Banjo & Kazooie fans will be happy to hear that the iconic bear-and-bird duo rank as a high-tier in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s amiibo metagame. They’re the best kind of high-tier, too: they’re strong enough to perform well in tournaments, but aren’t so powerful that trainers become frustrated when they lose to them. If you’d like to train your own Banjo-Kazooie amiibo, we’ve got a helpful guide you can read to learn how!
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Banjo & Kazooie – along with Terry and Byleth – were accessed almost three months early in December 2020. This means competitive trainers had several months to experiment with the character prior to release, and it didn’t take long to notice their strengths: mainly, their kill power and ledge-trapping capabilities. Indeed, Banjo’s forward smash is quite powerful and boasts a decent range, making it one of the better forward smashes among the cast. Banjo & Kazooie are also able to launch opponents at a near-horizontal angle using down tilt, which makes recovery extremely difficult for fighters like Little Mac and Bowser. They can then walk up to the ledge and employ a mixture of Egg Firing and Rear Egg (both hard-coded in this case) to harass any enemy trying to recover back.
Despite being classified as more of a heavy-hitting zoner-type character, Banjo & Kazooie’s AI is hard-coded with several built-in combos by the time it reaches Level 43. For example, it can use a landing neutral air into a grab and then two up airs and then a forward air; it’s also been seen using Breegull Blaster to “lock” opponents into its projectiles in midair. Furthermore, Banjo & Kazooie have access to Wonderwing; it doesn’t need to be specifically trained (the AI will use it regardless, which is fine) but can come in handy in dire situations.
Unfortunately, Banjo & Kazooie do suffer from a fair amount of weaknesses. Perhaps their most glaring flaw is their recovery; though Wonderwing and Shock Spring Jump grant acceptable horizontal and vertical distance, respectively, they tend to leave the duo vulnerable to edgeguarding. Banjo’s recovery AI is a rather sloppy port of Incineroar’s, too — which means it will often use Shock Spring Jump before Wondering even in situations where the reverse is most optimal. Most of Banjo & Kazooie’s grounded attacks only hit once, which means they occasionally struggle against opponents who use lots of perfect shields.
Despite their weaknesses, the duo has a decent matchup spread, though they have been noted to falter in games against King Dedede, King K. Rool, Mii Gunner, and sometimes Lucas. Interestingly enough, Banjo & Kazooie go even against Byleth even though they’re at a range disadvantage. Overall, though, the character has accrued solid tournament results and high representation (which is no doubt thanks to the figurine’s relatively-recent release date). We’ve gathered a treasure trove (cove) of resources regarding Banjo & Kazooie’s FP below, so be sure to give them a look! Join our Discord community if you have any questions.
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