Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, the first brand new entry in SEGA’s cult classic platformer series in over a decade, is just around the corner. While there has certainly been no shortage of remakes available on Switch, with both Banana Blitz HD (2019) and Banana Mania (2021) helping to scratch the itch for more Super Monkey Ball content, Banana Rumble promises an all-new adventure, local/online multiplayer, five unique battle modes, and plenty of chaotic physics-based gameplay. Launching as a Nintendo Switch exclusive on 25 June 2024, is Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble appealing enough for everyone, or did the game need a bit more time to fully ripen?
If you’ve never played a Super Monkey Ball game before, the core gameplay consists of tilting an obstacle course, either with motion controls or by using the left stick, to roll a ball with a cute little monkey character inside to reach the end goal as fast as possible. As expected, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is no different, with the improved physics feeling tight and responsive (and precise controls/camera settings that can be fine-tuned to your preference). This time however, some inspiration is taken from Sonic the Hedgehog with the newly introduced “Spin Dash” move, allowing you to boost yourself forwards to temporarily increase your speed and therefore momentum. Using the Spin Dash feels incredibly natural, perfect for shortcuts and speedrunning, with the mechanic being a great addition that I hope becomes a mainstay for future titles.
The main campaign of Banana Rumble, referred to in-game as Adventure Mode, consists of 200 all-new stages that can be played solo or with up to three friends, both locally and online. Taking place on the tropical resort known as Juicy Island, AiAi and friends meet an adventurer named Palette, who asks for help in seeking seven artifacts known as OOPArts. These artifacts (which look suspiciously like Chaos Emeralds) are said to be used to locate what’s known as “the Legendary Banana,” which Palette believes her missing papa might also be after. While the narrative is mostly surface-level and predictable, the fully CG-animated cutscenes that play before the start of each world are super charming and adorable.
It only takes a few hours to complete the first 100 stages (10 worlds, 10 stages each), which is where the story and cutscenes come to an end. However, after the credits roll, you’ll begin to unlock “EX” versions of all the previous worlds, eventually adding 100 unique and much more challenging stages. I found the majority of stages to be very well-designed, being easy to understand but hard to master, with gradually progressing difficulty. Finishing a world also unlocks the “Time Attack” mode for that world, allowing you to test your speedrunning skills on the online leaderboards. Clearing a stage only requires you to reach the goal within 60 seconds, but there are also three optional missions per stage to earn extra points; collect the Golden Banana, collect a certain number of bananas, and clear the stage within a set timeframe, which adds tons of replayability.
There are seven playable characters available from the get-go (AiAi, MeeMee, Baby, GonGon, YanYan, Doctor, and Palette) that can be used across all modes, with more to be unlocked as you progress through the campaign. Each character has their own set of stats based on speed, break, weight, and spin, but I personally went with AiAi for my playthrough because he’s the most well-rounded. Over 300 cosmetic character customization items, including clothing, accessories, ball types, and more can be unlocked and purchased using the points you earn from playing the campaign, as well as the multiplayer Battle Modes.
There are 5 different Battle Modes in Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble: Race (reach the goal first), Banana Hunt (collect the most bananas), Ba-BOOM! (hot potato with bombs), Goal Rush (roll through goals to earn points), and Robot Smash (damage robots to earn points). When playing online, you can compete against up to 16 players, but sadly, local split-screen is restricted to only 2 players (despite Adventure Mode being playable with up to 4) with optional CPU bots that can be added. There are 15 battle stages (themed after the worlds in Adventure Mode) split between the 5 modes. Competitive items can be used in each of the Battle Modes by either rolling into an item box (think Mario Kart) or filling up your item gauge over time, with some special items only obtainable for certain characters. My favourite of the Battle Modes are definitely Race and Banana Hunt, but all of the 5 modes are different enough to provide plenty of value and replayability, especially when playing online or with the right group of friends. While it would have been nice to see a new and reworked Monkey Target mode too, SEGA has confirmed that more stages and modes will be added in future updates, so hopefully our patience will be rewarding.
As a Switch exclusive, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble was built from the ground up specifically for the platform, and for the most part, that’s very apparent. Even though the graphics are quite simplistic, the pleasant, colourful art-style still makes it very visually appealing, especially on an OLED screen. Load times are surprisingly fast, with stages being reset almost immediately after accidentally rolling off. And while I’m unable to give exact framerate details, the game ran consistently smooth for the most part, with only a few occasional noticeable dips during multiplayer when a lot was happening on screen.
UPDATE: The framerate is 60fps in single-player and 30fps in multiplayer modes. This will bother some more than others, but the occasional dips I’m referring to are when the game drops below the target framerate.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is available as two different versions: Standard (€39.99/$49.99) and Digital Deluxe (€59.99/$69.99), with the extra content of the latter also sold separately via the eShop for £22.29/$24.99 for those who opt to purchase a physical copy of the game. The Digital Deluxe edition comes bundled with the SEGA Character Pass, which includes six more playable characters from all-star SEGA franchises (Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy), Jet Set Radio (Beat), Crazy Taxi (Axel)) and 15 additional SEGA-themed customization options, all set to be released over the coming months. Now, optional paid DLC content doesn’t usually bother me, but in this case, when half of the Banana Rumble DLC characters were already available in the base game of its predecessor, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (which costs only £34.99/$39.99), the pricing rubs me the wrong way. While it obviously doesn’t ruin any of the enjoyment I had with the game itself, the DLC really should have been included in the base game to justify the price increase over Banana Mania.
With an excellent Adventure Mode, a highly replayable Battle Mode, and a plethora of online and local multiplayer options, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is easily the best Super Monkey Ball title available on Nintendo Switch, but unfortunately not without a few major caveats. As long as you can deal with the omission of 3-4 split-screen multiplayer in Battle Mode, the notable absence of the fan-favourite Monkey Target mode, some occasional framerate hiccups, and less than adequate pricing of the DLC, there is still much fun to be had in this brand new Switch-exclusive entry in the Super Monkey Ball series.
7.5/10
A copy of Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble for review purposes was provided by SEGA.
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