Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

 Switch
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 38
  3. Negative: 8 out of 38
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. SuperkenGaming
    Oct 15, 2021
    7
    Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
    This game will drive you bananas.
    Super Monkey Ball is a collection of over 300 remastered stages from Supermonkey ball, supermonkeyball, 2 and super monkey ball deluxe.. howere unless im missing it you don’t get to specifically choose each game, its all merged into one giant package… Theres a great amount of content here, from its story mode, to its    Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
    This game will drive you bananas.
    Super Monkey Ball is a collection of over 300 remastered stages from Supermonkey ball, supermonkeyball, 2 and super monkey ball deluxe.. howere unless im missing it you don’t get to specifically choose each game, its all merged into one giant package…
    Theres a great amount of content here, from its story mode, to its charcters you can unlock from complete in game challenges, to mini games you can play with up to 4 players.
    I loved banana blitz, so I was excited to go back and see how it all started.. and well.. it started with tears…
    Banana Mania will have you raging.. this game is ridiculously frustrating to play through.. most courses in fact just seem down right unfair.. which is my biggest gripe with this game.. its more frustrating than it is fun.. I didn’t want to play over and over and over because I neverfelt like oh I almost had it, Instead I was mashing my head against the wall trying to get lucky… now there is a helper option here that highlights a path and you can make things go slowmo, which is very hepful in a handful of levels, but for the majority its pretty useless… thankfully you are able to spend your ocins on not only charcters, cosmetics, and even the ability to jump if youd like as there is no defaut jumping.. you can instead spend 2000 coints to skip a level… coins aren’t all too easy to come by though, this is about 8-10 levels completed worth of coins to be able to just skip one… and trust me yall, I was skipping… I was frustrated for most of my time here.. but I get it, that’s what monkey ball fans love, and to them I say – enjoy
    Theresa also12 minigames you can play here again either solor or with up to 4 people.. from racing compelte with 12 tracks and item drops to minigolf, tennis, soccer.. and theyre okay.. nothing amazing here.. you may have fun for a day or two with a friend.. but you wont be itching to play.. as all the modes just have a weird clunkyness to them that never make them feel quite fair or enjoyable while playing..
    Overall if you love punishing yourself, rolling a ball with a monkey inside through a hoop, youre in luck..
    But if youre looking for some casual fun time, look elsewhere
    I give Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
    a 6.5/10    … Expand
  2. FoxyChalet
    May 26, 2022
    4
    Well some of the things are broken, baseball doesn't work at all. All of them are basically worse in every way than the GameCube games. The originals were a physics engine wrapped in a silly idea, this focused on graphics first and the gameplay is mediocre. Honestly I just don't play it.
  3. wxyboshy
    Oct 20, 2021
    2
    The following applies to every vanilla version of the game (including PC). I played and fully completed the original Super Monkey Ball 1&2 games on Gamecube.

    This games is just a lazy port from the raw data from the original games (mostly from Super Monkey Ball Deluxe) data into unity. - Controls suck, no precise/fine movement, no diagonals, no calibration whatsoever. I tried all the    The following applies to every vanilla version of the game (including PC). I played and fully completed the original Super Monkey Ball 1&2 games on Gamecube.

    This games is just a lazy port from the raw data from the original games (mostly from Super Monkey Ball Deluxe) data into unity.

    - Controls suck, no precise/fine movement, no diagonals, no calibration whatsoever. I tried all the mainstream controllers on switch (Joycons, pro controller, GameCube controller, some HORI pads) and they were all the same. This control scheme worked well for Banana Blitz, but not for the high demanding precision of the levels on SMB1&2.
    - Physics are simpler and slower, made for gyroscope controls. This simplifies a lot the strategy needed to solve some floors.
    - Difficulty is overall simplified by removing lifes&continues. I don't think this really matters, but it loses some of the replay value.
    - Lots of annoying long loading screens/prompts, even between floors.
    - The menu has a lot of stuttering and audio clipping when switching game modes. Some levels even have noticeable rendering distance of the elements in-game, even though it uses the exact same models and geometry from the original games. ​
    - New content feels more like a mod of some levels rather than... new content.
    - Most of the assets and engine are recycled from Banana Blitz HD, the developers were either in a rush or didn't even care. The new music is just a lame "remix" of the old music, and the "new sfx" is pretty much removing a lot of the original game sounds (no rolling ball, no hits/bonk, not even atmospheric sfx like rain).
    - Mini games don't even rely on the physics engine of the game, and feel very unresponsive and awkward looking. Some minigames are completely broken, like Monkey Target.
    - If you liked the original monkey ball games, then I would suggest to stick with the Super Monkey Ball deluxe mod for the Gamecube, or go for the PC version with the precise control and original sounds mod.

    This games feels more like a Unity fan remake preview rather than a AAA game. It may be fun and challenging to new players, but it could become extremely frustrating due to the low quality of the control scheme. That being said it's the best release of the series since Banana Blitz on the Wii, but lacks the love, polishing and finely-tuned gameplay the originals had.

    This game removed so much content and love, that it feels like the originals are the real remake. A simple port would have been much better.    … Expand
  4. Kevlarguy67
    Oct 6, 2021
    9
    What can you say, it's monkey ball! Great levels, classic courses, and new content as well. My only problem, at some point I ran out of levels, so I started over.
  5. D1st0rted
    Oct 8, 2021
    4
    I hate that I have to review this game as a middle of the road game but it is. I’m sorry but the physics are so different from the originals in the main game and especially in the mini games. Seeing money target has never felt so off and is a huge shame as it was the main reason I wanted this remake so badly. Compared to the originals this game is a shame. But I guess compared to otherI hate that I have to review this game as a middle of the road game but it is. I’m sorry but the physics are so different from the originals in the main game and especially in the mini games. Seeing money target has never felt so off and is a huge shame as it was the main reason I wanted this remake so badly. Compared to the originals this game is a shame. But I guess compared to other recently money ball games it’s the best in years. Which says something about the franchise.… Expand
  6. Usaisa12
    Oct 7, 2021
    9
    While I had some difficulty as a newcomer to the series, I very much enjoyed the game and I highly recommend to anyone whose new to this series. It’s a good place to start!
  7. Nintenderek
    Oct 7, 2021
    4
    I was VERY excited for Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania going into this game releasing, but it ended up being extremely disappointing. In the main game, they've changed a lot of the music and the physics all feel wrong. It's a 60 FPS game, but feels like 30 FPS part of the time, not because of actual frame rate drips (the frame rate is actually pretty good) but because the physics are thatI was VERY excited for Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania going into this game releasing, but it ended up being extremely disappointing. In the main game, they've changed a lot of the music and the physics all feel wrong. It's a 60 FPS game, but feels like 30 FPS part of the time, not because of actual frame rate drips (the frame rate is actually pretty good) but because the physics are that bad. It's still very playable and can be fun at times and I think if this was someone's first Monkey Ball game, they might not mind, but in comparison to the original release it's a major disappointment.

    Speaking of the original release, the party games were one of the most important aspects of these games back during the Gamecube/PS2/Xbox Era. All those games are still here, but they've all been held back in one way or another, usually due to the physics or just bad game design. The most noticeable is Monkey Target, which in comparison to the original is almost unplayable. If Monkey Target is your main reason for buying this game, I'd stay away completely until perhaps there is a patch to fix it because as it is right now, I can't even get my monkey to fly half way to the target.

    The extra characters are nice, it's it's clear that the developers did care and put a lot of work into this game, which is what makes it even more disappointing how subpar the results are. I know Sega is capable of putting out better games than this and I'm not sure what went wrong in development, but it seems like they would have just been better off doing direct ports of the older games instead of trying to remake them from the ground up. I was super disappointed with my purchase of this game and if I thought there was any chance of me getting a refund, I probably would.    … Expand
  8. Tarrahubert
    Oct 10, 2021
    2
    This is the second monkey ball release on the new systems and once again they have failed to make story mode multiplayer which was always apart of the older games. Not worth it to just play the side games. Waste of money, absolute disappointment.
  9. koaladub24
    Oct 13, 2021
    10
    This is undoubtedly the best SMB experience. Full with the challenges from the past og series, retouched graphics and the GOOD mechanics that BB-HD didn't hit, i recommend it for the whole Single and Multiplayer experience locally. Definitely will keep you attached or busy trying to complete all the levels. From a all-time SEGA and SMB average enjoyer.
  10. Inuyasha1
    Oct 9, 2021
    10
    언럭키 소닉 느낌이 강함. 상당히 재밌는데 서유기의 손오공이 주인공인 모험게임
  11. Happyspelling
    Oct 10, 2021
    9
    I have played every Super Monkey Ball game except Banana Splitz, and I can safely say Banana Mania is one of, if not the best in the series. It easily has the best party game collection out of them all, with all of the mediocre ones from the original being great and the great ones mostly being improved. Also the new inclusions are very welcome. The added characters, helper function, jumpI have played every Super Monkey Ball game except Banana Splitz, and I can safely say Banana Mania is one of, if not the best in the series. It easily has the best party game collection out of them all, with all of the mediocre ones from the original being great and the great ones mostly being improved. Also the new inclusions are very welcome. The added characters, helper function, jump button, special modes, costumes, and achievements are all welcome additions that I frequently used. The graphics look pretty good and I really like most of the new music for the stages. The party game music is weaker, but you can use the original music, that is, if you pay $5 for the dlc. Speaking of prices, $40 for this game is a great deal. It is the most content heavy SMB game, and the physical edition comes with an art book at no extra charge. I don't really have any major complaints, at least nothing that the originals didn't suffer from. Whether you've played the first two games or not, this is a highly recommended title, and I hope we get more monkey in a ball games soon!… Expand
  12. Elite_Institute
    Mar 5, 2022
    10
    "I’m really glad that Sega didn’t mess up Banana Mania. It has a new lick of paint, with some tweaks and additions that help make this an excellent return to form. Despite some gripes with the challenge modes and Monkey Target, there’s a massive amount of content that should keep any fan of the series happy. With the series director now gone, I just hope that future games can live up to"I’m really glad that Sega didn’t mess up Banana Mania. It has a new lick of paint, with some tweaks and additions that help make this an excellent return to form. Despite some gripes with the challenge modes and Monkey Target, there’s a massive amount of content that should keep any fan of the series happy. With the series director now gone, I just hope that future games can live up to this standard."

    https://theeliteinstitute.net/2021/10/22/super-monkey-ball-banana-mania/    … Expand
  13. LosePoolBandage
    Oct 14, 2021
    0
    Felt the need to create a Metacritic account so I could warn people how badly this game currently performs on Switch. I got the Digital Deluxe edition and was able to play this on October 1st and was so excited. Sadly, it was so inconsistent in its framerate and glitchy that this is the first-ever game I've refunded. Even AiAi's face during the load screen is oddly in a low resolution.Felt the need to create a Metacritic account so I could warn people how badly this game currently performs on Switch. I got the Digital Deluxe edition and was able to play this on October 1st and was so excited. Sadly, it was so inconsistent in its framerate and glitchy that this is the first-ever game I've refunded. Even AiAi's face during the load screen is oddly in a low resolution. Other reviewers have complained that the game does not have the exact physics of the originals, but it's not like Sega promised a perfect recreation. What Sega did promise was 60 FPS on Switch during the main game, but obviously didn't deliver. If you want to play this on a console, play it on anything but the Switch, I expect it to perform better on a Playstation or Xbox device.… Expand
  14. Radical2002
    Oct 10, 2021
    8
    Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a surprising treat and a nice time waster. I've had a good time, with loads of unlockable and fun gameplay, it's a easy recommendation, however the story mode from SMB2 feels budget, with no animated cutscenes, and the physics in the party games feels off, but it's only minor issues, this is a love letter to the series, and is defiantly worth your time.
  15. CA_ScottH
    Mar 22, 2022
    8
    Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a good game that is held back by oddities and omissions. Level design experiments frequently, keeping things engaging, the party modes are a nice time killer, and the game comes jam packed with content. However, Monkey Target's less than stellar execution in this remaster, the lack of cutscenes for the story mode, the inability to play as guest charactersSuper Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a good game that is held back by oddities and omissions. Level design experiments frequently, keeping things engaging, the party modes are a nice time killer, and the game comes jam packed with content. However, Monkey Target's less than stellar execution in this remaster, the lack of cutscenes for the story mode, the inability to play as guest characters in the party mode, and the inability to play the main or challenge mode in multiplayer (either locally or online) hold this game back from greatness. At the very least, Banana Mania serves as a solid foundation on which the franchise can build.… Expand
  16. deanparkr
    Oct 16, 2021
    6
    Lots of content. Although seems to have some bugs and issues. Market Target doesn't work correctly. Some low frame rates on Switch especially boiling pot levels which have steam effect. Otherwise party games are good. Monkey Golf is great. I hope they patch the broken Monkey Target.
  17. greninjaX
    Jan 24, 2022
    9
    it's the classic monkey ball games remastered for the modern era. it's just like mario party superstars: a love letter to the franchise! master piece!
  18. Rakereview000
    Nov 16, 2021
    7
    Super Monkey Ball was always fun, and Banana Mania brings 300 of the finest stages in the series' history and 12 great minigames. It is recommended and enjoyable for all ages.
  19. Edirath
    Oct 30, 2021
    7
    really fun and challenging, but where's the main game multiplayer, I think it'd be a 10 with it.

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Nov 8, 2021
    85
    It is glorious. Maybe not perfect, but still very good. It has everything I loved from Banana Blitz HD, and little of what I didn't. I highly recommend checking it out if you're new to the series, or if you just want to see a Dreamcast in a ball. [Issue #56 – November/December 2021, p. 71]
  2. Nintendo Enthusiast
    Nov 1, 2021
    85
    Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania marks a return to form for the series, even if I am left hoping that we receive some substantial content updates in the near future to fill in gaps left from the originals. Fans who need an exact recreation of the originals or require challenge mode multiplayer might want to skip this one or wait for a deep discount, but those who just want to play Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2 again or the first time should absolutely pick this one up on Switch, especially if you enjoy playing on the go. While there is still a bit of work to do, Super Monkey Ball is back, and it’s a great feeling. I strongly recommend you don’t miss out on this one.
    Read full review
  3. Switch Player
    Oct 26, 2021
    70
    Banana Mania takes the best Super Monkey Ball games and combines them into one solid package. Frustrations from those original games remain, and the lack of online play is a disappointment, but new options allow for a less stressful time.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »