Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble review: Rolling into a chaotic and fruity action

Going into Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, I wasn't expecting much, since I never had any experience playing anything like this game. Although I did play a fair bit of Sonic 3D games back in the day, I'm not someone who's been a big fan of the Blue Hedgehog, or his games for that matter. Despite that, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble ended up impressing me in more ways than anticipated.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rush is a simple game, with its primary premise involving puzzle platforming, akin to something like Sonic Frontiers or maybe even the 3D Mario games. I liked the single-player levels the game has to offer, which, if you plan to replay and master, can easily last you more than 50-60 hours.

And then there's the multiplayer, which also features a robust suite of modes, which, to be honest, weren't as appealing to me as the single-player side of things. While not the Sonic 3D replacement that many puzzle-platforming fans were hoping it to be, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is an excellent title that's the perfect fit for the Nintendo Switch.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble: An excellent single-player puzzle platformer, that falls short of its "uniqueness" factor

Impressive art style and presentation, marred by minor audio issues

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is very reminiscent of most Nintendo first-party titles in terms of visuals and aesthetics, which is kind of a surprise considering it's not developed by Nintendo. I've always been a big fan of the visuals and presentation aspect of Nintendo first-party titles, and Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble doesn't disappoint on that front.

In fact, it's probably the prettiest puzzle platformer I've played on the Nintendo Switch since Mario vs. Donkey Kong. While most of my time playing the game was spent in the docked mode since I'm not particularly a fan of the Switch's Joy-Con controller, especially for platformers, I did try it out a bit on the handheld mode as well.

And honestly, the game beckons to be played in the handheld mode, especially if you have the Switch OLED. The colors are so vivid and vibrant, and it just makes up for the pain of having to deal with the Joy-Cons. I also like how distinct each of the 10 worlds feels, without delving too much into the background clutter territory.

However, I have some minor complaints about the game's audio. It does sound quite crisp when docked and on my 5.1 audio setup. However, in handheld mode, which is what I assume most players will prefer to play the game on, it does exhibit some noise artifacts, which can be annoying, especially in the online modes, where audio crackling is very pronounced.

Some of the early levels are quite impressive (Image via SEGA)

Oh, I should also mention the game has a "Memories" option in the menu, which houses unlockable movies for completing certain milestones or accumulating a certain amount of collectibles. These are a nice touch to the title's overall presentation and offering, especially for someone like me who adores these add-on features in games.

Excellent level design, with multiple unique game modes

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is essentially a very straightforward 3D platformer, with elements of both Mario and Sonic games of the past, albeit with some minor differences. The single-player mode, where I spent most of my 30 hours playing the game, features 100 levels, divided across 10 different worlds, each with its unique theme.

Adventure Mode can be a lot of fun (Image via SEGA)

The levels are classic platforming affairs, where your objective is to go through the entire course while also tagging as many "Goal Posts" as you can, which is how your total score is calculated. Apart from these simple "collect-a-thon" modes, there are 1v1 race modes, which are my personal favorite, as well as a very cool mode called Ba-Boom.

However, I'm personally not a big fan of the Ba-Boom mode, which sees you passing a bomb to your opponent before a timer runs out. The Ba-Boom mode reminded me a lot of the "Infection" mode in the Forza Horizon 4 and 5's online Playground Games mode, albeit with a much lower skill ceiling.

While the levels and modes on offer are quite fun, and some of the later ones do get somewhat challenging as well, they don't offer anything that will stick to your memory for far too long. What I mean to say is that the levels here are quite good but are also quite generic and don't offer anything that will stand out in your memory, even if you replay them.

Some levels look straight out of the classic Sonic games (Image via SEGA)

These same levels and modes are also available in the game's multiplayer aspect. However, during my time with the game, I faced numerous connectivity issues, which somewhat impaired my enjoyment of the game. I do think the co-op option does make for an incredibly fun party game, granted you don't already have Mario Kart installed on your Switch.

Some minor shortcomings

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is made with a lot of love and passion. Although I wasn't expecting much out of it, I did end up enjoying it way more than I thought I would. This game essentially became my go-to title whenever I felt like I needed a bit of reprieve from all the hacking and slashing and min-maxing that I was doing in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

While the single-player performance is great, the game does suffer from severe framerate issues in the multiplayer modes (Image via SEGA)

And even after I was done going through all 100 levels, I still routinely go back to this game, simply to enjoy the zen-like experience it offers. However, unless you've played a vast majority of Nintendo first-party platformers and are craving more, I cannot recommend Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble.

Although yes, aesthetically it feels unique, it's a Super Monkey Ball game after all. The way it plays, the levels it offers, and even the multiplayer modes, all feel quite similar to what you'll find in Mario Kart, Super Mario Wonder, and even some of the Kirby games, albeit the latter titles deliver a much robust gameplay experience.

Don't get me wrong, I do like what SEGA and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio delivered here. However, if you're looking for a unique puzzle-platforming experience after having played countless other Nintendo first-party platformers, I'm afraid you won't be getting that here.

Despite my complaints, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble is a lot of fun (Image via SEGA)

Lastly, I should mention the game's performance on the aging Nintendo Switch hardware. For the single-player side of things, the performance and visuals are rock solid, with barely any noticeable hiccups, even in docked mode. However, in the multiplayer mode, there are occasional framerate issues, which can be distracting and annoying.

In conclusion

Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble on the Nintendo Switch is an excellent platformer that feels right at home on Nintendo's handheld hybrid console. While the core experience on offer here is incredibly polished and above all, fun and engaging, the multiplayer modes do suffer from some issues which can often be quite frustrating to deal with.

Additionally, while I did enjoy the game quite a lot, it still falls short of the other Nintendo first-party platformers. While it might not directly compete with the likes of Super Mario Wonder or even Sonic Frontier, it doesn't offer anything distinct enough to attract new players, who might not be familiar with the Super Monkey Ball series.