The creator of Super Smash Bros has finally detailed how Dragon Quest and Banjo-Kazooie came to join the latest entry of the series as DLC. It wasn’t long ago now that Nintendo’s E3 2019 press conference confirmed that the pair would be joining the game, bringing with them two very different reactions from different fan bases. It was widely expected based on industry rumblings that a Dragon Quest hero would join Smash Ultimate, and even Banjo was rumored as Smash Bros DLC just ahead of Nintendo’s conference.
Still, that didn’t make the fact that both would be joining the fray any less exciting. Reaction videos have been shared from across the world, showing that Nintendo made the right call in selecting these fighters. Of course, the thrill experienced for both reveals was prefaced by a lot of work at Nintendo, and fans would likely guess that this stands especially true for an Xbox-owned franchise like Banjo-Kazooie.
According to Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai’s latest column for Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu (translated via PushDustin), however, obtaining the rights to Banjo-Kazooie and working with Rare to incorporate the character into the fighting game was easy. Ultimately, Sakurai recognized how requested the duo were in the West, and Nintendo sought to secure them for Smash Bros Ultimate.
As for Dragon Quest, Sakurai was actually nervous to work with the property given how prestigious it is in Japan. Despite the nerves, Smash Bros granted special permission to feature several versions of Hero–something that the IP holder, Square Enix, traditionally restricted. He also confirmed that each of the Hero characters will have voice actors since Dragon Quest 11’s protagonist was fully-voiced.
Xbox head Phil Spencer has previously talked about how he’d be willing to allow Banjo-Kazooie to crossover into Super Smash Bros, which could have turned on a few lights for those at Nintendo. Evidently, that wasn’t just talk on his end either, as it the negotiations for the N64 icons’ appearance in Smash Ultimate were apparently quite easy.
Of course, fans are right to wonder if that means they could see additional Microsoft-owned characters join the fight in the future. We know that Halo’s Master Chief has been pitched for Smash Bros in the past, and he’d certainly make waves if he ever became playable in a Nintendo game. With rumors floating around that Xbox Game Pass could be arriving on Nintendo Switch, it’s within the realm of possibility.
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Source: Famitsu (translated via PushDustin –Twitter)
