- Publisher: Sega
- Release Date: Jun 25, 2024
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Jun 24, 2024If you fancy a rumble that's not in a jungle, then this latest Super Monkey Ball offering will make you go bananas. There plenty on offer here that'll please returning fans and newcomers alike, with outstanding accessibility options, a lovely smorgasbord of levels spread across diverse and vibrant worlds.
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Aug 29, 2024Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble delivers classic rolling fun with its charming levels and familiar gameplay, but doesn’t stray far from the tried-and-true formula. While the game provides plenty of nostalgic enjoyment, its lack of innovation might leave some players wanting more. It’s a solid pick for fans of the series, but don’t expect any groundbreaking changes.
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Jul 11, 2024Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble sticks to its roots a little too closely, with its multiplayer mode coming off as more of a bonus than the main attraction. Those that don’t mind the same old song and monkey dance will have fun, but don’t expect anything revolutionary.
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Jul 3, 2024The glory days of Super Monkey Ball may be far behind, but Banana Rumble is a new beginning. Tight stage design, responsive controls and an appealing aesthetic make it one of the series' best in years.
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Jun 26, 2024The first "new" Monkey Ball in over a decade does the job, respects its elders and injects new, coherent, no-frills mechanics. The few extras provide a welcome bonus, but the whole thing is brought down by a technical assessment that is largely flunked by the Gamecube. What a shame!
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Jun 26, 2024Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is a perfect option for fans of the Sega saga or for those who wants to test their skills, always taking into account that it has taken a step back when talking about multiplayer.
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Jun 25, 2024Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is certainly perfect for passing the time and fans of the series will be happy to have 200 new levels, but 12 years after an unreleased chapter one would have expected a more lively revival in every aspect.
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Jun 24, 2024It's old-school gaming, straight to the point, simple and fun.
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Jun 24, 2024Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble starts a bit slow, but the later worlds and levels offer new and unique features I’ve never seen in Monkey Ball before. The risk with the spin dash is fun, but I feel like it often won’t be used over the required precision. However, I’m sure people will find ways to hack this game. They still haven’t got the mini-games combinations just right. However, it’s the fresh ideas the series has needed for a while and the best Monkey Ball game in some time.
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Jun 24, 2024Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is a short and sweet addition to the Monkey Ball canon. There’s plenty of Monkey shenanigans to indulge in, and fans will no doubt love the new online modes, with the only true caveat being that this is still, unequivocally, more of the same Monkey Ball.
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Jun 24, 2024Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is still the most fun I've had with the series in over 20 years, and I'm actually at the time of writing looking forward to taking my Switch with me on vacation to break my own records. I just wish Sega would scale back production, as less is more here. Trying to add a story in this case is as relevant as trying to improve Tetris with a tale of missing blocks, rival gangs and Tetrominos speaking in fake children's voices in a made-up language. It wasn't for their delightful personalities that I once learned to love AiAi, MeeMee, Bano and GonGon - but because they were in an incredibly good game.
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Jun 24, 2024If all you're looking for in a new Super Monkey Ball game is a selection of new single-player levels to tackle, then you're in luck, because Banana Rumble boasts some of the best stages we've seen in recent memory. The additional 'Spin Dash' ability makes traversal a lot more fun, and the physics feel as close to 'classic' Monkey Ball as the franchise has got in quite some time. Unfortunately, if you're looking forward to the multiplayer modes, then temper your expectations. They're simply not very good for the most part and are significantly hampered by the drop in frame rate. We almost scored this a point lower, but the quality of the single-player just about pulls it up. As it stands, Banana Rumble is a mixed bag, but one worth delving into if you're itching for more single-player shenanigans.
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Jun 24, 2024Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble offers a great single-player experience, and if that’s what you’re looking for, I would absolutely recommend it. However, Monkey Ball has always been at its best during multiplayer mayhem, and that side of this release, despite offering some fleeting fun, feels like a missed opportunity. It’s great to see Super Monkey Ball back with a new game, but hopefully, any future entry will fully capture what made this series so beloved in the first place.
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Jun 24, 2024Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is a fun game to play on your lonesome or with friends, even for an hour or so here and there. Just don't expect it to be a game-changer for the series because in truth, if that moment was ever going to happen, it would have happened many years before now.
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Jun 24, 2024But for what it actually is, Banana Rumble is an utterly adorable sequel full of charm, with some decent level design to be had. When it was at its best, it was incredibly satisfying to pull off skips and blast through stages in mere seconds. Now that it’s over, I just can’t see myself picking it up again.
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Jun 24, 2024As the first entirely new Monkey Ball game in 12 years, fans of the series will at least be happy to have a selection of new stages to play through. Performance issues and a relatively sparse multiplayer offering prevent it from being considered among the best the series has to offer, however.
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Jul 8, 2024Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is a step forward in the series, adding new cool mechanics and introducing a compelling online multiplayer. [Recommended]
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Jun 24, 2024Banana Rumble is fun. I love playing it. I thought I was mostly done playing it until, about 300 words into this review, something unexpected happened: I got The Itch. I’d beaten all the levels, but I wanted to beat them again. I wanted to take a crack at the missions, which I’d largely dismissed as frivolous on my first run. I wanted to go for some records in time attack, especially pre-release, when the sparse competition would all but guarantee me a spot in the top 5. (As of right now, 6:03 a.m. on June 23rd, 2024, I have Giant Bomb’s Dan Ryckert beaten by two seconds on the world 1 leaderboards. Dan, if you’re reading this: your move.) The game works, in all the ways I expect it to. Maybe not in all the ways I want it to, but so what? Banana Rumble doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be good. And for Super Monkey Ball, “perfect” and “good” are very nearly the same thing.
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