Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania

[Glen-i]

So near, and yet so far...

Doesn't this game have an online leaderboard? What's the point when you can just brute force every stage and go for max points with absolutely no risk of running out of lives and ending your run?

It also gets rid of the risk/reward of going for the more difficult warp gates.

Dreadful change that shows utter blindness on what makes the games so appealing.

BTW, @Cube. The original games already had a system for unlocking stuff called Play Points. Simply put, each time you played the main modes, you got points which let you unlock the party games and add continues/lives to the main game. You got more play points, the better you did on the Main mode.

There's no real change with this new system.

Edited September 6, 2021 by Glen-i

[Sheikah]

Won't extra stages still only be unlocked in a given run if you do so well? Presumably that would be intact?

[Dcubed]

1 hour ago, Sheikah said:

Won't extra stages still only be unlocked in a given run if you do so well? Presumably that would be intact?

That was always tied to not using a Continue in Main Game/Challenge Mode (Which is now gone completely in favour of just having Story Mode).  Since there are no lives, there is no longer an unlock system tied to performance.  Bananas are just used to unlock stuff now (like in SMB Banana Blitz) and it’s shit; SMB is not a collectathon, but that’s what Banana Blitz turned into.

They’re basically turning SMB1&2 into Banana Blitz  

Edited September 6, 2021 by Dcubed

[Sheikah]

That was always tied to not using a Continue in Main Game/Challenge Mode (Which is now gone completely in favour of just having Story Mode).  Since there are no lives, there is no longer an unlock system tied to performance.  Bananas are just used to unlock stuff now (like in SMB Banana Blitz) and it’s shit; SMB is not a collectathon, but that’s what Banana Blitz turned into. They’re basically turning SMB1&2 into Banana Blitz [emoji20] 

Extra stages are hard though, you can imagine if they just appeared automatically and you had to clear them to progress, that would be a major challenge for novice players.

 

Might be they automatically appear but you only get 1 or 2 chances at them. Or you still have to do so well to unlock them in the first place.

 

More likely they'll just be their own mode, won't they.

[Dcubed]

3 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

Extra stages are hard though, you can imagine if they just appeared automatically and you had to clear them to progress, that would be a major challenge for novice players.

 

Might be they automatically appear but you only get 1 or 2 chances at them. Or you still have to do so well to unlock them in the first place.

 

More likely they'll just be their own mode, won't they.

They’re making this change in a purposeful effort to dumb down the difficulty, so most likely the Extra/Master stages will just be their own separate set of stages that you unlock after collecting every banana (just like in Banana Blitz).

[Ashley]

On 06/09/2021 at 9:26 AM, Dcubed said:

AAaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnndddd, the game is ruined!

Glancing through the responses to this tweet and disappointed nobody has responded with the following:

Come on nerds, get it together!

[Ashley]

Promo expires tomorrow (23rd)

[Dcubed]

Reviews are coming out now.  Sounds like the main game is actually pretty well represented, with the physics being mostly faithful to the original (though slightly off still; they're close enough that few outside of the hardcore SMB crowd will likely notice), but the mini games lost a lot in the translation...

Not gonna lie, this video comparison is pretty impressive...

But yeah.  The loss of lives, the crappy new sound effects and the removal of original game structure really stings.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Dcubed

[S.C.G]

53 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

The loss of lives, the crappy new sound effects and the removal of original game structure really stings.

The complete removal of the lives system is definitely at odds with the original game design philosophy, even if they put a 'classic' mode as an unlockable once you've cleared the game once normally, that would have been something. Also, I don't understand why they needed to redo the sound effects, they were perfect before... plus, in that video, is that a different announcer? Unless it's a different region perhaps... I thought the original voice of Super Monkey Ball was back for this game?

I'm sure a patch adding in lives, original sound effects and a more structured game mode wouldn't be out of the question? They've spent enough time on superfluous DLC for this game, a free update even a little bit later after launch would be welcomed, and it would do the reputatation of the series some good as well.

Otherwise, it's close but no banana!

(I still bought a copy)

[Glen-i]

37 minutes ago, S.C.G said:

I thought the original voice of Super Monkey Ball was back for this game?

Nope, turned out that was complete BS.

[Ashley]

My copy arrived earlier and I've given it a quick bash.

I do not recall the exact specifics of the original games as its been years and my memory is terrible but it's still a lot of fun hurling yourself around levels and then suddenly dying. 

[Will]

I’d somehow totally forgotten about this until now. Absolutely loved the original game and was pretty damn good at it back in the day. Should be downloaded soon, looking forward to giving it a go.

[Will]

Well I have to say I’m quite disappointed from my quick try. I’m playing on PS5 but it runs like crap. Numerous slowdowns during regular gameplay and I’d totally forgotten pop-up was a thing until I was playing Monkey Race, it was honestly like something on the Saturn. Monkey Fight doesn’t seem to play quite right and you can’t punch the camera after you win which was a great little touch in the originals. Monkey Target just seems completely broken. Not their fault but definitely miss the notches of the Gamecube main stick.

So yeah, not great so far which is a real shame.

[Aneres11]

1 hour ago, Will said:

Well I have to say I’m quite disappointed from my quick try. I’m playing on PS5 but it runs like crap. Numerous slowdowns during regular gameplay and I’d totally forgotten pop-up was a thing until I was playing Monkey Race, it was honestly like something on the Saturn. Monkey Fight doesn’t seem to play quite right and you can’t punch the camera after you win which was a great little touch in the originals. Monkey Target just seems completely broken. Not their fault but definitely miss the notches of the Gamecube main stick.

So yeah, not great so far which is a real shame.

This is absolutely NOT what I wanted to hear! 

I also was pretty good (if I do say so myself) at this back in the day. Basically because it was the only game I had to play over the summer holidays, so I ended up managing to get through Experts 50 levels which was a great accomplishment for me! 

When you say it runs like crap, is that the main mode, or just the party game things you've tried? I'm not bothered about them, I'm only here for the single player! 

I don't understand why Sega are so shoddy at ports. Sonic Colours was also ass, and I've just about had enough of that game after forcing myself on it again today. 

[Will]

6 hours ago, Aneres11 said:

When you say it runs like crap, is that the main mode, or just the party game things you've tried? I'm not bothered about them, I'm only here for the single player! 

It’s the whole thing, I’m actually impressed they’ve managed to make something that runs so badly. The slowdown in the main game can totally break a run. If you’re into a particularly fiddly or tight section of a level and it hits (it doesn’t seem to be related to anything particularly happening on screen) then, for me at least, it was most likely to mean game over. It could just be the PS5 version I suppose?

[Dcubed]

13 hours ago, Will said:

Well I have to say I’m quite disappointed from my quick try. I’m playing on PS5 but it runs like crap. Numerous slowdowns during regular gameplay and I’d totally forgotten pop-up was a thing until I was playing Monkey Race, it was honestly like something on the Saturn. Monkey Fight doesn’t seem to play quite right and you can’t punch the camera after you win which was a great little touch in the originals. Monkey Target just seems completely broken. Not their fault but definitely miss the notches of the Gamecube main stick.

So yeah, not great so far which is a real shame.

I haven’t heard of any performance issues with any version (let alone the PS5 one!).  Sounds like something is wrong… Might be worth turning the PS5 off & on again and maybe re-downloading the game if that doesn’t fix it.

[sumo73]

Not so keen on the new announcer in the game (Brian Matt was the best) but will pick this game up at some point.

Edited October 3, 2021 by sumo73

[Aneres11]

Oohhh this game is a joy. I've just started SMB1 and went through casual. Didn't lose a life until that last level which is horrible!

Bringing back so many great memories of playing this as a teenager. I loved it so much.

Going to move on to Normal now. Feel like I've still got the skills 😂😜

[Josh64]

On 29/09/2021 at 7:38 PM, Glen-i said:

Nope, turned out that was complete BS.

Not sure what happened there as I watched a video a few months before release where the OG announcer had already recorded lines for the game. Have asked him on Twitter about it so will hopefully find out what went wrong there but I know there was a lot going on between him and SEGA so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some sort of late stage FALL OUT between the two. 

I'm really enjoying the game so far, especially the 'missions' for each level which include reaching the extra goals, clearing in a certain amount of time or completing with all the bananas. I agree the physics are mostly fine but the camera took some getting used to, it doesn't follow as vigilantly as before and actually sometimes requires some manual movement. 

I have played a good few hours and still loving every second, I'm also surprised by just how good some of the new music is - some inevitable duds but also some surprising total bangers, to the point where I still have yet to get round to download the OG soundtrack for the game! 

[Cube]

 

 

 

[Josh64]

19 hours ago, Cube said:

 

 

 

Haha oh man, what levels were giving you a hard time?  I had a similar amount of fallouts thanks to one of the extra stages

[Cube]

5 hours ago, Josh64 said:

Haha oh man, what levels were giving you a hard time?  I had a similar amount of fallouts thanks to one of the extra stages

Floor Bent was probably the main cause of it. I'm just quite bad at the game, but loving this version as I can take it one level at a time.

[Josh64]

On 11/10/2021 at 12:29 AM, Cube said:

Floor Bent was probably the main cause of it. I'm just quite bad at the game, but loving this version as I can take it one level at a time.

I struggled with this massively the first time around on GameCube  The first few goes on here gave me trouble too between the mix of the slightly different physics, using a joycon instead of cube control stick and just losing my edge after all these years. You really gotta hug those turns eh?? 

[Josh64]

I completed Story Mode last week and it was a great time! I wish they had an equivalent story mode for Monkey Ball 1 as honestly I can't see myself doing the 3rd challenge mode of Monkey Ball 1 in one sitting even with endless lives lol. Unless I just keep putting my switch to sleep and commit to not playing any other games for a week or something. 

I unlocked the DX levels from Monkey Ball Deluxe and I'm having a fun time but I noticed something with the design of these stages. In Monkey Ball 1 and 2 you'd get extra bananas for going harder ways but it's to the extreme in the DX levels - The harder ways have so many bunches of bananas and in literally every level! And some levels are super easy just going the normal way but insanely hard going the optional banana way, it's a very different feeling to the levels from 1 and 2 but then again the DX levels from Deluxe are just levels from the cancelled 3 AFAIK? Like they got that far into development and the merge with SEGA happened and they slapped them in a DX bundle instead. 

From what I've seen so far, EVERY level has an optional way with tons of extra bananas, unlike 1 and 2 where it was just an occasional level giving you that option. 

It got me wondering about the cancelled number 3 and I found the only image from the cancelled game which is a patent. It has the subtitle Banana Crazy and this was before the Banana Blitz/Mania naming convention so it makes me think they were central to the gameplay. I wonder what the gimmick was? My best guess is unlocking levels with a certain banana count as the amount of bananas is just so excessive even in levels that aren't hard that it makes me believe there must have been something besides 1up's attached to them. 

Quote

Amusement Vision filed a trademark for a game by the name of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Crazy on 7 June 2002, being first publicised on 29 July 2003, and being granted on 21 October 2003. The trademark expired on 22 December 2004 - roughly six months after Amusement Vision's operations were merged with SEGA.

Quote

The word "SUPER" and the border around BANANA CRAZY are red. The spheres with "SUPER" on them and the words "BANANA CRAZY" are blue. The words "MONKEY BALL" and the design of a bunch of bananas are yellow. The spheres with "MONKEY BALL" on them are red with green and blue bands.