There was a time, not all that long ago, where the GameCube, the ‘king of party’ games, played host to one that was memorable in a lot of aspects. Challenging, colorful, rewarding, and frighteningly addictive, that game was Super Monkey Ball. A platformer where you controlled adorable monkeys in marbles, life was about rolling down the pathways, doing your best to stay off the edges as you rolled, bumped, and jumped your way to the goal, while grappling with a madman’s physics engine.
Now a new spin on an old favorite is hitting the big time. Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, following Super Monkey Ball Adventure, is getting an HD remaster, and it’s coming soon.
And updated version of the eighth iteration of Super Monkey Ball, the setup seems to be more or less the same; Aiai and his friends have their Golden Banana Bunch stolen by the Space Alien Pirate King, and they’ve got to get them back. Eights worlds to travel through, and eight bosses to beat. However, in the original, beating the eight main worlds without a continue unlocked Sinking Swamp, and beating that without a continue opened up Ultra Heaven, a name which will likely baffle newcomers, and traumatize veterans. It’s unknown if these stages will make their reappearance in the HD version.
The six different monkeys have their own unique stats to bring to the table. The physics of the game are tight, intense, and at times it feels like the stage is actively working against you. And was made all the more taxing in the original thanks to the motion controls of the Wiimote and Nunchuck. It’s unknown if the same elements will carry over, and how they’ll interact with the Switch if they do. With the Switch having gyroscopic controls, it seems like a waste to not have them included into the remaster.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz didn’t just have a campaign that tested the limits of your sanity; it had plenty of minigames to bring to the table, able to keep you entertained long after the credits rolled, and two/four-player fun for the couch crowd.
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD is set to arrive October 29, 2019, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. To newcomers, welcome and be ready, to veterans, see you in therapy, and to gamers all, stay and play savvy.
