Why NO ONE Plays: Banjo & Kazooie | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

While DLC fighters in Smash Ultimate are known for having eccentric gimmicks or overpowered kits, Banjo & Kazooie stand out for being one of the more mild, if not the most mild moveset and attributes among them, leading many to call them the weakest DLC fighter (besides Piranha Plant). We'll be finding out why that's the case in today's Why NO ONE Plays!
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#SSBU #WhyNoOnePlays #Banjo

[@SoulHeartRS]

How ironic that the reason nobody plays B&K is because they are fair, sheerly because other characters can do what they do, but better. They aren’t bad, but it goes back to “Why settle for good, when you can have better?” Can’t help but feel sorry for them, especially after how many people lost it after that Jiggy bounced across the screen.

[@ayar2]

Ultimate's concept for "balanced" means its usable, faithful, not too powerful, not too glitchy, but overall, be fun to play as, and fun its very subjective, just because Banjo isnt popular in competitive doesnt mean no one plays him outside of it,. one of my cousins is a banjo main, but he plays mainly with us when we gather.

[@kulla8587]

@@ayar2Yeah but the series talks about the characters in a competitive aspect. Casually, you’ll find people who play any character

[@ayar2]

@@kulla8587 even in 1v1 lobbies, I tend to find a lot of obscure characters, even ganondorfs.

[@Spyder-Marth]

​@@ayar2Ganondorf mains are EVERYWHERE online.

[@SkitZiee]

@@ayar2yea but ganon hits hard and isn’t complicated

[@Mrkonjichris]

You forgot to credit Banjo for the best slow-walk in the game. Does 100% damage to the opponents morale after a K.O.

[@Hi-fd4cw]

Nah, K. Rool’s strut is even more salt-inducing

[@ravssb]

Mega Man’s foot shuffle is pretty sick

[@ShadowNite1105]

Incineroar walk is definitely top tier considering it turns you into Dr. Livesly

[@Matanumi]

Dededes Crouch is literally a taunt

[@securatyyy]

If you pick the pink banjo it changes his damage to fairy type

[@sinfinite7516]

Toriguri’s Banjo from Japan is actually surprisingly good, he beat Protobanham and MuteAce recently.

[@Matanumi]

Winning majors good? No? Then banjo still sucks. Tough

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Matanumi Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@janswhatsupdoc]

The funny thing is that after Japan kicked his ass mute started winning NA tourneys

[@bluarrow4505]

@@MatanumiI mean, he got 9th at the major he beat Mute in and is consistently getting top 24/16 with extremely notable wins (Proto and Mute mentioned, as well as KEN, Umeki, and Takera). It’s only a matter of time until he does make top 8 or better.

[@bluarrow4505]

@@Matanumialso you don’t need to be winning majors to prove a character isn’t shit, you just need to be doing extremely well which is what Toriguri has been doing for months. Look at Skyjay and Big D for example, neither of them have won a major but they both do consistently amazing at majors and have proved that Incin and Icies aren’t low tier. Toriguri is doing the same just in Japan.

[@Jearrod]

They’ve been my main since they dropped. People can put them wherever they want on a tier list but they are my main and I’m sticking with them because I enjoy that they’re in the game and want them to have more players. Thanks for posting about them because nobody everrrrr does

[@CaulkMongler]

Less BK players means people are less familiar with your combos :P

[@Jearrod]

@@CaulkMongler maybe that’s why I always feel so unpredictably good 💀

[@andrewhoegemeyer3632]

You are a true one. I've been maining Banjo for a while now and I will not change despite receiving backlash from many of my fellow Smash friends.

[@InfinityFantasy]

Respect

[@SoraMainSmash]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who uses Banjo-Kazooie.

[@zacharysegalewitz]

If Banjo's up-tilt scooped like Snake's, and/or his up-air was a move that actually has damage or knockback, and/or his up throw did something, he could be so much more viable. Banjo has no juggle game, especially at mid percent, which a bunch of edge guard and ledge trap characters have and that is probably his most fatal flaw fundamentally. But that's okay because he has the best taunts in the game.

[@kal2886]

id argue that blaster combos is banjos juggle game but outside of that. not much

[@zacharysegalewitz]

@@kal2886 that makes sense but I think banjo is too dependent on having the battle be horizontal

[@dariuscox3576]

His Up Tilt has no leg intangibility of some reason. I think he could really use it.

[@jeremyabbott4537]

@@dariuscox3576 80% of the time if you uptilt right next to someone it doesn't even connect, it's his worst move I swear.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@jeremyabbott4537 Banjo's uptilt is meant to attack opponents above Banjo, or kill using a breegul blaster combo.🐻🐻🐻🐻

[@EidinAegis]

I just feel bad for this iconic duo since they did deserve better for being put into the game.

[@flexyfalcon]

Honestly, the saddest part about Banjo is that his problems as a character aren’t a core part of his design like Little Mac or Ganondorf. All he needed was a few well placed buffs and he could’ve been a much better character. But, as of now, most of his moves just don’t feel like they do much. Not to mention Banjo has the second highest aerial landing lag in the game. Only Sephiroth’s is higher. What were they thinking?

[@TyphonCH]

Oh shit I didn't know about that last part maybe that's why his aerials felt so underwhelming

[@dariuscox3576]

The fact that his F-air, his slowest aerial, has the least amount of landing lag makes no sense.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@dariuscox3576 F-air is meant to attack from below or when the opponent is wide open.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@TyphonCH Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@mercurysnake274]

Banjo just…doesn’t do damage. The lone exception to that is a crazy TAS combo, which doesn’t matter since no human will ever do it. Not to mention how some of his moves (mainly his aerials) don’t even work sometimes LOL

[@IgnotusLotus]

Ugh. This one hurts. Banjo was one of my most requested characters. And I do enjoy playing them nonetheless. I hope that they come back for the next smash game (whenever that might be) and they are far better

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@GabeyBaby19]

A new smash game probably will never happen because Sakurai has been working way too hard on ultimate and is probably done with the franchise. Sora was a great final fighter and a great way to end the franchise

[@taelin-rh3wi]

​@@GabeyBaby19That ain't gonna stop Nintendo though

[@Mr__Jack]

@@GabeyBaby19With how much money Smash makes, there’s literally a 0% chance of the series not continuing

[@Epikruss]

I think why nobody plays Pac-Man, would be very interesting. Pac is generally regarded as a high tier character, number 14 on the official tier list, and with tons of potential, but is only repped by Tea at a top level.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

And lately even Tea has struggled.

[@evilhag_666]

@@legrandliseurtri7495 Agreed. I would love a video on this

[@yurplethepurple2064]

I think he’s perceived as this genius character when really lots of people can play him. Also a lot of pac-man’s strengths(empowering yourself to create a pressure to approach, putting weird things down outside of yourself as a multipurpose tool, great frame data) are also strengths that Steve has, but better

[@RyanKnight30]

bruh Pac is my boy,he still has players lol

[@Epikruss]

@@yurplethepurple2064I do agree quite a bit how Steve outshined Pacman, especially during the wifi era

[@krubbington]

I really do feel like Banjo should've at LEAST gotten the ability to fly like in his game. Also I like HDR's changes of changing aerial wonderwing to beak bomb, which uses red feathers that re-charge over time. This character deserved better, but at least he's fun to play in friendlies.

[@jackplayz739]

I main banjo and i can say hes better then people give him credit for

[@stefann7735]

have you played him in tournament, or high level at all??

[@EmperorPenguin1217]

Banjo is my tertiary and I partially agree

[@jackplayz739]

@@stefann7735 I placed 4th out of 52 at a local tournament

[@jackplayz739]

@@stefann7735 also I'm in elite smash with him

[@orangeslash1667]

@@EmperorPenguin1217 Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Banjo can't afford to be reckless like most characters.

[@SNoodleJuJu]

My friend mains Banjo, and he’s actually pretty fucking good at him. I struggle to beat it, despite being far more experienced at this game and placing Top 16 out of almost 100 people at my community college’s tournament last year (CAN I MENTION THAT IT WAS SPONSORED BY HYPERX?) He uses the projectiles as a trapping tool, but more in the sense that he is luring you into a trap. He does use wonder wing in bullshit scenarios, but he is VERY aggressive, which I admire.

[@Matt-qk8yf]

I love these two so much it’s a shame they suck

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@ThatGuy-me8wb]

They don't even necessarily suck. They just don't have any over-the-top ridiculous BS like other DLC characters do.

[@BlueAizu_]

They're not bad, they just don't have anything to make them amazing in a game full of amazing fighters. Even something like getting an additional chance to use Wonderwing if you score a kill could have gone a long way to help them.

[@MasterSprintersan1]

They don’t suck, though.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@MasterSprintersan1 you said it.

[@thedealmaker21]

Would you please do a why no one plays duckhunt? I see people comparing him to snake, and I understand why they do so. Then I compare them & wonder why snake is so popular even though duckhunt has similar tools. To make your comparison, I would agree that duckhunt has the wingding tool set that snake has. I have a few theories that are similar to why Rosa with side B & can being a sudo Luma, but I could be wrong. Thanks if you do so.

[@danielferrieri7434]

Why No One/Everyone Plays: Terry Bogard

[@Epikruss]

Terry is a very interesting character in terms of representation, on one hand there are a good amount of mid and low level players representing the character, meanwhile at top level, it’s only Riddles, who only uses him when Kazuya is in an unfavorable matchup.

[@blackpanther6613]

I liked Riddles more when he played Terry as his main character.

[@Bleach_Drinker_7]

@@blackpanther6613competitive players gotta play competitively

[@Marinthees]

In a game where so many characters can dish out 35-60% combos left and right, Banjo just cant keep up. At the end of the day, his lacking damage output is by far his biggest flaw. I think it makes sense that the reason for his underwhelming damage and kill confirms is because the developers were scared of overturning the rest of his kit specifically because of wonderwing. This monster of a move does almost 30 percent in a single blow, is invincible, and has insane kill power. So they were overly conservative with the damage/kill power of the rest of his kit. Problem is, relying on a laggy move like wonderwing in competitive play is a recipe for disaster, so the developers balancing him around such a move left Banjo doomed to meta irrelevance.

[@bocaj71491]

Yeah I agree with you they built his whole gameplay around Wonderwing therefore making the rest of his kit mediocre, it sucks we didn't get more updates for the game I know they probably would have eventually buffed him, I'm crossing my fingers for a smash ultimate port to the new console and they just continue building off of it.

[@Marinthees]

@@bocaj71491 Yeah. They did actually do one patch where they buffed Banjo but they were wayyyy too safe with the buffs. They made his up tilt kill earlier, his forward smash kill earlier, and his back air send at a worse angle. Not at all the buffs he needed unfortunately :(

[@bocaj71491]

@Marinthees Oh yeah I remember they did do a mini buff on him I forgot about that, I think they should have made his up tilt scope up enemies so it could always combo off down throw and I think they should have made it if you hit the tipper with Kazooie beak on his tilts it should do a lot more knock back and it would be nice if his dash attack could actually kill and make his back air have more knock back I think that would make him much better, also better frame data on some of his moves wouldn't hurt either.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Marinthees Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@thestirsquad4716]

@@orangeslash1667Banjo has terrible projectiles for camping. He in no way compares to sonic or any “patient” character because his zoning specials are slow as hell.

[@thehypist2587]

Banjo was my most wanted and even before the Direct, I KNEW he wouldn’t be high or top tier. If Sakurai was gonna be faithful to the bear and bird, he’d make them a zoner/trap character and that’s exactly what we got. I love these two and I’m glad they made it in, but I wish some of their moves were made better. Have U-tilt scoop, make Uair have less endlag for more combos, make Dair so you can survive it offstage. Hell, let Banjo get back Wonderwing feathers after taking a stock. I still appreciate that they’re in, but if they return in the next game they should definitely get a rework.

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@The_Moss-Man]

Let’s enjoy Banjo and Kazooie while we still have them. We’ll be lucky to have half the roster intact when the next Smash game comes along

[@maximiliankolbegan5648]

Ohhh I was waiting for this one. Can I just mention that you and MockRock are my favorite SSBU content creators? Always intelligent and well put.

[@WumpaClock]

I love Banjo so much, he is my unofficial 'third main' with how much I play him, and also the only person in my friend group who does play Banjo in any capacity. What is most remarkable is their versatility-- being able to swap strategies on the fly and frustrate the efforts of, well... just about anyone! The levels of creativity that can come out of them with projectile setups and keep-out game is very impressive, but they also require you to use your brain-- not instant gratification fighters like most competitive players choose to play, so it's not likely that he will be climbing up the ranks anytime soon... Banjo & Kazooie are one of the most balanced DLC fighters in Smash's history, and have no broken DLC jank to abuse for easy K.O.s, so no one plays them. It's quite unfortunate, since all it takes is for someone like Toriguri, Raito, or Tearbear to plug respectable results in one-to-two tournaments, and the player count would skyrocket.

[@bones7267]

I've been playing Banjo since launch. His frame data is not good, his damage is lacking, his main kill moves are all slow, his projectiles aren't super great, he's combo food, and his execution is high if you actually wanna get results. Wonderwing is active frame 18, limited use, and super punishable. Blaster is good but you gotta setup for it. Grenade is an active threat but it comes out frame 10. (Snake's is frame 1 for comparison) His only really safe move on shield is fair if you space it perfectly. His fastest smash attack has little to no range. You gotta do a juggling act you get damage off with him effectively. He's got a shitload of problems to be viable, and his execution requirements are better saved for a top tier that does the same general stuff like Snake, Rob, or Diddy. That being said though. I have an absolute blast playing them. Banjo is the funnest character in the game to me, juggling people with blaster and then doing drag downs will always be fun, doing nutty Kazooie fast cancels and grenade mind tricks is fun, I love all the stupid shit you can get away with when playing this character. I've wanted them since Smash 64 and I'm gonna keep playing them even if they are the Digorno Pizza of the roster.

[@sailgoat4733]

At first when he was revealed the crowd popped, Only to see his representation has dropped, All witness bear and bird fall, The dumbest and thickest of them all! *Grunty's voice*

[@gamedragonja8962]

The first match I played agasint banjo my friend won via wonderwing.I hated him ever since

[@scootssb]

0:18 omg I'm so famous!!

[@StuartFknLil]

So sad his wonder wing is on a limited resource when Steve's gold cart & normal cart is on a unlimited resource. The latter can even command grab :) so cool

[@jeremyabbott4537]

they really should have given Wonderwing a recharge over time, like 1 feather a minute or something.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@jeremyabbott4537 Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@samuelbrown1283]

I play Banjo. And they are my main. I disnt even know they existed until i saw their DLC trailer, then i did an UNGODLY amount of research and loved the character. P. S. THEY DESERVE TO BE IN ULTIMATE

[@hazza358]

I kinda pity Banjo and Kazooie, such popular and nostalgic characters but then so rarely used in this game. I tried this fighter out a few times, and the feel I got from them certainly matches what you described. In short, they feel good to play, but not the best. There’s definitely a very good number of fighters I’d pick before picking them. Also, their Wonder Wing move can also be properly countered by Sora, since while other counters will just do an instant attack right through the attack they receive, which makes them useful only to defend against Wonder Wing rather than deal damage back due to the invincibility it has, Sora’s counter interrupts the received attack from continuing, makes the opponent stagger, and THEN attacks back, forcing Banjo out of Wonder Wing before attacking back and thus leading to him being helplessly yanked out of that invincibility. And of course, his Wonder Wing being so forcefully interrupted like that won’t return a feather for another use, so there’s another thing that weakens him against anyone who can somehow break through that move.

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@Lomineheck]

i JUST picked up banjo today and was wondering if you had a video on him

[@kaito2220]

Jeez if ultimate isn't dishonest on a competitive level. All the best characters in this game are straight up broken, so it's telling that Banjo not having any dlc cheese is what holds him back. And despite that he's still one of the most annoying characters in the game to fight smh Really wish the game was balanced more towards toning down the oppressive characters instead of blatantly overtuning others to make them better

[@Athorment]

ive seen two directions people lean towards to attempt and fix him with "DLC vibes": 1) Smash Vs. Tilt Aerials. Similar to Robin, let him do Kazooie aerials for speed/range and Banjo Aerials for Power/Damage 2) "Collect-a-thon" meter of sorts where each hit on the opponent rewards him with a resource (Golden wing, Eggs, Grenade Egg) and then just buff those projectiles so that he can truly threaten in the zoning side of things so long as he has the ammo, making him a true "jack of all trades, lacking in none" Both seem like very interesting takes to me

[@niteriemcfarlane5285]

or give him his other special eggs he and kazooie use in banjo tooie

[@orangeslash1667]

@@niteriemcfarlane5285 Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@Zigzorark]

Banjo’s problem is that; he’s just “Eh”

[@naveedahmedny]

Realistic buffs this character should’ve gotten: -neutral B eggs can have slightly improved frame data and damage -up tilt sweet spot NEEDS a bigger hitbox -up air def should do more damage or be a better combo tool

[@flexyfalcon]

Banjo is like the reverse of what happened with Min-Min where the dev team didn't feel confident in throwing a pure zoning character into the DLC so just like Min-Mim they gave him shades of a different moveset. (Snake's psuedo-brawler and trapper moveset is an example of how Banjo feels.) The issue is that unlike Min-Min who got incredible normals that let her get people who approach off of her, Banjo got a bunch of moves that dont really do anything. Which I'm sure on some level they thought was "fine" because hey, they're references, but Smash have proven to me especially lately that some characters are either damned or saved by the ties to their references. Banjo is definitely damned by them because they straight up don't provide him any meaningful tools to help him in neutral or especially in damage. I'm not really a fan of Banjo, but having grown up with his games, I was genuinely scared he was going to end up being lackluster because I knew how dedicated the team was going to be in cramming his kit with references and charm rather than good game design. They had already done this with Megaman who feels pretty stiff in his game design so I had a feeling Banjo was going to get hit with this as well. Maybe he would have been better if they picked references that were geared more towards Smash's gameplay but I really don't know if they can be convinced to. We need more moves like Banjo's D-Tilt, which is both a great reference and a pretty good attack in Smash.

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. In other words you can't afford to be too aggressive with Banjo. Some thing applies to Mega Man, his not now suppose feel like his levels. He's about how he fights Mega Man bosses without exploiting their weaknesses.

[@Buzterer]

And honestly the moveset could have been a bit whackyer

[@dannyboielsegundo9873]

Honestly, I wish that Banjo and Kazooie had more competitive representation. They come from one of my favourite games of all time and it's a shame that such an anticipated fighter has very few people playing them.

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage. Wonder wing can ledge trap some opponents, but it depends on the fighter. I can't use it to trap Duck Hunt, but it does work on R.O.B.

[@thatman666]

Happy 25th birthday Banjo & Kazooie, even if you're not the best DLC fighter.

[@castonyoung7514]

Wait, TODAY?!

[@supergoldendeluxe3140]

I’m the only person who plays banjo and kazooie

[@mrhalfsaid1389]

Because he isn't great, his best move is extremely limited, at least plant has rediculously damage if you know what your doing

[@JoshSaysStuff]

Alright, we have one animal combo down. This must mean we’re getting close to a Duck Hunt episode!

[@FridgeRaider69]

Some day

[@wftghw]

I'd like to say I picked up banjo as my main after I saw this 4months ago and I've loved using him. So thanks vars 👍

[@coolstar609]

I like B&K for his good types of attacks. People might say he's annoying, but not as annoying as king k rool and bowser

[@flameofmage1099]

Honestly I feel like DLCs are doomsd if they dont bring some really unique or powerful to the table. Why switch to B&K if you already know another character with a similar playstyle so well?

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@tbandz9423]

Banjo is fun asf idc what anyone says he just takes a long time to learn but once u do it's hilarious because no one seems to know how to play against him

[@dwayne3191]

Yep. Despite being the most balanced character among Fighter’s Pass 1 and 2, many players would agree that they are one of the most annoying fighters to come across. When you join an arena, there’s a chance that nobody will want to play against you.

[@dahuterschuter]

I play B&K on principle.

[@BearFlyGames]

Hmmm. Just to add to all this, I'm surprised people thought Banjo/Kazooie had competitive potential at all. The "bear character" curse. Underestimate it at your peril. "If your game has a bear character, who plays the tropes straight, and is viable in any way, you have failed to adapt said bear character." See: Kuma/Panda from Tekken. Look at Baloo being trash in *four separate games* at the same time. It's better to play bears as mostly joke characters, as it fits them better most of the time. As a Banjo main, and player of the other bears mentioned, it's not their place to be viable in high-level play. A competitive bear needs to crush tropes entirely (Pokemon Unite's Urshifu) or deconstruct them (Persona 4 Arena's Teddie). A "traditional" one... will never be a top pick, and that's fine. Otherwise, you risk "High-Tier Scrappy"-ism, where a character no one *wants* to be good, is. Banjo's got a lot of nostalgia behind him, but... yeah. Ended up just how I expected.

[@N12015]

Banjo-Kazooie is a jack of all trades. A bad Jack of all trades who is overly balanced leaving him with no concrete strenghts. At least Pit has curved proyectiles and aerial shields, but Banjo-Kazooie legit has nothing remarkable. The only reason he's no low tier is that he also lacks very exploitable weaknesses outside poor air movility, is just that almost anyone can overpower him in their respective area except low tiers. Meanwhile Samus is a better Banjo-Kazooie period. Better melee options due to faster frame data, more damage and combo potential, insane long range proyectiles and competent midrange options who allows her to easily transition to a better range, and roughly the same movility.

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@ZaneChihuahua]

Still waiting for Duck Hunt. So close, yet so far.

[@FridgeRaider69]

bump

[@samuelbrown1283]

You know, now that i think about it... Im glad Banjo & Kazooie arent in Melee. Because Bowser won, but i want you to guess where Bowser is on the teir list...... Nintendo had 13 months for Melee and If Banjo got the same place as Bowser, we would never se them again😢

[@aronspiker72]

Banjo's moveset was a complete mistake from the start. The devs were focused on cramming in references instead of having an actual idea of what his playstyle should be. If anything, he should be much more of a melee combo character like Mario with projectiles more meant for neutral or stage control. Similar to how Lucario was made with the intention of just spamming smash attacks at high aura rather than having actual combos or good aerials besides nair, Banjo was designed on an individual move basis rather than having a defined playstyle with his different pieces synergizing.

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@DoDTrueCreatorSF]

Sora's Counter actually fucks up Wonder-Wing too

[@Sm4sher-Vader]

Yeah and most of the time Sora tries to bring out Counter especially when Banjo is off stage where it becomes even harder to get back to neutral without risking getting to the ledge with Wonderwing where Sora is waiting for you. Really BS ngl.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Sm4sher-Vader The sad thing is Banjo being too balanced makes a lot of sense. See Banjo is popular because he's created by Rare, they are also responsible for the Donkey Characters. So Banjo can't be about just one thing because the Donkey Kong characters already do that in Smash

[@chrisrose4703]

Fun fact: Sora's Counter obliterates banjo using wonderwing because of the stagger effect

[@Shamanized]

Yeah this is total BS, really shouldn't be this way

[@RacingSnails64]

The people calling Banjo the weakest DLC are probably only looking at him on a competitive level. He's arguably THE best DLC on a casual level. He's so well animated and charming and wacky, great stage with great music. I do lament I don't feel comfortable with him competitively. It's hard to combo with him unless you're a x300 galaxy brain.

[@hakirayleigh]

That's Hero.

[@awoooga5857]

He's not even close to the best dlc even on a casual level.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@awoooga5857 What makes Banjo standout is that he might be the fastest Zoner outside of Mewtwo, Greninja, Palutena, and inkling. While the others are better with combos, Banjo maybe better in variety.

[@SonicTheCutehog]

Smash fans demanding a character to be in Smash just to never use them

[@orangeslash1667]

I feels like most of the people that wanted Banjo in smash, was only thinking about exploring worlds and rarely fighting enemies. However if you really pay attention to Tooie's boss fights in replay mode, some of them can be hard. Which makes more sense in a fighting game. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. So Banjo needs to be patient and not be too reckless. Another example is Snake, in Smash Snake feels more closer to his boss fights. Cause how can you incorporate Stealth in a fighting game?????

[@SonicTheCutehog]

@@orangeslash1667 Boss fights aren't everything

[@orangeslash1667]

@@SonicTheCutehog It kinda is if the character is known for them. For example Game and Watch doesn't have boss fights, so it gives Sakurai more freedom. Peach barley has anything to work with so theres no point in reducing her. Same thing goes for Plant. Games like Banjo, Kingdom Hearts, Mega man, and Punch Out are very well known for their boss fights. While it is true that there is more to the character outside of that, but the reality is that Sakurai will reduce the character to the aspect of their game that's is the hardest to make sure they aren't broken in Smash. If Sora could just use drive forms like in KH 2 that would make him broken in Smash. In fact I didn't want Sora in Smash because later games just make Sora more and more over powered, which is why even die hard fans hate KH3. So in Smash he is reduced to how he is in KH 1 because it's the hardest game, because Sora is a lot more limited, especially his boss fights. The more overpowered that character, the more likely they have to be represent their most limited incarnation when coming to Smash.

[@SonicTheCutehog]

@@orangeslash1667 Banjo-Kazooie isn't known for the boss fights, it's known for the collectathon aspect of going through levels and collecting Jiggys and Music Notes. By that logic, practically any game is all about boss fights. Minecraft has a boss fight, yet Steve doesn't incorporate any of those aspects in Smash.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@SonicTheCutehog With platfomers the flow through levels is not always the same as how you fight bosses. Metal Gear is another example, it's known for Stealth, but its the boss battles that has combat. With Minecraft, Xenoblade 2, and Tekken 7. The boss battles aren't that much different than the usual gameplay. In Smash bros combat is the focus. So in order for Banjo and Snake to work in Smash, you have to focus on what is the aspect of their series that has the most combat. In the case for Banjo and Snake it's the bosses.

[@omegahaxors9-11]

Summary: A balanced character in a game full of stupid bullshit

[@particleex6428]

As a newer banjo player, everyone gets mad when I gimp them at 0 or do down throw at a high percent, or zone them out. I guess it's all about adapting, or rather using the tools you're given to make your opponent mad. You win every time

[@saintbutters3684]

Not gonna lie, it’s kinda dirty that you made this video during banjo kazooies anniversary lmao

[@yashi4418]

I think another reason why people don't play him is because his damage compared to other characters is pretty bad getting a hit and only doing around 27 or 29% is nothing special while u can blow someone up with snake and do 34+ damage

[@carterbennett7528]

the num. 1 candidate for a character rework. my god the move set is boring, so it’s a nice surprise seeing them online

[@dwayne3191]

Nice and informative episode. Despite not being the most competitively viable, Banjo’s been a blast to play with. A character with two long-range projectiles you can get creative with and decent close-quarter options makes for a versatile and even fun move-set.

[@orangeslash1667]

@GameWatch-ih7bn Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@orangeslash1667]

@GameWatch-ih7bn I feels like most of the people that wanted Banjo in smash, was only thinking about exploring worlds and rarely fighting enemies. However if you really pay attention to Tooie's boss fights in replay mode, some of them can be hard. Which makes more sense in a fighting game. Another example is Snake, in Smash Snake feels more closer to his boss fights. Cause how can you incorporate Stealth in a fighting game?????

[@E_Fig05]

People who complain about Piranha Plant are just salty that it wasn't Waluigi. Plant may be the least (competitively) played DLC fighter, but that's because its weaknesses overpower its strengths, and it lacks enough setups to be a higher tier character.

[@purpleplantain374]

I was starting to think Banjo and Kazooie was OP. Had to check the tier and it seems I am just that good

[@Pepsiburkham]

I fully, fully believe banjo was never meant to be a dlc character. They have all the makings of a base game character with only wonderwing standing out, but we're made dlc because of how highly requested they were

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo is the only DLC character(outside of Plant) that is from a platfomer rather than and RPG or fighting game. So Banjo should be compared to ether Sonic, Diddy, and Daisy.

[@UniversalName]

You forgot to mention Wonderwing can also be stopped by Sora's counter

[@SonicTheCutehog]

No one plays Sora

[@Star-um9cz]

@@SonicTheCutehog Ayo-

[@jeremyabbott4537]

Incineroar is a counter to it, his side B counters Banjo's hard.

[@SonicTheCutehog]

@@jeremyabbott4537 Any command grab can do that

[@orangeslash1667]

@@SonicTheCutehog Sora's gameplan in Smash is super faithful to Kingdom Hearts by and large. In Smash, he's a defensive character. In KH, especially against superbosses, you have to memorize your opponent's attack patterns and wait for an opening to counterattack. Many characters in Smash reflect their playstyle from their home franchises and Sora is one of the best examples of that.

[@lorddio69420]

Why No/One Everyone Plays Bowser

[@YonkoNikaGia]

Why no one plays duck hunt

[@FridgeRaider69]

☝️

[@TaleOfTheToaster]

Damn this music slaps, very Zero Escape and very unexpected in a video about Banjo and Kazooie

[@dagoodboy6424]

As allways hit the nail on the head. Good vid. Yeah im suprised banjo is so meh after so long but then agian so ridley. Villager vid when? Lol

[@peachdevils3893]

Despite the fact that banjo and kazooie have super awesome and charming animations. They just ain’t that good

[@andrescube64]

It’s funny because this is the character that I wanted I’m smash and probably the most hyped and anticipated character reveals of smash!!! I like there moveset!!! Kazooie is carrying banjo because she does the heavy lifting.

[@bovid2750]

I think a why no one plays Marth would be interesting. Only MKleo is the only Marth player I can think of.

[@konflicted1729]

He plays Lucina

[@orangeslash1667]

@@konflicted1729 Lucina had the most damage at the hilt of the sword, so she can be more aggressive. Marth is only for those that really like Spacing.

[@FridgeRaider69]

The entire vid would revolve around one word: tipper

[@bovid2750]

@@orangeslash1667 that’s Roy, lucina has even blade damage

[@orangeslash1667]

@@bovid2750 I was comparing Lucina to Marth. Roy's play style is that he's a faster version of Marth/Lucina in exchange for worse air acceleration.

[@dinosaurusrex1482]

Banjo could have infinite wonderwings and he wouldn't change much in placement

[@FridgeRaider69]

you gotta do why no one plays duck hunt, you even pointed it out in your needs nerfs/buffs tierlist that you didnt have enough data on them simply because you never see them. they must be in the running for lowest pickrate in comp AND casual play (icees too)

[@evenubb]

you should make a why no one plays on pacman, i dont hear too much about him and want to hear about the stuff hes got

[@Angel_4862]

I kindly ask you to do a video of why no one plays terry because no one plays terry it’s only riddles

[@denisefrentz7208]

That’s weird B&K are one of the characters I main with king k rule

[@Venom-el5ne]

Why No One/Everyone plays Bowser

[@KrodaStagg]

Banjo-kazooie being fair and balanced is why I love them. Anyone can pick up an OP DLC fighter without knowing a thing about the character. Only true fans make Banjo-kazooie their main.

[@CharityDiary]

If his Side B was different, I'd play him. It's that simple.

[@snapdragonflame8719]

You know, for a DLC character, sometimes Banjo-Kazooie sure doesn't feel like one

[@RacingSnails64]

He really does feel like a base roster character, which is oddly interesting. I really hope they're able to get him in the base roster in the next Smash, considering how chummy Nintendo and Microsoft are now.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@RacingSnails64 Banjo is the only DLC character(outside of Plant) that is from a platfomer rather than and RPG or fighting game. So Banjo should be compared to ether Sonic, Diddy, Mega man, and Daisy.

[@chemicalderrick]

Anyone else feel an outright obligation to learn and play them due to intense nostalgia? Their moveset is just so full of stuff they used in Banjo-Tooie, my foot starts tapping to the Ordinance Storage [sic] theme the moment I hold B.

[@Shamanized]

As a massive BK fan, I LOVE that Banjo is this way, cause I hate maining characters that are top tier. I get no satisfaction from doing well with a character that is inherently "better" than other characters. It's also why my other mains are Little Mac, Jigglypuff, DK, and Dedede. But BK is even funner than them because he's so rounded. I love switching my playstyle up on a dime in the middle of a match because he has a lot of flexibility with that.

[@SuperNintendoChalmers096]

Sakurai did not make Banjo justice at all. It hurts me because I don´t want to drop this character at all, as well as I am doing with K Rool, he is just too fun to play for me and I can do some creative shit with him. I do not understand why Sakurai made him like a building damage character, with 0 knockback, 0 combos, and 100% zoner, relying entirely in a five uses move with tons of endlag and easy to counter and dodge to make high damage. DLC my fucking ass, if only in a Ultimate port or sequel they could fix his entire moveset...

[@SamuelJohnsonYT]

Sakurai probably doesn't want to make characters that people are requesting in the game to be a good character

[@Matanumi]

Banjo could switch with snake and nobody would Even question it

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Matanumi The sad thing is Banjo being too balanced makes a lot of sense. See Banjo is popular because he's created by Rare, they are also responsible for the Donkey Characters. So Banjo can't be about just one thing because the Donkey Kong characters already do that in Smash

[@SuperNintendoChalmers096]

@@Matanumi do not put worlds in either my mouth or the rest of people. even if the character is mediocre, still is a beloved character in the roster and one that should be in since melee. Every character in casual has a HUGE number of players

[@GENTLYCRIMINALL]

BANJO MAINS RISE UP LETS GOOOOO BABYYYYYY BANJO FOR LIFE

[@waffleman8053]

DLC is really a lose lose scenario. If a character is good or overtuned, people complain. If a character is bad, undertunded or even just normal, people complain. Theres no winning.

[@hazzydahaka13]

To be fair, people complain about the base roster a lot too (Pikachu, R.O.B, Palutena, K Rool in casual play, etc). It's in people's nature to complain, and never has that been more true than the Smash community, or hell, even the fighting game community in general.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@hazzydahaka13 Banjo is the only DLC character(outside of Plant) that is from a platfomer rather than and RPG or fighting game. So Banjo should be compared to ether Sonic, Diddy, and Daisy.

[@hazzydahaka13]

@@orangeslash1667 Did I say anything about comparing Banjo to other DLC? No. I was just saying that people tend to complain a lot. Especially the Smash community, who don't seem to appreciate what they have and complain about it instead of accepting it for what it is. Every single competitive community acts like this, wether they be FGC, Smash, MOBAs in general, or hell, there's people out there who complain about difficult games like Elden Ring or Hollow Knight all the time because of their difficulty. Controversy is everywhere, and the Smash community is no exception (even if it's the most egregious example). All your points do is bring up a different topic entirely (which don't get me wrong, I agree with your points, they're just in the wrong place). Good day sir.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@hazzydahaka13 The reason why Pyra and Kazyua are busted is because RPG's and fighting games are meant to be flashy. Platforming characters in Smash usually focus on mobility and jumping over power. That's the problem with Smash, there are people that only care about representation and only care about how cool they are. Sakurai struggles to do both. Banjo is easily one of the best characters in terms of representation, but because Banjo Kazooie is laid back platformer where you collect jiggys and bearly fight enemies. Banjo has a hard time appealing people who play Smash but hasn't played Banjo or most Western platfomers. There's another example a lot of Smash champions like MK Leo like sword fighters but casual Smash fans HATE Swords. It's pretty hard to appeal to both fans at the same time

[@banjo9158]

I hope next Smash treat DLC as being just normal, not trying to shove as many comeback mechanics as possible, and making characters having too much complicated stuff, even the aspect of all of them having to be super special representation. DLC being treated the way it is in Smash causes a lot of controversial and toxicity for both fans of representation and balance, DLC should just be an extra character that you had to paid for, nothing more nothing less.

[@BigGooseMan]

Varrs hasn’t been to the UK (;

[@thestirsquad4716]

When I realized that wonderwing and Steve mine cart are in the same game it ruined my day.

[@NeonStudios763]

They remembered to balance Banjo and Sora lmao

[@archmagemc3561]

Wait, I remember Banjo being able to have a guaranteed 2 frame at the ledge at any ledge grab angle vs even inkling with the start of wonder wing. Did they patch that out? That was what made his lackluster kit redeemable; if he ever got you off stage, you HAD to recover above the ledge or you died at 70.

[@Willchannel90]

Banjo the bear: Do'h! >X(

[@MoreFromKore]

I feel like they over compensated for wonderwing by making everything else Banjo has range from mid to awful. His uptilt and up air are nearly useless, the neutral air does 0 damage and is laggy, down air is abysmal, and his recovery is stupidly low!

[@sprontcan5961]

I quite like banjo and kazzoie. They are balanced and I think fair and fun to fight against. The problem, I think, is that to be highly represented in the competitive scene, a character needs to be better than fair. These two are not op, and dlc + fair is something people don't really get

[@orangeslash1667]

Most DLC characters are from RPG's, fighting games, and a Sandbox game. Banjo is from a platformer, so it makes more sense to compare Banjo to say Peach, Diddy Kong, Sonic, and Luigi.

[@LightsJusticeZ]

Argh! What is that background music? It sound sooo familiar but I can't put my finger on it! Also sad to hear B&K aren't that great and realy just average at best. His reveal though was so crazy though.

[@plabcentral630]

Nintendo could make crash bandicoot so cool or so lame and idk what they will do.

[@orangeslash1667]

Crash can't get in.

[@joshuaturner4602]

I wonder if banjo could be made to have that unfair element, if the removed the usage limit on wonderwing and lowered its startup. Long range, good damage, invincible if wonderwing had a faster start up and wasnt limited to 5 uses I could see B&J having their one unfair thing that brings their kit alive.

[@enton3989]

The only reason that wonder wing needs to be limited is because you could always get back to stage safely without counterplay. Wonderwing is kinda trash otherwise

[@orangeslash1667]

@@enton3989 Wonderwing is meant to punish mistakes, not to be offensive unless your feeling risky.

[@jasonlobo2350]

@@enton3989 nah you can 2frame WW with disjointed attacks so that reason makes no sense

[@keybearer26]

Banjo has a lot of great individual moves but they don't mix well

[@orangeslash1667]

Banjo needs to be very patient and attack when the opponent makes a mistake or be campy if Banjo can't find an opening. He's kinda like Sonic in a sense. In Banjo Tooie, boss fights are about running away from the bosses until they expose themselves. It also take about 6 mins to beat the Hag 1 in Banjo Tooie as well. Also Banjo's nair can sometimes damage characters on shield. One trick I discovered is that Banjo can edge guard with nair, and if Shockspring jump isn't enough he can use Wonderwing to make it back on stage.

[@DrDeez-do9zo]

This video is making me want to play Banjo & Kazooie lol.

[@shadmanhasan3164]

I feel like the reason that nobody nowadays don’t play Banjo and Kazooie is because not many players understand the way how to use his mix and match moves that go similar to Duck Hunt and other characters that were mentioned in the video. Banjo and Kazooie are a really fun character to use if you know how to us him well, but that’s just my opinion on it.

[@tonberry2670]

So much of Banjos moves just feel like worse versions of other characters moves

[@TKFgaming74]

Can we please get a no one players bowser?

[@misterwiggles8771]

they could have made any of these dumbass DLC characters the "worst" dlc (it very literally should have been Minmin, who shouldn't even be in the game). Why'd they have to do that to the boi (and goil)? smh my head frfr. Here is a list of changes that would have been so much better than what currently exists: A down air that flips B&K upside down for Kazooie to do a stomping attack that spikes (don't even have to take away the weakness of the current down air's knockback), and briefly stops B&K's downward momentum Make B&K Up Throw actually combo, even if it's only at early-mid percents. Grab buries are all garbage. Take at least like 7 frames off of the landing lag of at least one of these aerials- Nair or Bair (They really don't want us to have fun OR be great, huh?) Let them still use WonderWing after the 5 uses for the stock are out, just less damage, knock back, as well as no i-frames Put a fucking hitbox on Up Special. It doesn't have to be frame 1 bs like g&w, nor does it need i-frames, but as it stands, Banjo has NO decent vertical combo finisher. For 7 fucking dollars? I have never heard of a whole corporation having dementia but it's 2024 ig. Literally ANY ONE of these changes would have blended together with the existing moveset so well. None of these things would make B&K busted, overpowered, or overall different from what currently is. Yet, here we still are, just suffering. Edit: because how the actual fuck could I forget about up-tilt hitbox? At least have an up-swinging hitbox to catch opponents directly in front of you, what the fuck, Sakurai. (JK boss ily slay)