Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble Brings Colorful Multiplayer Battles to Switch

Ahead of the release of Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble June 25, Restart went hands-on with the title at Summer Game Fest to learn more about the different modes players will be able to experience.

Banana Rumble will feature an Adventure Mode with 200 levels that can be tackled solo or with up to three other players through local or online four-player co-op. The story will introduce players to an adorable new monkey character named Palette, as well as a new movement mechanic: the spin dash.

The spin dash allows players to spin their monkey ball in place for a few seconds before rapidly shooting forward in the direction of their choice.

Adventure Mode will take players to a tropical island they can decorate over time. For instance, as they clear the 10 different worlds in Adventure Mode, they’ll receive relics that can be used to decorate a trophy shelf.

They’ll also be able to dress the game’s characters in a variety of fun costumes and accessories, including a shinobi costume for Palette that can be unlocked by signing up for the game’s newsletter. All told, the game will feature more than 300 items that can be used to customize the appearance of each character and their monkey balls.

Outside of Adventure Mode, the game’s multiplayer mode will allow up to 16 people to play together across five different match types: Race, Goal Rush, Ba-Boom!, Banana Hunt, and Robot Smash. While online multiplayer will support up to 16 players, local multiplayer will be more limited. Two people will be able to compete on a single Switch through split-screen multiplayer, and up to four people will be able to play together locally if they all have their own Switches.

Two monkeys roll in balls on a race course — The Race multiplayer match type
©Sega

During the Summer Game Fest demo, we tried a few of the game’s multiplayer match types, including Banana Hunt, which challenges players to collect as many bananas as possible before time runs out, and Goal Rush, a team-based game that challenges competitors to roll through arches to earn points.

We also tried the Race match type, which (as the name suggests) challenges players to be the first to reach the end of an obstacle course. As players fall off the edge of the map (or are knocked off), the course itself will change, removing holes and other obstacles in the path to give players in the middle or back of the pack a chance to catch up.

While the Super Monkey Ball games have been known to put players’ skills to the test with their fast-paced, physics-based gameplay, Sega has incorporated a variety of optional assist features in Banana Rumble that will allow players to have a more user-friendly gameplay experience. As an example, a checkpoint feature in Adventure Mode will let players continue mid-stage rather than being forced to retry from the beginning if they make a mistake. Players will also be able to turn on ghost guides, which will show them the intended path to take to reach the end of the stage.