Sega has just announced the upcoming remake for its classic title Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz will be releasing soon for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz revolves around the journey of AiAi the monkey and his friends to recover the scattered pieces of the Golden Banana, which was stolen by a new pirate-inspired villain. Originally developed for the Nintendo Wii in November 2006 and utilizing the Wii Remote’s motion controls, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz featured 100 levels, eight boss fights (a first for the series), 50 mini games, and a party tournament mode where you and your friends could compete against each other in a variety of mini games.
The trailer didn’t show much of the gameplay, which is in my opinion the thing Super Monkey Ball games should rely on. Over the years since its release, I’ve come to appreciate Super Monkey Ball as a very challenging, skill-based game that hides its true nature behind a cute, cuddly, and friendly disposition.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, when it was first released, received “mixed to positive” reviews. Most critics and pundits took points off for its Wii Remote based control scheme that made the otherwise fun game very difficult and tedious to play. Learning the controls also proved to have a very high learning curve. This, along with the games outdated visuals, would be a point of focus for Sega to improve on.
As announced by Sega, the remake, now titled Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD now offers improved and updated graphics, a control scheme that is optimized for each specific platform, a brand new mini game called Decathlon mode where you have to complete a set of 10 mini-games in a row, and online leaderboards for showing of your Super Monkey Ball skills.
Sega is definitely not monkeying around with this one, and you can expect Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD on the Nintendo Switch by October 29. The expected price point is $39.99. As for the other consoles, prices have not been confirmed yet and Banana Blitz's Steam page says its launch is planned for Winter 2019.
