Far Cry 6 debuts in second place, with 47% of its sales coming on the PS5, 24% on PS4, and 29% on Xbox. Unsurprisingly, its physical sales are lower than its predecessor, having sold 70% less than Far Cry 5 at launch- but again, given the meteoric rise in digital sales for all games in general, the drop in launch boxed sales likely hasn’t amounted to a dent in total launch sales. 

Then there’s Metroid Dread, debuting in third place. It’s the fastest-selling Metroid game of all time, overtaking 2007’s Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, and has sold three and a half times as much as the last 2D game in the series, Metroid: Samus Returns did at launch. It is also the fifth biggest physical launch for a Switch game in the UK this year. Meanwhile, thanks to the launch of the Switch OLED, software sales for the system in general have seen a bit, being 26% up from last week, with a number of games benefiting from the boost.

Alan Wake Remastered at No. 5 is another new release, with 63% of its sales coming on the PS5, 21% on the PS4, and the remaining 17% on Xbox consoles. The final new release in the top 10 is Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania at No. 8, which saw 70% of its sales coming on the Switch, 17% on the PS5, and 6% each on PS4 and Xbox. 

You can check out the full top 10 for the week ending October 9 below.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is out now, and critics have had a mostly positive reception for the game. GamingBolt’s own review for the game rated it with an 8/10, citing some minor nuisances such as watered down difficulty. The game’s Metacritic rating stands at a 77 as of the time of writing, and fans can generally agree that the developer has done a great job of bringing these classics to a new generation of hardware and audiences.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania also has plenty by way of fan service, with a plethora of characters from Sega’s catalog, such as Yakuza’s Kazuma Kiryu, Sonic and Tails from Sonic, and Beat from Jet Set Radio being featured as playable characters in the game. 

There are basically two types of people. Those who like Super Monkey Ball, and those who have no idea what it is yet. It looks like Banana Mania is more-or-less trying to satisfy both with this inclusive collection of Monkey Ball levels and modes.  No matter what form it takes, the delightfully goofy and approachable gameplay of the Super Monkey Ball games has always been something that anybody – who likes fun – can enjoy. It might not keep you glued to your couch for days on end, but at the very least it’s always been a good choice to burn a few hours at a time.

Banana Mania seems to know this and leans into the more successful levels and modes from across its many, many games. Because of this, fans of the series’ off-shoots like Banana Splitz might feel a bit left out, but since this game plays it a bit safer with being populated by the greatest hits, it’s still pretty hard to not have a good time with it. That crowd-pleasing approach might come at the cost of some depth, though. Some of the minigames do feel a bit overly-simplified, Monkey Target in particular seems to have lost some of its nuance in ways that are hard to describe but are definitely there.

"From its many levels, bonus characters, and multitude of party games and challenge modes, Banana Mania is quite the comprehensive package for Super Monkey Ball fans and a perfect entry point for newcomers."

Whether this was a purposeful design choice or just a by-product of Unity being used for development for the first time in the series will ultimately be irrelevant to old-school fans looking for an immaculate return of the exact same feel from the early 2000’s. That said, the differences are generally lateral ones and never really felt inherently better or worse than what I remember. It’s just a little different and perhaps a tad easier. If you take anything away from this review, let it be that despite some scaling back of technical subtleties, Banana Mania still plays great and provides a fun experience across the board.

The main game is probably where you’re going to want to jump in first. Here you’ll see several familiar worlds all containing several levels that can be played on multiple difficulties, including an assisted mode that telegraphs the safest path to the goal and lets you play in slow-motion, which doesn’t really give you that much of an advantage control-wise, as your tilting commands are also in slow-motion, but it can help in tough spots where precision is key. Although if you use this mode, you won’t be rewarded nearly as much.

Speaking of precision, newcomers might not realize the wide array of level types that Monkey Ball games can throw at them. Sure, you’ve got your linear speed-driven levels with ramps and slopes to use to your advantage, but you’ve also got a healthy dose of more technical levels with moving platforms and various hazards where accuracy is paramount. One small mistake might send you falling out of the level and starting back from the beginning, so it’s incumbent on you to change up your mindset accordingly and rise to each and every challenge. With that wide array of level types also comes a reasonably large scope of difficulty. Some levels might stump you for an hour while you completely breeze through others, but most are of course somewhere in the middle.

"Some levels might stump you for an hour while you completely breeze through others, but most are of course somewhere in the middle."

The fact that the difficulty increases aren’t always straightforward, and the game can spring surprisingly difficult and easy ones on you at seemingly any time is a nice way to keep things engaging and surprising. After so many games being released in the series at this point, I’m not shocked to see such a refined sense of pacing and variety for the game’s mainline levels, but I’m just as glad as ever that it’s here. Banana Mania is much more than just a campaign though. A fairly beefy list of party games awaits you that add some spice to the general gameplay, including kart-racing-style races, tennis, bowling, golf, target, and several others that long-time fans should recognize are represented well and are mostly fleshed out well enough to be enjoyable diversions. Bowling and racing are the standouts in my opinion ,but they’re all worth a try. They even have their own reward systems that give you more coins for doing better at them in various ways and just generally mastering their ins and outs.

You also have mission levels with specific goals and online time rankings, so between that, the beefy campaign and fairly comprehensive list of mini games, the sheer number of ways to play Monkey Ball in Banana Mania is perhaps it’s greatest strength. I also can’t continue without shouting out the assortment of customizable items that can be purchased, including shirts, hats, and even ball colors. What’s more, several characters from other notable Sega IPs are here like Sonic, Beat, and Kazuma Kiryu. All of which change the collectable bananas to objects from those characters’ worlds, i.e., Sonic collects rings, Beat collects spray paint cans, etc. Although I was a tad disappointed that you can’t customize the bonus characters the way you can the canon Monkey Ball ones, which was a letdown to discover as I really wanted to put some sunglasses and a Sega shirt on Sonic. Oh well.

As we should expect, Banana Mania looks and runs great. The timeless art direction and level design cues that made the franchise such a stand-out in arcades and home consoles 20 years ago is lovingly translated here – and it’s just as effective as it ever was. Rocking the entire level back and forth at such a brisk pace while maintaining semi-realistic physics was a formidable challenge for the GameCube and PS2, but now, clearly isn’t even remotely an issue. Running buttery smooth on PS5 is something that I’d be shocked to not see, but for what it’s worth, any graphical hitches or frame-rate drops that I might have experienced were too subtle for me to notice, so no complaints there.

"Super Monkey Ball gameplay has always reveled in its simplicity and liberal twists to the format that are introduced throughout their games. In recreating that idea with a comprehensive collection of modes and levels that worked best throughout the franchise, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is largely a success."

It also helps that the musical cues are often either reminiscent of tunes from the past or fit right in with them as if they were always there. While some of the backdrops might leave a bit to be desired in terms of fancy lighting or post processing effects, the loud color schemes of Monkey Ball’s various worlds and landscapes still pop nicely and that is the most important thing. The bouncy melodies of Monkey Ball games never really were much to write home about on their own, but still fit the wacky visuals perfectly, so it’s nice to see the soundtrack treated with equal respect here.

Super Monkey Ball gameplay has always reveled in its simplicity and liberal twists to the format that are introduced throughout their games. In recreating that idea with a comprehensive collection of modes and levels that worked best throughout the franchise, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is largely a success. While notable, it’s hard to get too hung up on some of the more subtle drawbacks with simplified physics and some of the franchise’s more unique ideas not being represented. Ultimately, Banana Mania might be a bit more aimed at newcomers than returning fans, but given its smorgasbord of modes, levels, and thoughtful touches here and there, you’d be hard-pressed to not have a good time with it.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania has a camera based off of Banana Blitz HD. This change makes it a lot easier to manuever, which should make Banana Mania a markedly different experience from the originals. The dedication of the fanbase towards the franchise was an integral factor in the team’s decision to remake the originals.

“The main game camera for this game is based off Banana Blitz HD but includes some additional improvements. Compared to Banana Blitz HD, it’s much easier to turn. Also, you can now control the camera angle. I myself felt very annoyed at not having that level of control over the camera in the past Super Monkey Ball games. I think it makes the new game much easier to play but please try it out yourself.”

“We talked about creating the next game because so many fans supported Banana Blitz HD. We had received a lot of opinions on how fans wanted original Super Monkey Ball and Super Monkey Ball 2 remakes, so Banana Mania would never have come to be if it weren’t for the voices of all those fans. We were able to remake those titles thanks to your requests. Thank you very much!”

Of course, the developer’s gratitude towards fans is already visible. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania will feature a number of unlockable characters from Sega’s vast catalog, including characters such as Sonic, Tails, and Beat, among others.

A trailer on the official YouTube channel for the game confirms this detail, and the titular Hello Kitty can be seen rolling around in a ball over a litany of obstacles. However, what’s most important is that this character would be a paid DLC with a tag of $4.99, which is at odds with previous character announcements which were available for well, free.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania was one of the standout highlights of Nintendo’s E3 Direct this year, which is an achievement considering games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s sequel and Metroid: Dread shared the stage with the game. The game launches on October 5th for all major platforms.

Yakuza’s Kazuma Kiryu will be available to unlock as a playable character alongside Sonic and Tails from well, Sonic and Beat from Jet Set Radio. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania seems to be shaping up as a celebration of SEGA’s biggest triumphs, and it’s great to see Kiryu being considered as well.

Ryu Ga Gotoku studio is currently hard at work on its upcoming Lost Judgment, which looks to be shaping up great as well. Recently however, Japanese talent agency Johnny and Associates recently got involved in a dispute with publisher Sega regarding Lost Judgment PC’s release – interested fans can read more about it through here.

From the streets of Kamurocho to the slopes of Jungle Island, Kazuma Kiryu rolls into Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania!

He’ll be free to unlock as a playable character on all platforms through normal gameplay at launch!#SuperMonkeyBall #BananaMania #KazumaKiryu pic.twitter.com/PMoDdaX7a2

— RGG Studio (@RGGStudio) August 18, 2021

This comes shortly after the announcement of Beat from Jet Set Radio also making an appearance in the game. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania was one of the standout highlights during Nintendo’s E3 Direct, alongside other highly-anticipated titles such as Metroid Dread and the still unnamed sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Sonic is also celebrating its 30 anniversary this year, and SEGA hosted a special event to recognize the occasion. A remastered version of Sonic Colors was announced, alongside a number of other announcements, including Sonic 2022. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania releases for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch on October 5th later this year.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania was recently unveiled during Nintendo Direct at E3 2021, alongside other highly-anticipated titles such as Metroid Dread and the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a combination of the original three games in the franchise – Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe in a souped up package for next-gen consoles.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania releases for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch later this year, on October 5th.

https://twitter.com/SEGA/status/1422905163992510469

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania remasters Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe in one handy package for gamers to relive their nostalgic memories of clearing obstacle courses as a monkey trapped inside of a ball. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania releases for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch on October 5th later this year.

The latest Nintendo Direct presentation has been a blast for fans, with new looks and reveals at some of the most hotly-anticipated titles, including the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. More events and announcements will be held later today including an E3 2021 awards show, so stay tuned for more details.