Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD Review

"Back in the Ball"

Campaign

November 18, 2019 at 6:14pm
By Jason Stettner

This is a remaster of the Banana Blitz entry in the Super Monkey Ball series and it’s a rather interesting choice for this touch-up. It’s been a long time since I’ve played an entry in this fast paced, ball based franchise. Here we have a selection of over a hundred stages which are split into various distinct acts. Each of these areas has a unique theme, and a scaling of challenge.

Eventually by the end you’ll need to battle a boss, and then be able to get onto the next set of levels. It’s fairly straight forward, and delivers an alright amount of gameplay. You can of course go back to go bananas by gathering them since they are collectibles. There’s a light narrative here, but not much to that. There are also some party game options for up to four players locally.

This includes ten mini games to battle it out on. An online extension is also present in the form of a time attack mode and online scoreboards. Don’t forget the decathlon endurance run. There are some minor adjustments, but this is largely the same experience and it could have used extra content to round it out or well add extra value for those wanting to revisit it.

Gameplay

The visuals definitely do pop within this updated version, it looks great in that regard. It definitely does have an aged look to it. The environments are rather minimalistic and the backdrop is just a flat area. It looks ancient quite honestly in that regard, but I’m not too surprised considering they aren’t necessarily aiming to revamp everything. The character models look great, there are a number of them to choose from roster wise and the on map items also looked good.

It moves fairly quickly, definitely recalled that nauseous feeling after playing for a short bit. That’s fine, part of the motion in this that will impact some and not others. The camera was generally alright, at some points I found it could have been better. It does handle well enough considering the speeds.

The Conclusion

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD delivers an alright remaster effort with minimal changes and generally just a fresh coat of paint. It definitely looks far better, but many elements also feel rather aged. It was nice to experience this franchise once again, it’s certainly a different one.

There’s a decent amount of levels available, with some scaling difficulties and bosses to tackle. This is the type of franchise meant for all ages, but it will likely frustrate at points just due to how it’s designed. There are some alright mini games and options for local play which is definitely appreciated.

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Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by SEGA

Rating Overall: 6.5