Part of the enduring appeal of the Super Smash Bros series is the chances it gives us to pit iconic gaming characters off against each other. But James Bond, despite his storied history on Nintendo consoles, has yet to make an appearance in the fun fighting franchise.
GoldenEye on N64, in particular, is considered to be a classic in Nintendo’s back-catalogue. Many an evening has been spent among mates, running frantically around a map, slapping enemies as a pixelated approximation of Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond (and the other characters from Martin Campbell’s 1995 007 flick).
The idea of dropping Brosnan’s Bond into a battle with Mario, Pikachu and all the rest is an absolute doozie, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that the concept has been considered at Nintendo. The suggestion of adding Bond to the Smash Bros universe was apparently raised during the development of 2001’s Gamecube-era Super Smash Bros. Melee.
And now, we know why Bond didn’t make it into the eventual game. This statement cropped up on Nintendo’s official statement during a segment on Smash Dojo:
“Showing realistic guns = no good! Character uses an actor’s likeness = no good! Since the original game is based on a movie, getting those rights = no good! He’s Rare’s property = no good! Blocked on all fronts.”
The statement also notes that using characters from games that Rare developed “would be difficult for various reasons.” Banjo and Kazooie may seem like an “obvious inclusion” to fans, for instance, “but that’s unlikely for a variety of legal and financial reasons.”
Bond bashing Bowser with his Slappers Only special move is an image that lives only in our memories, then, and seems likely to stay that way. Shame.
H/t: Sourcegaming.info