Shigeru Miyamoto Grant Kirkhope
An unimpressed Shigeru Moyamoto and Grant Kirkhope. NBC / Playtonic

Meeting Shiguero Miyamoto, the legendary creator of Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda and so much more, has got to be a daunting and exciting moment to remember for anyone familiar with his incredible work.

For most that meet him it'll be a cherished memory, but it can also go very, very wrong, as Grant Kirkhope, the beloved video game composer behind Rare-developed favourite Banjo-Kazooie and Yooka-Laylee, can attest.

Kirkhope is currently working on a soundtrack for upcoming crossover strategy title Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, and in a GameIndustry.biz profile on those working on the game, the Brit dredged up this embarrassing tale.

"It was when E3 had moved to Atlanta [in 1997]. Nintendo had a party in a museum, and we all got hideously drunk.

"I saw [Rare founder] Tim Stamper talking to Miyamoto, and I introduced myself as the composer of Banjo-Kazooie, totally drunk. He just looked at me with the blankest expression, he couldn't tell what I was saying.

"A while later, I was in the bathroom - and this is embarrassing - I was trying to pull down [Donkey Kong 64 designer] George Andreas' trousers for a joke. I was on my knees and I looked up to see Miyamoto staring down at me. That was the last time I spoke to him."

Not the ideal way to meet an icon of the industry.

Kirkhope worked on numerous Rare titles during the studios' heyday developing Nintendo 64 exclusives such as Goldeneye, Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel. Mario + Rabbids is the first game he's worked on to feature Nintendo characters since 1999's Donkey Kong 64.

"You are trying to make [the game] great because our childhood was spent playing Mario," Kirkhope said. "I feel like pinching myself everyday, because I can't believe I'm working on this.

"No-one would let anything go that was slightly below par. It was always pushing, pushing, pushing all the time. That passion level was up there for the entire time, and not once did anyone slack off."

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle releases exclusively on Nintendo Switch on 29 August 2017.

Shigeru Miyamoto Nintendo Ubisoft