The classic franchise that started off on the N64, Banjo Kazooie, recently had its license renewed by Nintendo of America. Now while this could just be a minor change with the company simply wanting to perhaps, use their music or sell merchandise, it could also mean something big for fans of the retro era series.
What are the possible reasons for this renewal? The most popular and my personal favorite theory connects this story to the upcoming Smash Ultimate. Smash Ultimate is the latest installment in the beloved Smash Bros series which is set to release for the Nintendo Switch this December.
While Smash Ultimate has made its main selling point to be every single character from the past games returning, the series is famous for introducing a few new guest characters to the roster. Could the renewal mean that perhaps this time around, we might see Banjo Kazooie join the ultimate crossover?
To add more to this theory, a supposed leak of the game’s roster was revealed recently. The leak included a lot of believable character picks such as Mach T from the F-Zero series as a Captain Falcon echo or Shadow the Hedgehog as a Sonic echo.
The one important to this topic, however, was our buddy, Banjo Kazooie being in the leak. Now while the authenticity of this revelation can be questioned, the trademark renewal adds more weight to it. Because this can’t just be a coincidence right? Questions will be answered this December when Smash Ultimate releases for the Switch worldwide.
Another theory gaining traction surrounds rumors of the upcoming N64 Classic which is believed to be on the way because of the success in the wake of the NES classic and SNES classic.
Assuming this is the case, of course, Nintendo would want to bring Banjo Kazooie back with the retro console. For both old players to relive their nostalgia or new ones to catch up on what they missed out.
Of course, as I said before. The renewal could simply just mean Nintendo wanted to associate itself as a party with it in the past. And that again, maybe there’s newfound use for their music or an impending merchandise line. Fingers crossed for Smash though, and even more for reliving the classic title on the NES classic. Assuming it’s on the way.
