Man.. what a return to the series this game is. as much as its a remake of 1,2 and deluxe this game is so fun but with the lack of local co-op and the controls feeling not as precise id rather go back to the originals. But this game is hopefully a great stepping stone for the return of monkey ball!!!
it’s a decent collection of good past levels, I can’t complain much. it’s a good introduction point for the series if you’ve never played a title before.
I'm gonna preface this by saying that I've never played the original Monkey Ball games so I have no real frame of reference.
That being said, I had a good amount of fun with this game! It was cool to be able to check out this franchise in some form, even if this particular game leaves a lot to be desired for seasoned fans of the series.
However, it is BAFFLING that none of the minigames have any sort of online support. I get that RGG is busy with maintaining the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise, but I'm surprised that there's never been any sort of post-launch patch.
That being said, I had a good amount of fun with this game! It was cool to be able to check out this franchise in some form, even if this particular game leaves a lot to be desired for seasoned fans of the series.
However, it is BAFFLING that none of the minigames have any sort of online support. I get that RGG is busy with maintaining the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise, but I'm surprised that there's never been any sort of post-launch patch.
It is a sufficient collection of the old monkey ball content. It's not amazing, but it gets the job done and has a lot to offer. Great for newer players who can't afford the expensive OG copies.
BUT, they ruined Target and I will never forgive them. So it gets a lot of points taken off. The new music also sucks.
BUT, they ruined Target and I will never forgive them. So it gets a lot of points taken off. The new music also sucks.
this monkey fucking fucking fucking RAAGHHHHHHH
Why can't Sega recapture the Monkey Ball magic from 1 & 2 on the Gamecube? This plays noticeably worse than those 20+-year-old titles. The physics and control feel loose and imprecise for a game series based entirely around character movement and navigation. A big disappointment that ended the series for me.
A great collection of SMB1/SMB2/Deluxe that has slightly different physics but streamlines the games for a modern audience. A great game.
hallo
hallo
hallo
hallo
bad-phy-sics
I hope y'all enjoyed their best attempt at classic monkey ball bc you will not be seeing it again for a while, and they'll site this game as why
at least dark banana mode was fun
hallo
hallo
hallo
bad-phy-sics
I hope y'all enjoyed their best attempt at classic monkey ball bc you will not be seeing it again for a while, and they'll site this game as why
at least dark banana mode was fun
Technically, I played the Anniversary Edition, but the game itself is the same across all editions... I don't know why they've been split up here, but I figure most people will be clicking on the normal version so here's where my review will go.
The physics are noticeably looser, as if every stage is made of glass. There's no sense of weight or momentum, partly due to the worse sound design (impacts and rolling noises are reduced, sometimes absent). The controls are less precise, and for some baffling reason they decided to make the camera follow you more loosely, while letting you adjust the camera with the right stick to make up for it.
You may be asking, "but doesn't every game now use the right stick for camera control?" Yes, however... It sounds counterintuitive, but the way the original games' camera always followed your movement made navigating precise stages much more comfortable and reliable. In Banana Mania, you will be making many, many camera adjustments while simultaneously trying to control a ball on tight ledges - with a strict time limit, by the way. It adds up to create an unnecessarily cumbersome experience.
The added content is cool, particularly the evil banana mode, but it means nothing when the core systems of the game feel so loose and imprecise. I suppose it's a step up from the PS2 port of Deluxe, but that's not saying much.
Stick with the GameCube versions of 1 and 2, and use 2's Deluxe mod for the Deluxe stages. They perform really well on Dolphin, so you should be able to get at least 480p60 on even the weakest laptops and phones of today.
The physics are noticeably looser, as if every stage is made of glass. There's no sense of weight or momentum, partly due to the worse sound design (impacts and rolling noises are reduced, sometimes absent). The controls are less precise, and for some baffling reason they decided to make the camera follow you more loosely, while letting you adjust the camera with the right stick to make up for it.
You may be asking, "but doesn't every game now use the right stick for camera control?" Yes, however... It sounds counterintuitive, but the way the original games' camera always followed your movement made navigating precise stages much more comfortable and reliable. In Banana Mania, you will be making many, many camera adjustments while simultaneously trying to control a ball on tight ledges - with a strict time limit, by the way. It adds up to create an unnecessarily cumbersome experience.
The added content is cool, particularly the evil banana mode, but it means nothing when the core systems of the game feel so loose and imprecise. I suppose it's a step up from the PS2 port of Deluxe, but that's not saying much.
Stick with the GameCube versions of 1 and 2, and use 2's Deluxe mod for the Deluxe stages. They perform really well on Dolphin, so you should be able to get at least 480p60 on even the weakest laptops and phones of today.