I was totally vibin' with this and considering it a perfectly satisfying portable Monkey Ball experience (note: I have not played the original GCN games) up until the first level of the "advanced" courses completely filtered me. If it takes 5 continues to beat Level 1-1 then I simply do not care to experience the rest of those levels!

Side note: this era of gaming gives me serious "dead mall" vibes at times. For instance, the top-level menu of this game has a dedicated Facebook icon that, when selected, tells you that its functionality, whatever that used to be, is no longer supported. Had the same experience with Touch My Katamari and its "near"-powered Buddy Plaza. Feelin' like a ghost in the machine with how many Vita features just no longer work in 2024.

sadly this is probably the best modern monkey ball game not that it's saying a lot. physics feel okay, but with the vita's smaller and more awkward control stick it's hard to get that pinpoint precision required in the harder levels. mandatory touch controls for menuing and shit is lame and intrusive. has the same look/vibe issues I have with most modern monkey ball. level design is okay sometimes but the difficult levels don't have that same excitement to them, they feel more frustrating and poorly designed to me. idk, newer monkey ball just kinda bums me out. i was so obsessed with the first 2 games as a kid and it's sad how often they've tried and just not even come a little close to those.

The structure to this game is really weird, why is it split into 4 difficulties you have to beat individually, with the world themes being the same? Eh anyways, I did enjoy the challenge mode to this and will probably check out the other modes! It would definitely be nice to see this get a port as being locked to the PSVita is something I wish on no game at all. I imagine playing this with motion controls makes this a 1/5 game but I played with joysticks and it was enjoyable! Definitely not perfect, especially the Advanced levels but a well worth game for any Monkey Ball fan to try, if they can that is.

A far cry from the GameCube originals. Banana Splitz's level design is dull, simplistic, and uninspired. The difficulty has been watered down immensely, with most stages just requiring you to lean semi-carefully in one direction for 20 seconds.

Most of the difficulty comes from poor camera and object placement. There are many instances where it's difficult to make a calculated movement because the player's view is obstructed (e.g., the first level in expert mode). It always felt like my fault when I died in SMB 1 and 2, but that isn't the case here.

I'll never forgive SEGA for how they've mishandled this franchise.

As a PlayStation Vita exclusive, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz launched in 2012 with the intent to make full use of all of the Vita's several touch and gyroscopic features. While this made sense given the gaming landscape at the time and the games exclusivity on the Vita, touch and motion controls are not the way to experience the Super Monkey Ball series on a handheld. The left analog stick is far superior to any motion control, regardless of console, and allows for more control over the speed and location of the ball. Furthermore, the required integration of touch controls to nearly ever menu in the game makes menu navigation a chore rather than a snappy and easy process. Overall, the touch and motion controls in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz are fine additions, but are ultimately unwarranted and make little impact when the best way to play the game is still with an analog stick.

As I have never played any other Super Monkey Ball game, I don't believe I have much to say regarding level design in this game. I have nothing to compare the levels to, so I can only say that the levels seemed fair and were a fun challenge.

Overall, I'm not sure Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz was the best way to finally give this series a try, but my time with this game was well spent and served as a great time waster on an otherwise long and boring flight.