Banjo-Kazooie artist “surprised” that the model wasn’t tweaked for Smash Bros. Ultimate
Original Banjo-Kazooie artist Steve Mayles has commented further on the characters’ appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and specifically their design. He was “surprised” that there weren’t any tweaks to the model. This was unlike King K. Rool, another one of Mayles’ character, who did actually receive an update in Smash Bros.
Mayles told Shesez in a recent interview:
“I think it’s very true to the original concept. I was surprised that they hadn’t made any tweaks, because with the K. Rool model they gave him a bit of a nip and tuck and he came out looking as good as he’s ever looked. But with Banjo they seem to have been very careful to make sure that he looks almost exactly the same as the N64 promotional model that I did, which is a great honor for me.”
Mayles said that if he had personally worked on the models, he would have made a few changes – in particular, his shorts.
Mayles explained:
“If I was doing it I would’ve made a few changes, but I can completely understand why they copied the N64 model, because that is the model the fans love. If they made too many changes, you’d have people saying, ‘it doesn’t look like Banjo anymore!’ He always needs his tight shorts! The proportions of the new Smash model are similar to the very original Banjo that nobody ever really saw that was in [SNES prototype] Project Dream. His head is a lot smaller, because when he made the transition from the adventure game to the 3D platformer that we know and love, I scaled his head up and made some changes to his proportions as well so he’d better fit the more cutesy style of the platformer. But this one has gone back a little bit to that adventure style game Banjo.”
