Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania: Celebrating 20 years of monkey magic

Hi all! Welcome back to the world of Super Monkey Ball! 

It’s been nearly 20 years since the first Monkey Ball graced arcades – banana joystick and all. An icon of its day, it wowed fans with its elegant design, delightfully simple gameplay, and wacky fun. Though the arcade game would inspire many wonderful adventures for AiAi and his monkey friends, the inventive originals – Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe – still stand apart as the gold standard of the series.

We’re thrilled to share today that all three original Super Monkey Ball games – faithfully remastered for a new generation – are back for more monkey magic when Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania launches on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on October 5.

Play Video

Three Adventures in One 

The premise of Super Monkey Ball is deceptively simple: you must roll, tilt, and bounce your monkey ball through a series of devilishly crafted levels and mazes while collecting every banana along the way. The dynamic controls, dazzling level design, catchy music, progressive difficulty and bubbly cast of characters combine to create an insanely addictive gameplay experience that still stands out for its originality nearly 20 years later.

While the original Super Monkey Ball introduced over 100 levels, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania features over 300 handcrafted levels from all three games, lovingly recreated with new graphics and modern features. 4-player local co-op, online leaderboards, and comic book-style storytelling add additional depth and immersion for new players.

Monkey Ball fans will also recall spending endless hours with classic party games like Monkey Target, Monkey Soccer, Monkey Baseball, and Monkey Bowling. Whether spinning the Wheel of Danger in Monkey Target or hitting monkey balls in Banana Stadium, nothing beat competing with friends in the classics. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania marks the glorious return of all 12 minigames from SMB 1, 2 & Deluxe – every favorite refined for modern consoles – ensuring no banana gets left behind in this definitive remaster.

The Monkey Gang is Back

Long-time fans will be thrilled to see the return of the entire gang: AiAi, MeeMee, Baby, GonGon, and their friends YanYan and Doctor all are back for a new adventure. They’ll be joined in their quest to save Jungle Island from the evil monkey mad scientist Dr. Bad-Boon and his Henchman by a colorful cast of new characters…all of whom will be announced this summer as we roll closer to launch!

Super Monkey Ball has always been a series defined by joy and playfulness, a genre-fluid gaming experience that stands apart for its originality and replayability. Our community is extraordinarily passionate – witness the many crazy speedruns that still get posted to this day – and we truly can’t wait to rekindle the magic when Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania drops this fall.

With our 20th Anniversary just around the corner, we also wanted to create a special physical limited-edition release of Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania that celebrates this monumental milestone. The Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania Anniversary Edition comes with a 40-page art book featuring art from every game in the series pulled straight from the Sega archives. It also includes a collectible sleeve, reversible cover, and 10 exclusive cosmetic items. This was our way of celebrating one of the most beloved series in Sega history with our biggest fans. 

Source: Playstation Blog
—