots), 0.8% (Breegull Blaster, later shots)	Banjo gets down on all fours while Kazooie spits out an egg. If the special button is held, Banjo takes Kazooie out of his backpack and fires her eggs in a similar manner to Mega Man's Megabuster. Subsequent eggs gradually deal less damage. Banjo will put away Kazooie by crouching or shielding.
Side special		Wonderwing	22% (clean), 16% (late)	Kazooie covers Banjo with her wings while they charge forward. Consumes 1 Golden Feather. Is invincible to other attacks (starting frame 18), including Final Smashes (similar to Hero's Kaclang), but they can be grabbed and it's punishable if it misses or is shielded. Usable up to 5 times per stock, noted by the amount of Golden Feathers above their heads. If they attempt to use it without any feathers remaining, they simply stumble over. It works very well as a horizontal recovery option, as it does not cause helplessness and travels an excellent amount of horizontal distance.
Up special		Shock Spring Jump	3% (Pad)	Spawns a Shock Spring Pad underneath the duo, launching them upward. The longer the special button is held, the more height they gain. Appears to slow descent upon starting up if used in the air. Mid-air jumps are still usable as the duo aren't put into a helpless state. The pad itself acts as a projectile after its use, like Sonic's Spring Jump, which can gimp recoveries.
Down special		Rear Egg	9.22%	Banjo bends over, and Kazooie appears out of Banjo's backpack, firing a Grenade Egg from her rear. Grenade Egg loses height each time it bounces, but travels slightly faster and further with each bounce as well. Only one Grenade Egg can be fired at a time. Can be picked up and thrown like an item, similar to Snake's Hand Grenade.
Final Smash		The Mighty Jinjonator	54.3%	The duo summons the Jinjonator statue in front of them, trapping anyone it hits before being tackled multiple times by the Jinjonator itself.

On-screen appearance

• Hops out of Jiggy silhouette, and then takes a bow. The silhouette is a reference to the cutout wipe as the player moves from one area to another in the N64 games.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Banjo stretches and Kazooie appears out of his backpack, yawning.
• Side taunt: Kazooie pops out of Banjo's backpack, Banjo & Kazooie then pose together while looking at each other.
• Down taunt: Banjo bows twice, saying his iconic "Guh-huh!" each time.

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie's up taunt.

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie's side taunt.

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Kazooie pops out of Banjo's backpack, looks around, then retreats back inside.
• Kazooie pecks Banjo on the head twice. It is a reference to their idle animation from Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie.

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie's first idle pose

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Banjo throws a Jiggy in the air, catches it, jumps, and poses. Afterwards, they thumbs-up while Banjo performs his trademark laugh, similar to the beginning of Banjo-Kazooie's intro movie.
• Up: Banjo marches in place before bowing twice, ending with Kazooie poking out of his backpack. The animation is reminiscent of when the duo unlock a Note Door or collect all ten Jiggies within a world in Banjo-Kazooie, which is also the basis for their down taunt.
• Right: Both dance around while playing their respective instruments, and then end in a pose referencing the ending of Banjo-Kazooie's intro movie. The pose is also similar to the one they assume in their reveal trailer.

A remix of the jingle that plays when Banjo collects a Jiggy in Banjo-Kazooie.

• 
• 
• 

Classic Mode: Perfect Partners

Banjo & Kazooie's congratulations screen.

Banjo & Kazooie's Classic Mode comprises of opponents featured as a duo, akin to themselves being partners. The music and stage combinations reference the various worlds from the first Banjo-Kazooie game.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Duck Hunt	Spiral Mountain	Main Theme - Banjo-Kazooie	References Banjo & Kazooie's opening on Spiral Mountain. The appearance and specific color choice of Duck Hunt refers to their resemblance to Banjo and Kazooie.
2	Rosalina & Luma	Tortimer Island	Treasure Trove Cove	References Treasure Trove Cove.
3	Ice Climbers	Summit	Freezeezy Peak	References Freezeezy Peak.
4	Link and Zelda	Mushroomy Kingdom	Gobi's Valley	References Gobi's Valley.
5	Fox and Falco	Luigi's Mansion	Mad Monster Mansion	References Mad Monster Mansion.
6	Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong	Jungle Japes	Donkey Kong Country Returns	References Rare.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand and Crazy Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand / Crazy Hand	May reference Motzand, a disembodied hand who appears in Mad Monster Mansion.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Banjo & Kazooie has Spiral Mountain accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

The message that shows Banjo & Kazooie's availability in World of Light

Due to their status as downloadable content, Banjo & Kazooie do not have a legitimate role in World of Light. Instead, they are unlocked for use in the mode after freeing 10 fighters from Galeem's control. If loading an existing save file that meets this condition prior to downloading Banjo & Kazooie, they are immediately unlocked.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
73		Banjo & Kazooie	There is no fighter battle for Banjo & Kazooie, this fighter is obtained by awaking 10 fighters after they are downloaded.

Spirits

Banjo & Kazooie's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 coins, but only after Banjo & Kazooie have been downloaded. Unlocking Banjo & Kazooie in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic.

• Banjo&Kazooie.png

  1,337. Banjo & Kazooie

In Spirit Battles

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
1,338		Tooty	Banjo-Kazooie Series	•Diddy Kong •Banjo & Kazooie		3,500	Spiral Mountain	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy shields often •Magic attacks aren't as effective against the enemy	Main Theme - Banjo-Kazooie	Banjo & Kazooie

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie's splash art.

• 

  Celebratory pose at the end of their character trailer.

• 

  Kazooie sprinting with Banjo on Yoshi's Island.

• 

  An alternate costume of Banjo & Kazooie jumping on Summit.

• 

  Kazooie shooting eggs while Banjo is ducking on Garden of Hope.

• 

  Banjo using Kazooie to attack Falco on Great Bay.

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie, King K. Rool, Mario and Duck Hunt on Spiral Mountain.

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie about to be grabbed by Villager.

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie performing their side taunt.

• 

  Banjo & Kazooie running on the track of Big Blue.

• 

  Popping Villager's balloons.

• 

  Ducking with Duck Hunt sniffing the ground.

• 

  Shooting an egg with Mumbo Jumbo in the background.

• 

  An alternate costume of Banjo which resembles a polar bear.

Trivia

• Their reveal trailer is almost exactly like King K. Rool's trailer, where King Dedede uses a costume to fake out the Kongs, only to be attacked by the real King K. Rool. In this case, while King K. Rool was asleep at the Kong residence, Duck Hunt used a costume to fake them out, only for them to get attacked by the real Banjo & Kazooie.
  • Duck Hunt dressing up as Banjo and Kazooie may reference the perceived similarities between them, as they are both pairs consisting of a mammal and a bird. This is also referenced through their Classic Mode route.
  • Their reveal trailer also references the ending of their original game; the duo summon the Jinjonator to send King K. Rool crashing into the ground to be buried by a large boulder, the same fate met by Gruntilda.
  • The opening part is nearly identical, with the only difference being the addition of the Kongs fighting King K. Rool to the hand-drawn section.
  • This could also reference the fact that Rare Ltd. effectively contributed the designs of Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and King K. Rool used in Super Smash Bros.
• Their introduction tagline is a reference to Rare, the company from which their video game series originated. Rare also rebooted the Donkey Kong series with Donkey Kong Country, which the setting of their reveal trailer is based on.
  • Despite this, only Microsoft is credited for their inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's copyright information under "Original Characters", as Rare is now fully owned by Microsoft. This is despite the fact that Atlus is credited separately from Sega (in spite of Atlus similarly being under Sega's ownership). While PlatinumGames are not credited for Bayonetta, the reason for this is that Bayonetta is owned directly by Sega rather than PlatinumGames.
• Banjo & Kazooie's reveal trailer holds several references to their home series:
  • The segment where they team up with Diddy Kong to fight Donkey Kong references the battle against Conga the Ape in the first level of Banjo-Kazooie. Donkey Kong is shown throwing an orange, referencing Conga's method of attack, while Diddy Kong represents Chimpy, a monkey who helps the duo defeat him.
  • In another segment, Banjo is shown holding a Beehive and running away from bees, as a reference to the beehives in Banjo-Kazooie, which give the duo Honeycombs that restore their health when destroyed, and sometimes have bees flying around that attack the duo if the beehive is destroyed.
  • After Banjo shows off his Final Smash in the trailer, King K. Rool ends up crashing into the ground, leaving a hole where he landed, then being buried under a boulder. This is a reference to the ending of Banjo-Kazooie, where, after being defeated by The Mighty Jinjonator, Gruntilda suffers that exact fate.
  • At the end, Banjo is seen slowly walking up to Food next to an asleep giant Ivysaur, then consuming it and running away. This is a reference to an event in Banjo-Tooie, where in Mayahem Temple, they have to steal a Jiggy from the character Ssslumber by slowly walking up to it, in order to prevent him from waking up and protecting it.
• The picture revealing Banjo's pink alternate costume is a subtle nod to Freezeezy Peak; the most noticeable part is the Super Launch Star, which references the star on top the Christmas tree in the level.
• Banjo & Kazooie are the second third-party characters who fight as a team, the first being Joker and his Persona, Arsene.
• Not counting ports and cameos, this marks the first physical appearance of Banjo & Kazooie in almost a decade, since the Xbox 360 version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, released in 2010.
  • Their inclusion in Ultimate marks their first physical appearance on a Nintendo console since Banjo-Pilot, released for the Game Boy Advance in 2005.
• Banjo & Kazooie have the unique distinction of being the only third-party character in the game to have formerly been a second-party Nintendo character, as well as the only third-party character to be created by the same company as a first-party character (Diddy Kong and King K. Rool). Banjo, in fact, debuted within the Donkey Kong franchise in Diddy Kong Racing; Kazooie was not playable, but she was mentioned in the instruction manual.
• Banjo & Kazooie are the first playable characters to originate from a non-Japanese franchise. While Diddy Kong, King K. Rool, and Dark Samus were also created by non-Japanese studios, they were done so for series that were first developed by Japanese developers.
  • They are also the first playable characters to be owned by a concurrent hardware competitor of Nintendo.
• Their stock icon is similar to their pose on the cover art of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
  • Their up taunt is also based on times where Banjo stretches in the same game.
• Uniquely, when Banjo & Kazooie were listed on the official website, their page was initially grayed out and inaccessible, likely due to still being in development. This also occurred with Terry upon his announcement.
• Banjo's backpack, unlike in their home series, has a second flap at the bottom that opens up when Kazooie fires Grenade Eggs and performs the Talon Trot. According to original character designer Steve Mayles, he originally wanted to achieve this in the original game, but due to technical limitations on the N64, he was unable to add the extra joint for the backpack.
  • Steve Mayles also stated in an interview that he feels Banjo's proportions in the Ultimate model are closer to his original concept art from the unreleased SNES game, Project Dream.
• Banjo & Kazooie are the third third-party characters who do not speak with dialogue in Ultimate despite speaking in their home series, the first two being Mega Man and Pac-Man. Unlike those two, Banjo & Kazooie still use grunts, akin to their first two games.
• Banjo & Kazooie are currently the only downloadable fighters in the game to not have a game on the Nintendo Switch, although at the time of his release, Joker fit this criteria as well, as he would not appear in another Switch title until the release of Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers.
• Banjo & Kazooie are the first Fighters Pass DLC fighter to have no Mii Costumes directly related to their series.
• So far, Banjo & Kazooie are the first downloadable fighter that has more than one midair jump.
• While most other characters have the announcer say "(character) wins!" at the victory screen, Banjo & Kazooie have the announcer say "Banjo & Kazooie win!". The "(character) win!" audio clip is usually reserved for the Japanese version, though it is most likely used with Banjo & Kazooie because of their two-in-one nature and name. Ice Climbers and Rosalina & Luma also share this distinction.
• When KOed by reaching 0 HP in Stamina Mode, Banjo uses his heavy knockback scream rather than his standard KO scream. This trait is shared with Mario, Dr. Mario and Hero.
• Unlike Duck Hunt, Kazooie is not a part of Banjo's hurtbox, rather she is treated as a disjointed hitbox (with the exception of Talon Trot and their up tilt). This means attacks that land on Kazooie will have no effect on Banjo. [1] The in-game tips for Banjo make note of this aspect.
• Banjo & Kazooie are the only DLC Fighter so far without an alternate costume that gives them a different model, as Piranha Plant has costumes where its pot is replaced with a Warp Pipe, Joker can change into his school uniform and Hero alternates between four Dragon Quest protagonists.