Sega Reveals Digital And Physical Versions Of Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania

Sure, we all prefer playing as retro Sega consoles over Classic Sonic. What's next? Playable Retro Nintendo consoles in Mario Kart 9?

Glad the digital deluxe goodies can be grabbed separately for people getting the physical like me.
Can’t wait to play as the classic monkeys with the classic music. Also playing as a Dreamcast will be cool.
I am wondering what Docter & Yan Yan will look like with classic skins? Will they look like the GameCube era?

@SpiderSquid
Classic Sonic & Tails are gonna be in the game too.

I will get whichever is the cheapest

I can't help but feel that charging additional money for original character models and original music in a remaster is really scummy. These things used to be included by default in re-releases like these.

@Tuulenpoika Most remakes don't actually do that. That's a more recent trend, and usually for indie games.

Though I do agree that doing DLC for the old soundtrack is still not good. Like...I don't know why it would take any effort or even enough file space to justify selling it for money.

@Pandy Any evidence?

Getting the PC version on sale. It has achievements.

@SpiderSquid
I thought this was common knowledge. Someone data mined the website and found images of Sonic & Tails in the balls. The website also has space for two more characters in the character area.
https://www.sonicstadium.org/2021/06/sonic-and-tails-playable-character-art-discovered-in-super-monkey-ball-banana-mania-website/

I can finally live my dream of being a Sega Saturn.

@SpiderSquid I'd unironically love to play as a GameCube in Mario Kart.

@HotGoomba Rookie mistake. The N64 is more aerodynamic.

@Tandy255 Yeah but the GameCube is a better well-rounded racer.

40 page artbook? How are they making money off of this game for 40 dollars?

please oh please let the controls be good.i am so glad they are giving this game a srcond chance. this would be a great christmas gift for me!.

I heard online play isn't available in mini-games....if true I am not getting this as thats how Id play friends and family. We have said for years it would be amazing to play original monkey target online together. Such a pity.

@Tuulenpoika I'm confused as to why the new version has a different soundtrack and they're selling the classic music?? That makes it sound like they're a complete remake... I thought they were just the originals with polished HD graphics, kind of like Mario 3D All-Stars...

Wow. That physical edition, eh?
Wowie..
You get a piece of paper to go inside the case, which .. wow.. you can turn it around, and let people see a different image! Wow.
That's totally worth the money.
Oh, but wait, it's not just that.
You get ANOTHER piece of paper that you can put AROUND the case, so that people can't see the piece of paper you turned around!
WOW!!!!!

Back in the 80s I had some little Transformer Marbles. Two transparent semi-spheres with a tiny picture of a transformer in the middle. Great effect. Good marbles. No grumbles.
Now, I'm no marketing genius, but ...

I hate that many companies have stopped making original content and are just making remesters of old games. I’m sad about the state of the video game business right now. Sega is not the only culprit of course. Nintendo is definately also a big culprit. With their mountains of cash they should invest like Microsoft has to be able to ramp up their game making capabilities. It takes more time to make games. But the return on investment is definately going to be worth it. Take for example Mario Kart. We haven’t got a new game in 7 years. It’s mind boggling. Were they to release a new game it would probably sell more than every other game on the switch. Instead the team responsible is probably doing something else. That’s fine but. They should really invest in more teams to be able to keep up the pace. In the HD era Nintendo is stuck in 50cc to speak Mario Kart terms. Not to talk about Retro studios who have only managed to make two games and help with mario kart 8 in the last 14 years. 14 years!! And what they made was two 2D Donkey kong games. It’s incredible that they are still alive. They live on their good name and also somewhat in promises of good quality to come.

@Ladasta As much as I agree with this sentiment, you do have to be aware that everything since the GameCube originals of Monkey Ball have in fact been utter garbage!

Yes, yes I do. Yes.

Physical for me, please.

@Ladasta Sounds like you are asking them to compete with Microsoft and SONY...which is bonkers.

"Sega Legends" shows Saturn and Game Gear

When I visited Japan (years ago lol), you could buy really tiny plastic SEGA consoles from the capsule toy vending machines dotted around. The Legends pack reminds me of those.

@Jackpaza0508 The Saturn is a legendary console for SEGA fans

October is so far away

Have we actually confirmation on which games are included? The reveal trailer was super confusing on the point.

What's with the resurgence in "play it x days early" again? They're doing it with Sonic Colours too

@Clyde_Radcliffe I was thinking the same thing. And now it makes perfect sense — to sell the original music back for the ones who remember it and want it back. Really scummy.

Already purchased the launch edition. This will be my first monkey ball game and I'm kind of excited to try it out!

@Tuulenpoika But then wouldn't the cost of creating a whole new soundtrack negate the cost of that? Or maybe they've just remixed the old one.

@brunojenso
It was confusing, I dont know if it’s full games or just levels & mini games from them.

@GrailUK
It’s worth it though

Classic models and soundtrack? Yes please!

...I just want the first two in HD

@Kimyonaakuma Steady. it's classic skins. The models are still the new ones. Still, it's better than nothing

@Pandy

Sega: "Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a high-definition remaster of the original three Super Monkey Ball games: Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe. It includes over 300 recreated levels and mazes, 12 mini-games"

Sounds like all levels included. Was there more than 12 mini games? I can't remember.

@Clyde_Radcliffe So is that a collection of 3 seperate games or are they compiled into one. because if it's a collection, then it's more than 12 mini games. It's confusing. Monkey Target 1 and 2 are different enough to be worth playing, but if it's only 12 games, one may be cut.

I am buying the physical edition, but yeah, those extras are kind of garbage. This isn't really the kind of franchise I want art books for, and calling a cardboard sleeve a bonus is just silly marketing.

I do, however, appreciate the fact that it matches the Sonic Mania Plus physical edition. Maybe the reversible insert will have the Gamecube logo on the spine, like Sonic's Genesis logo?

(EDIT: now that I think about, SMB debuted on Dreamcast, so I would bet actual money this will have a Dreamcast logo on the reverse spine.)

@GrailUK
While it's called a "high-definition remaster of 3 games", it seems like it's actually just a remake of Super Monkey Ball Deluxe, considering that game was SMB2 & SMB1 combined with a few new levels(not saying it's a bad thing, since that concept inherently rocks!). Those two games are mentioned separately for marketing, I'd assume.

That'd likely mean the minigames would be combined and have levels from both games while still being considered just 12; Games like Monkey Target and Golf would have a two "versions" like in Deluxe.

@GrailUK @Clyde_Radcliffe I feel like the title "Mania" is a hint that this is something like Sonic Mania, and this will in fact be one game with remade levels from both of the first two games (which had 150 each, if I remember right) and ditto for remakes of the minigames.

The fact that they threw Deluxe into the mix does confuse me, because wasn't Deluxe just a collection of 1 and 2? I never played Deluxe, but that was my impression.

@Neweegee Ahhh ok. With ya. Yeah, I'm down with that.

@JasmineDragon I never played Deluxe either (imagine playing it on a Dual Shock or Duke - ewwwww.) Can't wait to hook up the gamecube adaptor and get stuck in! (See, patience is a virtue!)

I actually reckon SEGA need to run with this 'mania' idea for a series of games. I vote Crazy Taxi next hehe

@GrailUK @JasmineDragon Deluxe I understand was a compilation of the first two games plus around 50 new levels.

So I'm assuming the "deluxe" levels in Mania will just be the 50 new ones that weren't in 1 and 2.

@GrailUK Shenmue Mania! 🤭

@GrailUK I'd buy Crazy Taxi Mania in a heartbeat! And I suspect their plan is to make at least one or two more Mania versions of games. It's a good way for them to rebuild hype for older IPs that they want to revitalize. And you know there are going to be a lot of completionists who buy the whole series just to have the whole Mania collection. Nobody wants to be the guy who has the complete collection except for That One Game.

Preordered a physical copy - never played the series before. Looks fun.

@JasmineDragon well that's 2 sales hee hee!

@Longondo Super Monkey Ball is actually the game that saved my whole Gamecube and collection back when I needed some cash. My kids heard my plan and immediately protested that I couldn't get rid of SMB (even though the Gamecube hadn't even been hooked up in years at that point).

So we still have the GCN and a modest collection of games for it, and it still hasn't been hooked up in years.

Long live Super Monkey Ball.

I think this game is destined for the bargain bin, sooner than most. May hold some nostalgia for some of us, but I don't think there's enough here to have a wider appeal. Hope they prove me wrong.

@tseliot BOOOooo...

@Clyde_Radcliffe @GrailUK This is from Nintendo’s webpage:

“The ultimate Super Monkey Ball Experience – More than 300 stages from Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2 and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe.”

“Go Bananas with 12 fun minigames including Monkey Racing, Monkey Soccer, Monkey Bowling, Monkey Baseball and much more! “

Sort of like how Lego Star Wars for Wii included all the main levels from the GC games, but it didn’t include the games directly (e.g. they built a new hub world).

The Monkey Target that they showed looked like the one in the second game.

Please put a blue falcon inside that ball as an easter egg, F-zero GX was made using a modified Monkey Ball engine.

Buying this on PC for that sweet smooth gameplay and a physical switch copy for collection!

Can't wait!

@Bizaster It's so ace to see so many people love the early games ^^

@Neweegee @GrailUK @Tandy255

A new Japanese trailer has come out showing the menus and more footage. It's still not entirely clear to me how they're organising everything as the menus are in Japanese but looks good! The customisation bits look fun too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19w-pPALG1g

@Clyde_Radcliffe Gah, it looks lovely!

Nice, hope this holds up to all it promises

Can I pre-order and NOT get these rubbish incentives?!

Got the LE edition from Amazon.

I'm happy to see there will be a physical release (not that I had any doubts), this will be a big hit in my house hold.

@JasmineDragon SMB debuted as an arcade game that used similar architecture to the Dreamcast - NAOMI but did not release on the system. The joystick was a massive banana!!!

@Gridatttack same, gonna pick this up on pc too nice that it bundles both gamecube games together 👍👍👍

@nocdaes Why are you complaining about free extras? 😳😳

@GrailUK I bow to your knowledge of the simian spheres! 🐵🧿

Looks like fun! And this collection would pair well with the Taiko No Tatsujin ports. They just feel like they hold comparable sensibilities.

@Slowdive Yes! I agree that ports and remasters are a win-win situation for bringing back older games! I'm still waiting for The Last Story to be ported from the Wii. And also still waiting for a Monster Hunter G HD port with online play :c

Oh and also still waiting for the Battle Network collection, hopefully reinvigorating support for a Battle Network reboot! Oh and Megaman Legends 1 and 2, hopefully garnering support for the tragic Megaman Legends 3 game that never came to be.

@EVIL-C 1. They don't even make sense?! Super Monkey Ball was launched on Nintendo Gamecube - why are they putting SEGA consoles as playable characters when this franchise was nowhere near a SEGA console ?!

@nocdaes Umm...because it's SEGA who made the game? They are allowed to celebrate themselves y'know!

@Ulysses Grab Katamari Damacy too.

@GrailUK Well, you guys enjoy playing Super Monkey Ball as a Game Gear. I'll sit here and scratch my head as to why it's not Sonic, Tails and Knuckles instead.

To each their own !!

@nocdaes It was actually an arcade cabinet originally. And as @GrailUK said, SMB is a Sega franchise, so they can feature their own history if they want.

Plus, these are multiplatform releases, like most titles. It makes far more sense to play as a Dreamcast while playing on a Series X, or a Saturn while playing on PS5. Maybe a playable GC for Switch players, but they're clearly not doing exclusive extras.

Bottom line, they're just amusing little extras. Just enjoy the remaster. 🤷‍♂️

Definitely physical copy for me

@nocdaes hahah. Sonic and tails are dlc later on apparently.

Where do you pre-order the physical in the UK? I can't find this launch edition version, only a standard edition.

@nocdaes
Sonic & Tails are in the game

@GrailUK
What makes you think they’re dlc?

@Pandy Just the fact they haven't been mentioned.

@GrailUK
Sonic was in Banana Blitz without dlc and wasn’t announced right away, it’s probably the same with Sonic & Tails in Banana Mania.

@Pandy Fair enough

Apparently, the translated title of the Japanese version is literally Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2 remake. SEGA really listened hahah

@GrailUK
I literally spent 2 hours on the weekend translating part of the Japanese trailer, Lol. I was successful in finding the title is 1 & 2 remake and also something about “story mode includes all 100 stages”.
I hope that the Japanese title being Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 remake means it’s the two full games, including the classic story mode. But the English trailer is saying it’s 1, 2, & Deluxe?

Does "DLC also available to buy separately for $4.99" mean just separately from the digital deluxe or separately per pack. My gut is saying they're together for $5 because retro skins, original soundtrack, 10 pink customization items & playable consoles aren't worth the same price.

@Clyde_Radcliffe
In Japan its Called Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 remake, but english press releases have said its remastered so I'm confused.

@ShadowofTwilight22 I'll be honest, I'd already given this argument up for dead... but since you've resurrected it, I still stand by my opinion that these "incentives" are complete and utter rubbish and make no sense in the context of Super Monkey Ball.

But yes... let's all moan at the guy who still has expectations from SEGA.. like, oh I don't know, how about a new playable character instead of a GameGear ?! Or is that being too "ungrateful" !

@ShadowofTwilight22
I for one love the free stuff we’re getting, especially Sonic & Tails playable and the art book.