Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble was not a game I exactly had my eyes on. Like many fans of the series, I have a lot of love for the early Amusement Vision games, with their creative level design, particularly weighty physics, and distinctly early 2000s feel. I don't hate all the later games, I like Touch N Roll well enough, Banana Splitz is genuinely great, and the Wii games at the very least have some banger soundtracks, but it's been more misses than hits for a while now, and Banana Mania not fully pulling off recreating the originals just made it clear that we were probably never getting anything like Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2 again. So when Banana Rumble was announced, my reaction was just... meh.
But then, after the game came out, I started to hear some really positive word of mouth. A lot of trusted sources began to praise the single-player campaign, calling it a return to form. Some have said it was the best Super Monkey Ball since 2, others have said it's the best one period. After all that, how could I not check it out?
Right from the get-go, Banana Rumble managed to surprise me before I even opened the game. Sega has been having a lot of trouble with their pre-order bonuses lately, they've always felt too expensive and not worth it, but Banana Rumble keeping Sega characters behind a $20 DLC seemed particularly steep so I stuck with the normal version of the game. But to my surprise, I guess I still ended up getting a launch edition so my cartridge came with a little booklet with character bios and concept arc, along with a code for a new banana costume (apparently Banana Mania had something like this too?). I don't get many physical games anymore since my family owns multiple Switches and I'd rather buy a single copy, so I was pleasantly surprised to be rewarded for going physical this time around.
Upon starting up Banana Rumble, I was surprised yet again by the story, of all things. Super Monkey Ball is not a series particularly known for its narratives. The one SMB story people praise is the one in 2, and even it's just actual nonsense. But Banana Rumble's story is actually really good and heartfelt? The plot revolves around a new character named Palette, who recruits Aiai and the gang to help her track down a treasure called the Legendary Banana which she believes her missing father is also searching for. Meanwhile, there's a fun Team Rocket-esque group of thieves called the Gala family also looking for the treasure, so the whole game plays out like a scramble for the Legendary Banana, but it's surprisingly well-executed. Palette is a very strong protagonist, with a fun and lively personality and a genuine character arc. The Gaia family are also quite fun additions, especially the sheep, Tee, who has a particularly stellar design. The cutscenes manage to squeeze in a whole bunch of charming interactions between Palette and Aiai's friends, and the game even tosses in a well-foreshadowed twist in its final third that delves into some of the most emotional material in a Super Monkey Ball game. Don't get me wrong, this isn't some storytelling masterpiece or anything, but it raises the bar for Super Monkey Ball narratives and managed to get me really attached to the series' cast for the first time.
I'm not some stickler for 100% accuracy when it comes to Monkey Ball, but the fact that Banana Mania didn't fully nail the physics when it was actively trying to recapture the appeal of the original games left me and I'm sure a lot of others quite demoralized. Banana Rumble also doesn't have the original physics, but the game's design philosophy is so unique from any other game in the series that it doesn't feel as offensive here. Banana Rumble's controls still feel plenty tight and responsive, and rolling around the levels feels intuitive and satisfying. It also helps that Banana Rumble has entirely original stage design which can be built around its own physics system, unlike Banana Mania. On top of that, there's also a fair amount of customization options including deadzone tweaks for those not fully content with how the game feels, and for the first time in the franchise, each character has their own unique stats, differing in terms of brake, drift, speed, etc. I actually really like this addition since there's now a decent amount of depth in terms of finding which character feels right for you, for me that was Palette. So as far as the moment to moment gameplay goes, I'm fine with Banana Rumble not being exactly like the classics. Hell, I'd even argue it makes a few improvements like with the aforementioned character stats and the ability to finally move the camera yourself.
However, I think the thing that really elevates Banana Rumble's core gameplay is its new addition: The spin dash. This move allows you to dash in any direction by holding down B, though it has a cooldown timer so you can't spam it. The last time Super Monkey Ball tried to add to your moveset, we got the poorly received jump in Banana Blitz, but trust me when I say that the Spin Dash is not like that at all. The jump was an issue because it removed depth from the game by allowing you to hop across gaps with minimal effort, but the Spin Dash adds depth. There's so much you can do with this thing, from dashing forward to gain speed, to dashing in the opposite direction to quickly reverse or pull off a tight turn, to dashing off a ramp to gain height, to dashing across a gap to take a shortcut. Even the cooldown adds depth since the more you charge the Spin Dash, the more you have to wait, so managing your cooldown also becomes an interesting challenge. It's hard to understate just how much this move improves the Super Monkey Ball formula and encourages you to go for faster times and chart out shortcuts. Right from the first world, I was already scanning every single level for potential skips and trying out wild risks and hunches for the sake of shaving off a few seconds. In one stage, I discovered that I could Spin Dash off a switch to save myself about 5-10 seconds and I felt like a freaking genius. This is Super Monkey Ball at its absolute best, coming up with some strange idea to skip over the level and the sheer excitement at managing to pull it off.
And it helps that the level design is freaking immaculate. This is the best level design in a Super Monkey Ball game since 2, dare I say it's a close second. Gone are the repetitive linear pathways of the Banana Blitz era, we are back to weird-looking dioramas floating in the sky. Each stage brings something entirely new to the table, whether it's iconic returning gimmicks like the bumpers and switches, or completely original ideas like climbing up the gears of a grandfather clock or pushing physics objects around. The experimental energy I loved about SMB2 is back in full force, and each world kept me guessing. I will say, Banana Rumble does get off to a bit of a slower start in terms of difficulty, it's nowhere near the sheer masochism that 2 was, but it definitely ramps up quite a bit by its final third. And even more, Banana Rumble even manages to include a massive postgame with 100 entirely new stages that definitely rank alongside the harder stuff from 2 and Deluxe, so if you want that classic Monkey Ball difficulty, this game has you covered.
It's honestly crazy how much content Banana Rumble manages to cram into its main campaign. As mentioned, there's 100 main levels and 100 postgame levels making for a whopping 200 total stages, the most a non-remake entry has had by a massive margin. Each stage has three side missions to encourage replayability including a time trial (you love to see it), and collection based missions for exploration fans like myself. These side missions are so addicting to go for and manage to make even the easy earlier levels more challenging. You can even play all of the stages in local or online co-op multiplayer for the first time in the series, which I never did myself, but it's very cool that it exists. There's also an achievements system, Time Attack Modes including full marathons, a massive shop filled to the brim with robust customization options, the largest character roster in the series, a tree that grows as you feed it more bananas, music and movie players, a massive set of options and helper features, and a hub where you can just look around and watch the characters hang around on the beach. There's even a few cheat codes? In a game from 2024?! Sega, you flatter me.
However, even with all this great, Banana Rumble does drop the ball on one particular aspect of the series: The multiplayer. Super Monkey Ball has been struggling to make fun multiplayer modes for a while now. I enjoy the Mario Party-esque minigames of the Wii era games and Banana Splitz had some creative party games, but nothing ever managed to top the ones from those original two games. Banana Rumble tries to go in a completely different direction this time by introducing a multiplayer Battle Mode akin to the one in Mario Kart. It's got five gamemodes that all utilize the main Monkey Ball moveset, each having a few unique arenas, and you can play them with up to 16 players offline or online. This isn't a bad concept in theory, it could be a solid time with friends, and while it lacks the variety of the more unique party games of earlier entries, the fact that they're all built around base Monkey Ball gameplay means none of them have control issues. Unfortunately, the modes in question are a bit hit or miss. Race and Banana Hunt are actually quite fun and I could see myself going back to them, but the other three aren't super enjoyable, and I think the game should've just focused on fleshing out the former two with more tracks and arenas. As it is now, Battle Mode feels a bit thin. But what really kills the entire Battle Mode is the awful framerate, which absolutely chugs even if you're playing in singleplayer with a single CPU. I can only hope that we eventually get a patch because as it is right now, the Battle Mode in this game is just not worth playing and sticks out as a notable sore thumb in an otherwise strong package.
As for the presentation, though, Banana Rumble really excels, for the most part. As mentioned, while the multiplayer chugs quite a lot, the singleplayer gameplay manages to run at a mostly smooth 60fps on Switch while still looking great. The whole game has adopted this new chibi look that feels particularly reminiscent of the Ape Escape games, and the character animation feels more expressive and lively than ever before. The story cutscenes are all fully animated and they look wonderful, they really give these characters a lot more personality. The stages look pretty nice too, they have a much more naturalistic look than the repetitious flat checkerboards that plagued Banana Blitz onward, feeling more like real places this time and I vibe with it. As for the music, it's pretty good and a big improvement over the last few soundtracks. It's not the jungle/house of the first two games, nor the funk of Touch N Roll/Banana Blitz, nor the lyrical journeys of Step N Roll, but it leans into that classic Sega pop in its variety of punchy stage and battle themes. Highlights for me are the smooth Rose Garden, the hard-hitting drops of Candy Castle, the future bass-sounding Astrum, the melancholic Frontiers-esque Race, and my favorite track in the game, the absolute headbanger that is Golden Temple. The sound team for this game is composed of a mix of Yakuza and Sonic composers and it definitely shows, I'd love to see them stick around for future games.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble isn't some return to form that brings the series backs to the original games. Those games were such a specific product of its time that hoping for something else like them is probably a fool's errand. However, what Banana Rumble does do is chart an exciting new direction for the franchise that has made me more excited about the future of Super Monkey Ball than ever before.
The Spin Dash is the perfect evolution for the series' core gameplay, and the consistently phenomenal level design compliments it perfectly. Add in those side missions that encourage you to master each stage, and I've never had this much fun speedrunning a game in a long time. On top of that, the sheer amount of extra content, the vastly improved story and characterization, the polished presentation, and all the little details like the concept art book, the interactable hub, and those cheat codes do a lot to show just how much love was put into Banana Rumble. To my complete and utter surprise, Super Monkey Ball is back, and I can say with full confidence Banana Rumble is an easy Top 3 entry in the series. With some updates that can expand on and polish the multiplayer, maybe it could even be a Top 2.
4/5 Stars
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