Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

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Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania
Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello Ba-na-na! SUPER MONKEY BALL! - The Title Theme
Protagonist(s): AiAi
MeeMee
Baby
GonGon
YanYan
Doctor
Genre(s): Platform
Party
Platform(s): Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Nintendo Switch
Xbox Series X/S
PlayStation 5
Release Date: October 5, 2021 (Western)
October 7, 2021 (Eastern)
Engine: Unity
Developer(s): Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher(s): Sega
Country: Japan
United States
Series: Super Monkey Ball
Predecessor: Super Monkey Ball Deluxe (game order)
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (chronological order)
Successor: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble (by release date)


Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is the twelfth game of the Super Monkey Ball franchise. This game is to coincide the 20th anniversary of the said franchise.

Why It Is A Banana Mania

  1. This game returns the elements from the first two Super Monkey Ball games (including the Deluxe version).
  2. The graphics are stunning and beautiful.
  3. It also adds coins in order to buy something new in the shop like the "Jump" mechanic, special modes, costumes, filter modes used for taking pictures, other characters from other franchises (like Sonic, Tails and Beat) and even some Sega consoles to play as (like the Game Gear and Dreamcast).
  4. The player can change music to classic music, but it only applies during DLC.
  5. Jam and Jet return in this game (with both being playable since Super Monkey Ball 3D).
  6. Challenge mode returns in this game, with versions 1 and 2 separated.
  7. Story mode returns in this game since the "Deluxe" version.
  8. An Online Leaderboard has been added to the "Challenge Mode" and "Party Games".
  9. There are 747 missions in this game, some which includes in Party games. Though some missions may be optional due to hard missions like Ranking Challenges.
  10. Ranking challenge returns in this game.
  11. There are funny moments such as Doctor being late for chasing Dr. Bad Boon after the five monkeys chase him and Dr. Bad Boon imagining AiAi eating curry-flavored banana and breathing fire.
  12. The soundtrack is amazing, especially the title theme.
    • Speaking of the title theme, there is a full version which can be played on the main menu when pressing L, L, R, L, R, R on your controller.
  13. A "Special Mode" was added in the game:
    • In "Original Stage" mode, the player can play through 23 specific stages and presents them in the original.
    • In "DX (or Deluxe)" mode, the player must complete stages exclusively from the Deluxe version.
    • In "Dark Banana" mode, the player will avoid touching the dark banana across 10 stages in order for them to clear the game. Touching the dark banana will result in a "Game Over" and it will restart the stage.
    • In "Golden Banana" mode, the player must collect all of the golden bananas across 10 stages in order for them to clear the game.
    • In "Reverse" mode, the player must complete 10 stages in reverse.
    • There are modes which can change filters (also known as "Render" modes), such as Toy, Sepia, and Noir.
  14. The difficulty curve is now balanced thanks to the aesthetics whether the Jump mechanic is on or off.
  15. DLC is available in this game. You get to have DLC for this game including skins based on the original games and some playable characters consisting of Morgana from Persona 5, Suezo from Monster Rancher, and Hello Kitty. That wasn't enough, you get to play as a Sega Game Gear, a Sega Dreamcast, and a Sega Saturn.
    • The monkeys' classic designs return as well, including YanYan and Doctor.
  16. The "Jump" ability returns in the game since "Banana Blitz" and its HD remake. It can also make it easier clear some hard stages such as Flat Maze, Labyrinth, Collapse, and Puzzle.
  17. The player can also skip stages in the "Options" menu.
  18. The lives are removed in this game, making it better for newcomers to play this game.
  19. Speaking of removing the lives, it features Helper Mode, where the player can use these to help complete the stage, but sadly it cannot clear time or missions or enter EX stages.
  20. Party games, including Monkey Race, Monkey Fight, Monkey Shot, Monkey Golf, and Monkey Target, also return in this game, with beautiful graphics and remixed arrangements.
  21. It brought the series back to its former glory after Banana Blitz and several games that came after it received mixed to negative reviews from fans due to their implementation of gimmicks that felt very tacky and poorly thought-out such as guardrails (which was hated by many fans alike for making the games way too easy), thankfully for this game, the gimmicks are scrapped and the fundamentals from the first two games are back in a refreshing and more modern way while still keeping the charm of what made them so good to play in the first place (although there are a very few guardrail-like stages, those being Gutter and Concentric) which is a nice way of letting more modern audiences being able to get into the series more easily thanks to this changes while still letting fans to still enjoy the game and be fine with all the changes that were made, which is great.
  22. The idea of remastering a game from three games (1, 2, and Deluxe), which is considered as a faithful remake, is executed very well. Unlike Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl where it was terribly executed due to their complete faithfulness. Here, it is 60-75% faithful due to added features.
  23. On top of the characters, the monkeys all have alternate costumes that you can unlock, which were introduced in Super Monkey Ball 3D. But unlike Super Monkey Ball 3D, those alternates were not put side to side on the character select screen. Instead, they're swappable by a push of a button.
    • And another thing, the 4 original monkeys have their GameCube renders thrown in, plus Yanyan and Doctor have their own GameCube render style.

Bad Qualities

  1. Like Sonic Free Riders and Team Sonic Racing, the cutscenes in story mode are just still images.
    • Likewise, the player cannot choose any stages in Story mode comparing to the second game and its Deluxe version.
  2. All stages are reused from the first two games and nothing new. Though, the game "Touch n' Roll" has new stages such as Spiral Staircase, Sine Wave, Pinball Pursuit, Palpitation, Intertwined, and Free Ride.
  3. Some infamous stages such as Strata, Stamina Master (Which, believe it or not, is actually HARDER than the original), Bridge Master, Long Torus, Planets, Helix, and Dizzy System also return.
  4. Because the lives are gone, the game itself can be easy, except the infamous stages and when going through Challenge Mode's missions (like beat the level set on Expert or Marathon with less than 99 Fall Outs / Time Overs in total (or SMB (number) Expert/Marathon Challenge 99) and without the Helper function).
  5. The "Jump" mechanic cannot save "Clear Time" and cannot be used in "Online Ranking Challenges". Through it does not function as a Helper feature to do Expert/Marathon 99 missions.
  6. For some reason, if you want to use the Jump mechanic, you have to purchase it for 30,000 points in the points shop.
    • Also, if you want to hear the original soundtrack of the first two games, you also have to purchase it via DLC in various digital stores.
  7. The other characters from different franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, lack any voices and also lack their themes, excluding collectibles in stages.
  8. Minor False Advertising: In the Nintendo Direct E3 2021 trailer, it does not depict Super Monkey Ball Jr. and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz, despite the two being part of this franchise. It is excusable for the former as it does not appear in the art book or inside the Japanese cover art, but it is not excusable for the latter since it can be found in both.
    • Not only that, the E3 trailer depicts Super Monkey Ball Adventure, but it does not appear in the Japanese cover art.
    • Another one shows Monkey Race's Sky Downtown the HUD menu for the Switch version, featuring a building that resembles "Burger Cube" and a palm tree outside of the track, but they do not appear due to minor hardware limitations.

Trivia

  • This, WarioWare: Get It Together!, and Mario Party Superstars are the only games that first appeared in the Nintendo Direct E3 2021 to have a front box art filled with gameplays (Banana Mania's Challenge mode and Party games, Get It Together's microgames, and MP Superstars' minigames).
  • This and Mario Party Superstars share their distinctions:
    • Both of them are the celebration of their franchises, the former being the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Super Monkey Ball while the latter being the proper celebration of the franchise when The Top 100 gained negative reviews, despite being the 24th anniversary.
    • Both of them are party games.
    • They saved their franchises as a whole as they gained glory when the former removed guardrails and bringing back more complex stages while the latter gained their classic Mario Party formula by returning boards, reverting the dice blocks to 10, and removing vehicles.
    • Having the same font, being New Rodin Pro DB.
    • Both were released on October 2021.
    • Having customizations such as balls for the former and cards for the latter.
    • Having realistic settings and graphics instead of cartoony settings and graphics.
    • They appeared back-to-back in the Nintendo E3 2021 video.

Reception

The game received generally positive reception, with a score 76/100 for Metacritic (in all consoles), 7/10 for Nintendo Life, and 8/10 for Destructoid.

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