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.