“Demo Disk” – Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (2021) [PS5]

Demo Disk is a series of first impressions posts for new releases and quick opinions.

I’ve been anticipating Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania ever since it was announced. As a long-time Monkey Ball fan, this game has seemed to be the best thing this franchise has had in quite a few years. There are no better games to remake in the franchise than Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2. After having played it quite a bit, it does meet a lot of expectations! I will be going over my impressions of the main game mode.

The most important aspect of Monkey Ball is the engine and how movement feels. It’s crucial because that determines how well the player can control the ball and how it feels to play on every different stage. The engine in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is most certainly better than a lot of other games in the franchise, which is a really good thing because modern Monkey Ball has had a hard time with this. I can’t say it is as good as the original but it’s acceptable enough for me to believe that kids will still be able to love this game and love the original.

Being able to control the camera is a great quality of life improvement for new players, too. There are a few very specific things that I don’t like about the engine. For example, there are platforms that will propel you into the air to reach high places, but they can sometimes shoot too short depending on how you are moving. You wouldn’t have a hard time trying to get high enough this way in the original. There are a few other examples I could go into in detail, but that can be saved for a later time.

Level design largely stays true to the original. There are a few changes to some levels that are helpful. Some levels got extra time because they are long, and some levels got adjustments to make them easier to complete. The levels can get difficult, but in the main game mode in this game, you have unlimited lives, so I think the game is a lot more accessible. Playing through story mode is still a joy and it doesn’t take that long at all.

There are a few special modes in this game that add unique game styles that didn’t exist in the original. Reverse mode has a selection of ten stages in which you can play backwards. I wish there were more than ten stages in reverse mode, because I think it’s a great mode, but only ten stages in underwhelming. That’s the same for golden banana mode as well, where you collect all the bananas to win each stage. There is also a black banana mode where you have to avoid getting bananas and reach the goal as well. I think special modes are a great addition so far, even if they are quite a bit difficult. I just wish there were more than ten levels per mode, and I feel like black banana mode isn’t a mode I’m going to come back to.

Overall, this game has been a fun experience. I’ve played and spent hours on the originals as a kid. This game is a game my sister and I would play for hours in racing mode or doing multiplayer in the main mode. It’s unfortunate that the main mode in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is exclusively single-player as I feel that takes away a lot of the shared experience. However, it is a joy to see everybody get excited about Monkey Ball again, since it was a pretty prominent game in my family growing up.

Zerinus is an aspiring programmer, writer, and musician who loves video games and music. You can find me posting about things I like on Twitter at  @DivineZerinus.