Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD

 Switch
User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 42 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 42
  3. Negative: 18 out of 42
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  1. PlatWarpstar
    Nov 7, 2019
    7
    Well, This definitely isn't the Super Monkey Ball game that most people wanted, the original game was received... positively... when it was first released, but now people are quite mixed on the game due to its mandatory motion controls, horrible boss fights, and mediocre Party Games. But I think the reason why SEGA decided to remake Banana Blitz of all games is because it ended up beingWell, This definitely isn't the Super Monkey Ball game that most people wanted, the original game was received... positively... when it was first released, but now people are quite mixed on the game due to its mandatory motion controls, horrible boss fights, and mediocre Party Games. But I think the reason why SEGA decided to remake Banana Blitz of all games is because it ended up being the best-selling Super Monkey Ball game to date, so they see it as high praise for the game.

    So here we are, SEGA is trying to revive the Super Monkey Ball series with a remake of Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz, now titled Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD, released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and soon to be Steam on the PC. So... with a remake of a mixed bag of a game... is Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD a bad game? No, not at all, but it sure doesn't live up to the excellence of the original 2 games on GameCube, as well as Deluxe for Xbox and PlayStation 2.

    There are a total of 100 stages to play through, and that is including the 10 bonus stages and 8 boss fights. The main thing they did regarding to the remake is that they ditched the motion controls entirely. You can use full analog control to blast your way through the 100 stages, now with gorgeous graphics, the original Wii game looked good for a Wii launch title, but now it looks especially good on the 8th gen consoles, even the Switch version (which is the version I played) looks pretty great.

    The problem with a remake of this Wii game is that the original game was designed with motion controls in mind, so when adding full analog controls on the player now, it controls great, but it makes the game incredibly easy when starting out. You should be able to breeze through worlds 1-4. The level design isn't very creative in the first few worlds of the game, so it's not as fun either, it's just a bit of a slog to get through. But I think world 5 is a bit better, and worlds 6-10 are where the game really shines. A decent chunk of the levels in Banana Blitz HD I found to be really fun. The ladder half of the game gets really challenging, but it's MOSTLY fair in its difficulty. I say mostly fair, because I won't spoil the stage itself, but World 10-5 is the hardest stage in the entire series and it is unforgiving, it isn't fair, very cheap, and it really should've been cut from the game.

    The boss fights still suck, they did try buffing and nerfing some of them, but all of them (except for Boss 4, I like the concept of that one) are really bad. Monkey Ball really isn't a series meant for engaging boss battles. Stage hazards are as far as I'd go in terms of enemy encounters.

    They cut 40 of the 50 Party Games from the original Banana Blitz to "enhance" the 10 most memorable ones in SEGA's mind. Problem is that a) that's subjective, and b) they didn't enhance them entirely too much, Monkey Target now has extra targets around the stage, Monkey Snowboarding has extra bananas for boosting along with jumping perfectly off a red jump ramp will give you a boost. Not much was changed from all of them except for the simpler controls. Kinda unfortunate, personally I miss Monkey Race and Monkey Bowling, those would've been great to add back in.

    2 new modes were included with the remake too, Time Attack and Decathlon. Time Attack actually somewhat reminded me of the Classic Monkey Ball Modes, you play through a Casual, Standard, or Expert Course, I'll sum each up for you:
    Casual: World 1
    Standard: Worlds 1-5
    Expert Worlds 1-10
    You can only beat them in one set of lives, so you have to be fast but careful, and I really enjoyed it! After finishing a run, you can post them to the Online Rankings to see where you are on the leaderboard, this honestly gives me a reason to replay the game to see if I can get the best time!

    Decathlon is going through all 10 Party games in one sitting, and adding up your total score from all 10 games to get an overall score. You can upload these overall scores to the Online Rankings as well to give you a reason to replay them to get good at them, not my cup of tea personally, since I don't like most of the Party games in the remake, but great for those that do and don't have friends to currently play with.

    There are unlockables for the Main Game, but I'm not going to spoil them for you, I'll let you get them on your own.

    Banana Blitz HD is okay, it's super unfortunate that we couldn't get remakes of the original 2 games, but judging this game critically, it's not a bad game, I wouldn't recommend buying it at $40, but it's a fun game nonetheless, and I do think it's worth checking out on discount, but if you do, keep in mind that this is not what made the franchise special in the first place, I hate saying proceed with caution, but there may be things you like and dislike about this one.    … Expand
  2. FlyingPiloswine
    Nov 6, 2019
    0
    In my eyes, the absolute best part of Monkeyball is it's flexibility. Back on the gamecube, you could play any mode with any number of players. Play by yourself for some casual fun, or get some friends over and bust open some beers.

    The difficulty had all sorts of features. Some levels were easy. Some had a secret trick. Some were just brutally hard to the point that it was hilarious.    In my eyes, the absolute best part of Monkeyball is it's flexibility. Back on the gamecube, you could play any mode with any number of players. Play by yourself for some casual fun, or get some friends over and bust open some beers.

    The difficulty had all sorts of features. Some levels were easy. Some had a secret trick. Some were just brutally hard to the point that it was hilarious. Others, like Monkey Target, were very skill based and separated the pros from the rookies.

    This game has none of those things and for no good reason. You cannot play the story mode levels as multiplayer like you could on the Gamecube, and you cannot play party games alone, like you could on the gamecube. Monkey Target is no longer physics based. And the story levels are so easy that my wife beat half the game in one night.

    The reason this is a 0/10 is because I feel that the things I have mentioned ARE the Monkeyball brand. They are the reason people with such different tastes, like me and my wife, consistently play the gamecube version still. Who in their right mind would expect a home console version of Monkeyball to not have multiplayer options that existed in the past? I feel like I was tricked with a bait-and-switch. Especially because I know how easy it is to implement the features that I so sorely miss from a programming standpoint.    … Expand
  3. Camad
    Nov 8, 2019
    2
    It's perhaps ironic how hard SEGA dropped the "ball" on this one.

    The return of the Monkey Ball franchise in a big way has been long overdue, the games are still popular and the idea, while perhaps beginning to show its cracks, is still fresh and unique. Unfortunately, this particular entry in the series is very poor indeed. The choice to remake Banana Blitz was already a strange    It's perhaps ironic how hard SEGA dropped the "ball" on this one.

    The return of the Monkey Ball franchise in a big way has been long overdue, the games are still popular and the idea, while perhaps beginning to show its cracks, is still fresh and unique. Unfortunately, this particular entry in the series is very poor indeed.

    The choice to remake Banana Blitz was already a strange choice, being one of the weaker entries in the franchise it was a strange decision. But this "remake" is significantly worse than the original, already weak game. The visuals are pleasing and pop making the game a joy to look at, unfortunately actually looking at the game will likely cause nausea.

    The camera, or lack thereof, really makes this game bad. The redesigned levels are almost universally for the worse. The music is worse as well. Minigame selection is worse. Really everything is worse.

    Unless you desperately want to play as Sonic in a Monkey Ball game, do yourself a favour and play the original on the Wii. Or the better games on Gamecube.

    2/10    … Expand
  4. xx47
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    This **** not good thats all i needa say................................................................
  5. CrimKat
    Dec 1, 2019
    0
    One of the worst excuses of a "remaster" I've ever seen. They made it pretty, gave it a fresh UI, but changed nothing about the game that made it so poorly received in the first place. The bosses are still garbage. The levels are still dull. The sad thing is that SEGA will see these reviews and trash the SMB series all together. Why they didnt remaster SMB2, the perfect SMB game, is beyondOne of the worst excuses of a "remaster" I've ever seen. They made it pretty, gave it a fresh UI, but changed nothing about the game that made it so poorly received in the first place. The bosses are still garbage. The levels are still dull. The sad thing is that SEGA will see these reviews and trash the SMB series all together. Why they didnt remaster SMB2, the perfect SMB game, is beyond comprehension.....… Expand
  6. lvl3
    Nov 4, 2019
    1
    What a hot oil of trash. Growing up with Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2 for GameCube was a highlight of my childhood. This is not those games. There are 90 stages that are oversimplified because they were originally designed to play with motion control on Wii... And 10 bosses that are hard because of poor controllers and not actual difficulty. The party games are also hot trash, as there is noWhat a hot oil of trash. Growing up with Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2 for GameCube was a highlight of my childhood. This is not those games. There are 90 stages that are oversimplified because they were originally designed to play with motion control on Wii... And 10 bosses that are hard because of poor controllers and not actual difficulty. The party games are also hot trash, as there is no solo way to play any one game, so you have to hook up a 2nd controller just to play. Why they didn't remake super monkey ball 1/2 into one game is beyond me. I regret my purchase 100 percent and Nintendo gives no refunds.… Expand
  7. Chrislee1982
    Nov 1, 2019
    0
    Super disappointing. Game cube version, how I miss thee. No monkey punch, monkey target is a joke (you can't gain altitude by gaining speed and pulling back. Pulling back only slows you down. You're consistently dropping out of the sky regardless of your speed) and the rest of the game just feels so lazy. Soooooo wish they would just reissue the original game cube version on switch. SuperSuper disappointing. Game cube version, how I miss thee. No monkey punch, monkey target is a joke (you can't gain altitude by gaining speed and pulling back. Pulling back only slows you down. You're consistently dropping out of the sky regardless of your speed) and the rest of the game just feels so lazy. Soooooo wish they would just reissue the original game cube version on switch. Super disappointed. Wish I hadn't gotten my hopes up or wasted 40 bucks. Booooo.… Expand
  8. Krossbone
    Dec 12, 2020
    0
    This game is f*cking terrible. Whether or not it fails or succeeds as a remaster isn't up to me, as I haven't played the original game on Wii, but having played up to World 5 in this version, I feel at liberty to lay into this hot trash seeing as I wasted my time playing over half of it.

    There is absolutely no DECENT difficulty curve. Let me put it this way: the first few worlds are    This game is f*cking terrible. Whether or not it fails or succeeds as a remaster isn't up to me, as I haven't played the original game on Wii, but having played up to World 5 in this version, I feel at liberty to lay into this hot trash seeing as I wasted my time playing over half of it.

    There is absolutely no DECENT difficulty curve. Let me put it this way: the first few worlds are half-baked and easy as hell. The last few worlds amp up the difficulty stupidly high from out of nowhere. Obviously, i want the game to have a learning curve and a bit of challenge, but not to where I want to throw my Switch in frustrated rage. Speaking of which, let's NOT talk about the boss battles, because I just want to forget about them. Oh, I have to? Oh... Oh the terrible boss battles. Every single boss battle in this game outside of a minor two are cumbersome and frustrating button-mashing fests as you try to get your dumb-f*ck monkey player character to try and jump on a specific part of the boss battle, be it anything from missiles to some hideous belly button wart. This, however, is terribly designed, as you can go flying off the ledges of the arena simply for hitting what you're supposed to hit because, oh? You wanted to build up a little momentum so you could hit your enemy where the game is so obviously telling you to? Well too bad, mf! This game will send you flying off the cliffside with as much momentum as you hit the boss with. This is a recurring problem, and it even applies to enemies within normal stages.

    Coming to mind as I speak of the godawful boss battles, this game's physics are f*cking awful. I can't even begin to describe how it's led to numerous of my untimely deaths simply for slightly bumping into a wall or enemy (and only bumping into enemies in the later stages, mind you, because as said before, this game's difficulty curve is horse feces with literally no enemies in the earlier stages to get you accustomed to their presence). And these terrible physics aren't complemented whatsoever by the lack of an actual camera system, as the only one that's there also controls basic movement, not just camera movement.

    On the whole, while I'm still glad I bought the game (only because I want to support Sega reviving franchises they've left for dead, which could bring back better, more well-rounded franchises), I still can't stand this game's terrible physics, lack of a camera, dogsh*t difficulty curve, and abysmal boss battles. Hopefully they can redeem Monkey Ball with a completely new game next, or at least a similar HD remaster of an ACTUALLY good Monkey Ball game? Somehow I imagine they'd screw even that up.    … Expand
  9. RockStarX
    Oct 29, 2019
    9
    Super monkey ball has been a franchise that has some great and ok games, and after hearing that a new super monkey ball game was coming out, I was excited. I was able to get the demo on the switch, and it worked well, the controls were alright, and the stages would make you nervous since there are places without protection like rails or walls, but the game had some problems to it, butSuper monkey ball has been a franchise that has some great and ok games, and after hearing that a new super monkey ball game was coming out, I was excited. I was able to get the demo on the switch, and it worked well, the controls were alright, and the stages would make you nervous since there are places without protection like rails or walls, but the game had some problems to it, but it's an alright game.… Expand
  10. GangsterSwedish
    Nov 1, 2019
    4
    I blame my love all of things SEGA for the fact that I preordered this atrocity. Having played (and enjoyed) the Wii original, I knew what I was getting into. What I didn't expect was just how poorly the motion controls would be ported to joy-con. If I wanted motion sickness I'd have worn my Oculus. Thanks, but no thanks.
  11. Dinerogod
    Nov 5, 2019
    9
    Sooooo this game will have you spending hours on it, and just good old classic fun for everyone. Also I love that sonic is in the game with the full aesthetic (he’s part of the advertisements lol)

    Controls could be slightly better but overall perfect
  12. Fra_Ias
    Jan 1, 2020
    10
    It is really good maybe to easy at the start but world 7-8-9-10 were very hard; on switch it is 1080p 60fps docked and 720p 60fps undocked; It is very good to have a portable super monkey ball game in HD; because monkey ball GBA,3DS,PSVITA were good (3ds no) but now it is HD
  13. mtkf
    Nov 29, 2020
    2
    This game is terrible. Some stages are fun but many of the boss battles are a frustrating horrible mess. There are no camera controls, which honestly doesn't matter UNTIL you have a boss battle and leads to many unfair losses. Any time I beat one of these bosses it didn't feel like I beat it on my own merit, but just out of luck after the 30+ time attempting. This game should be a tenThis game is terrible. Some stages are fun but many of the boss battles are a frustrating horrible mess. There are no camera controls, which honestly doesn't matter UNTIL you have a boss battle and leads to many unfair losses. Any time I beat one of these bosses it didn't feel like I beat it on my own merit, but just out of luck after the 30+ time attempting. This game should be a ten dollar eshop game, but for $40 new it's just an overpriced cash grab port. This was my first and will definetly be my last monkey ball game. It's just not a fun game.… Expand
  14. itsmooisees
    Mar 24, 2020
    7
    Juego entretenido con buenas mecánicas y un diseño de niveles aceptable, aunque algo corto de duración.
  15. Onioncreature
    Sep 5, 2022
    6
    A decent time, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is a remaster of the Wii entry in the series. The gameplay is easier and more simplistic than the original Super Monkey Ball titles, but is still pretty well designed and fun enough. It's a shame that motion controls weren't included as an option, since the game was originally designed with them in mind. Even still the gameplay is solid,A decent time, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is a remaster of the Wii entry in the series. The gameplay is easier and more simplistic than the original Super Monkey Ball titles, but is still pretty well designed and fun enough. It's a shame that motion controls weren't included as an option, since the game was originally designed with them in mind. Even still the gameplay is solid, if not particularly memorable. It's a more casual way to enter the series, and I did still enjoy my time with it.… Expand
  16. Psychie
    Dec 26, 2019
    7
    I wouldn't call Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD a bad game, far from it, but it's a subpar remake. The physics are rather loose and I've died a lot early on because of that (you go from 0 to 100 with the slightest downhill slope). The levels don't work as well with an analog stick as they do with a Wii Remote, and though some of the old music returns (music that I enjoy greatly), I can'tI wouldn't call Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD a bad game, far from it, but it's a subpar remake. The physics are rather loose and I've died a lot early on because of that (you go from 0 to 100 with the slightest downhill slope). The levels don't work as well with an analog stick as they do with a Wii Remote, and though some of the old music returns (music that I enjoy greatly), I can't help but be unimpressed by the new music, and the music returning from other installments feels out of place. This may seem harsh for a not very low rating, but I'm mainly addressing what the remake didn't do so well in, since it's a REMAKE. Any issues that could be addressed with the game itself are better suited for a review of the original. If you don't have a Wii but like the Super Monkey Ball franchise, then I'd say go ahead. In all other cases, just play the original, unless you really hate motion controls.… Expand
  17. Simplified
    May 11, 2020
    5
    I was excited for this game. The first four worlds or so are genuinely fun, but the lack of camera or solid controls make the second half of the game virtually unplayable. There are random difficulty spikes and most of the game is about how well you can control your character on a tightrope. Some levels take simple dumb luck to beat. While the majority of the game is just frustrating, it'sI was excited for this game. The first four worlds or so are genuinely fun, but the lack of camera or solid controls make the second half of the game virtually unplayable. There are random difficulty spikes and most of the game is about how well you can control your character on a tightrope. Some levels take simple dumb luck to beat. While the majority of the game is just frustrating, it's redeeming values are its local multiplayer options.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

93
#93 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 23
  3. Negative: 2 out of 23
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 30, 2020
    75
    Sadly, about 10% of the game stands in the way of enjoying the other 90. [Issue #44 – January/February 2020, p. 63]
  2. Switch Player
    Nov 12, 2019
    60
    Super Money Ball: Banana Blitz HD feels at odds with both its former self and the new hardware it is running on. It lacks the functions, features and creativity to bring this Sega series back to where it belongs — in the hearts of many a gamer.
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  3. Nintendo Insider
    Nov 11, 2019
    40
    Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is a substandard remaster of a game that quite frankly didn’t need it in the first place. The disappointing level design, frustrating boss battles and shallow party games are a sore reminder of just how much this series has fallen since the glory days of the GameCube pair. I want the series back just as much as any fan, but not like this.
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