Keychain

After many years stuck out in the video gaming wilderness, the return of mighty duo Banjo-Kazooie had one or two of us at Nintendo Life Towers shedding a tear when they were revealed to be joining the fray with the other Smash Bros. fighters. IP owners Microsoft might not be doing anything Rareware's bear and bird, but Masahiro Sakurai and his team gave the beloved characters the treatment they deserved in the eyes of fans and we were as pleased as punch to see them return to a Nintendo system.

Prior to the Smash Bros. reveal, some new merch fueled the fan flame of a possible revival and Rare has been cashing in on the duo's popularity with a few select items. The erstwhile Nintendo second-party developer has now tweeted showing off a new keychain and associated charms in the form of the various items Banjo and Kazooie use in their 3D platforming adventures:

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They're up for grabs on the Fangamer website, alongside a few other items, including some natty fan-submitted designs on hoodies and t-shirts. There's also a plush set of the pair 'coming soon'. Our personal favourite item, though, is probably the patented Rareware Googly Eyes pin badge. Ah, the places we'd stick those!

These all certainly seem a little more affordable than the gorgeous First 4 Figures statue revealed last year. Perhaps it's time to pick up a couple of things so our Totaku statue doesn't feel so lonely while we wait for the inevitable amiibo.

It's good to see some official merchandise for the bear and bird - for so long Etsy was the only option. Let us know if you'll be picking up any of the above below, if you know what we mean.

[source twitter.com]