the 2018 crossover fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Phil Spencer, head of the Xbox brand, stated that negotiating the characters' inclusion was an "easy deal to make" due to their strong third-party relationship with Nintendo. The characters were released on September 4, 2019 alongside a stage based on Spiral Mountain and Banjo-Kazooie musical arrangements, including one by original composer Grant Kirkhope. Diddy Kong Racing artist Paul Cunningham was responsible for Banjo and Kazooie's design in Ultimate. Rare studio head Craig Duncan explained that he had met with Nintendo at E3 2018 to discuss the characters' inclusion, then connected their teams because they thought it seemed like a great opportunity. In a later interview, Duncan shared that Minecraft had paved the way for the relationship between Nintendo and Microsoft that allowed for Banjo and Kazooie's inclusion. Masahiro Sakurai noted that the addition of Banjo and Kazooie as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate happened "quite easily", despite their ownership by Microsoft. According to Sakurai, in an officially-sanctioned fan ballot held for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in 2015, Banjo and Kazooie were the second most requested characters after Sora from Kingdom Hearts, which led to the characters' inclusion in Ultimate. Reception Critics have praised the characters' unique and diverse speech patterns in the Banjo-Kazooie series. Nintendo Power remarked that the characters "have more of a loud-mouthed attitude than Mario and crew." In Banjo-Pilot, Eurogamer and VideoGamer both noted that characters such as Banjo were relatively obscure and would likely only be recognized by those who played the N64 Banjo games. In Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge, GameZone appreciated that Rare brought "Banjo's hilarious and indescribable jibber-jabber" back. Edge claimed that its characters are "impossible to dislike."<ref>"Banjo-Tooie". Edge. No. 93. Future Publishing. January 2001. pp. 100–101.</ref> Samuel James Riley of GamesRadar listed Banjo and Kazooie as the best video game duo, and further stated that, unlike some duos, Banjo and Kazooie's particular quirks really do work to improve one another. Nick Gillett of The Guardian listed Kazooie as the best video game sidekick, and further stated that Kazooie's relationship with Banjo is a pleasing inversion of the normally acquiescent sidekick schtick. Gus Turner of Complex Networks listed Banjo and Kazooie as the one of the best-forgotten video game heroes, and further stated that "Rare's animal duo caught on in a big way with N64 gamers." Ravi Sinha