Sega’s unusual ball-roller, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania just got another new guest character. This time, Kazuma Kiryu, from the Yakuza series, is rolling into action! Just like Sonic, Tails, and Jet Set Radio‘s Beat, Kiryu will be free content. Players will unlock all of these guest characters through normal gameplay. It seems they also finally updated the character page on the official website. Each of the new characters has some art (a portrait, and an image of them in a monkey ball). However, the earlier announced pair, Jet & Jam, (from Super Monkey Ball 3D and Super Monkey Ball Step and Roll) are still oddly missing in action there.
It seems the monkey gang is making a lot of new friends! This announcement of Kiryu brings the Banana Mania roster up to four guest characters so far. Will more be announced before the game launches on October 5th? Only time will tell, but there has been a new character trailer for the last three weeks in a row. It seems there is a good chance we may see a few more.
Kazuma Kiryu is rolling into Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania! 🍌
The legendary “Dragon of Dojima” will be a playable character, free and unlockable through normal gameplay! 🐉#SuperMonkeyBall #BananaMania #KazumaKiryu pic.twitter.com/xtcA5AAnOF
— Super Monkey Ball (@SuperMonkeyBall) August 18, 2021
Sega’s addition of guest characters like Kiryu in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is goofy and fun. However, it will also no doubt help draw more interest in the series. The Super Monkey Ball franchise is no doubt on the niche side of things. In the Gamecube era, that was in part due to the challenge of the games. As a result, Sega has implemented a number of new accessibility features in this remaster of Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe. Some of these were previously announced by the game’s director, Masao Shirosaki, on Twitter. They include options like:
- Full camera control
- The ability to double time limits
- Guide arrows
- A slow-motion option
Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania players can also choose to outright skip a level for 2000 in-game currency. However, doing so will prevent you from unlocking the Extra stages. So you’ll have to go back and beat those troublesome levels eventually if you want the Extra stages. Naturally, these are by no means the only changes and improvements to the game. For example, there is also a new photo mode.
The monkey business will begin on October 5th, when Dr. Badboon once again tries to destroy Jungle Island! However, he’d better watch out since the monkey gang has some formidable new allies. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania will launch on Steam, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, and PlayStation 4 & 5. It will bring with it the six original monkey characters, the four guest characters already announced, 300+ levels, 12 party games, and more.