Diddy Kong Racing Artist At Rare Helped With Banjo & Kazooie’s Smash Ultimate Design

Following Banjo & Kazooie’s big reveal as DLC Fighters for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, developer Rare has published some behind-the-scenes info revealing the one responsible for getting their look just right.

When Banjo & Kazooie first showed up during the Nintendo Direct, the fact that they were sporting their classic look was something many fans were extremely excited about. This was mainly because the dreaded alternative was their look in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, which was notoriously controversial with fans.

As it turns out, the man to thank is Rare Team Member and artist Paul Cunningham. Cunningham previously did the art for Diddy Kong Racing and Jet Force Gemini, and was the one who took point when it came to Banjo & Kazooie‘s appearance in Smash.

You can check out what Rare had to say about Banjo & Kazooie’s inclusion below:

What cards we are, because as you undoubtedly know if you’ve read this far, there was also a Nintendo Direct where it was announced that Banjo and Kazooie would be joining the roster in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. That’s right – we have been listening, as have the folks at Nintendo, and it was a very proud moment for us finally NOT to have to keep this a secret any more and share the glorious news far and wide.

Banjo and Kazooie’s inclusion gave us an opportunity for a fantastic partnership with our old friends at Nintendo, and as the bear and bird appeared with Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong and King K. Rool in the reveal trailer it was a joy to see just how warmly the news was received. It’s been a tightly kept secret but we’ve been collaborating closely with the Smash team on this crossover since last year, on everything from movesets to musical choices – and while a core group of folks at Rare worked on this, we have to give a special shout out to our own Paul Cunningham who has been our point man on getting everything about Banjo and Kazooie’s appearance just right. Your favourite duo are in very safe (albeit fighty) hands and we honestly cannot wait for everyone to get their game on in the incredible Smash universe.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available now of the Nintendo Switch, with Banjo & Kazooie set to arrive as DLC sometime in Fall 2019.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.