Banjo-Kazooie and Dragon Quest characters are headed to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Favorite characters from two franchises that mean a lot to long-time Nintendo fans are headed home.
An assortment of heroes from the Dragon Quest series, along with the eponymous bird/bear duo Banjo-Kazooie and related titles, are headed to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as part of the fighter's pass, Nintendo announced today in its E3 Direct presentation.
The first reveal was the hero from Dragon Quest XI, which itself is also Switch-bound later this year. He fought against darkness in familiar Smash environs. Then, as the trailer progressed, it was revealed that players will also be able to control heroes originally introduced in Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation (NES), Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (NES) and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2). The adorable Slime mascot also made an appearance, along with various other components familiar to long-time fans of that franchise.
A second reveal trailer, offered later in the presentation, began with a look at Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong in their hut, in a style one might expect from a remake of the original Donkey Kong Country. It soon became clear this was actually another Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character reveal trailer, though I wouldn't want to spoil the details for you. The trailer has been hosted on a variety of sites, and you can find and view it for yourself above.
The Dragon Quest heroes will arrive this Summer as part of the fighter's pass, while Banjo-Kazooie makes a return (of sorts) to Nintendo hardware this Fall. That particular development is possible because Nintendo and Microsoft (which owns Rare and much of its IP since purchasing the developer from Nintendo ages ago) are currently on such good terms, as noted by Stephen Totilo in this article recounting an exchange with Phil Spencer.
The fighter's pass already covers the release of Joker from Persona 5, and now includes Banjo-Kazooie and Dragon Quest's hero. A fourth character should be added to round out the package at some point in the future. Is there anyone you particular expect to see? Me, I'm rooting for Mike from StarTropics, though I would probably try to be satisfied with Ryu Hyabusa from the Ninja Gaiden games...
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Staff article by Jason Venter (June 11, 2019)
Jason Venter has been playing games for 30 years, since discovering the Apple IIe version of Mario Bros. in his elementary school days. Now he writes about them, here at HonestGamers and also at other sites that agree to pay him for his words. |
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