I hope this game is good, but even if it's not, at least the Super Monkey Ball 2 hacking community can continue to do SEGA's job for them. patreon.com/SodaCrab
I would like to formally apologize to Yakuza fans, I don't really keep up with Yakuza discourse online so I didn't know liking the remakes was a hot take. If I'd known, I would've used less absolute language when declaring the remakes were better. I know Kiwami has its issues, it's basically a Yakuza 0 romhack and the Majima Everywhere system is one of the most clunky progression systems of all time, but for me personally, Kiwami still comes out on top. In my opinion, Yakuza is one of those series where the presentation and gameplay have only gotten better with time, so I'll gladly take a good looking game with Yakuza 0's gameplay over an aging PS2 game with lots of loading screens. That said, I totally get why you might not like Kiwami, I know it's flawed. It has pocket circuit though, 10/10 side mode, should be in every video game ever. Same story for Kiwami 2 basically, i adore Dragon Engine combat, and I think the game looks gorgeous. A big part of my enjoyment of Yakuza games comes from the immersion, so I place a lot of value on good visuals and sound design, which of course the PS4 game has the advantage in over the aging PS2 game. Once again though, if you prefer the original, totally understandable. I get it's not a perfect remake, but it presses the right buttons to make it the better game for me. With all of that being said though, none of these games are Dead Souls, so who cares
All good, but in future it would be a good idea to not make statements like that about games you haven't at least played personally. That's kind of the bare minimum when giving an opinion on a game. Totally get this was an honest mistake tho so no big deal, but just letting you know.
The Majima Everywhere System is one of the only good things about Yakuza 1 that wasn't taken from Yakuza 0, and I mean one of the only good things in any version of Yakuza 1 really. Those random encounters were always a highlight with much better comedy writing than the generally garbage side quests that have aged like milk. The mediocre main quest isn't much better in comparison but it at least is given a bit more substance thanks to the new cutscenes in Kiwami.
@@HOTD108_In my defense I have tried both Yakuza 1 and 2. I haven't done full playthroughs, but I've checked them out. But yeah I should've probably couched the statement by saying that it's my opinion, and my opinion tends to be biased towards new games that look better and are more technically streamlined.
I'd say that's more of a thing reviewers say. And for Sonic Frontiers exclusively 😅 Superstars is classic and Dream Team is a mobile game. Only Frontiers was experimental enough to fit into the 'right direction' category.
@@Terminal_Apotos ngl Dream Team has a lot of good things going for it, the real issue with the game is that it's on a platform absolutely nobody cares about
@@Terminal_ApotosSame and not just reviewers, but fans too. The only step in the right Direction in well over a decade for Sonic has been Sonic Mania. Every single Sonic game other than that one since Shadow the Hedgehog has either been a step the wrong direction or just standing in place. Frontiers has a somewhat fun open world, but it is still limited, the controls are garbage and the actual stages are the worst of any 3D Sonic game ever made (and This also includes Sonic 2K6).
It looks like more of the same cornball obstacle course design that we've been getting since Banana Blitz. Presentation is a lot easier on the eyes, that's for sure, but it seems to be the same ol' _fine enough_ Banana Blitz formula with a new coat of paint. Would love to be proven wrong.
your timing is incredible. for context, I watched 3 videos about monkeyball in the last two years. one was a playthrough, the second was about elaborate cheating methods in SMB, and the third was your video on the evolution (decline?) of SMB. It's incredible that a new monkey ball game was announced DAYS after your video!!!
The pure Algorithmic luck hes been blessed with! An already upwards trending video getting a relevancy boost while the video is still recent! And this video will do very well because of that, I'm sure.
Your take on the “step in the right direction” mentality is so painfully true, I’ve never been able to put into words why it bothers me so much when people justify mediocre products like this but you absolutely nailed it on the head
Banana Mania actually has the same physics system as the originals, while BBHD uses the default Unity physics. What makes Banana Mania not feel right are the overly sensitive camera and the analog stick deadzone.
The camera especially is a big problem but you clearly haven't played banana mania if u think the physics are the same. They might want to go back to the Unity physics, cause they were wayyyy better than whatever was going on in Banana Mania
The Spin Dash isn't something I can look at as bandaid fix design wise conpared to the jump, that gave you assurance in your vertical movement and made it something that was relaible the Spin Dash is an addition that is demanding you take a risk because you are using every bump in the ground as a speedrunning opportunity. It's the addition that fills me with a bit of hope but will be entirely dependent on the physics and level design surrounding it
Thank you for you comment on wanting a good product. For some reason either because most people on the internet A are paid advertisers, B have mental issues and just want to buy everything then justify it, or C just want to buy things to say they kept someone alive. I can’t really trust 99% of reviewers. Even the “well regarded” ones. At the end of the day it’s money WE worked for. Just because they made another game in a franchise we love doesn’t mean we have to buy it or financially support it
The dumbest thing about the "step in the right direction" opinion with regard to Banana Mania is that it's pointless when we're talking about a remake. The end product still ends up being "the same thing you played before, but worse." Like if I can pull my old SMB1 disc off the shelf and have a better time with it across the board, then what was even the point? I'm more open to something like Banana Rumble because even if it still doesn't play as well, there's more merit to it simply by virtue of it being new and bringing something to the table that isn't already covered by a game I played to death 20+ years ago.
This video strangely mirrors something that happened to me in a way. I had someone comment on a piece of Monkey Ball fanart I made years ago (complaining about the lack of new games lol) with "congratz on getting more super monkey ball" Which was actually how I how I first heard of Banana Rumble, the rock I live under causing me to completely miss the announcement. I loaded up the trailer with cautiously tempered optimism, but I gotta say, I am whelmed. There simply isn't enough there for me to be excited about yet, and all I could say in response to the comment on my art was "lol thanks, but I'm still wary. Maybe I'll be more excited when more footage is out." And that's still how I feel now.
Yeeaaah I see it the same way, I'm not getting my hopes up for this after the Banana Mania burn. The trailer looked like more "modern" Monkey Ball instead of a return to good physics and the multiplayer stuff they showed off made it seem like they wanted to turn Monkey Ball into Fall Guys.
i hope the game is good but i can't stand the visual style the series has had since after adventures. i miss the detailed, more realistic backgrounds and less saturated colors of the first two games. the vibes are just immaculate there. super monkey ball 2 is a really pretty game, idk how anyone looks at the new visual style and thinks it looks better than smb2. the newer designs for the monkeys are super cute and i love them, but i just hate the overly colorful cartoonish look to everything else
As someone who bought Banana Mania on clearance, I can confidently state that it is horrible. The physics are so incredibly broken and the controls feel awful. It was so bad in fact, that I thought people were bluffing about the quality of the old games, so I decided to get the first one on gamecube. Game is absolutely fantastic and much better than banana mania in about every single way. So I believe that monkey ball is fantastic, but has not really been given the proper care and attention it deserves to truly honor its legacy.
I can't help but be excited for the 4 player multi-player. I've never liked asynchronous multi-player in party games, so if this is even a passable Monkey Ball experience with real-time multi-player, that'll be enough for me to be happy with it.
Monkey ball is a series that I've only played one entry but is really close to my heart, my siblings and I used to play a lot when we were younger, so hearing that it hasn't been good since 2 is kinda heartbreaking but I hope this game is good
>Complaints about the physics system not being as good as it used to be; >Sega doesn't care or understand their own IP anymore; >Slop execution of old mechanics/bad remake of good game; >Majority of games after the first few are mediocre or bad; >HD remaster of the Wii game no one asked for; >New original game after the "Mania" game, seemingly being a return to form, but hardcore players can see through the facade; >Spin Dash; >"It is a step in the right direction" >IP isn't dead yet, but has lost all the soul and coasts on brand recognition alone (aka Zombie Mode) Yep, the Sonic-fication of Monkey Ball is complete. Next step is for fans to being super invested in Monkey Ball lore for some reason.
I think they're some of the cutest designs in the series Nothing's gonna beat classic AiAi and GonGon for me, but MeeMee & YanYan's new designs are super cute
Agreed that Banana Mania isn’t “fine”. Such an unambitious game. Bought the significantly older Touch and Roll for a fraction of the price on the significantly less powerful DS afterward out of curiosity and even that game is a higher quality product with more faithful physics and audio/feedback to the original. I think perhaps the move to Unity engine from Banana Blitz HD (another poor remake) onward might be the issue, reprogramming and redesigning a series designed around bespoke technology onto Unity may have been challenging.
The reason why Retro Gaming is so important is to make sure the New Games of today are matching the greatness of the past. It would be better if the newer games surpass the great games of the past. So that is why Super Monkey Ball 2 on the GameCube is so important, so we can hold the modern day SEGA to account and if they mess up in the new Monkey Ball games, us fans who remember the greatness of the past let them know where they F-ed up in the recent games.
As someone who really enjoyed Banana Mania and just watched your other video, your apprehension and points are incredibly valid. The physics are really bad in that game, I honestly think Launchers is UNPLAYABLE and idk what they screwed up in the overall engine. And don't even get me started on the damn music. I think it's crazy that people can't take criticism of something they love. It's very clear to me that you love Monkey Ball which is why you're critical of it. Nothing wrong with that.
I forget the name, but I swear there was an indie game that released that was the true Monkey Ball successor and it had a level editor too. That game deserves more love.
Honestly the term "step in the right direction" can be pinned to literally everything SEGA makes these days. "Sonic Frontiers was mediocre, but it's a step in the right direction! A step that also costed me $80 CAD!" The concept of "step in the right direction" is so flawed because we're treating these developers like babies. As if this is their first attempt at Super Monkey Ball or Sonic the Hedgehog or Shinobi or Yakuza, etc. etc. etc. when in reality they've been working on these IPs for decades and still can't figure out what that 'right direction' is. These are highly-trained professionals (Half-Life reference intended), and they should be treated as such. So when SEGA makes a half-assed game they've had years to work on, reception should reflect that. Optimism only gets you so far, and fanfare typically has no effect on the quality of a game (aside from mods). Instead of saying "step in the right direction", what we should say is "this product was bad, but hopefully the next is better".
Can’t believe it wasn’t super monkey ball adventure hd, I really need to see what the ”knock children off a moving rollercoaster with a boxing glove” mission would look like
I just want to say it's nice seeing people stick up for the PS2 Yakuza games when five years ago everyone just automatically trashed them in favor of the remakes.
6:30 While I do agree with the Monkey Ball points, I think Kiwami 1 & 2 are flawed and show how much RGG doesn't have a good grip with the concepts they offer and more so want to capitalize on the main points rather then the key details. Kiwami 1 is just a derivative version of Yakuza 0 with a bad leveling system for Kiryu's OG move set (through Majima Everywhere), Copy paste elements from that take away the point of 0 and even other Yakuza games being created, and misunderstanding design philosophies to make everything out of necessity rather than balancing things out. Kiwami 2's modernization while sleek and detailed gets bogged down by removing some of the snappy feelings of the game in general from whether you're moving in the hub world or the engaing in combat (which is also coupled by enemy design since you now get punished for hitting a blocking enemy). The design also does nothing to improve set pieces and instead tries to do a graphical update, pointless sound design and MAKING EVERYTHING MORE GREEN. They've also removed the original host club and the club management minigames, certain music tracks that helped the aesthetic of the original, and REMOVING THE THIRD AREA IN FAVOR OF DOING A FETCH QUEST. Overall I believe RGG has the potential but doesn't understand how to improve the things they made without making everything more complicated, dumb down, reductive, or even pointless due to a lack of understanding of why and how those elements worked.
I will say that, I did notice that the game's sound design for the ball rolling still sounds scuffed Buuuut, it's new levels for the first time after like, 12 years, so that's a good plus
"step in the right direction" has lost all meaning to me as a lifelong pokemon fan (and occasional sonic enjoyer) how many steps will it take until we actually reach passable game quality lol
you can just say the game is good or bad and its step in the right direction because its new, both can co-exist in a sentence because different meaning. It wouldn't be called step in the right direction if it uses the previous formula again.
It seems to me like fans of any modern game SEGA publish will just dogpile on any negative opinions of a game, no matter how valid and reasonable that person is. I posted on the Unicorn Overlord subreddit, simply asking if anyone knew whether or not the game had been censored or featured bad localization, since there's the very real possibility after what happened with Vanillaware's last game, 13 Sentinels. And instead of getting an answer, I was met with the most rabid, unhinged vitrail. Downvoting my post en masse, claiming I was in favour of child romance in games (which is several layers removed from the reality of bad localisation, by the way), told to "just play the original Japanese version if I don't like it" (which ignores the fact that the point of an English translation is that I can experience a story-driven game without having to learn a whole other language), and had all my points misrepresented with baseless assumptions and strawman arguments. It was my fault for giving redditors, of all people, the benefit of the doubt, and assuming not all of them fit the worst stereotypes associated with the site, but there you go. I thought these kinds of mindless corporate cock-suckers were only part of the Sonic fandom, but I guess not. Persona, Like a Dragon (especially now with the horrendous translation in Infinite Wealth and Gaiden), Unicorn Overlord, and even Super Monkey Ball have this same tumour attached to their communities. SEGA fanatics don't want change for the better. They don't want growth or improvement. They don't want honesty from the people who buy these games with their hard-earned money. They don't want a faithful English translation that doesn't impede on the original writers' hard work. They don't want any of it. Take it back. They WANT SEGA to maintain the status quo of mediocrity. It's enough for these franchises to just show up, quality be damned, before they part with their money. I really liked your Monkey Ball videos, and I wish people would stop brown-nosing SEGA the moment anyone's remotely critical of them. It'd be nice if they actually participated in the discussion in good faith, instead of following their hivemind mantra of "positive = good, negative = bad". Turns out JebTube's video criticising Sonic fans also applies to every other SEGA franchise still kicking.
Bro you are killing it with the monkey ball videos. The intro had me cracking up, having discovered you from the fake redemption arc video. 10/10 and your views and takes on the game are 100% on the mark
I’m a little nervous about the game too. I don’t have a lot of faith in Sega changing the physics for Banana Rumble. Great video as always, Carbonated Beverage Crustacean. I can’t wait for the Shadows of Valentia video!
The entire "step in the right direction" portion is EXACTLY how I feel about Sonic. Everyone's saying that the last few years aren't just a step in the right direction, but a renaissance, and I couldn't disagree more. The movies, Superstars, and Frontiers are all enjoyable to *some* degree, sure, but the gap of mediocrity between SA2 and Generations was already long enough. Now it's an even LONGER gap between Generations and... whenever Sonic Team can make something REALLY great again. I explained this take to my friends and they all looked at me like I was being too harsh. Like, yeah, I'm really hurting the feewings of this multi-million dollar company because they still can't please any more than half of their target demographic at a time with their rushed games. I don't hate anyone at Sonic Team, and I have no reason to believe they AREN'T trying their best. I just want my money's worth, which will never happen if Sega's gonna keep charging $60 every time. Sorry this was so long, I'm just tired. tldr I'm glad you don't just mindlessly lower your expectations for games you love. Great vid ✌️
@@whentheyD I didn't mean to imply that was some hard truth, so that's my fault for poor phrasing. That being said, yes, it IS my opinion. I'm never gonna try to take away the fun people get out of things I don't like. It's just that this portion of the video expressed an opinion I related to.
I subscribed to you *because* of your last video and I was hoping you were a SMB fan who would make more content about these games, honestly. I love your takes and agree with you 100% and you're also the REASON and first person I learned about Banana Rumble from. Literally, I saw your other video right *before* this one just now, today, right now. I love your channel and that you're a chill lil crabby.
I don’t think your video should be considered to age like milk in any way. I like that you gave your opinion of its current situation. We can only hope the new game is good but I’m sure I’ll come back and rewatch your video no matter what.
As someone who keeps hearing over and over that sequels that are objective mechanical downgrades from previous entries are "steps in the right direction" every time I criticize something: Your swamp analogy really works for me. It's a great explanation of why we shouldn't settle for half-baked games and untested mechanics just because they're marginally better than the worst examples of their series. Thanks for your dedication to quality in the age of $60 reskins that gut their originals!
People that didn't grow up with the first 2 games, haven't played them, or didn't experience them before playing the newer games will never understand the displeasure og monkey ball fans have towards the newer games. The first 2 games were near perfection in every area, and the games after just couldn't hold up to them. We just want a game that feels like the first 2 instead of sloppy remakes, but they don't care enough to put that effort in to this series which is such a shame.
I've never played a Monkey Ball Game, but I obvously was very aware of its existence. . I always had this presumtion that it was a series that was made with love and had consistent enough bangers. Color me surprised when I watched your two vids and essentially only the first two games are good, and maybe Mania depending on who you ask, and the rest are trash lmao.
I still don't know what to think of Banana Rumble. Visually it's probably the best looking Monkey Ball game, but the world themes remind me of 3D, and that's never a good thing. The spin dash looks perfect for taking shortcuts and just blasting around levels, but I feel like when it becomes mandatory for the stages it's all gonna fall apart. The redesigns all look fine... except for Gon-Gon, who I only recognized as such because he was nowhere else in the image they showed with the other monkeys. In general I prefer the Banana Blitz designs, and of course the original designs top Banana Blitz's. Just by looking at the trailer, I'm like 90% sure the physics are identical to Banana Mania's physics... which isn't entirely a bad thing? I'd prefer if the analog inputs were square-based like they were in the Gamecube games and Deluxe, but I managed with Banana Mania, so I think I can manage here. And as for the multiplayer, I'm glad Competitive Mode has made some kind of return, but if I'm being honest, I almost never touch the minigames outside of Monkey Target 2, so I couldn't care less. I do hope the standard Challenge Mode Multiplayer returns though, since that's been the way I've introduced Monkey Ball to people in the past, and it's one of many reasons why I didn't play much Banana Mania with friends.
My take is, the new physics can be fine- maybe they need refinement, but again, they can be fine- but slapping these physics on pre-established games not originally designed with this in mind is problematic. Let me give an example: Monkey Target feels off because they had to jimmy rig it to get it to work in Banana Mania. But if they came up with this minigame FOR Banana Mania, it would logically be designed around the new physics/design philosophies. This is likely why Banana Rumble, at least so far, has a bigger focus on race-to-the-end and "roll towards this objective" style minigames, it's because these ideas mesh well with the base game's physics and controls, presumably. Does that mean Banana Rumble will feel better than the older games? Maybe not, I can see people having their preferences with 1 and 2. But as its own game, so long as the levels are good and work well with the physics and controls, it might be fine.
I really can't get over the Unity-stock lighting toy presentation that they're continuing to use. It feels like nothing in the game has any visual presence. They need to turn down the saturation, put in more competent lighting, and add some detail to the environments, which all shouldn't be too hard considering they already did it in the originals. Not a huge fan of the designs either but that's just down to preference. I also really hope the UI design isn't horribly generic and minimalistic like Banana Mania, because Monkey Ball and minimalism do not go together at all. Minimalism is subtle, it's clean, it's too simple to look bad, you can't tell me that that design philosophy works with a series as blatantly titled as 'Monkey Ball' at all. Monkey Ball should be loud and bombastic in its presentation, not reserved. One thing that's for sure about minimalism is that it's super easy to do compared to complicated UI, which leads me to think that the only reason it was adopted at all was because it's easy and not because it's fitting. As much as I'm willing to say 'graphics don't matter', they do in the sense that they're a clear indicator of the amount of effort put into a product. Breath of the Wild has frame drop issues sometimes, but it's still clear how much effort went into optimizing the experience and still making it look good. If you don't put effort into the presentation of your dish, then you can't be mad when people don't want to eat it. I definitely want Banana Rumble to be good, but personally I'm keeping my expectations low. Considering they didn't show Monkey Target in the trailer I'm assuming they either were too ashamed to show it in the trailer or realised they just couldn't make it good and scrapped the mode entirely.
Take hotter than the sun: Banana Mania is the worst Monkey Ball by a mile. Aside from the flash Monkey Ball games that might as well have been bootlegs, no game in the series has been more disappointing than Banana Mania. It's physics are bad, the camera is horrendous, the mini games don't work, the DLC is scummy, the graphics are scattershot and cheap as hell, and everything that it omits from the 6th gen versions, from the lives to the cutscenes to the menus and sound effects, serves to make Banana Mania little but a dumpster fire. If Banana Mania was its own original game, then it would still be complete balls, but I wouldn't care that much to be honest. However, it instead masquerades as a "remake" of the classic titles, and effectively replaces them in the public eye, and to see two of gaming's finest arcade platformers sidelined for this rubbish makes Banana Mania a special case. Every time I hear someone in a review say that "Banana Mania is a return to form and is just as good as the gamecube games," it only further cements it for me as the single worst game the series, and one of the most insulting products I've ever seen from an "entertainment" company like Sega. So yeah I trust Banana Rumble will be a masterpiece
is ANYONE gonna talk about the large amount of guard rails in the trailer ive been waiting for someone saying this since 2 minutes after the trailer came out
I was considering mentioning that in the video, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here. The only guard rails that stood out to me were in that level where they showed off the spindash, and that just looks like a tutorial level. Even Monkey Ball 1's first few beginner levels had guard rails to ease you into the game, so I don't want to be too unfairly harsh on this game before it's out, even if I'm not optimistic.
I like being able to use jump to play old stages in new ways, but the physics are just unreasonably bad. It really feels like a game whose physics were just not designed for the game at all. I never really cared about alternative play is challenge mode but I do miss competition a lot since it was a big thing that made me prefer 1 over 2 (I also think 2's level design is quite a bit worse). I never really cared about most party modes but they're generally made worse and you don't even have all the content between both games' versions of the party modes I feel like I'd be way more critical if I didn't get the game for cheap. In general I think a lot of remakes follow the same trends of either actively making the game worse or not fixing awful design that marred the original experience. A remake should be the unambiguous best version of the game, nostalgia aside. There are just too made prettied-up remakes that worsen the games in little ways that really add up, and devs often nickel and dime you. I really wanted to play the old games with jump and more content, but the worsened physics really trickle down and worsen most aspects of the game. That's not even counting the DLC (SEGA is the fucking worst at this and people keep letting them get away with it) They could've gone all out and shoved as much party content as possible, even pulling from other games, and left the physics entirely untouched and just added in the optional jump. Also hot take: who else thinks story mode is fucking stupid and a waste of time? With Challenge Mode not having lives anymore, I don't know what story's purpose is. It really does feel like completely redundant content.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the new game, but generally share your sentiments. From what I can tell from the trailer, it seems to be using the same physics as before. The dash thing seems like an interesting new addition though. I doubt it will top the old games, but who knows? Maybe this one will be good lol
I used to have that step in the right direction mentality when Banana Mania first came out, though after coming to the realization that I had to force myself to play it and like it it became clear to me that was the wrong mindset. I completely get your stance and feel like I was in the same boat when it comes to the new game. The Banana Rumble reveal didn’t get me hyped; just concerned. I do hope it’s good but I’ll definitely be waiting at least a month or some change so I can check out some good faith not clouded by recency bias critiques of the game.
Monkey Ball just doesn’t get the time and care that it should. That’s all there is to it. If Sega had it a priority It’d have a much higher budget and amount of quality. I also grew up with the first two games, so hopefully one day we can back to that quality.
I got banana mania on sale like 2 months ago and I'm mad now Someone tell me when this game inevitably goes on sale in like 9 months, as much as I actually like banana mania this looks so much better I think getting games on sale makes the experience better sometimes though so I might be biased
good video! love the maturity put into this especially with the comments lowk kinda attacking your takes a bit. wishing you the best in your youtube endeavors!!!
i think you can probably figure out a bit more with just the trailer. if you look at the stage tilt you'll see its slower than in the original, and its one of the reasons why the modern physics suck
Unrelated to the video but I just wanna say im glad you changed the Ai art on your channel pfp and banner, it looks alot better now! Also I think I may have been a little harsh on my comment on the other video, and although I still think you were still a little bit too harsh on Banana Mania I still think I could've toned my comment down a smidge though. Also Also if you still want a more pixel-art-esque pfp and banner I'm still willing to do it if you want, I also realized you might've though I was asking for money for that but nah I'm actually just really bored and wouldn't mind an excuse to make something tbh
I think the only reason people gave Banana Mania a pass is because it was still marginally better than the string of games that came before it, and monkey ball fans were just desperate for even a single iota of a win. I feel that now it’s coming on 3 years since BM and all the dust has far past settled on it being the “new exciting step in the right direction” people should start to look back on the game more objectively and give it a second thought. Especially now that Banana Rumble is coming out I feel if it’s still to the same lack of quality of BM we might start seeing a different narrative on the current direction of this series. Trust me I want to like BR, I really do. But after being burned by what the last game turned out to be, which mind you BM was a game I myself was genuinely hyped for leading up to release. I just can’t say in good faith that this one is gonna be more than just okay.
Conquest is an incredible strategy game. Fates is pretty pathetic as an RPG, but if you just skip the dialogue and do ironman or other challenge runs of the game, the map designs, unit progression, and dual strike/pair up mechanics are REALLY good. Granted because the plot sucks and the other 2 routes are nowhere near as good, it's not actually a very GOOD game, but because of how it specifically fits my taste when played the way I like it, it's one of my favorites.
Yakuza kiwami is yakuza 0.5 They yakuza 0'ed yakuza 1. If you can put up with loading screens and ps2 quirks, yakuza 1 is a great game and id argue BETTER than kiwami 1 (if you have taste). i do not enjoy yakuza 2 or kiwami 2 for different reasons.
That's mainly the reason I prefer Kiwami. I know Kiwami has some clunky progression and it's basically a Yakuza 0 rom hack, but the constant loading screens and also just generally being a kinda old PS2 game bring down the Yakuza 1 experience for me.
The dual strike/dual guard system in Fates is incredible. I think Fates has the best gameplay in the entire series, it's just a shame Conquest is the only route with consistently good maps. If we ever reach a day where full fledged ROM hacks of Fates are possible on the same level as the GBA games, I'm excited to see what fans could do with Fates's engine and systems.
I have HATED the physics in Banana Mania since launch. Happy that other ppl enjoy them but the game feels like it’s been coated in molasses compared to the original. The stage tilt speed is painfully slow. Banana rumble looks like the same engine and the stage looks to tilt really slowly still. I dunnnnnnno about this one. We’ll see 🧐
Great video. I just wanted to weigh in on why I hate the "step in the right direction" mindset. I feel it happens all too often that a game company will put out a mediocre product to "gauge interest" in making a new entry. I know you mentioned this with Banana Blitz HD, it was basically a ransom note. However, a lot of the time, if these mediocre games get sales, that just tells the company that people will buy mediocre games! It's kind of a flawed mindset that we need to be buying this games to "show our support" and take "steps in the right direction." It is always going to be on SEGA and any other company to make quality games, not for the fans to "encourage" them.
The most egregious examples would be playing something like Warp (expert 37) or Jump Machine (expert 6) on the original sequel vs. playing it on Mania.
I don't think the remakes were that bad... Fine tuning the physics in both, and removing the guard rails from the one you can jump in would have went a long way though.
After Playing the First main Story, I will say this game is fine. I played the entire game on default settings and only hated 2 levels because of it ( especially the stupid last one, which was just lazy.) Once you set your inner dead zone, to avoid snap back on a pro remote and remove the camera deadzones in the presets, and going to advance setting and putting all speeds on max, this is the closest feeling to 1 & 2. I'm going to say you can use spin-dash a fair amount, and was extremely intuitive for me at least. Yeah I think default camera is bad, but it wasn't impossible. It only took away from the bowl boost, slinky, and final shitti racing stage. 9.25/10 would recommend, especially if I can just tell fellow vets what the optimal camera settings are.
I really like the boost they're adding, to me it shows an understanding of what made monkey ball great (for me at least) which is cheesing the levels and findng short cuts. But I hope it is something yo can only use once per stage to strategise. I hope it turns out to be good!
Probably not good to spam it, since it slows you down upon build up and time should be counting down. Because of that, if not used correctly you might loose because of time loss
I'm so relieved to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way about Banana Mania's watered down physics. Snappy movement is the bread and butter of the series, and without it, it's just not Monkey Ball anymore. The new areas and even level design and gimmick of Banana Mania look great, but if the game feels like shit like Mania did, then I won't hesitate to refund it even a few minutes after purchase... Then again, I can't judge the game and complain about it to its fullest if I don't play it all the way, so there's that.
Super Monkey Ball seems to be Sega's second favorite franchise of the modern era, as every few years, they seem to make a new game based on it. While a few other Sega franchises such as Streets of Rage and Alex Kidd did get some new games a few years ago, many others such as Vectorman, Ristar the Shooting Star, and Bug! have yet to get them.
Игры
I would like to formally apologize to Yakuza fans, I don't really keep up with Yakuza discourse online so I didn't know liking the remakes was a hot take. If I'd known, I would've used less absolute language when declaring the remakes were better.
I know Kiwami has its issues, it's basically a Yakuza 0 romhack and the Majima Everywhere system is one of the most clunky progression systems of all time, but for me personally, Kiwami still comes out on top. In my opinion, Yakuza is one of those series where the presentation and gameplay have only gotten better with time, so I'll gladly take a good looking game with Yakuza 0's gameplay over an aging PS2 game with lots of loading screens. That said, I totally get why you might not like Kiwami, I know it's flawed. It has pocket circuit though, 10/10 side mode, should be in every video game ever.
Same story for Kiwami 2 basically, i adore Dragon Engine combat, and I think the game looks gorgeous. A big part of my enjoyment of Yakuza games comes from the immersion, so I place a lot of value on good visuals and sound design, which of course the PS4 game has the advantage in over the aging PS2 game. Once again though, if you prefer the original, totally understandable. I get it's not a perfect remake, but it presses the right buttons to make it the better game for me.
With all of that being said though, none of these games are Dead Souls, so who cares
All good, but in future it would be a good idea to not make statements like that about games you haven't at least played personally. That's kind of the bare minimum when giving an opinion on a game. Totally get this was an honest mistake tho so no big deal, but just letting you know.
The Majima Everywhere System is one of the only good things about Yakuza 1 that wasn't taken from Yakuza 0, and I mean one of the only good things in any version of Yakuza 1 really. Those random encounters were always a highlight with much better comedy writing than the generally garbage side quests that have aged like milk. The mediocre main quest isn't much better in comparison but it at least is given a bit more substance thanks to the new cutscenes in Kiwami.
Kiwami 2 plays worse than the original game, don't lump y1 and y2 together
@@HOTD108_In my defense I have tried both Yakuza 1 and 2. I haven't done full playthroughs, but I've checked them out. But yeah I should've probably couched the statement by saying that it's my opinion, and my opinion tends to be biased towards new games that look better and are more technically streamlined.
this aint it fam
I watched your monkey ball video like 2 days before the new game was revealed and I was like "uh oh"
lmao same here
Bro same
youtube recommend came through for me cause same
Me too, lol. I saw the trailer and I thought back to his other video.
Same. I actually played Monkey Ball 2 for the first time in over 10 years the day before the announcement, it was jarring
At long last AIAI was forced to put on pants
His butt is still present
But his butt is still shown 😅
The overalls strangely work!
@@NitwitsWorld I had this same thought as well until I realized that's part of the overalls design.
@kevinsmith163 yup
“Step in the right direction” hey that’s Sonic Fan’s favorite phrase!
I'd say that's more of a thing reviewers say. And for Sonic Frontiers exclusively 😅 Superstars is classic and Dream Team is a mobile game. Only Frontiers was experimental enough to fit into the 'right direction' category.
@@sergiomonty I’ve seen many people use that Phrase for all three games you mentioned.
SEGA INTENSIFIES
@@Terminal_Apotos ngl Dream Team has a lot of good things going for it, the real issue with the game is that it's on a platform absolutely nobody cares about
@@Terminal_ApotosSame and not just reviewers, but fans too. The only step in the right Direction in well over a decade for Sonic has been Sonic Mania. Every single Sonic game other than that one since Shadow the Hedgehog has either been a step the wrong direction or just standing in place. Frontiers has a somewhat fun open world, but it is still limited, the controls are garbage and the actual stages are the worst of any 3D Sonic game ever made (and This also includes Sonic 2K6).
To quote Uncle Silver:
"How many steps in the right direction does it take until we just call it 'walking'?"
The second they put Sonic in Monkey Ball all the Monkey Ball fans start acting like Sonic fans
Actually true fr
and now it has a spindash so its even more like sonic :)
@@FlutterBug sonic with monkeys
Oh we've been like Sonic fans for a long time.
Maybe that’s why I like Banana Mania, I’m a Sonic Fan
Preach it about the "a step in the right direction" is not good enough to hold a company to.
The mantra of the typical Sonic fan.
“Well, it’s not as bad as the last one. That’s good enough to praise SEGA, right?”
@@huntercrunch94 True! Pokemon Fans too
paying 30 bucks a game for a "step" is complete bullshit lmao its crazy how much people will self-brainwash to waste money
It looks like more of the same cornball obstacle course design that we've been getting since Banana Blitz. Presentation is a lot easier on the eyes, that's for sure, but it seems to be the same ol' _fine enough_ Banana Blitz formula with a new coat of paint. Would love to be proven wrong.
Did you see that stage that looks like cross floors?!?! I think it's gonna be a mix
Considering Banana Blitz is my favorite in the series, I'll hopefully be very pleased.
@@Jackp2003thats crazy hope you get better
@@sangan3202😂 these kids choosing that over gamecube is nuts
If it's anything like Banana Splitz, I'll be happy. Splitz had some great stages that absolutely fit in with those from 1 and 2.
As soon as I saw the new Monkey Ball game, you immediately came to mind, especially the editing I loved in your video.
your timing is incredible.
for context, I watched 3 videos about monkeyball in the last two years. one was a playthrough, the second was about elaborate cheating methods in SMB, and the third was your video on the evolution (decline?) of SMB. It's incredible that a new monkey ball game was announced DAYS after your video!!!
The pure Algorithmic luck hes been blessed with! An already upwards trending video getting a relevancy boost while the video is still recent! And this video will do very well because of that, I'm sure.
my biggest takaway from that trailer is that they took away aiai's drip. back in my day he just had a shirt and that was enough.
nooo his new outfit is such a glowup. It's cute
Your take on the “step in the right direction” mentality is so painfully true, I’ve never been able to put into words why it bothers me so much when people justify mediocre products like this but you absolutely nailed it on the head
Banana Mania actually has the same physics system as the originals, while BBHD uses the default Unity physics. What makes Banana Mania not feel right are the overly sensitive camera and the analog stick deadzone.
The camera especially is a big problem but you clearly haven't played banana mania if u think the physics are the same. They might want to go back to the Unity physics, cause they were wayyyy better than whatever was going on in Banana Mania
The Spin Dash isn't something I can look at as bandaid fix design wise conpared to the jump, that gave you assurance in your vertical movement and made it something that was relaible the Spin Dash is an addition that is demanding you take a risk because you are using every bump in the ground as a speedrunning opportunity. It's the addition that fills me with a bit of hope but will be entirely dependent on the physics and level design surrounding it
Thank you for you comment on wanting a good product. For some reason either because most people on the internet A are paid advertisers, B have mental issues and just want to buy everything then justify it, or C just want to buy things to say they kept someone alive. I can’t really trust 99% of reviewers. Even the “well regarded” ones. At the end of the day it’s money WE worked for. Just because they made another game in a franchise we love doesn’t mean we have to buy it or financially support it
omg i was waiting to see how you felt about this since it was announced. Glad I don't have to wait long!! Thanks Crab!
The dumbest thing about the "step in the right direction" opinion with regard to Banana Mania is that it's pointless when we're talking about a remake. The end product still ends up being "the same thing you played before, but worse." Like if I can pull my old SMB1 disc off the shelf and have a better time with it across the board, then what was even the point?
I'm more open to something like Banana Rumble because even if it still doesn't play as well, there's more merit to it simply by virtue of it being new and bringing something to the table that isn't already covered by a game I played to death 20+ years ago.
I just hope this will set a standard for quality Super Monkey Ball games a few years down the road.
That sounds fine, but if it’s bad, the standard is bad
Unfortunately it looks like the physics are still bad
This video strangely mirrors something that happened to me in a way.
I had someone comment on a piece of Monkey Ball fanart I made years ago (complaining about the lack of new games lol) with "congratz on getting more super monkey ball"
Which was actually how I how I first heard of Banana Rumble, the rock I live under causing me to completely miss the announcement.
I loaded up the trailer with cautiously tempered optimism, but I gotta say, I am whelmed.
There simply isn't enough there for me to be excited about yet, and all I could say in response to the comment on my art was "lol thanks, but I'm still wary. Maybe I'll be more excited when more footage is out."
And that's still how I feel now.
Yeeaaah I see it the same way, I'm not getting my hopes up for this after the Banana Mania burn. The trailer looked like more "modern" Monkey Ball instead of a return to good physics and the multiplayer stuff they showed off made it seem like they wanted to turn Monkey Ball into Fall Guys.
i hope the game is good but i can't stand the visual style the series has had since after adventures. i miss the detailed, more realistic backgrounds and less saturated colors of the first two games. the vibes are just immaculate there. super monkey ball 2 is a really pretty game, idk how anyone looks at the new visual style and thinks it looks better than smb2. the newer designs for the monkeys are super cute and i love them, but i just hate the overly colorful cartoonish look to everything else
As someone who bought Banana Mania on clearance, I can confidently state that it is horrible. The physics are so incredibly broken and the controls feel awful. It was so bad in fact, that I thought people were bluffing about the quality of the old games, so I decided to get the first one on gamecube. Game is absolutely fantastic and much better than banana mania in about every single way. So I believe that monkey ball is fantastic, but has not really been given the proper care and attention it deserves to truly honor its legacy.
I can't help but be excited for the 4 player multi-player. I've never liked asynchronous multi-player in party games, so if this is even a passable Monkey Ball experience with real-time multi-player, that'll be enough for me to be happy with it.
Monkey ball is a series that I've only played one entry but is really close to my heart, my siblings and I used to play a lot when we were younger, so hearing that it hasn't been good since 2 is kinda heartbreaking but I hope this game is good
>Complaints about the physics system not being as good as it used to be;
>Sega doesn't care or understand their own IP anymore;
>Slop execution of old mechanics/bad remake of good game;
>Majority of games after the first few are mediocre or bad;
>HD remaster of the Wii game no one asked for;
>New original game after the "Mania" game, seemingly being a return to form, but hardcore players can see through the facade;
>Spin Dash;
>"It is a step in the right direction"
>IP isn't dead yet, but has lost all the soul and coasts on brand recognition alone (aka Zombie Mode)
Yep, the Sonic-fication of Monkey Ball is complete. Next step is for fans to being super invested in Monkey Ball lore for some reason.
At least with Sonic there was Frontiers after the false return to form.
I’m genuinely surprised to hear you have a semi-positive opinion on the new designs.
I'm sad that so many people hate them, I think they're adorable
Overalls AiAi is cute, I think it looks leagues better than the generic Banana Blitz look
It reminds me of Ryan’s World ngl
I think they're some of the cutest designs in the series
Nothing's gonna beat classic AiAi and GonGon for me, but MeeMee & YanYan's new designs are super cute
Agreed that Banana Mania isn’t “fine”. Such an unambitious game.
Bought the significantly older Touch and Roll for a fraction of the price on the significantly less powerful DS afterward out of curiosity and even that game is a higher quality product with more faithful physics and audio/feedback to the original.
I think perhaps the move to Unity engine from Banana Blitz HD (another poor remake) onward might be the issue, reprogramming and redesigning a series designed around bespoke technology onto Unity may have been challenging.
Yes! The Monkey Ball guy reacted immediately to the announcement of the new Monkey Ball game with a new video essay. Splendid.
The reason why Retro Gaming is so important is to make sure the New Games of today are matching the greatness of the past.
It would be better if the newer games surpass the great games of the past.
So that is why Super Monkey Ball 2 on the GameCube is so important, so we can hold the modern day SEGA to account and if they mess up in the new Monkey Ball games, us fans who remember the greatness of the past let them know where they F-ed up in the recent games.
As someone who really enjoyed Banana Mania and just watched your other video, your apprehension and points are incredibly valid. The physics are really bad in that game, I honestly think Launchers is UNPLAYABLE and idk what they screwed up in the overall engine. And don't even get me started on the damn music.
I think it's crazy that people can't take criticism of something they love. It's very clear to me that you love Monkey Ball which is why you're critical of it. Nothing wrong with that.
The absolute crab, he never misses!
I forget the name, but I swear there was an indie game that released that was the true Monkey Ball successor and it had a level editor too. That game deserves more love.
I believe you mean Rolled Out! Unfortunately that game doesn't have multiplayer either.
Paperball Deluxe? Dunno about level editor though
Honestly the term "step in the right direction" can be pinned to literally everything SEGA makes these days. "Sonic Frontiers was mediocre, but it's a step in the right direction! A step that also costed me $80 CAD!" The concept of "step in the right direction" is so flawed because we're treating these developers like babies. As if this is their first attempt at Super Monkey Ball or Sonic the Hedgehog or Shinobi or Yakuza, etc. etc. etc. when in reality they've been working on these IPs for decades and still can't figure out what that 'right direction' is. These are highly-trained professionals (Half-Life reference intended), and they should be treated as such. So when SEGA makes a half-assed game they've had years to work on, reception should reflect that. Optimism only gets you so far, and fanfare typically has no effect on the quality of a game (aside from mods). Instead of saying "step in the right direction", what we should say is "this product was bad, but hopefully the next is better".
Can’t believe it wasn’t super monkey ball adventure hd, I really need to see what the ”knock children off a moving rollercoaster with a boxing glove” mission would look like
I just want to say it's nice seeing people stick up for the PS2 Yakuza games when five years ago everyone just automatically trashed them in favor of the remakes.
6:30 While I do agree with the Monkey Ball points, I think Kiwami 1 & 2 are flawed and show how much RGG doesn't have a good grip with the concepts they offer and more so want to capitalize on the main points rather then the key details. Kiwami 1 is just a derivative version of Yakuza 0 with a bad leveling system for Kiryu's OG move set (through Majima Everywhere), Copy paste elements from that take away the point of 0 and even other Yakuza games being created, and misunderstanding design philosophies to make everything out of necessity rather than balancing things out.
Kiwami 2's modernization while sleek and detailed gets bogged down by removing some of the snappy feelings of the game in general from whether you're moving in the hub world or the engaing in combat (which is also coupled by enemy design since you now get punished for hitting a blocking enemy). The design also does nothing to improve set pieces and instead tries to do a graphical update, pointless sound design and MAKING EVERYTHING MORE GREEN. They've also removed the original host club and the club management minigames, certain music tracks that helped the aesthetic of the original, and REMOVING THE THIRD AREA IN FAVOR OF DOING A FETCH QUEST. Overall I believe RGG has the potential but doesn't understand how to improve the things they made without making everything more complicated, dumb down, reductive, or even pointless due to a lack of understanding of why and how those elements worked.
I will say that, I did notice that the game's sound design for the ball rolling still sounds scuffed
Buuuut, it's new levels for the first time after like, 12 years, so that's a good plus
"step in the right direction" has lost all meaning to me as a lifelong pokemon fan (and occasional sonic enjoyer)
how many steps will it take until we actually reach passable game quality lol
you can just say the game is good or bad and its step in the right direction because its new, both can co-exist in a sentence because different meaning. It wouldn't be called step in the right direction if it uses the previous formula again.
Typical of nathaniel to say that. Hes usually top comment on most trailers bad or good
Your avatar fr looks so tasty, I just wanna rip off some crab legs and dip the meat in butter. Yum yum yum! Oh yeah and cool vid ig
Thank you vaguely threatening and ominous commenter!
5:18 i got stuck on this level for 3 hours and stopped playing monkeyball qhen i tried it last year, this shits insane
The level design looks bad, the aesthetic looks bad, the spindash is cringe.
No, everything is an major improvement from those games, especially the level design.
OML I LOVE THESE VIDEOS!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!
It seems to me like fans of any modern game SEGA publish will just dogpile on any negative opinions of a game, no matter how valid and reasonable that person is.
I posted on the Unicorn Overlord subreddit, simply asking if anyone knew whether or not the game had been censored or featured bad localization, since there's the very real possibility after what happened with Vanillaware's last game, 13 Sentinels. And instead of getting an answer, I was met with the most rabid, unhinged vitrail. Downvoting my post en masse, claiming I was in favour of child romance in games (which is several layers removed from the reality of bad localisation, by the way), told to "just play the original Japanese version if I don't like it" (which ignores the fact that the point of an English translation is that I can experience a story-driven game without having to learn a whole other language), and had all my points misrepresented with baseless assumptions and strawman arguments.
It was my fault for giving redditors, of all people, the benefit of the doubt, and assuming not all of them fit the worst stereotypes associated with the site, but there you go. I thought these kinds of mindless corporate cock-suckers were only part of the Sonic fandom, but I guess not. Persona, Like a Dragon (especially now with the horrendous translation in Infinite Wealth and Gaiden), Unicorn Overlord, and even Super Monkey Ball have this same tumour attached to their communities. SEGA fanatics don't want change for the better. They don't want growth or improvement. They don't want honesty from the people who buy these games with their hard-earned money. They don't want a faithful English translation that doesn't impede on the original writers' hard work. They don't want any of it. Take it back. They WANT SEGA to maintain the status quo of mediocrity. It's enough for these franchises to just show up, quality be damned, before they part with their money.
I really liked your Monkey Ball videos, and I wish people would stop brown-nosing SEGA the moment anyone's remotely critical of them. It'd be nice if they actually participated in the discussion in good faith, instead of following their hivemind mantra of "positive = good, negative = bad". Turns out JebTube's video criticising Sonic fans also applies to every other SEGA franchise still kicking.
Banana Rumble is going to be shit. No Nagoshi, no buy.
Bro you are killing it with the monkey ball videos. The intro had me cracking up, having discovered you from the fake redemption arc video. 10/10 and your views and takes on the game are 100% on the mark
I’m a little nervous about the game too. I don’t have a lot of faith in Sega changing the physics for Banana Rumble.
Great video as always, Carbonated Beverage Crustacean. I can’t wait for the Shadows of Valentia video!
The entire "step in the right direction" portion is EXACTLY how I feel about Sonic.
Everyone's saying that the last few years aren't just a step in the right direction, but a renaissance, and I couldn't disagree more. The movies, Superstars, and Frontiers are all enjoyable to *some* degree, sure, but the gap of mediocrity between SA2 and Generations was already long enough. Now it's an even LONGER gap between Generations and... whenever Sonic Team can make something REALLY great again.
I explained this take to my friends and they all looked at me like I was being too harsh. Like, yeah, I'm really hurting the feewings of this multi-million dollar company because they still can't please any more than half of their target demographic at a time with their rushed games. I don't hate anyone at Sonic Team, and I have no reason to believe they AREN'T trying their best. I just want my money's worth, which will never happen if Sega's gonna keep charging $60 every time.
Sorry this was so long, I'm just tired. tldr I'm glad you don't just mindlessly lower your expectations for games you love. Great vid ✌️
@ frontiers/superstars, that's just like, your opinion, man.
@ the entire period between SA2 and Generations, that's hyperbole and you KNOW it
@@whentheyD I didn't mean to imply that was some hard truth, so that's my fault for poor phrasing. That being said, yes, it IS my opinion.
I'm never gonna try to take away the fun people get out of things I don't like. It's just that this portion of the video expressed an opinion I related to.
Bro did NOT say Kiwami 2 is "indescribably better than the original"
It is. Not everything is OLD GOOD, NEW BAD
@@ArabLetsPlays True, but this is.
Yea if anything it adds to his point that RGG Studios don't put as much effort into any of their remakes, not just Monkey Ball.
I subscribed to you *because* of your last video and I was hoping you were a SMB fan who would make more content about these games, honestly. I love your takes and agree with you 100% and you're also the REASON and first person I learned about Banana Rumble from. Literally, I saw your other video right *before* this one just now, today, right now. I love your channel and that you're a chill lil crabby.
I don’t think your video should be considered to age like milk in any way. I like that you gave your opinion of its current situation. We can only hope the new game is good but I’m sure I’ll come back and rewatch your video no matter what.
Just the other day I saw your monkey ball video!! (Awesome quality btw) this is great 😂
Ngl that one Super Monkey Ball game that was on the Ps Vita was the only one I enjoyed after the first two but that's about it
As someone who keeps hearing over and over that sequels that are objective mechanical downgrades from previous entries are "steps in the right direction" every time I criticize something: Your swamp analogy really works for me. It's a great explanation of why we shouldn't settle for half-baked games and untested mechanics just because they're marginally better than the worst examples of their series. Thanks for your dedication to quality in the age of $60 reskins that gut their originals!
People that didn't grow up with the first 2 games, haven't played them, or didn't experience them before playing the newer games will never understand the displeasure og monkey ball fans have towards the newer games. The first 2 games were near perfection in every area, and the games after just couldn't hold up to them. We just want a game that feels like the first 2 instead of sloppy remakes, but they don't care enough to put that effort in to this series which is such a shame.
Considering that series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi left Sega, there is always the possibility that Banana Rumble becoming lackluster.
I've never played a Monkey Ball Game, but I obvously was very aware of its existence. .
I always had this presumtion that it was a series that was made with love and had consistent enough bangers.
Color me surprised when I watched your two vids and essentially only the first two games are good, and maybe Mania depending on who you ask, and the rest are trash lmao.
I still don't know what to think of Banana Rumble. Visually it's probably the best looking Monkey Ball game, but the world themes remind me of 3D, and that's never a good thing.
The spin dash looks perfect for taking shortcuts and just blasting around levels, but I feel like when it becomes mandatory for the stages it's all gonna fall apart.
The redesigns all look fine... except for Gon-Gon, who I only recognized as such because he was nowhere else in the image they showed with the other monkeys. In general I prefer the Banana Blitz designs, and of course the original designs top Banana Blitz's.
Just by looking at the trailer, I'm like 90% sure the physics are identical to Banana Mania's physics... which isn't entirely a bad thing? I'd prefer if the analog inputs were square-based like they were in the Gamecube games and Deluxe, but I managed with Banana Mania, so I think I can manage here.
And as for the multiplayer, I'm glad Competitive Mode has made some kind of return, but if I'm being honest, I almost never touch the minigames outside of Monkey Target 2, so I couldn't care less. I do hope the standard Challenge Mode Multiplayer returns though, since that's been the way I've introduced Monkey Ball to people in the past, and it's one of many reasons why I didn't play much Banana Mania with friends.
Uh no, the redesigns are objectively better than the Banana Blitz designs. Those old designs were terrible, especially in Mania.
My take is, the new physics can be fine- maybe they need refinement, but again, they can be fine- but slapping these physics on pre-established games not originally designed with this in mind is problematic.
Let me give an example: Monkey Target feels off because they had to jimmy rig it to get it to work in Banana Mania. But if they came up with this minigame FOR Banana Mania, it would logically be designed around the new physics/design philosophies.
This is likely why Banana Rumble, at least so far, has a bigger focus on race-to-the-end and "roll towards this objective" style minigames, it's because these ideas mesh well with the base game's physics and controls, presumably.
Does that mean Banana Rumble will feel better than the older games? Maybe not, I can see people having their preferences with 1 and 2.
But as its own game, so long as the levels are good and work well with the physics and controls, it might be fine.
I don't know why anyone would have faith in any sega projects outside of Yakuza and Yakuza-related products
I really can't get over the Unity-stock lighting toy presentation that they're continuing to use. It feels like nothing in the game has any visual presence. They need to turn down the saturation, put in more competent lighting, and add some detail to the environments, which all shouldn't be too hard considering they already did it in the originals. Not a huge fan of the designs either but that's just down to preference. I also really hope the UI design isn't horribly generic and minimalistic like Banana Mania, because Monkey Ball and minimalism do not go together at all. Minimalism is subtle, it's clean, it's too simple to look bad, you can't tell me that that design philosophy works with a series as blatantly titled as 'Monkey Ball' at all. Monkey Ball should be loud and bombastic in its presentation, not reserved. One thing that's for sure about minimalism is that it's super easy to do compared to complicated UI, which leads me to think that the only reason it was adopted at all was because it's easy and not because it's fitting. As much as I'm willing to say 'graphics don't matter', they do in the sense that they're a clear indicator of the amount of effort put into a product. Breath of the Wild has frame drop issues sometimes, but it's still clear how much effort went into optimizing the experience and still making it look good. If you don't put effort into the presentation of your dish, then you can't be mad when people don't want to eat it. I definitely want Banana Rumble to be good, but personally I'm keeping my expectations low. Considering they didn't show Monkey Target in the trailer I'm assuming they either were too ashamed to show it in the trailer or realised they just couldn't make it good and scrapped the mode entirely.
The Shadows of Valentia take was based AF
It has some of my favourite writing in the franchise. Berkut's arc especially. it's like a Shakespearian tragedy
Shadows of Valentia is an obnoxiously good game
I forgive you for thinking Pikmin 4 is good.
Good on you for holding your ground. Banana mania was garbage.
Take hotter than the sun: Banana Mania is the worst Monkey Ball by a mile. Aside from the flash Monkey Ball games that might as well have been bootlegs, no game in the series has been more disappointing than Banana Mania. It's physics are bad, the camera is horrendous, the mini games don't work, the DLC is scummy, the graphics are scattershot and cheap as hell, and everything that it omits from the 6th gen versions, from the lives to the cutscenes to the menus and sound effects, serves to make Banana Mania little but a dumpster fire. If Banana Mania was its own original game, then it would still be complete balls, but I wouldn't care that much to be honest. However, it instead masquerades as a "remake" of the classic titles, and effectively replaces them in the public eye, and to see two of gaming's finest arcade platformers sidelined for this rubbish makes Banana Mania a special case. Every time I hear someone in a review say that "Banana Mania is a return to form and is just as good as the gamecube games," it only further cements it for me as the single worst game the series, and one of the most insulting products I've ever seen from an "entertainment" company like Sega.
So yeah I trust Banana Rumble will be a masterpiece
is ANYONE gonna talk about the large amount of guard rails in the trailer
ive been waiting for someone saying this since 2 minutes after the trailer came out
I was considering mentioning that in the video, but I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here. The only guard rails that stood out to me were in that level where they showed off the spindash, and that just looks like a tutorial level. Even Monkey Ball 1's first few beginner levels had guard rails to ease you into the game, so I don't want to be too unfairly harsh on this game before it's out, even if I'm not optimistic.
FINALLY
SOMEONE MENTIONED IT@@SodaCrab
GonGons new design takes inspiration from SMB Adventures design
I like being able to use jump to play old stages in new ways, but the physics are just unreasonably bad. It really feels like a game whose physics were just not designed for the game at all. I never really cared about alternative play is challenge mode but I do miss competition a lot since it was a big thing that made me prefer 1 over 2 (I also think 2's level design is quite a bit worse). I never really cared about most party modes but they're generally made worse and you don't even have all the content between both games' versions of the party modes
I feel like I'd be way more critical if I didn't get the game for cheap. In general I think a lot of remakes follow the same trends of either actively making the game worse or not fixing awful design that marred the original experience. A remake should be the unambiguous best version of the game, nostalgia aside. There are just too made prettied-up remakes that worsen the games in little ways that really add up, and devs often nickel and dime you. I really wanted to play the old games with jump and more content, but the worsened physics really trickle down and worsen most aspects of the game. That's not even counting the DLC (SEGA is the fucking worst at this and people keep letting them get away with it)
They could've gone all out and shoved as much party content as possible, even pulling from other games, and left the physics entirely untouched and just added in the optional jump. Also hot take: who else thinks story mode is fucking stupid and a waste of time? With Challenge Mode not having lives anymore, I don't know what story's purpose is. It really does feel like completely redundant content.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the new game, but generally share your sentiments. From what I can tell from the trailer, it seems to be using the same physics as before. The dash thing seems like an interesting new addition though. I doubt it will top the old games, but who knows? Maybe this one will be good lol
I used to have that step in the right direction mentality when Banana Mania first came out, though after coming to the realization that I had to force myself to play it and like it it became clear to me that was the wrong mindset. I completely get your stance and feel like I was in the same boat when it comes to the new game. The Banana Rumble reveal didn’t get me hyped; just concerned. I do hope it’s good but I’ll definitely be waiting at least a month or some change so I can check out some good faith not clouded by recency bias critiques of the game.
For the "Monkey Ball guy", you're really bad at Monkey Ball.
Monkey Ball just doesn’t get the time and care that it should. That’s all there is to it. If Sega had it a priority It’d have a much higher budget and amount of quality. I also grew up with the first two games, so hopefully one day we can back to that quality.
Have you ever played Mercury Meltdown? Watching your Monkey Ball video, it reminded me a lot of that other wacky platformer
i hated that game as a kid. which is to say i thought it was fun but really hard and i never got far.
A forced redemption arc results in them walking anyway. Maybe they find true redemption, maybe they embrace evil.
I got banana mania on sale like 2 months ago and I'm mad now
Someone tell me when this game inevitably goes on sale in like 9 months, as much as I actually like banana mania this looks so much better
I think getting games on sale makes the experience better sometimes though so I might be biased
i love these videos so much. the scars and negative effect that banana blitz had on all of us is very apparent
good video! love the maturity put into this especially with the comments lowk kinda attacking your takes a bit. wishing you the best in your youtube endeavors!!!
Yeah multiplayer challenge mode is a must. Banana Mania missing that feature killed it almost instantly
Make a tier list based on games that Gon Gon is playable
i think you can probably figure out a bit more with just the trailer. if you look at the stage tilt you'll see its slower than in the original, and its one of the reasons why the modern physics suck
Very glad I was able to find your channel through the monkey ball video! Awesome to see the new channel look and I’m hyped to see what you make next!
That ring tone sounds similar to the "tom goes to the mayor"dvd menu music
Unrelated to the video but I just wanna say im glad you changed the Ai art on your channel pfp and banner, it looks alot better now!
Also I think I may have been a little harsh on my comment on the other video, and although I still think you were still a little bit too harsh on Banana Mania I still think I could've toned my comment down a smidge though.
Also Also if you still want a more pixel-art-esque pfp and banner I'm still willing to do it if you want, I also realized you might've though I was asking for money for that but nah I'm actually just really bored and wouldn't mind an excuse to make something tbh
I think the only reason people gave Banana Mania a pass is because it was still marginally better than the string of games that came before it, and monkey ball fans were just desperate for even a single iota of a win. I feel that now it’s coming on 3 years since BM and all the dust has far past settled on it being the “new exciting step in the right direction” people should start to look back on the game more objectively and give it a second thought. Especially now that Banana Rumble is coming out I feel if it’s still to the same lack of quality of BM we might start seeing a different narrative on the current direction of this series. Trust me I want to like BR, I really do. But after being burned by what the last game turned out to be, which mind you BM was a game I myself was genuinely hyped for leading up to release. I just can’t say in good faith that this one is gonna be more than just okay.
bro had me with the SMB1 background noise, lost me at 7mins lol but to each their own.
With all these steps in the right direction we've been getting lately I start to wonder how long the road is until we get to the end?
I lost all faith in this man when he said FE fates was one of his top three
Conquest is an incredible strategy game. Fates is pretty pathetic as an RPG, but if you just skip the dialogue and do ironman or other challenge runs of the game, the map designs, unit progression, and dual strike/pair up mechanics are REALLY good. Granted because the plot sucks and the other 2 routes are nowhere near as good, it's not actually a very GOOD game, but because of how it specifically fits my taste when played the way I like it, it's one of my favorites.
Yakuza kiwami is yakuza 0.5 They yakuza 0'ed yakuza 1. If you can put up with loading screens and ps2 quirks, yakuza 1 is a great game and id argue BETTER than kiwami 1 (if you have taste). i do not enjoy yakuza 2 or kiwami 2 for different reasons.
That's mainly the reason I prefer Kiwami. I know Kiwami has some clunky progression and it's basically a Yakuza 0 rom hack, but the constant loading screens and also just generally being a kinda old PS2 game bring down the Yakuza 1 experience for me.
YOU LIKE FATES??????? WHAT
The dual strike/dual guard system in Fates is incredible. I think Fates has the best gameplay in the entire series, it's just a shame Conquest is the only route with consistently good maps. If we ever reach a day where full fledged ROM hacks of Fates are possible on the same level as the GBA games, I'm excited to see what fans could do with Fates's engine and systems.
I have HATED the physics in Banana Mania since launch. Happy that other ppl enjoy them but the game feels like it’s been coated in molasses compared to the original. The stage tilt speed is painfully slow. Banana rumble looks like the same engine and the stage looks to tilt really slowly still. I dunnnnnnno about this one. We’ll see 🧐
Great video. I just wanted to weigh in on why I hate the "step in the right direction" mindset.
I feel it happens all too often that a game company will put out a mediocre product to "gauge interest" in making a new entry. I know you mentioned this with Banana Blitz HD, it was basically a ransom note.
However, a lot of the time, if these mediocre games get sales, that just tells the company that people will buy mediocre games! It's kind of a flawed mindset that we need to be buying this games to "show our support" and take "steps in the right direction." It is always going to be on SEGA and any other company to make quality games, not for the fans to "encourage" them.
Crab Man didn't even talk about how Aiai wears pants....
I didn't realize there was an issue with mania's physics
The most egregious examples would be playing something like Warp (expert 37) or Jump Machine (expert 6) on the original sequel vs. playing it on Mania.
I don't think the remakes were that bad... Fine tuning the physics in both, and removing the guard rails from the one you can jump in would have went a long way though.
After Playing the First main Story, I will say this game is fine. I played the entire game on default settings and only hated 2 levels because of it ( especially the stupid last one, which was just lazy.) Once you set your inner dead zone, to avoid snap back on a pro remote and remove the camera deadzones in the presets, and going to advance setting and putting all speeds on max, this is the closest feeling to 1 & 2. I'm going to say you can use spin-dash a fair amount, and was extremely intuitive for me at least. Yeah I think default camera is bad, but it wasn't impossible. It only took away from the bowl boost, slinky, and final shitti racing stage. 9.25/10 would recommend, especially if I can just tell fellow vets what the optimal camera settings are.
I really like the boost they're adding, to me it shows an understanding of what made monkey ball great (for me at least) which is cheesing the levels and findng short cuts. But I hope it is something yo can only use once per stage to strategise. I hope it turns out to be good!
You can definitely spam it, theres a meter in the bottom right that fills when you charge and drains when its used
@@JammyJam5588 it might work! we'll have to see how it plays.
Probably not good to spam it, since it slows you down upon build up and time should be counting down.
Because of that, if not used correctly you might loose because of time loss
I'm so relieved to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way about Banana Mania's watered down physics. Snappy movement is the bread and butter of the series, and without it, it's just not Monkey Ball anymore. The new areas and even level design and gimmick of Banana Mania look great, but if the game feels like shit like Mania did, then I won't hesitate to refund it even a few minutes after purchase... Then again, I can't judge the game and complain about it to its fullest if I don't play it all the way, so there's that.
Super Monkey Ball seems to be Sega's second favorite franchise of the modern era, as every few years, they seem to make a new game based on it. While a few other Sega franchises such as Streets of Rage and Alex Kidd did get some new games a few years ago, many others such as Vectorman, Ristar the Shooting Star, and Bug! have yet to get them.
BANANA BLITZ WAS FROM THE YAKUZA STUDIO?
I dunno about Yakuza Kiwami 1&2 being significantly better than the originals lol, maybe looks wise but that's it