SUPER MONKEY BALL BANANA BLITZ / PUBLISHER: SEGA / PLATFORM: SWITCH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Sega attempts to resurrect a franchise that hasn’t been seen since the launch of the 3DS. Monkeys in Balls! What’s not to like? Well… a lot, as it so happens.
If you’re not familiar with franchise the concept is simple. You move a ball around a course, picking up bananas and trying not to fall off the end, collecting the bananas, and getting to the goal as quickly as you can. The game is split into short levels, across 10 worlds, with each world ending in a rather tedious boss fight.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz is an odd choice for a HD remake. Primarily because it’s the weakest of the home console games. However, its use of motion controls and huge catalogue of mini-games gave us hope. Sadly, it doesn’t take long to realise that none of this is included in the game. The Wii motions controls were a bit frustrating, but instead of improving them with the Switch’s gyros, they’ve removed them in favour of a normal stick control, making it play more like Monkey Ball 1 and 2.
Sega has culled the mini-games from 50, down to a mere 10. We wouldn’t even say it’s the best 10 either, iconic mini games like bowling and racing are both missing, and the terrible hurdle race, hammer throw, and the painful hovercraft race all made the cut. The saving grace of the original was quantity over quality but this one doesn’t have either.
The only improvements are a slight graphical enhancement, and an online mode, that just consists of a time attack leader board, and mini-game decathlon leader board. They’ve also added Sonic as an unlockable character. Online play and being able to control the camera with the right stick would have been great additions but neither happened.
This is an incredibly lazy port from Sega, in an attempt to cash in on some nostalgia with as little effort as possible. Prepare yourself for disappointment and you might find some enjoyment in it.
