Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble Nintendo Switch Review - Is It Worth It?

[@Frijolero18]

Unreasonably crazy gameplay here for just a review

[@spacebasely64]

Seems perfectly reasonable

[@McDrewbii]

It's important for the real monkeyball heads to see the physics don't suck

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@spacebasely64 Reviewers usually suck at games. That's why it's crazy.

[@robertleek2090]

Why no mini games though?

[@THLaunched]

Why?

[@stephen1896]

I'm only interested in the single, so this should be good for me.

[@Dayman667]

I’m a 30 year old man and I am so stoked for this game, I can’t wait to show it to my niece and nephew too!

[@headthesizeofamelon]

30 year old man too and despite playing all kinds of games, I just haven't been as excited for a game release as I have been for this!

[@blacksunshine7485]

Oh, I found the comment where everyone states their age for no reason

[@therealfodder]

Mate...I was a 30 year old man when I played the original on the Gamecube! Still at it...

[@DarkAnomaly]

I'm 46 and I still play these games. I'm bloody shite at them though 🤣

[@DarkAnomaly]

​@@blacksunshine7485Is there something wrong with someone stating their age?

I'm glad they put most of the effort in the single player mode

[@tomdugdale1320]

Felix - sorry to be pedantic, but troughs (as in "peaks and troughs") is pronounced 'troffs'

[@djmurgatroyd87]

Came here to say this😂

[@waxwinged_hound]

I'm guessing maybe it's a British English pronunciation? There are a lot of significant differences in word pronunciation even when accounting for accents.

[@Iceman81FIVE]

English is his THIRD language. He speaks his third language better than most people speak their first.

[@tomdugdale1320]

@@Iceman81FIVE Completely agree! Most linguists I know are keen to learn even the more obscure pronunciations

[@SockBramson_]

So just like the last two games, the single player is fun but they botched the party mode games. Why does this keep happening?

[@spurdomies546]

Really? To this day we often play the party games on banana mania with my friends when they’re over. We mostly play bowling, golf & pool though, so I would be interested to hear why you think the game selection is botched? Im assuming monkey target is the main draw for you if you’re a series veteran, but its a bit too hard to pick up and play for some of my friends so I haven’t played it much.

[@SockBramson_]

@@spurdomies546 Similar situation, had my buddies over who played these mini games with me in college but we all hated them because they controlled so different and felt wrong. Sure enough, all the reviews seem to have the same problem. I will say that Golf and Pool were fine, Bowling was missing some features and felt a little off but we kind of adjusted. but we used to spend hours on Monkey Target and were shocked by how unplayable it was. The controls, physics, the strategy of rolling to gain momentum and then pulling back and opening your wings to ride on your speed? Gone, all of it. No one wanted to touch the game again, so it's basically single player only for me and it just sat on my console taking up space until I finally removed it.

[@TeeTop_]

This is my first Super Monkey Ball purchase (I played another Switch release once at a friend's place), and I enjoy the party minigames here as well. My least favorite though is the banana collecting one. I do enjoy the other ones and trying out strategies in them.

[@scottydont2549]

Definitely worth getting on a good sale in a few months.

[@ABCEasyas--]

It was on a 60% off sale at Target for Black Friday

[@saxycat]

It’s $19.99 on GameStop right now!

[@Hippienolic2]

How is local multiplayer?

[@edoardosecreto4775]

Can someone update on this?

[@KileOcho-bh9yy]

It only goes up to four players you can only do the races not rumble it’s fun but it does get boring kinda quick

[@jakekeenan9653]

Depends on what you’re looking for I suppose but if you’re wanting to play the story mode with others then the local multiplayer is fantastic, me and my fiancée were able to play through the entire story mode together without any issues

[@spikesagal]

@Felix is the physics engine actually noticeably better than Banana Mania?

[@keithmichael112]

I wasted money on that, which is why I'm probably not getting this

[@triple7marc]

@@keithmichael112Banana Mania was awesome though

[@penguinreloaded7756]

​@@triple7marcIt wasn't, for me. Physics in Monkey Ball 1 & 2 made those games. They were amazing. The "remake" was like a similar terrible version of a once great game. Like playing SF2 on Gameboy after playing it in the arcade. I want purchase these games until they figure out what went wrong and prove they've fixed it.

[@triple7marc]

@@penguinreloaded7756 I don't think it was terrible. The physics was a bit wonky compared to the originals (2 still being my favorite of any SMB game) but it was an added challenge. Plus I played with a GameCube Switch controller which really helped.

[@penguinreloaded7756]

@@triple7marc fair enough! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I love me some old school Monkey Ball. If you liked the last one, this one will probably be right up your ally, too. Enjoy!

[@yoomang7]

Does is having the flying mini game from the game cube version??

[@minimushroom3715]

I just got the game. The single player is so much and World 3, Floating City is my favorite world so far. I also enjoy the online of the game. While most players were mostly bots, 3 to 5 of them are real and I enjoyed sending messages to them with the chat wheel. Also Goal Game, the strategy behind whether to go for small or large points, probably one of the most fun Monkey Ball mini-games I played in a while. It’s enjoyable to me. Yeah, series staples aren’t here like Monkey Target and Fight aren’t here and multiplayer is limited with stages, but I had fun at the end of the day. I can’t wait to try and speedrun this game.

[@TeeTop_]

This is my first Super Monkey Ball purchase (I played another Switch release once at a friend's place), and I'm having fun in both single and online play as well. I don't agree with the review on the minigames.

[@minimushroom3715]

@@TeeTop_ I don’t agree with what Ollie said on the mini games either, but that’s his opinion and I respect that. For me, I’m enjoying the mini-games like Ba-Boom and Goal Rush and the lag isn’t noticeable to me when playing online with others. I enjoy this game and I’m happy you’re having fun with it too.

[@alexworman]

Finally got it on sale and it is a good time. I think the multiplayer modes would actually be more fun if they were smoother

[@matthewbrookeart]

So I’m wanting to play some monkey ball should I go for this or banana mania ?

[@squirroFN]

I personally got both Banana Mania and Banana Rumble. Mania has the party games which is fun if I have ppl over. Rumble has online, so I can play against others if I’m alone. Kinda wish I didn’t need two games though

[@david19920]

they shouold just make the game feel the same as in gamecube and go from there . that game was magical

[@somenuttysquirrel]

The target multiplayer game was a staple on our Gamecube... wouldn't think of buying a Monkeyball game without it... insanity.

[@Gyrobob]

I like bananas

[@owRekssjfjxjxuurrpqpqss]

I like cucumbers

[@sonicatlas]

I like sausages​@@owRekssjfjxjxuurrpqpqss

[@occono3543]

I like zucchinis

[@kingbutter42]

I like strawberries

[@Leopez02]

I like bananas too, banana is the only fruit what I'll eat! 🍌

[@ChiefGideon]

Is there main game multi player??

[@daftgeartv]

Can you use a GameCube controller?

[@davidcbeaudoin]

Monkey Ball is almost always about the mini-games to me, so it's disappointing to hear they replaced them with the so-so multiplayer mode.

[@SockBramson_]

and we haven't had good mini-games since the gamecube era. I wish party mode was given more love, that's like HALF the game.

[@d1no]

am i the only one who knows this game from arcade machines?

[@Joeynator3000]

...Is this game also in Unity?

[@josiebobos]

Think so

[@Stingthehedgehog]

At least in this iteration of monkey ball you get to play as Sonic in the available modes rather than mania's which only allowed it in the campaign But they dropped the best tested multiplayer game modes for some battle Royale friendlier modes

[@Commander6444]

I don't like being negative, but I just can't stand the visual direction the series adopted from Banana Blitz onward. It's so bland compared to the quasi-realistic style of the GameCube originals- games that still _crackle_ with atmosphere to this day. Seriously, go look up SMB2's volcano levels. Even with the limited graphical fidelity of the day, it still makes a game 22 years later look like mush in comparison.

[@callinater6133]

This is a completely different art style lol

[@princessozmaofoz5242]

I liked the og style and design much more too. Sad they went completly in this childy looking style, a mix of both old & new or a redesign would be welcome.

[@CrimeGaming1337]

Hmm other outlets say the physics are as bad as in banana mania. I am not a monkey ball player or fan, but I am thinking about trying this.

[@nicholasdiaz1925]

The upside is that these are brand new stages, so they should be better suited for the physics of the game, whatever they may be. The problem with banana mania was that they were the same stages from the GC games but with different physics, which made them extremely jarring and nearly unplayable for returning players.

[@CrimeGaming1337]

@@nicholasdiaz1925 Ah okay, got you! :) Maybe I will try the game, I love 3d platformers and these games tick a lot of the same boxes.

[@dino-t243]

Banana mania physics wasn't bad at all, just different. As Nicholas said above it is hard to have levels from a different physics based engine into a completely new one. The facts that these levels are new will fix that

[@CrowTRobot]

I got used to the physics in Banana Mania, I think they worked fine in single player. Was shocked by how poorly multiplayer was handled though.

[@zgeiselh6797]

Felix from Nintendo Life herrrrr

[@peytonfree3522]

I really wish they could just go back to the original art style though

[@Joeofthedragon]

Pfft no turn based multiplayer?? Challenge mode missing lol the heck

[@FeelinFlurgyy]

Other reviews mentioned that there's co-op adventure mode to go through the stages but I think it might be simultaneous

[@Joeofthedragon]

@@FeelinFlurgyy That’s a nice feature but having no turn based multiplayer again! Something Banana Mania screwed up big time is unforgivable lol Who plays Monkey Ball for the gosh darn story?

[@JeskidoYT]

Classic Sega fumble

[@trumangraham2602]

But there is multiplayer?

[@Joeofthedragon]

@@trumangraham2602 No hotspot Multiplayer though. That was such a huge part of why the first 2 was so good.

[@FritzHitz]

not including the past multiplayer minigames was such a miss

[@tristantolkamp4991]

I've never played a monkey ball game should i start here?

[@thinkhector]

No, you should start with "Paperball Deluxe." It's not an official MonkeyBall but was made by people who speed run the original. Plays like the best version of Monkeyball. And it's cheap.

[@Reeceline]

You could because you'll be blissfully unaware of how good SMB2 on Gamecube was.

[@tristantolkamp4991]

@@Reeceline thanks 👍

[@Robospy1]

Looks fun, might get it when it comes to PC

[@emulord6248]

emulation

[@Robospy1]

@@emulord6248 Too much hassle than it's worth for Switch. I don't wanna hack my console until the switch 2 comes out and I don't pirate current gen games.

[@Deliveredmean42]

@@emulord6248 Or, you know, an actual PC port.

[@marctucknott4035]

So monkey bowling, golf and pool isn’t good then?

[@geoffingoff]

Those aren't in the game

[@seid82]

@@geoffingoff🤣🤣🤣

[@Valihir]

Can you play the normal levels in multiplayer like the originals? I was so upset you couodnt do that in banana mania

[@StiffAftermath]

I'd love a full-on metroidvania like game.

[@ShurikanBlade]

As someone who was looking forward to this game but mostly only plays monkey ball for the multiplayer. I am kinda disappointed and it won’t be a day 1 pick up

[@CrowTRobot]

I was convinced to buy Banana Mania and I regretted it immediately. The single player was great but they didn’t care about the multi. Opting out of multi-Challenge mode and altering the way games like Target and Bowling controlled was such a sore spot for me. The fact that this game continues to ignore the feedback they received really bums me out. Going to skip this unless I hear about an update or patch.

[@chantellethecool1]

This has multiplayer

[@ShurikanBlade]

@@chantellethecool1 never said it didnt but most reviews say it just feels tacked on at best. Plus no classics like Monkey target.

[@geminijinxies7258]

I wish they could modify the old engine to work on modern consoles. Since the physics is still better for Monkey Ball than what Unity and Unreal has to offer. And it probably would load the stages quicker and run at higher frame rates on the fairly weak Switch.

[@penguinreloaded7756]

Why can't they? Genuinely, I continue to be confused and baffled by their inability to make it play like Monkey Ball 1 & 2.

[@sofaking1180]

​@@penguinreloaded7756because they (the devs) want the game to look good on more modern consoles. This game on the PS5 & XSX would look way waaay worse if it was made with a 25+ yr old engine. Yes, the physics would feel more familiar and subjectively better for some people, but it would still look incredibly outdated... which again I personally wouldn't care about. We all know how retro can sometimes now look better than photorealistic visuals.

[@thinkhector]

Yeah, and this isn't theory since "Paperball Deluxe" exists on the Switch and everyone ignores it. It's a game that plays just like SuperMonkey Ball 1, but is lacking in the graphics department.

[@penguinreloaded7756]

@@thinkhector For real?! I'm gonna check this out!

[@Alaneeeeee]

Hope to see this game get the Jon Cartwright seal of approval

[@CrowTRobot]

***EDIT I was wrong, Jon loves it!! Considering NintendoLife said it has the issues that Jon had with Banana Mania I have my doubts.

[@Alaneeeeee]

@@CrowTRobot Good ending

[@ranchman693]

Sooooo exactly what I thought it was going to be LOL I cannot WAIT for this game!

[@Gloomistic]

This lol and that spin dash sounds fun as hell.

[@Goated_diddy1]

What is better, banana rumble or banana mania?

[@threeswordssama]

Could totally see my kids liking this game but kind of a bummer about the multi-player mode since I would love to play this as a family at the house

[@ADjustinG2013]

Perplexus ball: the game

[@MaskDeSmith]

Peaks and throughs? Excuse me? Either a typo, or the reviewer can't read. Either way, shouldn't and editor have picked this up?

[@spacechannelg6843]

damn i was hoping for an 8 ! now im gonna wait for a sale

[@Mr-Gamer-W]

I’m willing to bet that they’ll add more multiplayer modes when it inevitably releases on other systems. This Switch release almost sounds like an early access game.

[@CrowTRobot]

I hope so. I’ll buy it if they fix the multiplayer. My friends were so disappointed by how badly the party games were handled in BM and I was sad they never updated it.

[@robertmaguire1067]

God damn they keep messing up the party games 😂 was going to add this to my switch collection. Wont now. Will stick with the original and best, Monkey Ball 1 and 2 on GameCube ❤

[@DarkAnomaly]

Glad I watched this. I was on the fence with this game and couldn't decide but after watching this video I'll wait for a Sale now. I'll stick to playing Banana Mania on my Steam Deck OLED because I grew up with the Gamecube originals and they're still my favourite to this day.

[@sparkypack]

0:50 fumbling their monkey ball, seriously? 😆

[@KjinKaden]

The gameplay went way too hard for a review

[@Endlessdarkness0]

Can't wait for the Nick Robinson review.

[@toubee]

I don’t care about 30 FPS as long as they don’t drop lower. Any experiences about that?

[@RolieKloeOlie]

I can’t play this game without a GameCube controller

[@CameronBrooks]

Favorite game for the CUBE!!!

[@cau10Vaz]

So the question is, which Monkey ball is more worth it on Switch?

[@azelpha]

This is the best one imo!

[@cau10Vaz]

@@azelpha Oh okay, thank you!

[@GamerFunOriginallyAarush]

Let’s go bananas!

[@Great-Documentaries]

The Wii versions are the only ones worth playing. The GC ones are for fools who just want to click away on a controller mindlessly. The Wiimote was MADE for a game like this, as was the Balance Board.

[@moth.monster]

Why did they only release it on Switch? I would 100% buy it if they had a Steam release. Not so sure with it only on Switch.

[@kkrider276]

While I’m glad the single player is great, having preordered it in hopes I could play it with friends and hearing it actually is subpar makes me so sad. Banana mania was so close to getting it right so while I won’t cancel my preorder, I wish they would just listen

[@CrowTRobot]

they asked for feedback on Banana Mania on Twitter and had like 200 responses begging them to fix Monkey Target and give the party games more love. But they never updated it and it seems that this game has the same problems as well. I’m happy for the people that only buy these games for the single player but I’m not one of them. 😢

[@CrowTRobot]

Please tell me a functioning version of Monkey Target is in this. 😢

[@dhay03]

Nope

[@CrowTRobot]

Update: Damn. Not a deal breaker, just still sad about how it turned out in BM

[@flawns]

theres 33 DLCs for this game

[@AeyGee]

Looks like this is the same underwhelming Super Monkey Ball from the 3DS era. Where is Scott The Woz where you need him? He will likely shred into this game if he made a review today!

[@TheLonelyGoomba]

Nah. It's much more like the first two games than anything prior. In regards to the main game it's a return to form imo.

[@SuperMonkeyCherrim]

If anything this is the closest we’ve gotten to the original 2, what are you on broski

[@DeskoDev]

​@@TheLonelyGoomba Even closer than Banana Splitz? Hmm, starting to feel a little tempted now...

[@TheLonelyGoomba]

@@DeskoDev I personally think it is quite a bit better than Splitz. It's the best one since the original 2 imo

[@Wavecheckfoo]

Another game to make me break my controller sick!

[@Bleepoh]

as a monkeyball fan since gamecube , its been a downhill slope, im not buying it simply for the fact that the monkey doesnt spin sideways and tumble inside the ball when going super fast or sideways. they didnt pay enough attention to the details, which most likely means the levels and extra modes will be bland. maybe theyll add on with patches and dlc but idk

[@dragoon1090]

I'm going to wait for a sale. I'm too busy right now to play this. It definitely looks like a lot of fun though.

[@bryceandrewmusicofficial]

All this British slang I have no idea what it means

[@skeeterdaviter7745]

For me the single player is all I care about and in that area it’s 9/10

[@streamverseai]

NL is the worst with another guy reading someone elses review. Why cant you be normal and have the actual person who WROTE THE REVIEWS discuss it? Sounds fake.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

Mmmm bananas 😂😂

[@CasepbX]

There's a new Monkey Ball game? Huh... who knew?

[@zackwarrington7272]

Well, Thankfully online can be fixed overtime. As long as singleplayer is solid, We don't get much in the way of complete experiences these days, Hope it sells well then fixes can be implemented overtime.

[@SerFloortje]

0:32 "peak and threws" lol Pronounced peak and trof. Comes from wavelengths/visual data

[@mst311]

Nah. Spin dash is too gimmicky. 1 and 2 for life.

[@Howitchewstofeel5gum]

All that I needed to know about this release is that it's more "modern" Monkey Ball, i.e. the physics still suck ass

[@Therealones745]

Skill issue

[@Howitchewstofeel5gum]

@@Therealones745 SMB 1&2 are harder than this game lmao

[@APEXGuerilla]

I'd rather this was a real life theme park game tbh. Never played it but always struck me as boring.

[@RobinE_Art]

While it is disappointing to hear that the multiplayer modes are lacking. I'm mostly in it for the main courses. So as long as they are good I'm sold.

[@GetShrekd]

monkey ball fans being relentlessly whiny. have fun waiting another 10 years for another game because you were too petty to support a GOOD game simply because it wasn't exactly what you wanted

[@yaktaur]

trough is pronounced "troff" :) Don't ask why, it doesn't make sense... English is a terrible language to be the lingua franca

[@edwheezer6231]

I'm pretty sure there's multiple correct pronunciations. That is one of them, though!

[@yaktaur]

@@edwheezer6231 For the word he was using it's just "troff"

[@LuigiMario-ni3rj]

English is a great language. Just not when foreigners speak it. lol

[@GuyEinhoren]

Super Monkey Ball had a rough transition to 3D

[@netako]

What do you mean? Almost *every* SMB game is in 3D with the exception of Jr. and a few mobile titles in the 2000s (and to a lesser extent Touch & Roll which combines 2D characters with 3D graphics).

[@WillTheRedPanda]

Gameplay & all looks great from watching videos. My only dislike is that there's no Challenge/Arcade mode with lives & party games retutning, along with no Playstation or Xbox release. That's basically it from my opinion.

[@AbyssHeroine]

This review is leaving out a lot of info. Got the game yesterday and i'm shocked how half-assed the review is.

[@matthewsmith1999]

I can’t wait to play this!

[@joeykeilholz925]

The stuttering 😢

[@RyguyAlpha]

I feel like this review was being too nostalgic and wasn’t talking much about other features, especially how the game has local and online story mode coop.

[@BEED0GG]

I'm waiting for someone to say the levels are way to easy and not really a challenge. Compared to the Furst Monkeyball

[@penguinreloaded7756]

How hard is it to simply emulate 1 & 2, make it widescreen, and plosh the visuals? The "collection" of 1 & 2 they released a few years ago was trash. It didn't handle like original Monkey 1 & 2 at all. This is all we want. $50-$60 take my money. It seems so simple.

[@thinkhector]

Nintendo did exactly what you are referring to with Super Mario 3D All-Stars and everyone complained and called Nintendo lazy. However, the games were fine. SEGA announces a complete remake of 1 & 2 MonkeyBall and everyone cheered. Then the games came out a hot mess.

[@penguinreloaded7756]

@@thinkhector i didn't complain. Also, Mario 64 is not widescreen in that collection.

[@willwidrick8039]

So stick with the single player mode and it is a good new game.

[@BlueTrixzzz]

🇳🇱😤

[@pauloconnor3416]

What a crap game

[@nintendive]

I still do not understand why the people that actually play the games and write the review, cannot do the review themselves?

[@Leopez02]

I've never played Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble games and haven't heard about those games before this Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble game, but with that reason now i'm really interested of this amazing looking Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble defienitily because there's Sonic characters Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy Classic forms like in Sonic Superstars: Gotta Go FAST! SEGA did what Nintendon't! 🌌🌈🐒🪩🍌🌀