A lot of emphasis is placed on modernizing the game, adding as many accessibility options and extras which newcomers will certainly appreciate. Yet no matter how much appreciation I have for this genre, it takes a specific kind of player to enjoy this game and it definitely isn’t for everyone. You have to admire the amount of thought and effort put into the intricate level design of Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania. There was some entertaining story beats every time you complete a world involving many of its monkey characters like AiAi and GonGon, but besides taking on challenge levels and missions, interest levels sadly plummet because of its tough level progression. Bring friends along and suffer togetherĭespite hundreds of unique and creatively designed levels, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania eventually falls into the trap of losing the interest of single-player gamers due to its difficulty spike, and that’s even with skipping notoriously tough levels to advance in the game. Players also have an infinite number of lives, giving everybody the option to complete the game no matter the skill level, as long as you have the patience to go through all of the levels. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania also gives you the option to skip entire levels at the cost of in-game currency, which is a low-key great addition and something a lot of players will surely use. In the event that you find yourself pulling hairs at some of the levels, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania offers a number of ways to make it easier for the player, adding options like assist mode, doubling the time limit, and even a slow-motion button. Let’s see Kiryu punch his way out of this one The first few levels take you through most of what you need to know about how to progress in the game, but Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania quickly ramps it up, adding in challenge after challenge, forcing you to get creative and think of ways to hit the goal. Gyro controls would have been a great addition to the game and is definitely a missed opportunity to add more immersion into the mix, You have no control of the monkey ball and your only option of agency is by angling the board differently for the monkey ball to reach the finish line. The controls are simple enough to pick up and play, where you only use the left stick to move the board and the right stick to move the camera. Thinking of several variants of taking a monkey on a ball and getting them to the goal is one thing, but a hundred different iterations is an achievement by itself. The amount of thought put into the level design of the game is commendable. A testament to creative level designīeing a compilation of 3 games, you get the full suite of levels, offering a huge amount of content across the story and challenge modes. I guess Kiryu can sort of pass for a monkey. It’s an old-school arcade game inside and out.Īs a newbie in this franchise, does the game warrant a full release or would it have been better off as a mini-game in the Yakuza series? I had the weekend to check the game to find out. You also get to collect bananas along the way while aiming for higher points. The object of Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is quite simple – you get a monkey inside a ball, roll it around the track to get them through the finish line before the allotted time runs out. Imagining Toshihiro Nagoshi and his tough-guy stature produce and direct a game about monkeys rolling in a ball is something I’ll probably never get used to. To celebrate 20 years of monkey rolling madness, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania remasters the first 3 games of the series – Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe – for the consoles and PC that aims to bring back fond memories for fans and re-introduce the game to a younger audience.Īs a newbie to the franchise, what surprised me is that the game is developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, more famously known for the Yakuza series.
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