Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania Reviews
Banana Mania delivers the best levels, mini-games and modes from the 20-years old Super Monkey Ball series... and it's more fun than ever!
Review in Italian | Read full review
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is weird, expansive and tricky. I just know die-hard fans are going to love that combination, but I’m not sure about anyone else.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a confident and addictive reminder of why Monkey Ball was so popular back in the day. It truly feels like a celebration of the franchise that's jam-packed with content, bonuses, and unlocks. Monkey Ball still holds up with addictive challenge, fantastic music and a goofy, yet endearing premise, and all of it is accentuated by small yet meaningful additions that makes it more accessible than ever before.
As a fan of Super Monkey Ball since 2001, I found myself really happy with Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania. The package captures the fun and challenge of the first two games, while also including new content that makes it feel fresh. Banana Mania also offers a ton of content for its price point, and players are guaranteed to find something to love. Sometimes the difficulty level can get frustrating, and the Party Games could use some new options, but the game offers so much good, it's hard to complain. Whether you're a newcomer to the series or a fan from the beginning like me, I can't recommend this one enough.
Whether you’re a die-hard veteran or someone looking to give the series a shot for the first time, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania serves its purpose as a content-rich, if familiar, package filled with its share of high points. There are some diminishing returns as some levels have been recycled for 20 years and the lack of online multiplayer limits the appeal of the great selection of party games, but the core formula of rolling around and collecting trinkets still serves this updated compilation of a compilation quite well.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania celebrates the franchise and Sega as a whole in a solid collection of variety, challenge, and goofy fun.
There is nothing quite like these unique games, especially when in top form like Banana Mania. Their prowess at granting addicting stages and a constant desire for self-improvement are borderline unmatched. Quite honestly, seeing this revival is legitimately miraculous. I implore fans and even those who are vaguely interested in getting this collection and giving it a shot to let Sega know that classic Monkey Ball still has a thriving, dedicated market.
All the best of Super Monkey Ball in a great smoothie of content taken from twenty years of history. Fans will go crazy and newbies will have so much to discover.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Nevertheless, we can’t help but be heartened by the progress. The Super Monkey Ball franchise has been rolling down a slope for a while now, so even a step or two back in the right direction is nice to see.
In reviving the best entries and elements and putting them on modern consoles, Sega has given AiAi the best 20th birthday present a monkey could ask for.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a collection of content I wish more gaming series would take for a blueprint for their revisits. It takes the most beloved aspects of the series and improves it in a rerelease that I bet old Monkey Ball fans will love and pull in new fans like myself along the way.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is easily the best party game of the year and is also one of the most generous packages in terms of offerings and pricing I’ve had the pleasure of putting in my PS5. If you’re looking for something wild, a bit different, and a game that will give you hours of multiplayer fun, there’s no easier recommendation to make.
Despite the twenty years on monkey shoulders, the first Super Monkey Balls remain puzzle video games of superfine quality, however tough at the limits of sacrilegious swearing. Retrogaming aside, Banana Mania is undoubtedly the best way to experience the rotating gameplay recipe, now also open to welcome any newbies thanks to the introduction of some "assist controls" with optional activation.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a loving recreation and just pure, uncomplicated FUN!
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania delivers what fans of the series would expect and puts everything into one great package with well integrated new guest characters. With the release on the current gen it finally reaches its full multiplayer potential with lots of offline and new online modes. The reducing of the story cutscenes to the new comic styled sequences and the small soundtrack selection are the only things that players will have to get used to.
Review in German | Read full review
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania isn't going to win any game of the year awards, but it's undeniably fun. While it's perhaps not the entry that will put the series back into the mainstream, fans of the original will likely have a good time and newcomers will see what the fuss is all about. While there are some questionable design choices, such as a finicky camera and microtransactions that feel out of place, this is an enjoyable adventure with AiAi and his friends.
This compilation is the celebration of twenty years of a franchise that in addition to being excellent on its own is an od to the Sega that many of us knew how to enjoy too much in its best times. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania can be the welcome of many to a franchise and a great revival for those who spent a lot of time at the controls of their favorite monkey. Of the world from which you come, do not stop giving this title a chance, it really has no waste.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
After many failed outings, the Super Monkey Ball franchise is back. Bubbling with content, there’s plenty to do whether you want to play solo or multiplayer. Whilst the nature of the game can cause frustration, the removal of the lives system has helped to improve the experience. The infectious presentation combined with the lovely gameplay makes this an absolute joy and an essential purchase for fans of the series.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania was a great dive into a franchise I haven’t touched since the GameCube. The gameplay felt tight, the challenges were challenging, and only a few times did the game ever give me controller smashing frustration. That said, there’s enough content here to keep a party of friends satiated, and a good onboarding system with the helper mode lets new players stick around for longer.