Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

 Xbox Series X
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

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  • Summary: Go Bananas with your favorite monkey gang in the ultimate Super Monkey Ball adventure. Roll through wondrous worlds with AiAi and friends as you race to stop monkey mad scientist Dr. Bad-Boon from blowing up Jungle Island! Join the all-star monkey team of AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon, Baby, YanYanGo Bananas with your favorite monkey gang in the ultimate Super Monkey Ball adventure. Roll through wondrous worlds with AiAi and friends as you race to stop monkey mad scientist Dr. Bad-Boon from blowing up Jungle Island! Join the all-star monkey team of AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon, Baby, YanYan and Doctor as you bounce, tilt, and roll your way across hundreds of delightfully crafted levels and mazes. It’s monkey business for the gang - play solo or with friends as you take down Dr. Bad-Boon and steal back your beloved bananas!
    Features:

    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!
    Challenge your friends as you compete for top banana on the online leaderboards!
    Assemble your all-star monkey team of up to 4 friends and work together to save Jungle Island with 4-player local co-op.
    Immerse yourself in the Super Monkey Ball world with creative comic book-style story telling in Story Mode.
    Want to be the coolest monkey on the block? Customize your character and Super Monkey Ball to make it your own!
    … Expand
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Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania - Sonic & Tails Reveal Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Xbox Tavern
    Oct 4, 2021
    90
    All in all, it’s fantastic to see Super Monkey Ball back after all these years. This Banana Mania collection brings the classic games back to the fore, with hundreds of stages to play, a dozen mini games, lots of cosmetics to unlock and more. The gameplay is as challenging – and fun – as ever, and will no doubt garner a new audience of fans that still have youth on their side.
  2. GameCritics
    Nov 12, 2021
    90
    Nostalgia and fond memories aside, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania delivers an experience that’s always been amazing, and now it comes complete with a fresh coat of paint and a bunch of extras. To any one who hasn’t yet tried these titles, I say… Go bananas.
  3. GAMINGbible
    Sep 29, 2021
    80
    Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a fantastic puzzle game. It's endlessly replayable with plenty of levels and minigames. The multiplayer options are perfect party games, and the unlockable characters and cosmetics add depth to an already engrossing experience. While there are some frustrating moments and a lack of accessibility, I can safely say Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is one you won't want to miss.
  4. SomosXbox
    Oct 5, 2021
    80
    Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is undoubtedly a great way to celebrate the two decades of existence of the franchise, offering such a complete experience that you can get tired of playing its levels and not finish it. This is perhaps its main flaw, that it's not a game that renews itself or changes its mechanics. If you are definitely not attracted to its premise from the start, this may not be the game for you. Its mini-games are great fun to play in meetings with friends.
  5. Pure Xbox
    Sep 29, 2021
    70
    Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania isn't going to win any game of the year awards, but it's undeniably fun. While it's perhaps not the entry that will put the series back into the mainstream, fans of the original will likely have a good time and newcomers will see what the fuss is all about. While there are some questionable design choices, such as a finicky camera and microtransactions that feel out of place, this is an enjoyable adventure with AiAi and his friends.
  6. AusGamers
    Oct 7, 2021
    70
    The themed levels are fine, but leaning into more SEGA history would have definitely added to the celebratory feel of Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania. A fine return to monkey-in-ball form, by the way of past glory and frustration.
  7. But Why Tho?
    Oct 2, 2021
    60
    Nostalgia might have some fans of Super Monkey Ball trapped in the little ball with them, running their little feet, futile against the inevitability of gravity. But for those not already on the inside, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is skippable.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. imoviesreview
    Oct 7, 2021
    9
    It's a great recreation of the the first 2 monkey ball games. I love the first 2 games, but pretty much nothing else in the series. This forIt's a great recreation of the the first 2 monkey ball games. I love the first 2 games, but pretty much nothing else in the series. This for the most part thankfully changed that. However, it's not prefect. The physics are not one to one. I can't blame Sega on that since I think it's just one of those things where even having one minor variable slightly off can really throw off the physics. So it is impressive that the game is close. But it does make a few stages really hard. I'm also not sure what to think of the removal of lives in challenge mode. On one hand, it removes one of it's appeal, but it also makes it more relaxing. Maybe an option would have been nice. Or at the very least, make the extra stages the reward for not falling out too much. But it does have all of what I love about the first 2 games. The extra stuff makes what already 2 great games in one even more great. I still had the same I had when I played the original games over a decade ago. And honest, I think that's what matter here!… Expand
  2. SuperkenGaming
    Oct 15, 2021
    7
    Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
    This game will drive you bananas.
    Super Monkey Ball is a collection of over 300 remastered stages from    Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
    This game will drive you bananas.
    Super Monkey Ball is a collection of over 300 remastered stages from Supermonkey ball, supermonkeyball, 2 and super monkey ball deluxe.. howere unless im missing it you don’t get to specifically choose each game, its all merged into one giant package…
    Theres a great amount of content here, from its story mode, to its charcters you can unlock from complete in game challenges, to mini games you can play with up to 4 players.
    I loved banana blitz, so I was excited to go back and see how it all started.. and well.. it started with tears…
    Banana Mania will have you raging.. this game is ridiculously frustrating to play through.. most courses in fact just seem down right unfair.. which is my biggest gripe with this game.. its more frustrating than it is fun.. I didn’t want to play over and over and over because I neverfelt like oh I almost had it, Instead I was mashing my head against the wall trying to get lucky… now there is a helper option here that highlights a path and you can make things go slowmo, which is very hepful in a handful of levels, but for the majority its pretty useless… thankfully you are able to spend your ocins on not only charcters, cosmetics, and even the ability to jump if youd like as there is no defaut jumping.. you can instead spend 2000 coints to skip a level… coins aren’t all too easy to come by though, this is about 8-10 levels completed worth of coins to be able to just skip one… and trust me yall, I was skipping… I was frustrated for most of my time here.. but I get it, that’s what monkey ball fans love, and to them I say – enjoy
    Theresa also12 minigames you can play here again either solor or with up to 4 people.. from racing compelte with 12 tracks and item drops to minigolf, tennis, soccer.. and theyre okay.. nothing amazing here.. you may have fun for a day or two with a friend.. but you wont be itching to play.. as all the modes just have a weird clunkyness to them that never make them feel quite fair or enjoyable while playing..
    Overall if you love punishing yourself, rolling a ball with a monkey inside through a hoop, youre in luck..
    But if youre looking for some casual fun time, look elsewhere
    I give Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
    a 6.5/10    … Expand

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Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Best Xbox Series X Game of 2021
73
#73 Most Discussed Xbox Series X Game of 2021

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