Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (Switch) Review

There’s a simple sort of delight that comes with the Super Monkey Ball games. Chittering monkeys squealing as they bounce around elaborate courses in gacha balls still remains goofy fun laced with a precise, often frustrating, amount of player skill. Banana Mania brings the tried-and-true gameplay to the full gambit of gaming platforms as a celebratory remake that combines stages from Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe. 

Of course, I’m coming into this franchise as someone that’s always enjoyed seeing the franchise at events like Games Done Quick and playing a little bit on Gamecube. Big-time Monkey Ball fans may have more positive elements (and potentially more negative elements) to highlight so my take is more as a casual fan of this collection of silly trials and antics. 

Where I think Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania excels the most is the sheer amount of variety. Included in the game are over 300 stages, 12 party games, additional modes to unlock, a slew of Sega mascots to bounce around as, customizable characters, a gallery, leaderboards, there’s a surprising amount of things to do. 

I think more games could use this type of whimsical creativity; most of the mini-games have been seen in various forms in the past but I still love to see them here. Monkey Fight, Billiards, and Target are all fun distractions that also have a little variety on top of just recreating the core game. For example, Billiards can be played in a versus or tournament fashion with four types of rulesets. This approach really pushes the game into being an excellent party game. 

Another aspect of this game that immediately made me smile is the game’s presentation which is full of slick UI elements and a catchy song. It feels a bit like a less crazy version of what was used in Persona 5; it’s far more straightforward but it’s easy to navigate and keeps a bit of that whimsy that permeates the entire game. The music is overall excellent, something that permeates the entire franchise. 

The core gameplay of rolling around through courses is still full of pulse-pounding moments and there are few things that make me cheer like hurling a chibified Kazuma Kiryu of the Yakuza series into a goal at extreme speeds. Simple mechanics truly can be accentuated by level design that takes those limitations into consideration. Some of my favorite games of recent memory subscribe to this design philosophy such as DUSK, Everhood, and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. 

Something I’ve found a deep need for is Switch games that are extremely quick to pick up for a short gaming session that remains engaging enough that I feel satisfied. This has led me to pick up a large variety of games in genres that I would normally avoid like racing titles, arcadey sports games, or precision platformers. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania fits nicely into my ever-expanding catalog of games that are fun to play portably. I can easily spend 15 minutes jostling around monkeys and walk away happy. 

There are lots of courses that are insanely tough but when I hit these, I usually jump to a mini-game when I’m feeling overwhelmed. There is a Helper Function that will chime in which enables a handy path, offers a slow-motion mode, and increases the time limit but it does lock the player out of the EX version of the stage. 

I do wish that there was a little more control in the game's camera as it gets a little too close to the ball and it has to be cared for instead of locking into a position. Really, the only thing holding me back from clearing huge swaths of stages is the game’s steadily increasing difficulty. I loaded up a challenge stage just to see what madness awaited me later in the game, only to find a gaping maw of frozen nightmares and razor-thin balancing. I quickly realized that the tougher levels were not made for me, a casual player laughing at bumbling monkeys, but instead for the hardcore audience that pushes the game to the limits. Particularly talented players have a ton to explore. I’m not sure how the game compares to past titles but the gameplay feels comparable enough that this is an easy recommendation for those looking to add some silly variety to their game system of choice. 

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania celebrates the franchise and Sega as a whole in a solid collection of variety, challenge, and goofy fun. 

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 8/10

VISUALS - 8/10

SOUND - 8/10

CONTROLS - 7/10

REPLAY VALUE - 9/10

OVERALL - 8/10

Learn more about Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania on the official website. The game will launch on October 5th for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. 

A digital copy was provided early for the purpose of this review; there may be patches that improve various aspects of the game upon launch. Screenshots were captured using the native features of the Switch.