Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania celebrates the series' twentieth anniversary and is at the same time a collection of reworked levels from the earliest entries, mainly the original GameCube games. Instead of new content, it offers a complete overview of the classic tracks, minigames, and battle modes that made the series famous, in reworked visuals and with a choice between several control schemes according to player preference.

On Switch, this collection makes particular sense thanks to its portability and the ability to play with handheld controls as well as docked on a TV, which suits a genre built around short, repeatedly played attempts to complete a single track. The game also offers a Joy-Con motion control option as an alternative to the analog stick, partially returning to the spirit of motion controls from older entries without forcing it. The reworked graphics unify the visual style across ten generations of content, and a new soundtrack supplements the original tracks with remixes, making it more of a curated selection across the series' history than a single specific game. Also included is a gallery of unlockable extras and the option to switch back to the period-accurate graphics of individual tracks, which players attached to a specific original release will appreciate. It's precisely the combination of portability, optional motion controls, and an extensive selection of classic content on a single cartridge that makes the Switch version a different experience from playing the same collection on a home console or PC, where this portable convenience naturally isn't available.

Why play: Banana Mania on Switch will appeal to players who want to go through the history of the Super Monkey Ball series in portable form, with the ability to switch anytime between playing on the go and on the TV, as well as those who want to try motion controls as an alternative to the stick.