Love Love Love this game! I've been having a blast, and to me, this plays almost the same, and at least the closets we've been with SMB 1/2. I also am relieved its on the switch. Perfect platform for it! The mini games are fun, I just wish the Lobby system was better but I have finished Season 1 already and am excited for Season 2! I was worried for the future of SMB but I now know we're in good hands

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

Me too! And yeah for sure this is the closest we've ever come to a true Super Monkey Ball 3! But yeah I imagine that the previous games sold way more on Switch too which probably explains why they'd want to focus on it for Banana Rumble. I was actually going to say in the review how it's weird how there's not other people rolling around with you in the lobby area. If you stayed with the players across multiple games it could eventually build up to have a full room of people. But either way, I've also finished Season 1 and got the sheep headband thing 😅

This is easily the closest Sega's ever got to a proper Super Monkey Ball 3, all it needs is a PC version running at a higher framerate.

@agamaz5650

21 күн бұрын

wait it is not 60, yeah what a joke

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

I really hope that it does get put onto other platforms because having a more stable framerate or potentially even going beyond 60fps would be incredible! Even if they just made the online 60fps I would be happy!

@TheNameIsSR

21 күн бұрын

​@@agamaz5650Everything is 60 except online like explained in the video

@legoboy7107

20 күн бұрын

Is the game not 60fps in single player?

@PiePiePie07

20 күн бұрын

I think Reddit was going on about something with the frame rates. Something like it stutters here or there. ​@@legoboy7107

I really wish Jam and Jet were playable, I think it’s weird how they’re the only characters from the modern era who were left out this time around, even after Banana Mania had them as playable characters for the first time

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

That is very weird isn't it... They could be waiting to drop them in a future season of the online mode though, especially since playing a match online is how you unlock Dr. Bad-Boon.

I'm in the same camp of wishing for Simultaneous multi-player since Monkey Ball 1. Very glad that it's finally arrived.

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

They've overlooked how much fun a co-op mode would be for so long! I hope it stays for every future entry now!

Great video! You really deserve more attention.

omg it's the video I was waiting for

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

I told you it was coming! It was probably just in time for you finishing my other Monkey Ball videos too!

@skyejoiner

21 күн бұрын

​@@PixelPursuitI did get the whole playlist finished! even watched some of them twice. so glad to have another good monkey ball game here. it's truly unbelievable!!

@skyejoiner

21 күн бұрын

ALSO BEAUTIFUL CAT

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

Nice! Thanks for watching them! I'm super glad you've enjoyed me rambling about monkeys in balls for so long haha! I was wondering when someone was going to mention the cats :D They were posing for the camera for this video!

Omg you’re back! And with a monkey ball video! I remember finding this channel through the monkey ball retrospective

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

Yep! I'm back! And Super Monkey Ball is definitely the best way to make my return! That's awesome! I'm glad you've enjoyed all of the Monkey Ball videos!

Just stumbled across your channel! New subscriber, and thank you for your content!

@PixelPursuit

19 күн бұрын

Thanks for subscribing! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! You should definitely look forward to Banana Rumble, it's the best the series has been in years! Plus, if your brother is still interested in the series, you could even do this one in co-op 😀

No way.... I got notified Rob is uploading again on his channel? Oh my god how I missed this.

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

Yep, I'm back! And what better way to return than with a Super Monkey Ball game!

@sebastianaliandkulche

21 күн бұрын

​@@PixelPursuitDid you delete your other channel? Because i cant found it 😢

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

Which channel are we talking about? This is my main channel and I was also a video producer on Retro Dodo for the past year, so all of my recent videos are either on here or over there 😀

@sebastianaliandkulche

20 күн бұрын

@@PixelPursuit Oh! Retro Dodo was! I forgot the name 😁

Hey, glad to see you back. Glad to see Monkey Ball continuing too

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

Thanks, it feels very good to be talking about Monkey Ball again! It feels like it's been ages since the last one!

I got it and Im really enjoying it. The Spin dash is amazing, it really unlocks a new way of playing and its really fun!

@PixelPursuit

16 күн бұрын

It's such an awesome way of making it feel distinct from the other games in the series too, but without taking away from the core of what makes the originals so good!

They took notes when making Banana Mania. I was pleased with the new additions they added to Banana Mania with the challenge modes offering a new kind of challenge that fits the series’s main appeal, but I was nervous on whether or not they’d be able to pull off a new game successfully. While there is a significant chunk of levels that are decently easy, I am very satisfied with what they’ve done with Banana Rumble. The Adventure Mode is some of the best of Super Monkey Ball that I’ve played in a very long time. A lot of the levels really understand what made the first 2 games so much fun to play, exemplified by the Spin Dash. The game is fairly beatable yet challenging when playing regularly to get to the goal of every level, but going for the missions honestly turns this game into one of the hardest in the franchise. It can be extremely difficult getting the right number of bananas in the EX levels especially, I had to plan and route my way through every EX level to see how I could get each banana the fastest. That challenge alone adds so much more depth to every level in the game that I haven’t seen in a long time, I’d argue that the mission system is an excellent source of optional difficulty for those who do want a harder Monkey Ball game. I legit started spending half an hour on certain levels past World 9 EX, it’s great. Battle mode could’ve been better… I do prefer it over them botching Monkey Target, but it doesn’t feel entirely like a suitable replacement for the Party Games. They’re okay, but I will say that the framerate affects about half of my enjoyment of them. Overall though… more games like this, please. I don’t think we’ll ever get to a point with this franchise where they fully make a game that recaptures the same essence, style, and feel of the original 2 games, but if they make something of their own and design good levels around it… That’s all I can ask for.

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

I was exactly the same as you. I honestly had such low expectations going into this and I honestly thought I wasn't going to like it, but I'm so happy that they proved me wrong! Yeah, I love what they did with the missions. It adds such a good amount of challenge to even the earlier levels and gives the more hardcore fans something to aim for. Going for the missions in the later levels can be absolutely brutal can't it! All they really needed to do was have the standard minigames alongside the battle mode but give them proper online multiplayer in the same way the battle mode does. So many of the old minigames would benefit from having 16 players. Like imagine Monkey Fight with 16 people, it'd be nuts! I think the originals will always be regarded as the best in the franchise. I think everything came together in just the right way with those games in a way that's impossible to properly replicate. This is definitely the closest they've ever come though!

I really don’t see why they wouldn’t add a toggle in the settings to have lives? I had completely forgot this game released. Probably because: a) it’s only on Switch b) I almost never buy games at launch Your Monkey Ball videos are always great!

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

Yeah it's like my one little complaint about the single player mode is that I feel like an unlockable Challenge Mode could have been the cherry on the cake. I'm fairly sure that it'll eventually come out on other consoles, so hopefully you'll be able to get it soon! Thank you! I'm glad people have been enjoying them!

I think I agree with nearly all your opinions here, I'm loving my time with this game and am so glad traditional monkey ball-esque stuff has returned! I also agree the online does need some tweaking up, I find it annoying how there's so many bots in the online mode, I feel like there should be an option to not always have a full 16 player roster, as sometimes to me it felt a little TOO chaotic, however this could also be because of the delay in inputs. The only thing I would disagree with you on would be that I personally still found the levels before world 8 incredibly enjoyable and creative, however this is probably a subjective thing. Still, probably the best video I've seen covering the game so far, I really hope this game gets the more attention it deserves.

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

I couldn't agree more, it's so awesome seeing Monkey Ball making such an amazing comeback like this. I wasn't sure they'd be able to surpass Banana Mania but in a lot of ways they've done that here! But yeah, the online mode needs quite a bit of work. It's also strange how there's no way of only playing a certain game type. A lot of the time I'm in the mood for a race, but I'll just be getting Goal Rush or something. They could have added some kind of tournament mode too where you play a few different matches to see who is the overall winner across multiple games. The input delay situation absolutely needs addressing though, it's completely messed me up on multiple occasions now! I definitely still enjoyed all of the levels pre-world 8, but I was definitely ready for it to kick things up a notch and get a bit more intense. But when it does eventually do that, it's insanely good. It's like it goes from being a great Monkey Ball game to an incredible one at that point. Thank you so much though, that means a lot! I loved Jon's video covering it over on Good Vibes Gaming too if you haven't watched that one!

Rob! Its so good to see you upload, love your videos! Are you still a member of the Retro Dodo team or are you focusing over on here now? Either way, i love your videos!

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

Hello there! And thank you! I'm not working at Retro Dodo anymore but there are another three videos going live over there soon that I made before I left. So you'll still be seeing me there for a little while! I'll have to do some kind of update video soon to properly acknowledge that and go through some other stuff too but yeah video-wise my focus is now entirely on this channel 😀

@Sam501UK

20 күн бұрын

@PixelPursuit I am sorry about the departure from Retro Dodo, you did a great job, the quality of your videos were great. I imagine you've learnt quite a lot aswell. I look forward to your future content here Rob... oh, and Oddtober!!

@PixelPursuit

16 күн бұрын

Thank you! There's no need to be sorry though, I parted ways from them on amazing terms and they're an incredible team over there. And yeah I definitely have learned a lot working there and I'll be able to bring some of it into my own videos here! I'm not too sure I'll be doing Oddtober this year though. In all honesty I feel like I've exhausted all of the video ideas I could possibly have until a new game comes out! That being said, a second Scooby-Doo-a-Thon could be a very real possibility. I'll need to see how busy I am closer to the time though!

Such a good game such a shame jam and Jet can't get in on the fun although I have heard the online mode will have holiday events so maybe they'll have a jam and Jet event I love all the new characters I love doctor coming back easel and pallet are both super cool and A Team Rocket references always welcome and Doctor Badboon should I say more also I love the little Hub World area at the beach and when you change the outfits of any of the monkeys they will change their to

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

It is actually very strange how Jam and Jet aren't here despite them being in Banana Mania. Like you say it is possible that they'll be included in some kind of future season which would be amazing. You unlock Dr. Bad-Boon by playing online so it's definitely possible they could add more characters. Hopefully Future AiAi will make an appearance too!

now they only need to interpolate the physics to the 60hz camera

@PixelPursuit

16 күн бұрын

I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I like the sound of it!

@maegnificant

16 күн бұрын

@@PixelPursuit look up the Digital foundry clip for this game, you'll see what I mean :)

When I saw that this game had proper co-op in the adventure mode, I thought to myself "Oh, Pixel Pursuit will probably love that!" lol. They finally did it! I came away from Banana Rumble really loving it. I think if you primarily care about Monkey Ball's singleplayer content, you could make a solid argument for it being the best in the series. In a weird sort of way, the added Spin Dash seems to give me a lot more confidence to try risky, goofy strategies. In earlier Monkey Ball games I've always played it a bit too safe, but now that I have this tool I'm way more eager to try stupid stuff... Ironically, this means I die way more now than I have in the past. It's worth it though! I really hope the Spin Dash sticks around in the future. Also, Baby in particular is crazy. He's so fast and brakes so quickly that playing as Baby is almost like playing a different game.

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

Haha! I have to admit I was quite excited when they announced that it had a proper co-op mode! Along with the spin dash, I think another thing that probably makes you a more confident player is that there's no real penalty for falling off. It just takes a second to restart the stage and you don't have lives, so you're much more free to be risky and just blast off and see what happens. But yeah, I think a new Monkey Ball without the spin dash would probably feel quite weird after Banana Rumble! I actually haven't played very much with Baby at all! I'll have to properly try out a few stages with him to see if I can improve my times!

I love how banana rumble pays homage to smb1 and smb2 stages. I dont like the banana blitz like stages but its a good mix. Yeah the controls of the game is a bit frustrating but i love the stage designs. The EX stages have more wow factor but i love it. I cant put down the game.

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

Even the flatter more Banana Blitz-like levels feel a lot better here. I think the addition of the optional objectives really does them a favour because a lot of them have a surprising amount of depth even when they look really straight-forward. I actually haven't had any issues with the controls in the single player mode. What have you been finding annoying about them?

Newcomer Plalette easily became one of my favorites she's adorable,and spindash I used way more then thought I would, glad it waant purely situational, and is fun speed running tool.

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

Yeah she's one of my favourites of the bunch too now! I probably prefer her to YanYan and Doctor honestly! But yeah, I was really worried that the spin dash was going to be a stupid gimmick when they first showed it off, but I should have had a lot more faith because it's legitimately so good!

Great review! I'm really enjoying the game - and even though it's not what most people wanted I think the multiplayer could have been half decent. But that frame rate though! Sheesh. I thought it was because it was multiplatform and they hadn't optimised properly for the Switch. I was flabbergasted when I found it this is a Switch exclusive! Poor effort there.

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

Thank you! Even with the 30fps online gameplay I've still been having quite a lot of fun. If they just fixed the weird controller delay it would be much better even at 30. I'm almost certain that it wasn't developed entirely with the Switch hardware in mind. Surely it would be a consistent 60fps across the board if it was.

Ok so technically while the game does run at 60fps for the most part, from the vgc review it seems to suffer from a common unity issue that pac-man world re-pac at launch also had where every sixth frame you don’t move. Which would affectively make movement be 50fps. It’d probably explain the responsiveness issue of battle mode, as cutting 50fps in half would be 25fps for movement there. And that’s not even accounting for any additional frame drops. Doesn’t seem like something that’d be difficult to fix in a patch though, as pac-man world re-pac did (both run in unity), but we’ll see.

This game does take while to ramp up,but when it does it's easily most fun had in Monkey ball game since GameCube. I think it topping GameCube games fighting uphill battle they set bar,so high early on. I'm glad with confidence that can say we have good original Super monkey game again. As someone who plays these games for Single player I'm glad they nailed that compontnat. I can see why people that are solely init for Party games are disappointed. That this title leans more into online battle Royale style most games do. I'm just beyond happy as long time fan this game didn't disappoint me. Nice to bump into you online as well. Last thing I think that level design being so solid,and much more creative then previous entry's is due to one of ogs from first game coming back to do level's in this game. It was brought up in interview with game director.

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

I totally agree! Even the earlier levels are pretty great and going for the time side missions really make you appreciate how many advanced things you can do even on the straight-forward levels. But yeah, this is definitely the best single player mode that we've had outside of the original games. I think that they probably shouldn't have outright removed the minigames but maybe attempted to implement them into the battle mode instead. The idea of playing stuff like Monkey Golf with 15 other people sounds amazing! I actually remember playing with you! I probably should change my Switch name to be Pixel Pursuit so it's more obvious that it's me haha! Huh, I didn't know about the level designer coming back from the original games, that totally makes sense though!

Is the Adventure Mode Co-Op 60FPS?

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

That's actually a really good question. I think it is otherwise I'm fairly sure I would have noticed, especially with how jarring it is in the online mode. If it is 30fps in the split-screen, it's way more consistent than the online to a point where it doesn't even feel like 30fps.

@RyderPlatinumWarpstar

21 күн бұрын

⁠So, it’s 60fps if you’re playing Online in the Adventure Mode, or if you’re playing split-screen with 2 players in Adventure Mode. The game drops to 30fps if you have 3 or more players in split-screen during Adventure Mode, or if you play Battle Mode in any capacity.

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

Thanks for clarifying, that's good to know. I figured that I probably would have immediately noticed if it was 30fps but I wasn't 100% sure!

I never play monkey Ball games befor ❤❤😂😢😮😅🤫🤩🤩🐮🍇😒 11:08

@PixelPursuit

21 күн бұрын

This is a great one to start with, it eases you into the more difficult levels a lot slower than some of the other games do which is great for newcomers!

I'd like to imagine the Switch was choose as the Switch as a nod to how Monkey Ball was originally a GameCube exclusive.

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

That could be the case. I wouldn't be surprised if Banana Blitz HD and Banana Mania sold way more numbers on the Switch too which probably affected their decision too.

i enjoy the updated character designs however sounds like another half baked monkey ball. exclusive, online focused, because switch is known for having best online/multiplayer, 🤣. same ol' blurred ugly hazy/fog pastel stage art from the recent games. mind boggling how lazy the music was handled. then they have the monkey balls to say "if enough people buy our cash grab we can release another cash grab"

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

I really like the redesigns too! I am kinda surprised that there's no unlockable classic outfits for the original cast though. Banana Mania even had the full on retro skins for them (although I guess that makes more sense with it being a remake). As much as it is kinda half-baked because of the online stuff, the single player is the best that Monkey Ball has been since the originals which makes me highly recommend it even with its flaws. But yeah, the whole thing they keep doing where they keep threatening the future of the series based on how well the new game performs sucks. They should really stop that.

we are so back

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

Absolutely we are :D It feels like we're entering Monkey Ball's second golden era with Banana Mania and now Rumble!

I wouldn't play a Super Monkey Ball that doesn't even run at 60 FPS.

@chantellethecool1

21 күн бұрын

Its a good game. Calm down

@PixelPursuit

20 күн бұрын

To be fair, the adventure mode does run at 60fps, so the main part of the game is perfectly playable!