For over a decade, I’ve been dancing around the idea of playing a Super Monkey Ball game. It was always a franchise that interested me, but either I never had the money for it, or I always wanted something else more. So, for a long time, the series flew entirely under my radar. However, when I saw Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD was releasing on the Nintendo Switch, I couldn’t resist giving it a try to figure out if the series was really as good as I always hoped.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD is a remastered (and enhanced) version of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz which released in 2006 for the Nintendo Wii. There are 100 single-player stages and 10 multiplayer mini-games that you can play locally with 1-4 players.

If you aren’t familiar with Super Monkey Ball, the game is essentially an obstacle course-esque game where you play as a monkey, in what I can only describe as a hamster ball. You roll through various courses, collecting bananas, avoiding obstacles, and trying to reach the end gate before time runs out. Additionally, in the single-player mode, there are bosses, which require you to jump and hit the enemy.

Each boss has unique gimmicks, and every level across the 8 worlds is unique and distinctive. Some of them carry on a certain theme, but all of them are colorful and interesting. It is also important to mention that Sonic the Hedgehog is an unlockable character in Banana Blitz HD, which I found to be a really cool addition to the game.

One thing that I have to mention is that I find it strange to not offer any kind of online play. There is an online leaderboard, but no option to compete in mini-games or any sort of competitive multiplayer mode. Granted, I’m not a fan of online multiplayer in most cases, however, in this case, I think it would be a great party game to play with friends both on your couch, and across the world.

Currently, you can do Time Attack to compete with people worldwide to get the fastest time. You can also use Decathalon mode to compete against players worldwide to get the highest score in the mini-games. However, you cannot play with people online at the same time. It is merely that you just have to compete for high scores people have already made.

With that out of the way, let me just say that all the mini-games are fun. They consist of things like racing, snowboarding, target practice, and more. I think this is a great game for kids, adults, and everything in between. The controls are pretty simple too, which means anyone can pick up the game and play it either alone, or with friends and family. The boss fights are a bit odd, but they’re quirky and add some variety to the game, so they aren’t a bad thing really.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD may not be an award-winning game, but it is a fun little time killer that you can pick up and play at home or on the go. Since Super Monkey Ball is such an iconic Sega franchise, I’m really excited for more people to play this one.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD was provided by Sega for this review.

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Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD

$39.99 USD

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Colorful Levels
• Simple Controls
• Local Multiplayer Mini Games
• Full Single Player Campaign
• Good for All Ages

Cons

• No Online Component for Distant Friends and Family
• Bosses are Somewhat Odd