Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (2021)

I've been playing the latest Super Monkey Ball game off and on since it came out. It's a series I've dabbled in a bit over the years, but it never quite clicks with me. I think my general experience is I find myself enjoying the easier early levels well enough, but the moment it starts to get the slightest bit difficult I get super frustrated. I'll keep at it (off and on) for a while longer, but I may just have to accept the series isn't for me. (Which is fine, that's just how it goes sometimes.)

That said, this is easily one of the best series of games to watch speedrunners have at it though. There are gods among men that play these Super Monkey Ball games, and they deserve to be worshiped.

Why are the monkey's in balls? Who put them there?
Why must they cross a perilous seesaw suspended over a hot pot?

I never played Super Monkey Ball 1 or 2 as a child (of which this game is a sloppy compilation.) Thus, the indoctrination into its nightmarish spaces only occurs to me now.

"Nightmarish" is the best way to describe these games. Levels are often huge plains of checkerboard patterns full of obstacles to knock your monkey into oblivion, with ominous names like "THE COMB" and "THE FREEFALL." The player perspective is limited to a focus on your monkey in thier (plastic?) capsules, leading to surprise drop offs, surprise secret portals, and surprise moving platforms.

These horrific spaces are actually the main character. The player controls not the entrapped primates, but the worlds themselves. Tilting them with a jittery sense of accuracy at best.

To contrast this inexplicable horror, is the game's colorful and enthusiastic art direction. (Imagine if Dali directed a Japanese soda commercial.) The monkeys also seem to be happy with their dangerous fates, fearing neither free falls nor death.

The game is horrific, but very fun. The gameplay ideas introduced 20 years ago still feel unique and timeless. As someone who missed this franchise in its peak, it was a delight to experience.

PROS

• Crisp graphics and presentation
• Tons of content
• Some of the SMB1 stages hit the sweet spot of suspenseful and challenging without being a complete pain in the ass
• Party games, of course, are an excellent bonus

CONS

• A good portion of the Story Mode and SMB2 stages are absolutely terrible, like they legitimately feel like they were designed by a child
• Most levels are either waste-of-time-easy or smash-your-television-difficult
• Obnoxious sound effects
• Super Monkey Ball games in general are just more annoying than fun, I don't know why I keep buying them