Created by the same lunatic visionary behind the Yakuza franchise, the Monkey Ball franchise is one of the most iconic Sega franchises of all time. It encompasses everything the company is famous for: simple gameplay loops, color, high-octane performance, and an arcade-like mentality. It was most successful in the early 2000s, when the first game in the franchise was even one of the Gamecube’s launch titles. Not counting Banana Blitz HD (itself a remake of the first three Monkey Ball games in one package), Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is actually the first brand new game in the franchise in a whopping 12 years. Let’s give it a look.

I’ll repeat what I’ve mentioned in my previous Monkey Ball review. For the uninitiated, the games revolve around guiding a little monkey inside a ball through a maze, trying to get to the finishing line before the timer is out. You also have to collect as many bananas as possible in order to increase your high score. The main feature, however, is the fact that you don’t exactly control the monkey ball per-se, aside from jumping every now and then. For the most part, you move around by tilting the entire level, not unlike older games like Marble Madness. The occasional boss battle and a series of additional minigames complete the package.

So, we have a brand new Super Monkey Ball, exclusive to the Switch, backed by a sizeable marketing campaign and even the promise of a lot of Sega crossover content, such as being able to play as retro Sonic the Hedgehog, in a collab that makes a lot of sense when you stop and think about it. After nearly twelve years without a brand new game, what’s new? What’s so interesting about Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble? What is included in the package to push the franchise forward?

Well, for starters, a brand new campaign, with literal hundreds of levels, as well as a few new playable characters. If, by some bizarre, borderline otherworldly chance, you care about the lore in the Monkey Ball series, you’re in for a banana-flavored treat. The brand new addition is another female monkey, who’s the centerpiece of the story, if you ever decide to give a crap about it. The only difference between her and other girl monkeys in the game is the shape of her eye and the one voice clip she utters ad nauseum during cutscenes anyway.

The main addition to the gameplay loop is a dash mechanic. You can unleash it whenever you want it, provided you’ve cooled down its meter, and it basically allows you to gain extra momentum, jump off ramps, reach new areas and shortcuts, and so on. Whilst a neat mechanic, it also results in a bit of an issue. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble became trivial after I started using this easily spammable mechanic. It’s easy to simply perform a boost and ignore two thirds of a level’s traps and obstacles because of a combination of a well-executed dash and some smart momentum.

It doesn’t make the game less entertaining, it’s just, well, not challenging at all. On a portable, for quick play sessions, that wasn’t an issue. I wish the presentation was as polished and fluid to keep up with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble‘s arcadey spirit, but it doesn’t feature the most solid of framerates. It is an improvement over the previous collection of remastered Monkey Ball games, but I guess the Switch’s hardware hampered what could have been even better.

Even if it does feature some technical and design issues, namely the wonky framerate, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble‘s core gameplay loop is still really fun. There’s tons of content, the Sega crossover characters are actually worth checking out, and the quickly beatable levels are perfect for a portable like the Switch. It doesn’t exactly push the franchise forward in any meaningful direction, aside from its multiplayer, but as a quick pasttime to play on your Switch for a few minutes at a time, it’s ain’t half bad.

Graphics: 6.5 It looks more detailed than the previous Monkey Ball outings released over the past few years, but it doesn’t feature the most solid of framerates. An improvement, but I guess the Switch’s hardware hampered what could have been even better.	Gameplay: 7.0 The dash mechanic is the main addition to the formula. It allows for some creative level design, but it also makes other levels extremely trivial.
Sound: 8.0 The voice clips got on my nerves after a while, but the soundtrack is comprised of absolute bangers.	Fun Factor: 7.0 Even if it does feature some technical and design issues, the core gameplay loop is still really fun. There’s tons of content, and the quickly beatable levels are perfect for a portable like the Switch.
Final Verdict: 7.0

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is available now on Switch.

Reviewed on Switch.

A copy of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble was provided by the publisher.