Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

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.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania boasts a triumphant return for everyone’s favourite primate puzzler, bringing along with it potentially 100s of hours of gameplay that long-time fans and newcomers alike will easily go bananas for.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a superb package with tons of quality content and one of the best party games you can play today despite its flaws.

Combining the three best games in its series, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania offers great value for very little. While the game certainly primarily seeks the attention of a younger audience, core gamers might also enjoy it due to precise controls and a neat challenge mode.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a surefire sign that the series was and still is great to play. The change in game engine adds a vibrant coat of paint while tweaking the physics to a slightly faster alternative. However, this does not change the fact that some levels are too stuck in the past. Topped off with some very welcome accessibility options, this package is well worth playing even if the mini games and customization have some notable downsides.

An excellent compilation of the first three Super Monkey Ball games, with lots of content. A truly enjoyable trip down memory lane, with fun gameplay that will keep you busy for a long time to come. There's some minor annoyances - you can't choose the worlds you visit in story mode, for example - but none that will genuinely hurt the experience.

Banana Mania simultaneously caters to younger players and old fans alike with a solid representation of the franchise’s most successful ideas and plenty to do.

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.

Despite the twenty years on the monkey shoulders, the first Super Monkey Balls remain puzzle video games of superfine quality, albeit tough on the verge of sacrilegious imprecation. Retrogaming aside, Banana Mania is undoubtedly the best way to experience its spinning gameplay recipe, now also open to welcoming any newbies thanks to the introduction of some optional "assist controls". The picture closes with a wealth of content that not many other remasters can boast, although part of the secondary offer, in terms of accessibility, is essentially for a select few. Stuff to spin the ... balls.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania was a pleasant surprise, in that it doesn’t mess too much with a formula that works and it makes strides to welcome newcomers into the fold. Not all of its stages are created equal, but this is a great entry point into a series that’s been lacking one on modern platforms for a long while.

It’s a shame that the camera works against you at times, and pretty much all of the content here may be recycled from previous games, but that doesn’t stop Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania from being outrageously entertaining. Also, while the game’s premise is simple, there’s a great level of challenge here that will keep players returning time and time again to master all of the stages on offer. Throw in the party games that each offer their own unique take on Monkey Ball action, and you have a package that’s not to be missed by those who simply like to have fun.

I’m confident that most fans will love Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania. Though the challenging levels may be off-putting for some and no online multiplayer is disappointing, there’s a wonderful experience within that improves upon Banana Blitz HD’s flaws. RGG Studio’s done a fine job recreating these classic games into one comprehensive package and considering the lower price (£34.99), Banana Mania comes highly recommended.

Banana Mania doesn't reinvent the wheel (ball?), but it doesn't need to. Having the ability to play classic Super Monkey Ball levels and minigames without having to drag your old consoles and CRT TV out of storage would be enough of a selling point on its own, but the additional gameplay tweaks and charming extras sweeten the deal quite a bit. If you're a longtime roller who's missed AiAi and his jungle buddies--or if you're a newcomer looking for an easy-to-learn action/puzzle game that will keep you busy for a good while--you'll want to take Banana Mania for a spin.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania delivers a mostly delicious and nearly never-ending buffet of bananas and challenges to keep pretty much any player rolling for a good, long time.

Banana Blitz is a joyous celebration of what are still arguably the three best games in the series. There are a few slight performance issues and we have no doubt die-hards will argue about the overall feel, but there's a wealth of entertaining banana-hunting here regardless.

For Super Monkey Ball fans out there, this game is going to be fun because of the variety of creative mazes SEGA has in store for you. The modes beyond the main will be hit or miss depending on expectations. Nonetheless, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is mostly entertaining.

An ageless classic that returns in time for its twentieth anniversary. Always beautiful, always fun, but the years passed begin to take their toll.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is essentially a good-looking remake of Super Monkey Ball Deluxe with some nifty extras which is cool because that's an excellent game to bring back. So, if you're itching to master tricky levels then this package is sure to scratch.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is perfect for fans wanting to revisit what they grew up with on modern consoles. It’s also a great entry point for new fans. Some of the best levels and modes in Super Monkey Ball history are all in one place. Although some elements of the game have aged better than others and there are a few missteps there’s no denying that there’s a charm to the latest Super Monkey Ball. Even with its issues, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a delight to play. It fills you with nostalgia whilst also showing the strengths of the series. It will be interesting to see where the franchise goes next.

With a fun multiplayer and sometimes tiring single player experience, Banana Mania is a true retrospective of the last 20 years of the Super Monkey Ball series.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania breathes new life into the franchise by combining classic stages with a modernised visual appearance. However, the remade physics don’t quite live up to the originals and this may put off purists. If you can get over the small niggles, then there is a ton of content to enjoy and newer players should have a blast as this is the most accessible Super Monkey Ball experience yet.

Celebrating the series 20th anniversary, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a hugely challenging trip through the greatest hits of the series, showing off classic courses rendered beautifully for the new systems. The Party Games remains the jewel in the Monkey Ball crown, but there’s more than enough to get your brain working whilst you’re balancing out a monkey in a ball on perilously thin ledges. It’s good to have Monkey Ball back.

With Monkey Ball, gameplay is king. And, as history has shown, really hard to get right! But Banana Mania does its best, and its best is honestly pretty okay.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a solid, unglamorous return to the series greatest moments. We’ve been steering monkeys in balls across increasingly difficult landscapes for 20 years now, and while Banana Mania doesn’t return the series to its hallowed position of old, I don’t want it to stop quite yet.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a vibrant celebration of the series' history that will test both your skills and your patience. But if you're up for the challenge, don't hesitate to add this to your PS5 library.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a present for fans of the series who are sadistic enough to find enjoyment in the constant failure, however SEGA has left training wheels to cultivate a new generation of fans. Perhaps in another 20 years someone else out there will recall their fond memories playing this series, whether alone or with friends. I just hope that this person will be able to play a version of Monkey Target that works.

After Banana Blitz HD deemed too simple by the majority of players, the Super Monkey Ball saga decides to go back to its beginnings to offer early fans what they expect: a level of difficulty. Unfortunately, even if the challenge is indeed present, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania disappoints. The 4K / 60fps combo available on next-gen is not enough to hide the many flaws of this remaster, starting with the camera which lacks flexibility and the general level-design which plays too much with chance. However, if you hang on to the formula, note that you get what you pay for. The content is more than generous, the replayability is strong and the store is a pleasant surprise that adds extra interest.

It all looks gorgeous, moves smoothly, and sounds exuberant as ever. We'd say that for Monkey Ball fanatics this is a bit of a must, but then said fanatics are the ones who will notice the cracks more than anyone else. So we're not sure, ultimately, who this is for. Newcomers may find themselves wondering what all the fuss is about.