After a new filing by the Taiwanese Games Rating Board suggested a new Super Monkey Ball game could be on the horizon, Sega has announced Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD, a remastered version of the 2006 Wii title. The remake will be available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 this October, and later on Steam sometime this winter. It will be the first Super Monkey Ball game released on home console in nine years.
The original Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz released on the Wii back in 2006, one of many installments in the Super Monkey Ball franchise, which started with the arcade title Monkey Ball in 2001. Banana Blitz featured boss battles for the first time in the series, and was known for its use of motion controls, which is why it was developed exclusively for the Wii.
In Super Monkey Ball games, players must navigate their monkey character (placed in, of course, a ball) through levels with narrow pathways and other obstacles to collect bananas. If the character rolled off the edge of the level, the player would have to start over, making it a fun, puzzle-platformer mix. The use of motion controls in Banana Blitz made this especially challenging, as players controlled their character by moving the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
Now, it seems Banana Blitz HD could feature different control mechanisms, as the remake will reportedly have “optimized control schemes for each platform.” Additionally, the game will have updated visuals, 100 single-player levels, and 10 different multiplayer mini-games. New features will be included, such as online leaderboards and a Decathlon mode, in which players must complete 10 mini-games in a row.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD will launch on console on October 29, 2019, and on Steam in Winter 2019. The console versions are currently available for preorder for $39.99 USD. The Steam price has yet to be announced.