![]() ![]() It costs a few points, but was worth the spend when we really, really couldn’t clear a stage. It’s clear that Sega are keen to have players experience as much of Banana Mania as possible though, and as such have included an option to mark stages as clear if we get really stuck. Each stage gives us 60 seconds to beat it – initial stages make this time limit seem far too generous, but it’s not long until we’re getting to the goal by the skin of our teeth thanks to some devious level design and physics. ![]() In practice this can make something simple like balancing on a narrow path truly difficult, let alone when we get to latter levels with spring boards or moving parts. You see, Monkey Ball handles slightly differently than it may appear we don’t directly control the ball but rather the stage, tilting it to direct the ball towards the goal. Despite the series seemingly being on the back burner for almost a decade, Sega have thrown some serious love into this release, and it’s a fantastic way to introduce newer players to the game as well as letting old’un’s like me revisit them.Įven with the amount of years since release, I found myself recognising almost all the levels here, and they are just as rage-inducing yet fun as they were back then. What we have in Banana Mania is a happy medium it’s a collection of ports, bringing all the levels from the original and its sequel on GameCube and those from the Xbox and PS2 port Deluxe in to one package, all nicely up-spuffed with fancy 4K visuals, extra modes, all the mini-games, and some fun extras like new characters to use. It’s been a while since the last main entry – 2006’s Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz for the Wii – although there have been multiple ports and spin offs in the years since. I’m being overly dramatic of course, but that doesn’t take away the fact that Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is being released to celebrate that 20 year anniversary of the series. That was apparently 20 years ago at this point, and I’m wondering how something so fun and whimsical can make me feel so depressed all of a sudden. I remember laughing at how tiny the console and the discs were, before getting utterly absorbed in the game until the early hours with a few friends. I can still recall coming home after a midnight launch (remember those?) for the GameCube with the dinky purple console in one hand and a copy of Super Monkey Ball in the other. There’s nothing quite like the sombre realisation when playing a new entry into a series that is celebrating a milestone year achievement that I am, as many of my friends like to remind me, old. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |