Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD Launches On Switch In October

Rolled Out will probably be better.

Monkey Ball Fans: YAY!

Animal Crossing Fans: YAY!

F-Zero Fans: furious crying

But why Banana Blitz? That one was not very good compared to the others...

Why port the one that's objectively the worst??? Such a shame, I've been hoping for a good Monkey Ball port or sequel for years but this is literally the only one I wouldn't bother with.

@blackbox64 I'm part of fanbase #3.
I used to be Star fox fan but that part of my brain committed seppuku after playing Star Fox Zero.

But does it have mini games/party games? That's the most fun part of Super Monkey Ball. Especially Monkey Target, Monkey Race and Monkey Golf.

WHY??? Why not the original two from the Gamecube? They were the best!!!
Haven't played Banana Blitz, but by all accounts it is the worst

How hard is it to make a new Super Monkey Ball?

Any of the mini games that used pointer controls would worry me. Maybe they fix the gyro controls of the main game, but pointer controls are not a smooth experience on the Switch.

Why not make Super monkey ball MAKER?

The problem with porting the GCN versions is that the Switch analogue sticks cannot be wielded with the same precision as those on GCN, in part due to the lack of the octagonal gate around the outside. This allowed players to lock their stick into position, which was handy for some of the more exacting levels in SMB. The PS2 and Xbox ports suffered as a result of this (and the loose, imprecise PS2 analogue sticks exacerbated the control issues).

I might pick this up, since it's the only Monkey Ball on Nintendo hardware that I skipped. Hopefully they've improved it.

Not only they didn't make a new game, it's another HD Remaster, but also, with so many games to choose, they decided to choose this one instead of the GameCube games.

But, at least the series is back, and a good remaster can fix the issues of the original 2006 game.

not a good monkey ball :/

@RadGravity

Interesting, I have felt that the Switch sticks lack precision.

Can anyone talk about what exactly makes this worse than the other Super Monkey Ball titles? Because I've always been interested in the series but never played any of the games. Looking up a review, it still looks pretty fun!

People mostly seem to be complaining about the gyro controls, but I'd say this is likely to have analog control as well.

@RadGravity Although that does sound like it would be a real issue, it didn't stop them porting to PS2 and XBOX.

I would guess they are probably releasing the Wii Version because of sales numbers were better than the GC versions.

@PorllM Ikr? Still waiting for a proper sequel since the first two on GCN!

Isn’t this the worst game of the series why not do a collection of the GameCube games

Come on make new games people. There’s a reason I skipped it 10 years ago...

@NorseGamerTommy It has 50 party games, of which apparently half are good. Not a bad number.

Was hoping for a remaster of Ticket Blitz. Oh well.

@FiveDigitLP think it depends. If it’s just a port then it’s a serious why release that one situation. However if it’s being remade, they potentially could take a not very good game and massively improve it. So yeah depends on the amount of work being done I guess

@electrolite77 that’s what she said

Isn’t the original Super Monkey Ball for Gamecube pretty much the only game in the series that anybody actually liked? Weird choice to go with Banana Blitz instead of that one.

I played some of banana blitz at a friends house. I had fun with it.

To the people asking why not the first 2 games...

Because they were insanely difficulty, an inconvenient truth that must be reckoned with when it comes to which game they choose to remake. Exposing a new generation to games that make you pull your hair out on the first 5 levels isn’t how you reboot a franchise.

And this was still a fantastic game, it’s just that the mini games were lame. They forced motion in many of them, and went for quantity instead of quality. But since this one will obviously have the motion mapped to buttons (releasing on PS4 and STEAM also, so it’s a guarantee) I’m hoping they’ll play a lot better.

@JaxonH you sure about that? The switch does have motions controls after all...

Long as it's not the minigame compilation thing I'm cool with this.

@JaxonH But the mini games would be so fun on the Switch. I can actually imagine using the kickstand and playing Monkey Target with friends!

Never played a Monkey Ball game, can someone actually say what it's about? I looked at the review linked in this article, and all that said was "controls bad, me no likey", without ever saying what you're supposed to do.

The biggest reason this game was poor is down to the controls being terrible, so if they give us proper analogue controls like the originals coupled with returning mini games from previous entries which were ditched this could be very good. Maybe they'll even throw in the first 2's levels as a bonus? With good controls I'll be giving it a go

@HobbitGamer you roll a monkey inside a ball to the goal

@JaxonH I remember hearing Super Mario World was toned down compared to SMB3 for launch of the SNES. For more or less the same reason.

Well first Im very glad its comming back, sure I hoped on a reboot or remake of the first 2, but before we start complaining lets wait and zee.

Banana Blitz certainly split opinions on how good it was, but considering most complaints were regarding the motion controls, this HD remake will surely net out at around the 8/10 mark.

I found the controls perfectly fine on the Wii, incidentally. It took a little getting used to, but it was perfectly fine for me. The NL review of 4/10 seems like it was done by someone that just didn't like motion controls. If I remember correctly, this was a launch title for the Wii, so I guess they may have not been familiar with the motion controls at all?

Anyway, it's ridiculous to discount this game based on those controls - more-so when the Switch will surely, at least for Handheld mode to be possible, feature a traditional control scheme anyway?

@FiveDigitLP

It's actually one of the better games. The problem with Monkey Ball is that the the first two Gamecube games are way, way, way better than the rest of the series.

You could make a case that Banana Blitz is the third best MB game, but it is a distant, distant third.

@USWITCH64 Super Monkey Ball MAKER would be awesome.

People saying this is the worst one, and while I would tend to agree, for me, that was mainly because of the dodgy Wii controls. If this is coming to Switch and PS4 then they will almost certainly be re-jigging the controls, so that should take it up a notch.

@RushDawg it's a long time since I played it, but I definitely remember enjoying this game. I can vaguely remember some of the later levels too, and they were very good and very challenging. 1 and 2 were much easier for me.

@nocdaes

You're assuming the remake will ditch the motion controls. Both the Switch joycons and PS4 dualshock 4 are capable of motion controls.

@Haywired

People saying this is the worst one haven't played most of the series. The DS and 3DS entries are objectively worse, as is Super Monkey Ball Adventure on PS2/GC/Xbox.

I will be buying this on sale.

@NorseGamerTommy Don't forget Monkey Pool, I spent hours on that minigame back in the day, lol

@RushDawg Unless they want/expect people to tilt the Switch console in their hands, it surely requires traditional controls for handheld play.

I can't see them doing solely motion controls. Especially with the Switch Lite coming out the month before too.

@wazlon yeah it's the perfect game to make your own levels plus make your own monkey target, it would be huge. I'm going to call SEGA now and get my 2%!

I actually enjoyed this game, I loved the soundtrack and the way you played. Again though I didn't play any of the other ones so I came into the game with a fresh perspective. Can't wait!

I think with refined controls and some additional levels/mini games this could turn out nicely. The game was made by the team that did 1 & 2 and it’s still fun

Controls worked fine on the Wii, don't know what people's problem were with them, ok so the game was not as good as the GC versions but at least it changed things up

The game everyone wanted, but no one will buy.......

I'm not a Monkey Ball fan but Sega should port more of their old games from the 2000s. They need to port Jet Set Radio Future!

@Alpha008
100% positive

The game is releasing on PS4 and Steam also, so it will absolutely have the mini games mapped to buttons.

Oh lame, what? The"new" monkey ball game is a port of a 10+ year old Wii game? How disappointing.

Did I dream it or weren’t their two Monkeyball games recently classified?. A new version plus HD remake?

@RushDawg
PS4 games never use motion. Of the thousands of games released on that system, I think less than 6 of them have actually used it in any meaningful way and most of them were just for spraying a can or something.

Furthermore, it’s releasing on STEAM and Steam games never, absolutely never, come with default motion controls. They can be mapped by the user on a system level but that’s different.

The game will be mapped to buttons. It’s possible they provide motion as an option exclusive to Switch, and that would actually be pretty cool since I think it’s fun to play the game using motion in the main game mode, but if that does happen it will be an option.

NL two days ago:

“After a long hiatus, it looks Sega's Super Monkey Ball series is finally rolling back into our lives.
Following on from a Taiwanese rating earlier this week and Sega filing a Japanese trademark for a game called Tabegoro! Super Monkey Ball in May, a new listing has now appeared on the Korean ratings board. It seems like an announcement from Sega is now inevitable.
The Monkey Ball news doesn't end there, though. There's also a rumour the recently trademarked Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz will be receiving a high-definition makeover for Nintendo Switch. This title was originally released on the Nintendo Wii in 2006 and featured motion controls.”

I don't care what anyone says, I've always loved Banana Blitz on the Wii. Jump button is fun, bosses are fun, music is great, levels are great, and it had a whopping 50 mini-games!

This article two days ago speculated two new games.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/07/new_super_monkey_ball_game_rated_again_this_time_in_south_korea

Time to renew that Dole license!

For the Wii U, we got HD versions of the two gamecube Zelda games. The 3DS got Luigi’s Mansion. As much as we want it, I am guessing that it is quite difficult/costly to port over GC games.

@Noid Nah, I doubt it.

I was playing the original on my gamecube with my brother last week. It is by far my fav and we spent hours on monkey target and monkey billiards.

Never played the Wii version as it was so put off my the second that I always stuck to the original.

@RadGravity Yeah, which would be a shame... if we couldn't use GCN controls.

Hey, wait a minute...

@PorllM Objectively worst? Super Monkey Ball Bounce. There's always the GBA and nGage monkey balls too.

@electrolite77 haven’t we all😂

I hope this does well enough to warrant them going back and remastering the first two games. Not what I was hoping for. Sigh...

Wow, why did they ignore the stellar first two games?! Bummer, well, at least it might play better assuming they allow analogue control. But this will be a bust if it's sold for more than $20.

I would of preferred a HD port of the first two games. I might still pick this up if the price is right, but im kind of disappointed they chose the wii one.

@JaxonH The first five levels? Did you actually play either of those games?

Sure, they were tough, but not until you got a ways into them. And there's nothing "inconvenient" about it, either. The challenge was part of the appeal.

SMB and SMB2 remain fantastic games.

@AxeltheCorvikni I'm thrilled Switch is getting Banana Blitz, but would be absolutely blown away if they remastered Jet Set Radio Future for Switch and maintained it's 60fps graphics! Yes please! They should also bring Chu Chu rocket, Sega Rally, Outrun 2006 coast 2 coast, Daytona 2, and Samba de Amigo to Switch!

I can't wait to play Banana Blitz on Switch! I think it will be awesome and will be perfect for multiplayer bouts! It's also practically guaranteed to run at 60fps, yay!

This was also announced for PC, so I think all versions will include non motion controls

I would be lying if I wasn't wanting 1 & 2, but I will gladly take this. I wonder how it will control.

@Dr_Corndog
Yes, I own both of them. I wouldn't be talking about games I never played (obviously). I never said they weren't fantastic games, but their incredible difficulty is a problem.

The challenge was part of the appeal

Sure, to some people who crave severe difficulty. To almost everyone else it's a huge turn off. I love those games, but even I lost interest due to the crazy thin strip levels so soon in the game (and hyperbole aside, it does get very difficult very quickly). Rather than building up slowly (like Banana Blitz) it has an incredibly steep difficulty curve.

It's ok to like the game, and still objectively recognize difficulty like that is a problem, and makes them poor candidates for reintroducing the franchise to a new generation.

Ideally they could package them together since the mini games were insanely good in the first two (Monkey Golf is a classic), but that's not how they're going about it so...

The 3DS game was waaaay worse than Banana Blitz. Handheld motion controls which rendered the 3D pointless, weak level design and the worst mini-game selection. So bad I genuinely forgot I’d ever owned it (and traded it in).

SMB1 has the best level design. SMB2 has the best mini-games. Banana Blitz is distant third, but is by no means the worst.

@JaxonH The new generation of gamers aren't bad at games, that's an absolute meme, and the SMB1/2 difficulty early on is moderate at worst.
So all in all I see no issue with introducing them to the originals.

Cool. I'll take it. Not what I wanted, but it could be worse. (I'm looking at the 3DS game)

I guess it's time to finally beat World 10-5 after all this time...

Still hoping for an HD of Monkey Ball Deluxe 👀 (or heck, even the arcade version)

From now on, anyone that uses the word 'objectively' like the idiots above saying a game is objectively worse are insta-ignored.

Rumor: "New Mario game coming!"

Announcement: "It's actually Hotel Mario HD."

Calling Banana Blitz uninspiring is stupid, this was one of the Wii's best launch title now in HD for Switch. Be glad Sega gave us a Super Monkey Ball game at all other than more Sonic and Olympic game rehashes.

Also I wonder, why no Banana Splitz too? That's the only game in the franchise I haven't played. (And it even has a stage builder!)

@Rubbercookie
I never said anything about the new generation being bad, all I said was the games are extremely difficult (and they are).

But it is true people have less patience for difficulty nowadays. It’s not that people aren’t as good, it’s that they have less patience.

I'm sorry, Aiai, but you showed up too late. DK's been giving me my fill of gaming simian action for the last couple years now.

i can't say i like hearing "unique control schemes" for each console

Gravely upset this isnt the first 2.

Gravely.

I have never played this version but i love the older games, ill check this one out.

@USWITCH64 would buy, honestly!

I'm hoping the motion schemes are available on all platforms. I'd love to play this with a traditional joystick... (I guess the steam version will be the one with that control scheme)

@PorllM I wouldn't say Banana Blitz is the worst, I think Adventure is definitely the bad one of the series. I own the game and I would know.

Only 10 minigames?! I got Banana Blitz at launch with the Wii and it had something like 50 mini games!

They really should have done an HD version of 1 and 2 though. Monkey Target hasn't been the same since then.

Nice – I'm going to be positive about this – with fixed controls I'm sure it'll be a good MB Fix.

Glad they remastered this one since 1&2 barely need it.

Also why 1&2? Deluxe pretty much had all of those levels plus more, it just was laggy and didnt look as good.

Not played this one, worrying seeing people here saying its the worse one

Loved SMB 1 and 2.. Why couldn't we of gotten SMB Deluxe instead?

@RushDawg this is also coming to Steam and Xbone though

If this doesn't have a multiplayer arcade style mode like Monkey Ball 1 and 2 had, then I'm out. That was my biggest complaint from the original.

I'm betting that all the best and most fun mini games are included. This game should be a blast! I'm really curious which 10 mini games are included...

@Doktor-Mandrake
It’s not. People only say that because A they hated the forced motion controls on Wii (even NintendoLife said in their 4/10 review, if the controls were fixed you could easily double the score to 8/10) or B they confuse Banana Blitz with the most recent entry, Banana Splitz, which probably is the worst entry in the series which was a decent entry though not as good as Blitz if controls were addressed. Monkey Ball 3D on 3DS, now that was the worst entry in the series. I get those two confused sometimes.

It’s probably the next best in the series behind 1/2, and if the controls were addressed and new mini games added, it may even rival them.

Controls will be fixed, although it sounds like motion will be added in for Switch... surely it will be optional. And apparently they’re saying they re-did the mini games? So instead of 50 garbage mini games there’s 10 presumably good ones? That would fall in line with the previous releases. And make this an absolute must own.

I mean this is not the worst Monkey Ball... but why not remake the much better Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2?

How can this not be one of the superior GC games?

Worst trailer ever!

I like the game though.

@JaxonH I didn't know the Super Monkey Ball games were known for being so difficult!

I personally have no experience with the Super Monkey Ball series, so any of the games being released again is a big blessing for me. I can't wait to adventure with Ai Ai!

Should have ported 1 & 2

Hmm, I skipped this one and it's a bday month release. Buying.

@JaxonH i absoluty agree with you on this one.
They probaly choose this one for the difficulty, and agreed besides the horrible motion controles and those fffff mini games the game itself is quite good, great even!!

@JaxonH

Ah I see, yeah they should be optional this time around since it's coming to PS4/Xbox/PC as well

I hope the mini games will be good, I loved things like Monkey Pool and Monkey Target in SMB2

They could have made a new one. Banana Blitz is... ok. The Gamecube games are obviously superior idk why out of all Monkey Ball games they choose Banana Blitz. Maybe, hopefully, its not a direct port but a tweaked and updated version of the game. One small thing always bothered about Blitz is the lack of a smooth transition between stages. In the gamecube games when you beat a stage you float away and appear in the next stage in one smooth transition. In Blitz, you beat a stage, float away and its back to the stage select screen and you have to manually pick the next stage. I always thought that was dumb. I really hope they remove that or atleast give you the ability to change it in the options menu.

@JaxonH "I wouldn't be talking about games I never played (obviously)."

Some people would, though (ha ha).

I still don't see the difficulty as being a problem. A lot of people (such as myself) relish the challenge. Games like Dark Souls have shown in recent years that difficult games can still be successful, even in the $60 retail space.

I haven't played Banana Blitz myself, so maybe it's better than most people say. At least we won't have to play with a vertically oriented Wii remote in the Switch release.

Maybe this will be good.

SuPEr MonKEy BaLL BanANnA BlItZ -James Rolfe

I Would of rather had super monkey ball deluxe, with the load times between stages trimmed down, that would be an amazing package, but if this fixes the control issues in this version, and makes the minigames good, this will be great! I'm just happy super monkey ball is even back at all.

Wow, those are some Pokémon-level animations.

@RadGravity : I didn't know that about the ps2 controller. I had trouble with the games on ps2 but a blast on the gamecube.

Just 10 mini games, well hopefully it's the good ones from the series and now I just need to pray that unique control schemes for platforms doesn't mean that we are stuck with motion controls

@USWITCH64 brilliant idea!

The game on Wii was ok, boss battles suck though. Maybe traditional controls can help this game out.

With Panzer Dragoon, Shenmue, and even Monkey Ball making comebacks, it's a good time to be a SEGA fan. I never expected to say that, either. I wonder if we'll ever see Skies of Arcadia again.

@blackbox64
Wave Race fan here...crying.

@blackbox64 Star Fox fans: More furious crying

Come on. Look how angry they are at their bananas being stolen! Of course I will help them get them back

I'm just glad that a Monkey Ball title is coming to Switch! Never played this one, so will definitely give it a go!

The game is ok, but this logo is so satisfying to see

@nocdaes worse than Mighty No. 9?

No thank you. That was one of the worst Wii games I ever owned, due to extremely crappy motion controls.

@NorseGamerTommy yes it does

@HobbitGamer Okay, you know those little mazes where you hafta guide a ball around holes and traps by tilting it? They game-ified that but with cutesy characters and added mini games too. Only you hafta use a joystick, and in this case, oversensitive motion controls.

A lot people seem to be completely against the game for the original's motion controls.

@N00BiSH Well, you see, when some people buy and play a game that was genuinely bad for x reason, they usually cite why they aren't keen on spending money on it a second time.

@Tempestryke tell me something i don't know.

Honestly, I'm just happy we're getting ANY Monkey Ball game. 1 and 2 are among my all-time favorite games, and I never played this one.

@Tempestryke Oh, I liked those little puzzles. Thanks, makes sense to me.

@Rubbercookie The GBA Monkey Ball was really good. It was one of the only games on the system with real 3d graphics. It could have used more levels and mini-games but the actual game was a lot of fun.

@Nintendo_Thumb Oh there were a whole slew of actual polygonal 3D games on the machine, including V-Rally and a GTA clone (look up Payback =]).

Super Monkey Ball Jr, I loved that game (spent so many hours bowling) but it doesn't stand up to Banana Blitz.
That just comes with the handheld territory there.

I would be happy to try this out. I didn’t pick up the original Wii version of this game. But I heard the motion controls were pretty bad. Maybe they will improve on the Switch and PS4 versions. Or maybe Gyro controls on the Switch version? But i’m really happy to see Super Monkey Ball back. Good job Sega.

@JaxonH How about a concession then.
"Mellow mode." Only playable as Baby, gives access to a gradual rewind button akin to Pushmo, Braid, MegaDrive Classics, Toki Tori, Catrap etc.

Also realistic to implement given both games already supports this for replay purposes.

Just release the original.

I'll buy Dole bananas, I promise.

I play mainly on the go, when I take the bus to work, and motion controls suck when you play under these conditions. BOTW's shrines that were based on motion were a pain in the ass to play when on the bus, so I don't think I need this one. Better for my economy.

@PorllM Pretty sure the worst entries are Adventure and Step and Roll.

Lets just see how this turns out.... I agree one of the Gamecube iterations would have me more excited, but now that this will require proper controls I'm confident it will be a better game.

@N00BiSH lol, good point

@Pigeon No. The game's controls were bad. Just because some people are willing to put up with bad controls doesn't mean we all are.

The only issue I see is the Wii version of Super Monkey Ball (2006) is very cheap to pick up (like under £5 second hand). Can't really see myself paying full price.

I actually liked this Wii game. The Motion Controls work really well, the Boss Battles were an interesting idea, and the music was fantastic. It's by Cash Cash, who did the music for Jet Set Radio and Sonic Rush 1 & 2.

I wonder if the Switch version will have the option to use Motion Controls?