Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania & Banana Blitz HD

Super Monkey Ball returns for the first time in almost a decade! It's coming to Switch, PS4, XBox One & Steam...and it's a remake...... of Banana Blitz.



That announcement trailer shows you hee-haw in the way of gameplay, though Famistu printed some screenshots that are all over the usual newsites.. Like everybody else, I think this is an odd choice for a remake - it's not a celebrated game by any stretch of the imagination. However, unlike everybody else, I think it's good fun.

Although it's retailing at full price, a price drop will inevitably follow milliseconds later, and that's when I'll give this another bash. How about youse?

I do miss Monkey Ball - I only ever really played the first Super one, and it soon became very hard. However, does this one have Monkey Target?

It's got a bastardised version of it:



Some of the minigames in Banana Blitz are legendarily poor. I remember my mates and I playing through them over the course of a couple of summer nights when the Wii was still new, and I was floored as to how the developer could think 'aye, that'll be good fun'. Mind you, they'll either have to sort out those motion controls for the non-Nintendo versions...or just leave all the minigames out altogether!

Certainly a bold move. A remake of Super Monkey Ball 1/2, especially as a bundle, would have been nice. Or of Super Monkey Ball Deluxe I guess, since it had the levels of all those games and more. Played the games relatively briefly at a friend's house and enjoyed them a lot.

Hopefully they make this good but my hopes aren't terribly high.

An odd one to remake and the VITA has a semi-related version which I don't own and seeing they will be much the same, I'd sooner get then buy a full-price remake of it.

I could also just get it on Wii.

Baffling choice of game to remake, I guess it was just the cheapest

Like OR said, I'm assuming there's a tedious development reason they've picked this one- maybe the assets are all still available, whereas remaking the originals would involve a ground-up remake job?

As with literally everyone else on Earth, I'd much sooner be replaying the original two classics but I'll probably give it a bash just to encourage Sega to revive the series properly.

Kriken wrote:

A remake of Super Monkey Ball 1/2, especially as a bundle, would have been nice.

This would be the obvious sane move. BB is the one with the jump, right? Monkey nuts to that.

To be fair the biggest problem with BB was the motion controls made it slightly more difficult when it needed to be making the later worlds feel near impossible. Hoping it’ll feel good and won’t just end up with them throwing a channel right down the middle of the level to ruin any kind of challenge.

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Im up for getting this, even though it isnt the best one as folk have said I think it'll still be fun to revisit.

Jimbob wrote:

I do miss Monkey Ball - I only ever really played the first Super one, and it soon became very hard. However, does this one have Monkey Target?

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

It's got a bastardised version of it:

Aw, I just wanted Monkey Target! I'm probably out

Lots of good points well made by others, but

Drunkalilly wrote:

Like OR said, I'm assuming there's a tedious development reason they've picked this one- maybe the assets are all still available, whereas remaking the originals would involve a ground-up remake job?

As with literally everyone else on Earth, I'd much sooner be replaying the original two classics but I'll probably give it a bash just to encourage Sega to revive the series properly.

more or less sums it up for me. I really hope they take andyman's advice and don't through channels through the middle of the levels. They did that with the Super Monkey Ball game on 3DS, that wrecked it right enough.

Crumpy Andy wrote:

To be fair the biggest problem with BB was the motion controls made it slightly more difficult when it needed to be making the later worlds feel near impossible. Hoping it’ll feel good and won’t just end up with them throwing a channel right down the middle of the level to ruin any kind of challenge.

Joycon tilt controls the only way to play confirmed.

To be fair, Monkey Ball has always aped those real-life tilty maze things: it'd probably be quite fun in handheld! (Right before it got Switch-hurlingly annoying.)

Balladeer wrote:

To be fair, Monkey Ball has always aped those real-life tilty maze things

Bring back Kororinpa.

I've never played a Super Monkey Ball game, so I figured this might be one to check out. I guess judging by the posts above that it's not up to much, then?

It's all right, just not as good as Kororinpa! After the GameCube original, that's the best Super Monkey Ball game (if that makes any sense).

Yes, I think the consensus is 'pretty average'. I didn't like the jump and I got stuck on the third boss, so I didn't like the bosses either.

I'm also on board with buying to encourage a new game, as bad a practice as that is I don't remember having any issues with Banana Blitz even if it isn't the best version.

That’s SEGA doing what they should have done instead of Banana Blitz HD, and remake the best Super Monkey Ball games for modern times.

 

Banana Blitz HD was very happy, bright and accomplished, but never anything more than an OK game at its core. Full “faithfully remastered” versions of Super Monkey Ball, it’s sequel and the additional content from the 2005 Deluxe ‘best-of’ on your Switch/Xbox/PS is something you should be getting excited about. I know I am.

My only concern is the dead zones around those consoles’ controller’s analog sticks. It’s maybe too much to ask, but then again it really isn’t: I hope that the Switch version of Banana Mania has GameCube controller support.

That would be nice for them to add for the Switch version but that extra step is rarely taken on remasters.

Kriken wrote:

Certainly a bold move. A remake of Super Monkey Ball 1/2, especially as a bundle, would have been nice. Or of Super Monkey Ball Deluxe I guess, since it had the levels of all those games and more.

I WANT RAMPANT CELEBRATION KRIKEN

Yep this is nice, albeit probably not for me. I'm not hugely impressed at another remake, but would I be hugely impressed by a new Monkey Ball from the current lot anyway? Signs point to 'no'.

Definitely keen for this. I hadn't thought about GCN controls being an option but that would be grand.

Any excuse to play Monkey Target again!

I wish I was better at actual proper Monkey Ball. I eventually completed the first game, but once I'd unlocked infinite continues - there was no way I was going to be able to "git gud" at it.

Same. I was somehow even worse at it after they introduced a jump button in Banana Blitz.

When's Kororinpa Remastered coming out?

Nevermind that, where's Kula World HD?