Banjo & Kazooie (SSBU)

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
Tier	C- (62)

“	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 playable characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and are the first third-party fighters from Microsoft. They were revealed alongside Hero during the E3 Nintendo Direct on June 11th, 2019 as the third downloadable fighters from Fighters Pass Vol. 1. Banjo & Kazooie were released as part of Challenger Pack 3 on September 4th, 2019. Although they are a team, they are collectively classified as Fighter #73.

Chris Sutherland reprises his role as both Banjo & Kazooie, with his portrayals from across the Banjo-Kazooie series being repurposed for Ultimate in all regions.

Banjo & Kazooie are ranked 62nd out of 82 on the current tier list, placing them in the C- tier and making them the lowest ranking characters from Fighters Pass Vol. 1. The duo have some notable strengths, such as a strong projectile mixup game: their numerous projectiles such as Egg Firing / Breegull Blaster and Rear Egg grant the duo some effective setups and followup potential, with the ability to constantly knock opponents around: Egg Firing generates long-duration eggs that can disrupt approaches or gimp recoveries, and Rear Egg has niche ability to break out of combos or extend the duo's recovery. The duo's signature move Wonderwing is a long-duration dash with invincibility that is very powerful, has potential to be combo'd into, and can beat out almost every option other than grabs, giving them a safe recovery option and a powerful (albeit committal) reversal in disadvantage. Most of the duo's attacks feature disjointed hitboxes due to Kazooie, giving them some adequate range for close quarters. Their tilts all serve some purpose, with forward tilt being a safe poking tool, down tilt functioning as an amazing 2 frame punish and edgeguarding option thanks to its long duration and range, and up tilt being a powerful anti-air and KO move, with low enough endlag to combo into itself at low percents. Their smash attacks are also adequate with forward smash having good range, up smash as a functional out-of-shield option, and down smash simultaneously hitting on both sides with equal strength. They has some solid aerials with forward air as a viable KO tool, back air as a spacing or edgeguarding option that can combo, and neutral air as a get-off-me tool. Finally, their status as a heavyweight, along with their three midair jumps and ability to extend their recovery with Rear Egg, gives the duo higher-than-average survivability, and Kazooie's dash speed grants the duo surprisingly fast long-distance movement. Overall, the pair has some solid strengths to control the flow of the game.

However, Banjo and Kazooie have some noticeable flaws. Most of their attacks have problematic hitboxes which can make general combat quite unwieldy, such as up tilt (which does not hit in front of the duo) or neutral aerial (which has dragdown hitboxes, but is very unpredictable as to where the opponent lands). In addition, their frame data is generally unimpressive, with their landing lag also being rather high, which gives them limited attacks that can be thrown out in neutral since very few have consistent followups or good reward, and also giving them few safe KO options. Their most intricate combos usually require a lot of technical skill, with effective usage of Rear Egg and Breegull Blaster combos being quite difficult to perform. Finally, their damage output is relatively low, and when combined with the aforementioned problems usually means their gameplan is limited to neutral exchanges. Their other problems include their weight, which makes them combo food for a lot of the cast, and their general movement, which is unimpressive outside of Kazooie's dash due to Banjo's slow walk speed, low traction, and poor air speed/jump height. Wonderwing is incredibly risky despite its perks, is designed to be out-prioritized by grabs, is limited to up to five feathers per stock, and is still slow enough to be reacted to. Finally, the duo's throw game is passable, as only back throw has the ability to KO, while down throw is very inconsistent despite burying opponents, which is unusual for a throw of its type (such as similar throws shared by King K.Rool and Snake).

Overall, Banjo and Kazooie function as an unusual mix of a heavyweight and a zoner: most of their gameplan revolves around picking openings granted by their projectiles, although their general inconsistencies tend to make them considered relatively weak for their archetype. Due to their issues, Banjo and Kazooie has seen minimal representation throughout the course of Ultimate’s lifespan, with most of their results coming from early during their release, such as from Tweek and Raito. In the post-pandemic era, Toriguri has brought about some of the best results and wins the duo has ever had, with some major top 8 performances worldwide.

Attributes

Banjo & Kazooie, like Duck Hunt, are a tag team that fight together as if they were a singular character. Together, they are a heavyweight, and are tied with Snake and R.O.B. as the 18th heaviest fighter in the game. As Banjo handles the duo's walking, their walking speed is below-average, and their initial dash and traction values are among the worst in the game. Conversely, Kazooie handles the duo's dashing, in which she uses the Talon Trot to carry Banjo. In stark contrast to Banjo's walking speed, Kazooie's dashing speed is very fast; specifically, it is the 12th fastest in the game, and is only surpassed by Charizard among heavyweights.

With Kazooie hidden in his backpack when the duo are not attacking or dashing, Banjo has a relatively average height and a somewhat wide hurtbox, being rather short as far as heavyweights go. Kazooie, however, lacks a hurtbox of any kind outside of dashing and their up tilt. This means that all standard attacks involving her (other than up tilt) are disjointed. Similar to Ridley and Pit, Kazooie's Feathery Flap grants the duo a second double jump. Additionally, they have a fast falling speed, high gravity, slow air speed, and average air acceleration.

The majority of Banjo & Kazooie's grounded arsenal makes use of moves from their first two games, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie. The duo have a chooseable neutral attack: their standard neutral attack is a 3-hit combo that consists of Banjo using his Claw Swipe twice and then throwing an uppercut, whereas their neutral infinite consists of Kazooie's Rat-a-Tat Rap. It should be noted that the hitbox of Kazooie's neutral infinite is large enough to sometimes hit opponents standing directly behind the duo. This can cause the opponent to be continually jabbed into the duo's rear, keeping them locked in the hitbox and causing both of the fighters to be slowly moved backwards, often amounting to extremely high percentages by the time they reach the edge of a platform.

Their forward tilt, Beak Bayonet, involves Banjo quickly thrusting Kazooie as a makeshift bayonet. Like Ridley's forward tilt, it can be angled and has a respectable amount of disjointed range, especially for its speed, making it useful for stopping predictable or vulnerable approaches. Their up tilt consists of Kazooie quickly propping Banjo upward in order for him to perform a stretch kick. Unlike most up tilts, it is strong enough to KO reliably, especially when it is used as a follow-up from their down throw. Despite its respectable power, its low base knockback and fairly low ending lag grant it minor combo potential at very low percentages. However, like Pac-Man's up tilt, it has almost nonexistent horizontal range in front of or behind them. Their down tilt, Beak Barge, involves Kazooie thrusting her beak forward as Banjo slides belly-first along the ground. It launches at a very low semi-spike angle, making it a very potent edgeguarding and tech-chasing option, although it is laggy overall and has a meager damage output. Their dash attack, Banjo's Forward Roll, looks and functions very similarly to Donkey Kong's dash attack, but differs from his by having a noticeably stronger clean hit (which can function as a situational KO option) and fewer active frames.

Complementing their versatile tilts, Banjo & Kazooie sport very useful smash attacks. Their forward smash, the Breegull Bash, involves Banjo swinging Kazooie as a makeshift bludgeon. It is a slow, yet long-ranged and powerful move that serves as a notable example of Kazooie's disjointed nature. The duo's up smash is the Bill Drill, a spinning attack with Kazooie's beak that is fairly useful as an anti-aerial and out of shield option, and is a reliable follow up to the duo's burying down throw, as the move is deceptively fast with a 7 frame startup. Their down smash is an original move, a wing-slam from Kazooie on both sides of them much like Ridley, albeit weaker and much faster, making it a useful tool for catching rolls. Notably, their forward and down smashes, especially the latter, have long-lasting hitboxes that slightly penetrate the stage downwards, making them both deadly 2-framing tools at the ledge.

Banjo & Kazooie's aerial moveset also combines old and new moves. The duo's neutral aerial is the Twirling Wing Whack, a multi-hitting circular wing spin from Kazooie that functions very similarly to Pit's neutral aerial. This move has respectable combo potential, although its drag down follow-ups can vary due to the looping hits' launching angles. Neutral aerial is also reliable at scoring KOs offstage against vulnerable recoveries. Their forward aerial is a slow, but powerful overhand punch thrown by Banjo, much like Dr. Mario and Ganondorf's forward aerials. Its clean hit is strong enough to KO reliably while near the edge, and is almost always a guaranteed KO while offstage. Despite its power, forward aerial has the lowest amount of landing lag out of the duo's aerial attacks. When this is coupled with Banjo's paw being intangible during its active frames, it can be used to start combos at low percentages, cover the duo's approach, pressure shields, and edgeguard quite safely.

Kazooie's Rat-a-Tat Rap is used as their back aerial; unlike the neutral infinite version, this version hits three times, similarly to Ridley's forward aerial. This move has respectable power, and is a good out of shield option as well as a reliable (albeit unsafe due to its lag) KO option offstage. Banjo & Kazooie's up aerial consists of Kazooie flapping her wings together in a scissoring motion, similarly to Sonic's up aerial. Its minimal startup and ending lag enable it to combo into itself and, with proper timing, it can initiate combos very soon after the duo land on the ground. However, its minor damage output and knockback make it lackluster for juggling and almost unusuable for KOing. Beak Buster makes an appearance as their down aerial; it is a stall-then-fall attack that meteor smashes opponents during its initial frames, and has a fairly large hitbox upon impacting the stage.

Banjo & Kazooie's special moves are fairly versatile as well. Their neutral special is Egg Firing / Breegull Blaster. Egg Firing, activated when the special button is tapped, sends blue eggs out of Kazooie's mouth that are affected by gravity in a similar manner to Mario's Fireball, and acts as their primary edgeguarding tool and gimping option; the move also briefly stalls the duo's aerial momentum when used in the air. Holding the special button causes the move to transition into Breegull Blaster, in which Banjo wields Kazooie like a gun as in Banjo-Tooie's first-person shooter segments, with low damage but faster and constant projectiles, all while being able to move and jump freely similar to holding items such as the completed Daybreak parts. This can be used to pressure enemies in a similar manner to Mega Man's neutral attack, and even start ladder combos, though because the move is a "mode" that takes a moment to be entered and exited, it is often difficult to use in close proximity.

Banjo & Kazooie's side special is Wonderwing, which involves Banjo charging forward while Kazooie shields him with her magic-infused wings. It does high damage and knockback if it connects within the first half of the distance it covers, and its full-body invincibility that lasts through the entirety of the hitbox's duration allows it to out-prioritize nearly every other move in the game (exceptions include grabs and command grabs such as Buster Wolf). Wonderwing's duration and the size of its hitbox also allows it to act as a fantastic 2-framing option on the edge, as the duo will run in place at the edge for some time. Wonderwing can be an easy and effective way to brute force an opponent out of projectile camping, though this may backfire if the opponent is baiting the move or otherwise ready for it. It also functions as an excellent recovery option with its horizontal speed and distance and does not induce helplessness either. However, the move runs on a limited stock of five golden feathers that are not replenished until Banjo & Kazooie are KO'd, so its usage must be carefully considered; additionally, despite crossing up shields, Wonderwing's high ending lag and long-lasting singular hitbox make it fairly unsafe in any case where the opponent can see it coming.

Shock Spring Jump functions as Banjo & Kazooie's up special. It is a decent vertical recovery move that does not render them helpless and preserves their double jumps; it can be charged to increase its travel distance, and when used in the air, the Shock Spring Pad itself possesses a damaging hitbox that can be used to gimp some recoveries. Rear Egg, their down special, has Kazooie lay an explosive Grenade Egg behind them. It bounces in an unpredictable fashion due to its shape and launches opponents upward. The Grenade Egg also functions as an item; it is catchable and throwable despite its much shorter fuse compared to similar explosive-related attacks. All of these properties make Rear Egg an incredibly versatile projectile that can be used for edge trapping, comboing, camping, and neutral game control in general. Overall, their four specials have impressive utility with both physical and projectile options.

Apart from slightly above-average reach, Banjo & Kazooie have an unremarkable grab game. While each of their throws have vastly different functions, only in very specific situations are they useful outside of getting the opponent away from them (with the exception of their back throw). Forward throw is only really useful for putting opponents off-stage, with its awkward angle and high base knockback making it useless for combos while its nearly nonexistent knockback growth prevents it KOing. Up throw is useful for setting up juggles with up aerial, but has too much ending lag to actually have any true follow-ups. Down throw buries the opponent, leading into various guaranteed follow-ups at very high percentages, although it is generally inferior to King K. Rool's similar down throw due to its burial's duration being shorter than K. Rool's.

The duo's only throw that is consistently useful is their back throw, which is one of their best KO options and is even capable of being used for follow-ups or edgeguarding in other situations. As a whole, Banjo & Kazooie's grab game is a high-risk, low-reward undertaking that usually only sets stocks when their opponent is at a very high percentage; at other times, the best that their throws can do is to rack up damage and put distance between them, only subtracting from their options for getting out of the disadvantage.

Alongside their grab and throws, the pair have other considerable weaknesses to balance their strengths. Outside of their smash attacks, Wonderwing, and offstage aerials, Banjo & Kazooie's potential to KO is somewhat limited despite their status as a heavyweight fighter. Most of their moves are unremarkable among their weight class in terms of power, and unlike other fighters with poor KOing abilities, Banjo & Kazooie have a very limited combo game. The duo's range is also unremarkable, despite Kazooie's lack of a hurtbox, which means that they will generally have issues trading blows with conventional swordfighters. Similarly to Wario, Banjo & Kazooie have a wide hurtbox, and they are susceptible to combos and juggles due to their heavy weight, fast falling speed, slow air speed, low jump height, and lack of fast escape options. Their overall mobility is unorthodox; their excellent run speed is offset by their poor initial dash speed, which is tied for the 5th slowest, their high vertical recovery options are hampered by their low jumps, poor air speed, and fast falling speed, and their grounded mobility is hindered by their traction being tied with the Mii Gunner's for the lowest in the game.

Additionally, the duo's special moves, while strong, have significant flaws. Egg Firing has a slow firing rate on its own, and weak power when the pair transitions to Breegull Blaster; also, Breegull Blaster's eggs become weaker with repeated use, discouraging excessive use of the move. If the pair runs out of golden feathers, they lose access to Wonderwing, eliminating a potent move with plenty of offensive and defensive utility; Wonderwing is also vulnerable to grabs despite its invincibility, although due to its speed, an opponent taking advantage of this is relatively rare, and is notoriously unsafe on shield and on whiff, further punishing heavily its misuse. Rear Egg, while being a relatively potent combo tool, can be turned against the duo as opponents can grab it and use it due to its status as an item, as well as the fact that that a previously-laid grenade egg must explode or reach the blast zone before a new one can be laid, meaning the player must wait a while to try again if an egg misses an opponent. Shock Spring Jump requires slight charge time to make their recovery reliable, and it also does not have a hitbox outside of the Shock Spring Pad itself, making it vulnerable to aggressive edgeguarding.

Overall, Banjo & Kazooie are fairly unorthodox characters that can be considered to fall in the heavyweight trapper archetype, similarly to Link, R.O.B. and Snake. As a result, their game plan is centered on maintaining stage control with the help of their projectiles, yet also being capable melee fighters who have access to a few strong finishers (the most notable of which being Wonderwing). However, Banjo & Kazooie's capabilities fall somewhat short next to comparable characters: Rear Egg is slightly inconsistent at controlling space due to its Grenade Egg's short fuse, Wonderwing is very easy to punish if it is mistimed or read, and the duo's overall frame data and KO power are unimpressive for the heavyweight trapper archetype, limiting their potential to act aggressively. As such, they are quite versatile fighters that can adapt to multiple playstyles even over the course of a single match, though they are more adept at turtling or more methodical playstyles.

Update history

Banjo & Kazooie were buffed slightly via game updates. The only noteworthy buffs they received were increases to the knockback growth of their up tilt and forward smash via update 12.0.0, which slightly improved said moves' already respectable KO potentials. Due to the other changes they received being strictly quality-of-life adjustments, Banjo & Kazooie's competitive reception has remained virtually unchanged since their release.

8.0.0

• Edge attack's hitbox stretches much farther backward (Z offset: 12u—2u → 12u—-2.5u), allowing it to hit behind the duo and fully cover the edge.

9.0.0

• Rapid jab and its finisher have transcendent priority, preventing them from being canceled out by weak attacks.

11.0.0

• Changed the length of vulnerability when crumpling to be consistent with other fighters.

12.0.0

• Up tilt has more knockback scaling (114 → 119).
• Forward smash has more knockback scaling (94 → 97).
• Back aerial's third hit launches at a lower angle (46° → 41°), but has less knockback scaling to compensate (144 → 136).

Moveset

• Banjo & Kazooie, specifically Kazooie, can perform 2 double jumps, both of which are based on the Feathery Flap. Aesthetically, Banjo's animation for the duo's backwards jump is based on the Flap Flip, although it also resembles a "recoil" animation from Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie that is usually seen when the player activates a point of interest below the duo or after hitting an enemy with a weak attack.
• As opposed to Banjo & Kazooie's standard walking and initial dashing which are handled solely by Banjo, in the duo's dash animation he flips onto his back and Kazooie takes over the dash by performing the Talon Trot. Kazooie gains a hurtbox while she dashes, but her transition into the dash has no gameplay repercussions otherwise.
• The majority of Banjo & Kazooie's moves are inherently disjointed, as Kazooie does not possess a hurtbox outside of the duo's dash and up tilt.

For a gallery of Banjo & Kazooie's hitboxes, see here.

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Claw Swipe (ツメツメパンチ, Claw Claw Punch) / Rat-a-Tat Rap (キツツキアタック, Woodpecker Attack)	2.2%	A combination of Banjo's Claw Swipe and Kazooie's Rat-a-Tat Rap. If the button is held, Banjo will perform two alternating Claw Swipes and then throw an uppercut. If pressed repeatedly, he will Claw Swipe twice before crouching on all fours in order for Kazooie to perform the Rat-a-Tat Rap that concludes with Kazooie performing a headbutt. The first hit starts at frame 4, making it the duo's fastest ground attack. The third hit of the Claw Swipe launches opponents vertically, which can allow it to set up juggles due to its reasonably low ending lag. Forward aerial and up aerial are consistent followups, especially if opponents miss a tech on platforms, though this can be evaded by air dodging. Unlike most neutral attacks, Banjo will not repeat the first Claw Swipe if the attack button is held down. Rat-a-Tat Rap has a very meager damage output for a neutral infinite, although this can be mitigated if an opponent is hit extremely close to the duo while they perform the infinite, specifically around where Banjo's backpack is. This can result in the opponent being pushed back alongside the duo while they attack, allowing the move to rack up a large amount of damage.
			2.2%
			3.7%
			0.4% (loop), 1.6% (last)
Forward tilt		Beak Bayonet (くちばしスピアー, Beak Spear)	9% (beak), 7% (close)	The Beak Bayonet. Can be angled and has a sweetspot on Kazooie's beak. It has decent range and quick startup (7 frames), making it a useful spacing option, as well as being a good way of halting vulnerable or predictable approaches.
Up tilt			10%	Kazooie props Banjo up in order for him to perform a stretch kick. It is somewhat slow on startup for a tilt attack (11 frames), but it has impressive knockback, being able to KO most grounded opponents under 140%. The move also has a fairly large hitbox above Banjo's body, which makes it effective not only as an anti-air, but also as a follow-up from either down throw or a close-range Breegull Blaster egg shot for a KO confirm, although it has barely any hitbox towards the duo's front or rear, largely limiting its usage to the aforementioned scenarios. Despite its respectable power, it has fairly low ending lag; when combined with its vertical launch angle, this can allow it to set up juggles, with it following into itself against some heavyweights at low percentages. Unlike the duo's other attacks where she is visible, Kazooie possesses a hurtbox during this move, preventing the duo from evading low-hitting attacks.
Down tilt		Beak Barge (くちばしアタック, Beak Attack)	6% (beak), 5% (close), 3% (late)	Kazooie's Beak Barge. It is a semi-spike with good range and decent duration, all of which make it a good tool for on-stage edgeguarding and 2 frame punishing. It lowers the duo's profile to an even greater extent than their crouch, enabling them to duck under some moves like Wolf's Blaster shots. As a launched opponent will usually tumble onto the stage, this move often allows for read-dependent follow-ups such as neutral aerial (against taller/larger character) down smash, or another down tilt; its disjoint distance also makes it a great tech-chasing option in other situations, although its power and speed are somewhat poor, being the duo's slowest tilt attack at 12 frames. Finally, it acts as a pseudo-crawl and can cross-up against shields when performed close enough to their opponent.
Dash attack		Forward Roll (ローリングアタック, Rolling Attack)	12% (clean), 8% (late)	Banjo's Forward Roll, which closely resembles Donkey Kong's dash attack. Hits on frame 9 and sends the duo a respectable distance, allowing it to punish distant attacks. Its clean hit makes it fairly strong for a dash attack, as it can KO Mario at around 150% from the middle of Final Destination. Conversely, the late hit can be used as a combo starter at low to medium percentages, thanks to its launching angle and much lower strength. However, dash attack is equally punishable as it has large ending lag, and only the front of the duo is covered by the hitbox, leaving the entire move decently vulnerable.
Forward smash		Breegull Bash (ハリセンカズーイ, Harisen Kazooie[1])	16%	The Breegull Bash. This move is moderately slow (19 frames) and has high ending lag, but it is fairly powerful (especially relative to Banjo & Kazooie's overall moveset), KOing at around 100% from center stage. Its speed and the size of its hitbox makes it mainly useful for punishing short-ranged attacks and catching rolls. Its hitbox is wide enough to sometimes hit aerial opponents diagonally above and in front the duo, though not to the extent of hitting opponents standing on platforms above Banjo & Kazooie. Additionally, similar to down smash and especially down tilt, its large amount of active frames make it deadly for 2 frame punishing at the edge (although this move is more powerful and lasts for a shorter period than either ).
Up smash		Bill Drill (くちばしドリル, Beak Drill)	1% (hit 1), 1.5% (hits 2-7), 3.5% (hit 8), 13.6% (total)	A grounded, vertically inverted version of the Bill Drill. Hits multiple times and is powerful enough to KO at around 110%. It comes out decently fast (frame 9) and can act as a decent anti-air, though it has very high ending lag and mediocre horizontal range. Generally a consistent follow-up after down throw at high percentages, especially if the opponent does not mash out.
Down smash			15%	Banjo performs a forearm club while Kazooie slams both of her wings downward on both sides, similarly to Palutena, Charizard, and Ridley's down smashes. Deals the same amount of damage and knockback throughout the move. Hits on frame 13 and has the fastest interruptibility out of the duo's smash attacks while having good power despite its speed, being able to KO at the edge at around 85%. As a result, it is the duo's most reliable smash attack for quick punishes. Its long-lasting, constant hitbox also makes it reliable as a deadly 2 framing tool, alongside forward smash and down tilt.
Neutral aerial		Twirling Wing Whack (回転ウイングアタック, Spinning Wing Attack)	0.8% (hits 1-7), 4.1% (hit 8)	Kazooie's Wing Whack. Functions similarly to Pit and Dark Pit's shared neutral aerial, with this move's looping hitboxes even sharing the exact same properties as those of that move. Has rather slow startup (frame 10) relative to its damage output and knockback. Compared to Pit's neutral aerial, the combination of this move's slower startup with its surprisingly high landing lag (15 frames), inability to autocancel from a short hop, and the final hit's strangely diagonal launch angle makes it far less useful for starting, extending or finishing combos. It has immense utility for approaching and interrupting vulnerable recoveries, although this is counterbalanced by the final hit's low knockback scaling and aforementioned diagonal launch angle. Its looping hits can drag opponents downwards to follow into most of the duo's grounded moves, although this can be difficult due to the move's aforementioned high landing lag and the looping hits' unpredictable launching trajectory; the move itself is also a very reliable followup from down throw or to finish a Breegull Blaster close-range egg ladder combo. Autocancels from a full hop.
Forward aerial			15% (clean), 12% (late)	Banjo throws a delayed claw swipe in the style of an overhand punch. It is tied with down aerial as the duo's slowest aerial attack with 15 frames of startup and has high ending lag. However, it has a slightly disjointed hitbox on his fist, autocancels from a short hop, has the lowest landing lag of Banjo & Kazooie's aerials (11 frames), is moderately safe on shield, and is very powerful, being able to KO Mario at 89% from the edge of Final Destination, while a clean hit offstage is an almost guaranteed to KO. Due to these strengths, it is great for pressuring shields, covering the duo's approach, and even setting up combos at low percents.
Back aerial		Air Rat-a-Tat Rap (空中キツツキアタック, Aerial Woodpecker Attack)	1.6% (hits 1-2), 4.8% (hit 3)	An aerial three-hit version of Kazooie's Rat-a-Tat Rap. The first hit comes out on frame 8. It has a good overall range and startup, making it a reliable aerial for edgeguarding. The first two hits use the autolink angle; while it has extremely high landing lag (18 frames), making combos from the first two hits read-dependent, forward tilt is a decently reliable followup on most fighters. Autocancels from a short hop.
Up aerial			1.6% (hit 1), 5.8% (hit 2)	Kazooie flaps her wings upwards in a scissoring motion, similarly to Sonic's up aerial. Hits twice, with the first hit leading to the second. Has a wide hitbox with good range, with the first hit being able to hit grounded opponents if performed while the duo is falling. Additionally, it is fast in general (frame 7) while also being interruptible extremely early; this allows the duo to perform up to four up aerials while using their jumps, similarly to Meta Knight's up aerial strings. Easily juggles into itself at low to medium percentages, and can potentially lead into other aerials. Even further boosting its utility is that its first hit can set up KO confirms into forward smash, forward aerial and Wonderwing on landing. However, it has very low hitstun due to its low damage and slightly higher ending lag compared to other weak up aerials, making the move easily escapable. The first hit may also occasionally launch opponents away from the second hit, and the move is extremely weak, having almost no KO potential even at extremely high percentages.
Down aerial		Beak Buster (くちばしバスター)	10% (dive), 2% (landing)	Kazooie's Beak Buster. It is a stall-then-fall that meteor smashes at its beginning, with the later hitboxes dealing slightly diagonal vertical knockback. The move has a very weak landing hit that has little use aside from granting minimal protection. The move lasts for an extremely long time, often making off-stage use an inevitable self-destruct, though it is possible to recover if it is used from high enough. It is mostly useful for returning to stage quickly, as the non-meteor smashing hitbox is unable to KO past realistic percentages. The move's high landing lag (27 frames) greatly limits its combo potential.
Grab			—	Banjo reaches out with his hand. Strangely, Banjo's pivot grab has noticeably shorter horizontal range against airborne opponents compared to grounded ones.
Pummel			1.4%	Kazooie pecks the opponent's head.
Forward throw			5.4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Banjo faces away and Kazooie performs a double-footed stretch kick. The move's generally horizontal launch angle, along with its somewhat decent base knockback, makes it useful for creating space between Banjo & Kazooie and their opponent on-stage, as well as setting up edgeguards and potentially also tech-chases.
Back throw			11.4% (throw), 8% (collateral)	Banjo performs a giant swing, similarly to Mario's back throw. Deals collateral damage to nearby opponents. The duo's only throw with KO potential, it is very powerful, KOing at around 105% at the sides of the stage.
Up throw			5.4% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Banjo throws the opponent overhead and Kazooie pecks them upwards. The move has high ending lag after the opponent is thrown, has no true follow-ups, and cannot KO opponents. It is generally considered to be Banjo & Kazooie's worst throw.
Down throw			5.6%	Banjo performs a powerbomb, closely mirroring King K. Rool's down throw in both appearance and function. Like K. Rool's aforementioned down throw, as well as that of R.O.B., it buries the opponent. While it is initially ineffective and easily escapable at very low percentages due to its low base burying time, the move does become more useful at higher percentage; it can grant a read-dependent follow-up based on the opponent's reaction at medium percentages, and has a 50/50 KO confirm setup with up smash and up tilt at high percentages.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Banjo kicks behind and then in front of himself before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Banjo kicks around himself before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Banjo claps behind and then in front of himself. One of the only attacks to use a "slap" sound effect, with the others being Pound and Peach/Daisy's shared neutral attack. Unlike those moves, the "slap" sound effect plays even if Banjo does not successfully hit any opponents.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Banjo pulls himself up before performing an inward swipe with his hand.
Neutral special		Egg Firing / Breegull Blaster	5.4%-3.8% (egg), 2.4% (Breegull Blaster hits 1-6), 1.6% (Breegull Blaster hits 7-12), 0.8% (Breegull Blaster hits 13+)	For Egg Firing, Banjo gets down on all fours while Kazooie spits out an egg. These eggs will obey gravity, bounce off the ground and linger for quite some time (around the length of half of Final Destination) before breaking on their own, and become weaker as time passes. It is a slow-moving projectile, similar in function to moves such as Fireball. It also stalls the duo's vertical momentum slightly if used in midair. If the special button is held, the duo will instead perform the Breegull Blaster, where Banjo takes Kazooie out of his backpack and uses her in a manner similar to the Super Scope. In this mode, pressing either attack button will cause Kazooie to quickly fire smaller and weaker eggs that travel in a straight line and as far as a third of Final Destination's length; subsequent eggs gradually deal less damage. These smaller eggs cause minimal flinching at long range and weak vertical knockback at close range. Banjo can move and triple jump freely while in this mode, and can turn around (the latter is not possible while firing). Crouching or shielding will put Kazooie away, which has minimal ending lag. Notably, Breegull Blaster is a very effective combo move if the close-range vertically-launching egg hitbox is landed, with close-range eggs comboing into more close-range eggs among other things. Breegull Blaster also has a KO confirm into up tilt at high percentages. Due to the mechanics of this move, Egg Firing can only be done repeatedly if the player button mashes, since holding the button transitions into the Breegull Blaster. To compensate for the lack of a dash while Kazooie is out, Banjo's walking speed is 10% faster than normal when Breegull Blaster is being used (although the duo maintain their two midair jumps).
Side special		Wonderwing	22% (clean), 16% (late)	Kazooie covers Banjo with her magic-infused wings while he charges forward at high speed. It is only usable up to 5 times per stock, which is denoted by the amount of Golden Feathers above their heads. Each successful use consumes 1 Golden Feather, although interrupting the move before the hitbox begins will not use up a feather. To compensate, it has a large amount of strengths: the move grants full invincibility from the start of the dash (frame 18) to the end, including immunity to almost all Final Smashes that do not grab the opponent, the clean hit deals a high amount of damage, shield damage, and knockback, and can KO at the edge at 60%, while the late hit is still powerful and can KO effectively offstage or catch options of edge-hanging opponents. It works very well as a horizontal recovery option, as it does not cause helplessness and travels an excellent amount of horizontal distance. However, the move is specifically designed to be out-prioritized by grabs, and grabbing the duo out of the move causes it to only deal 0.25× damage to the grabber. Its high startup and ending lag also makes it punishable if it misses or is shielded, which is compounded by the move's reduced shieldstun, especially on the late hit. If they attempt to use it without any feathers remaining, they simply stumble over; an aerial use will cause them to fumble in midair, and using it close to the ground will cause Banjo to land face-first in his floored animation. The number of Golden Feathers available will vary in Stamina Mode depending on starting HP.
Up special		Shock Spring Jump	3% (Shock Spring Pad)	Banjo & Kazooie spawn a Shock Spring Pad beneath them to propel themselves upward. The longer the special button is held, the more height they gain. Slows the duo's descent upon starting up if used in the air. Does not render the duo helpless. In the air, the pad itself acts as a projectile after its use like Spring Jump's spring, which can gimp recoveries; unlike that move, however, a grounded Shock Spring Pad cannot be reused by opponents or the duo.
Down special		Rear Egg	9.22%	Banjo bends over and Kazooie appears out of Banjo's backpack to lay a Grenade Egg from the backpack's rear flap behind the duo. The Grenade Egg has a fixed timer of ≈2 seconds and has a floaty, slightly unpredictable bouncing trajectory that varies based on where the egg lands when it hits the ground. The Egg explodes after this timer ends or upon contact with an opponent or hitbox. Only one Grenade Egg can be fired at a time; if the move is used while an Egg is already active, Kazooie will pop her head out from the backpack and shake her head. Much like Hand Grenade, it can be picked up, thrown, and Z-dropped like an item, and can be used against Banjo & Kazooie in this way. Grenade Eggs do very little knockback, although their short fuses allow for creative item play. Grenade Eggs can also setup combos. Using the move in midair will stall the duo slightly and makes it easy to catch an airborne Grenade Egg, and can be used to stall in midair similarly to C4.
Final Smash		The Mighty Jinjonator	10% (initial hit), 54.3% (total)	The duo summons the Mighty Jinjonator statue in front of them, dealing damage to anyone it hits. A cutscene then shows Banjo & Kazooie watching the Jinjonator burst from the statue before the opponent is tackled multiple times by it, followed by a final tackle that is accompanied by multiple Jinjos. Notably, it can only catch one opponent in the cutscene despite the initial hit from the Jinjonator being able to hit multiple opponents.

Stats

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height
Value	106	1.68 – Initial dash 2.18 – Run	1.06	0.076	0.014	0.92	0.01 – Base 0.06 – Additional	0.11	1.76 – Base 2.816 – Fast-fall	3	29.8 - Base 17.8 - Short hop	32

Announcer calls

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

• Italian

• Russian

• Spanish

On-screen appearance

• Banjo hops out of a dark Jiggy silhouette with Kazooie visible, and then the duo both bow twice. The silhouette, the appearance of which is accompanied by a slide whistle-like descending sound, is a reference to the cutout wipe seen as the player moves from one area to another in the Nintendo 64 games, and the bows refer to the second half of the animation seen when all 10 Jiggies in a world are collected or when a Note Door is unlocked in Banjo-Kazooie.

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  Banjo & Kazooie's on-screen appearance.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Banjo stretches and Kazooie appears out of his backpack, yawning. Based on an idle animation from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
• Side taunt: Kazooie pops out of Banjo's backpack and the duo looks at each other, then Banjo strikes a thumbs up while Kazooie happily opens her wings. Based on their introductory pose in the opening sequence of Banjo-Kazooie.
• Down taunt: Banjo bows twice, saying his signature "Guh-huh!" each time. Identical to the latter half of the animation seen when all 10 Jiggies in a world are collected or when a Note Door is unlocked in Banjo-Kazooie. Unlike the other two taunts, Kazooie is not present.

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  Banjo & Kazooie's up taunt.

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  Banjo & Kazooie's side taunt.

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  Banjo & Kazooie's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Kazooie pops out of Banjo's backpack, rests her wing on his head as she looks around, then retreats back inside. Banjo looks at Kazooie while she is out.
• Kazooie playfully pecks Banjo on the head twice. Banjo rubs his head afterwards. It is similar to an idle animation seen in Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie.

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  Banjo & Kazooie's first idle pose.

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  Banjo & Kazooie's second idle pose.

Crowd cheer

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer					File:Banjo & Kazooie Cheer French NTSC SSBU.ogg
Description	Ba-Ba-Ba-Ban - jo! Ka-Ka-Kazoo - ie!	Ban - jo! (high voices) Ka - zoo - ie!	Bannnn - jo! Kazoooo - ie!	Bannnn - jo! Kazoooo - ie!	Ban - jo! (high voices) Ka - zoo - ie!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Bannnn - jo! Kazoooo - ie!	Bannnn - jo! Kazoooo - ie!	Ban - jo! *claps 3 times* Ka - zooie! *claps 3 times*	Banjo - Kazooie!

Victory poses

• Left: Banjo throws a Jiggy in the air, catches it, jumps, and poses. This references his brief dance scene when he collects a Jiggy in Banjo-Kazooie. Afterward, Banjo gives a thumbs-up while performing his signature "Guh-huh!", similar to the beginning of Banjo-Kazooie's intro movie.
• Up: Banjo marches in place briefly before bowing twice, saying "Guh-huh!" both times, ending with Kazooie poking out of his backpack. The animation is almost identical to that seen when all 10 Jiggies in a world are collected or when a Note Door is unlocked in Banjo-Kazooie.
• Right: Both dance around while playing their respective instruments, and then end in a pose referencing the ending of Banjo-Kazooie's intro movie. Their poses are also identical to the ones they assume in their reveal trailer (save for Kazooie's expression).

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

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In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Banjo & Kazooie players (SSBU)

•  huto - Played Banjo & Kazooie from September 2019 to February 2020 and was considered one of the best Banjo & Kazooie players in the world, achieving notable placements at majors including 25th at Umebura SP 7 and 33rd at Umebura SP 6. He has since returned to Wario.
•  OwlBBs - Known for using multiple characters including Banjo & Kazooie and is considered the best Banjo & Kazooie player in Europe, regularly placing highly at British events including 5th at the superregional Invasion: April 2022 and 13th at the superregional Regen 2023. However since 2023 he has been focusing on other characters over Banjo & Kazooie.
•  Toriguri - The best Banjo & Kazooie player of all-time, and the only solo-Banjo & Kazooie player to place top 8 at a major, doing so at Maesuma TOP 14, Maesuma TOP 15 "FINAL", and Battle of BC 6.
•  Wolfen - Known for being the best Banjo & Kazooie player in the United States's online metagame, notably placing 9th at SWT: Central America South Ultimate Online Qualifier. Offline, he also used Banjo & Kazooie to place 5th at the superregional Smash Legends 3 defeating MVD. However, since 2021 most of his results have been mixed with other characters, most notably Kazuya.

Tier placement and history

Banjo & Kazooie were initially met with a mildly positive reception due to their strong and flexible moves (such as forward aerial, forward tilt, smash attacks, Wonderwing, and Rear Egg), their ability to zone and edge trap effectively, and their versatile recovery. However, the duo's flaws, including their below-average speed, problems with juggling and scoring KOs, fairly noticeable lag on their moves, and a barely adequate grab game, were also noted. This has led to Banjo & Kazooie garnering below-average results compared to the rest of the cast, although they had some notable success from players such as huto, Raito, and Trela; Tweek also utilized Banjo & Kazooie at Glitch 7 - Minus World, although he promptly dropped them following that tournament. As a result, the early consensus posited the duo within the lower end of high tier at best and within the mid tier at worst.

However, by the end of 2019, Banjo & Kazooie saw a decline in both results and reception, with many players dropping the duo. Many players believe that they are only at their strongest in an online environment due to the input lag benefitting their most useful attacks. Conversely, others believe that Banjo & Kazooie fluctuate between the lower end of the mid tier and the low tier. Although Banjo & Kazooie are generally considered respectable fighters, their viability as a solo main has been questioned due to their best players often co-maining them or using them as a secondary. Despite this perception, Toriguri has managed to consistently achieve success at major tournaments while using Banjo & Kazooie as his sole main ever since the early metagame. Overall, Banjo & Kazooie are ranked 62nd on the current tier list, which posits them as lower end mid tier fighters.

Classic Mode: Perfect Partners

Banjo & Kazooie's congratulations screen.

In reference to their status as a duo, Banjo & Kazooie fight against other notable duos in each Round. Rounds 1 through 5 feature music and stage combinations that reference various worlds from the original Banjo-Kazooie, with each of these Rounds playing a song from the Banjo-Kazooie series (regardless of what universe the stage originates from). The bosses of their route, Master Hand and Crazy Hand, also fit the duo theme and are always fought together (regardless of the difficulty).

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Duck Hunt	Spiral Mountain	Main Theme - Banjo-Kazooie	Duck Hunt's color scheme references Banjo & Kazooie themselves.
2	Rosalina & Luma	Tortimer Island	Treasure Trove Cove	References Treasure Trove Cove. Rosalina could be a reference to Brentilda, Gruntilda's polar-opposite sister who gossips Gruntilda's secrets to Banjo & Kazooie.
3	Ice Climbers	Summit	Freezeezy Peak	References Freezeezy Peak, with the Ice Climbers matching its polar climate.
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. Fox and Falco's color schemes are likely meant to resemble a wolf and a raven respectively, which are animals that would appear in a typical haunted setting.
6	Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong	Jungle Japes	Donkey Kong Country Returns	References the Banjo-Kazooie series and Donkey Kong Country series' shared origins, both having been created by Rare Ltd., as well as Banjo and Diddy Kong's friendship being mentioned in Diddy Kong Racing.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand and Crazy Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand / Crazy Hand	Much like Banjo & Kazooie, Master Hand and Crazy Hand work together as a duo. Additionally, they bear a resemblance to Motzand, a disembodied hand who appears in Mad Monster Mansion. Both Hands are fought in any difficulty.

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.

However, in Sephiroth's reveal trailer, they are shown amongst the many fighters facing Galeem, which suggests that they too canonically face Galeem and Dharkon in World of Light.

Spirit

Banjo & Kazooie's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Banjo & Kazooie have been downloaded. Unlocking Banjo & Kazooie in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Their fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with their artwork in Ultimate.

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  1,337. Banjo & Kazooie

In Spirit Battles

As minions

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

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  Banjo & Kazooie's splash art.

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  Celebratory pose at the end of their character trailer.

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  Banjo & Kazooie's amiibo.

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  Banjo & Kazooie's unlock notice after downloading them from the Nintendo eShop.

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  Dashing on Yoshi's Island (Melee).

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  Jumping on Summit.

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  Using Egg Firing on Garden of Hope.

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  Hitting Falco with their forward smash on Great Bay.

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

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  About to be grabbed by Villager on Tortimer Island.

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  Performing their side taunt on Spiral Mountain.

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  Dashing on Big Blue's track.

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  Popping Villager's balloons with their forward tilt in Town and City.

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  Crouching alongside Duck Hunt on Windy Hill Zone.

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  Using Egg Firing, with Mumbo Jumbo visible in the background.

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  Pivoting on Summit.

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  Banjo & Kazooie alongside all of the other DLC fighters of Fighters Pass Vol. 1.

Trivia

• Banjo & Kazooie are referred to within the game files with the codename "buddy", alluding to the fact that the duo is almost always seen paired with each other when they make appearances. Additionally, files that pertain to Kazooie specifically often refer to her with the codename "partner".
• According to Masahiro Sakurai, Banjo & Kazooie were highly requested in the Super Smash Bros. 4-era Fighter Ballot, closely following the overall winner, Sora.
• Banjo & Kazooie were created by British video game company Rare Ltd., making them the first DLC fighter that was created outside of Japan. They were followed by Steve, created by the Swedish company Mojang.
  • Coincidentally, both companies are subsidiaries of Microsoft.
• The picture revealing Banjo & Kazooie's second alternate costume on Summit is a nod to Freezeezy Peak, the fifth level in Banjo-Kazooie, with the Super Launch Star in the image referencing the star on top of the Christmas tree in said level. The picture featuring their fifth alternate costume, also on Summit, might be another nod, with Banjo's white fur and the Polar Bear both referencing Boggy.
• Not counting ports and cameos, Banjo & Kazooie's inclusion in Ultimate marks their first physical appearance in almost a decade, since the Xbox 360 version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, released in 2010.
  • It also marks their first physical appearance on a Nintendo console in 14 years since Banjo-Pilot was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2005.
  • It also marks the second time that Banjo & Kazooie have crossed over with Sonic, the first being the aforementioned Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.
• In Banjo & Kazooie's battle portrait next to their damage meter, Kazooie leans in slightly closer to Banjo than she does in their full artwork, to fit both of their faces into the frame. The Ice Climbers are the only other fighter with such an edit.
• On their victory screen, Banjo & Kazooie's name will only take up one line in the American and PAL versions of the game while it takes up two lines in the Asian versions. Excluding Olimar, whose character name is changed to "Pikmin & Olimar" in the Japanese version, they are the only fighter with this distinction.
• When KO'd by reaching 0 HP during their last stock in Stamina Mode, Banjo & Kazooie use a unique voice clip (uttered by Banjo) not taken from either their KO or high damage voice clips, though its low volume makes it difficult to discern. Joker in all languages, in addition to Byleth in the Japanese language, are the only other fighters with unique final stamina KO voice clips.
  • Additionally, their stamina KO voice clip unusually does not begin with a slight pause, an oddity shared only with Erdrick.
• When Banjo & Kazooie successfully perfect shield an attack, Banjo assumes a flexing pose resembling both the Extra Life statues from Banjo-Kazooie and an idle animation from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
• Banjo & Kazooie, Meta Knight, Inkling, Joker, Hero, Sephiroth, Pyra, Mythra, and Sora are the only fighters to use their walking animation when navigating through the map in World of Light.
• As Banjo is the one who consumes food items, when Banjo & Kazooie dash while under the effect of Superspicy Curry, the flames shoot backward instead of forwards.
  • Oddly, the frantic expression caused by Superspicy Curry (where the character's pupils shrink and their mouth opens) applies to Kazooie as well as Banjo, despite Kazooie not eating the curry or breathing fire.
• Banjo & Kazooie are one of the few fighters to receive a unique feature on their amiibo that is not taken from their official render, with Banjo's raised leg being supported by a large Jiggy.
• During the brief time that Sakurai plays as Banjo & Kazooie in Mr. Sakurai Presents "Byleth", Banjo's nose does not protrude out of his damage meter like it does in the released game.

Notes

1.^ As noted in Mr. Sakurai Presents "Banjo & Kazooie," ハリセン does not have an english translation, as a harisen is a large paper fan used in manzai comedy. Coincidentally, this is also the japanese name for the fan item in the Super Smash Bros. series.