Xbox Adds More Perks For Game Pass Ultimate Members (Marc. Xbox Console Exclusive Wins BAFTA 'Best Game' Award, Beat.įeature: 50 Xbox Series X|S Games To Look Forward To In 2023 Microsoft Blocks Access To 'Retail Mode' Emulators On Xbo. ![]() These Five Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (April 4-18) Xbox Game Pass In 2023: The Full List Of Everything Annou. ![]() How To Complete All Xbox Game Pass Quests In 2023 ![]() Rumour: Ubisoft+ Set For April Xbox Launch, Featuring A M. Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In April 2023 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. 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. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania isn't going to win any game of the year awards, but it's undeniably fun. For a game that's aiming to be a celebration of the series, we couldn't help but be left with a sour taste in our mouths. Even the classic soundtracks are locked behind the Digital Deluxe Edition. These have been a huge talking point up until the game's release, but half of them need to be purchased separately to unlock them in the game. Up until release, a big marketing tactic for the game has been around the inclusion of popular SEGA characters such as Morgana from Persona 5 and even the ability to play as a SEGA Dreamcast. For a game that prides itself in speedrunning and replaying multiple stages over and over again, it would have been nice to see a bit more optimisation pushed into speeding everything up - this was on Xbox Series X too.Īnother point worth mentioning is the predatory inclusion of microtransactions. At times, the camera can be pretty troublesome, especially when trying to nail tricky jumps, and the loading screens when swapping between stages go on for just a tad too long. It does feel as though a lot more could have been done to make the experience smoother and more seamless though. Most notable is the inclusion of a helper function, which allows you to slow down time and shows you a suitable path to completing the stage. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania also attempts to bring some quality of life improvements. Not every piece of content is a winner, with some pretty weak and cumbersome versions of mini-games such as Monkey Target, but others like the on-rails shooter Monkey Shot are addictive time sinks. Tying this all together is a series of missions to complete, which are used to earn coins to purchase new cosmetic items and other extras such as the ability to jump (which we recommend saving up for and grabbing early on). Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania packs hundreds of levels on top of 12 mini-games, challenge modes and variants of stages in the form of mirror modes. What it lacks in story, it makes up for in content. That being said, it would have been nice to see the team conjure a celebratory way to tie all these titles together, especially considering it's the series' anniversary. The term 'Story Mode' is used very loosely with little narrative weight pushing you from one seemingly random world to the next, but that's not what we're here for. Packing in Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2 and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe, there are over 300 stages to test your mantle on, each with unique challenges such as collecting a certain amount of bananas or finding a secret exit.īundling all this together is a very, very flimsy narrative that plays out in the style of a comic book style TV show. ![]() While it initially seems to be an extremely basic premise, it's not long before you're engaging in a series of challenging gauntlets that will have you tearing your hair out. All you have to do is tilt the maps in such a way that your loveable monkey rolls to the goal, collecting bananas along the way. The simple premise is easy to grasp, but challenging to master. If you've never played Super Monkey Ball before then fear not. While it occasionally feels stuck in the past, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is mostly a love letter to the cult classic. Whether you're a series veteran or a newcomer, the latest instalment aims to compact 20 years of bouncing, tilting history into one package. Can you believe the Super Monkey Ball series is 20 years old? We can't either, but 2021 is the year of the monkey and SEGA is celebrating its iconic hero AiAi and friends with Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, a completely remastered collection of three fan-favourite titles in the franchise.
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