THE MONKEY Ball series has never really been something that I’ve been all that interested in.
It’s been running for over 20 years, and has appeared on a range of consoles, including those from Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox, and fans love it.
The latest game in the series is Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, and it’s a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
I’ve been putting the game through its paces, and after playing a few dozen levels, I’m considering going back and playing every game in the series I’ve missed.
The basic premise of Super Monkey Ball is pretty simple — you have a monkey in a ball who you have to guide through complex floating levels.
You move your monkey by tilting the stage in various directions, kind of like the ball maze puzzles you played as a kid.
There’s also a newly added spin dash, which has you holding down a button to charge up a quick, short boost, activated upon letting go of the button.
These stages start off simple, but they get much more complex and challenging as the game goes on, really testing your dexterity and patience.
Each level has three objectives to complete — finish the stage in a certain amount of time, collect a certain amount of bananas, and collect the one rare golden banana in every level.
It’s almost impossible to get all three objectives completed on your first run through a level, so you’re encouraged to play through the levels multiple times.
There’s a certain addictive quality in repeating these levels, competing against yourself for a better score, a faster time, and a full completion.
I found myself staying up to all hours of the night – and often well into the morning – to try and get the optimal route through each stage and beat my own scores.
There are over 200 stages in Banana Rumble, and most of them come through the story mode, which is surprisingly long.
The story itself is a bit dull, told entirely through short cutscenes at the start and end of each world.
It mostly focuses on the newest playable character, Palette, who’s on a treasure hunt to help find her missing grandfather.
There’s also an opposing treasure hunting team, but they’re not particularly compelling and I found myself skipping the cutscenes by the midway point.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble can also be played in multiplayer, and there’s an online battle mode that has you competing against other players.
The online modes are a little bit on the thin side, offering very little that will keep you coming back for long, but they’re a fun enough distraction in short bursts when you get frustrated with a story level you just can’t beat.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is a fantastic Nintendo Switch game that is a great first entry for new fans while offering plenty of challenge for series veterans.
Score: 4/5
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