History YMMV / SuperMonkeyBall

* FanNickname: Fans tend to refer to the worlds of ''1'' & ''2'' by their names in ''2[=s=]'' file directory. For example the arctic world from ''1'' is refereed to as "Ice" while Jungle Island from ''2'' is refereed to as "Jungle 2".

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The original duology (plus ''Deluxe'' by nature of porting them) was so NintendoHard in due part because of the classic arcade lives and continue system, where many players will likely not even ''see'' the toughest courses the games have to offer without cheats or seeing them online. ''Banana Mania'' does away with that in favor of infinite lives, focusing more on the sheer skill of a timely clear and points as well as numerous mission objectives for specific and difficult clear methods. You can also use accumulated points to skip levels to get to the ones you really want to practice faster, and even call in a Helper Function for a level line guide and a slow-motion button to be able to properly learn stages; both still require you to play the game instead of cheesing by, using either will lock you from running certain EX Levels in that run while the Helper Function cancels out saving a record time or the like, and the Challenge Modes still require the player to do ''[[MarathonLevel everything]]'' in one playthrough or start over from the first stage again.

* FirstInstallmentWins: A case where the first ''two'' installments win. You'll rarely see anyone talk about any of the games beyond them as something to note; once the original developer, Amusement Vision, was folded into the rest of Sega following attempts to severely downsize their developers to save on budgets, the series sprung for the {{Waggle}} of the Wii and the more general party markets involved with ''Banana Blitz'', cutting back on the minigames and simplifying level design significantly to accommodate for motion controls and strongly hitting what many to be consider little more than Sequelitis territory. ''1'' and ''2'' (plus ''Deluxe'' by association, even if a bit of a PortingDisaster) are still held to this day as the only games really worth playing in the series, besides their literal VideoGameRemake of ''Banana Mania''.

* AudienceAlienatingEra: It's not like the ''Monkey Ball'' games between ''Banana Blitz'' all the way to its VideoGameRemake are bad, strictly speaking, and they do have their fans, but the games barely hold any resemblance to the duology that started the franchise beyond "monkeys in balls navigate courses with energetic music," and it ended up turning away virtually all of the fans that enjoyed the originals as a result. There's a reason why ''Banana Mania'' was heralded as the series revival almost entirely by RevistingTheRoots.

* PortingDisaster: Like many Sega games, the [=PlayStation=] 2 version of Deluxe suffers noticeably. The game not only runs at a slower 30 FPS, but it also has serious LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading problems, particularly with death and stage transitions in the main game mode.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The original duology (plus ''Deluxe'' by nature of porting them) was so NintendoHard in due part because of the classic arcade lives and continue system, where many players will likely not even ''see'' the toughest courses the games have to offer without cheats or seeing them online. ''Banana Mania'' does away with that in favor of infinite lives, focusing more on the sheer skill of a timely clear and points as well as numerous mission objectives for specific and difficult clear methods. You can also use accumulated points to skip levels to get to the ones you really want to practice faster, and even call in a Helper Function for a level line guide and a slow-motion button to be able to properly learn stages; both still require you to play the game instead of cheesing by, and the Challenge Modes still require the player to do ''[[MarathonLevel everything]]'' in one playthrough or start over from the first stage again.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: After years of motion gimmicks, the series not being what the fans wanted it to be and ''Banana Blitz HD'' really just being a remaster of the already-mediocre motion control titles, ''Banana Mania'' is effectively a gigantic CompilationRerelease of the first two games plus ''Deluxe'', merging all three of their levels with bonus modes galore. While the physics aren't quite super accurate, the levels have been tweaked with this in mind, and it's a clear labor of love to the games that started the series. About the biggest fault most reviewers found was the Party minigames being incredibly lackluster in feel and design, especially the fan-favorite Monkey Target.

* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: In ''2'', [[NarmCharm the story mode cutscenes are quite narmy,]] and you'll most likely watch them just for a good laugh. It doesn't help that the cutscenes can also be bought with play points and can be seen anytime.

** The announcement that ''Banana Blitz'' was getting a HD remake for all current generation consoles has been met with a lot of division. On the one hand, people are happy about the news because they're happy to see Monkey Ball return to the big screen (the last Monkey Ball game to be released on a console was ''Step & Roll'', which released all the way back in 2010) as well as seeing the franchise return to it's original form (the last Monkey Ball game was ''Monkey Ball Bounce'', which was a spin-off game that played completely differently from the mainline games and was '''NOT''' received well by the fanbase). On the other hand though, the people that are not so happy about the announcement are disappointed because they would have much preferred to see the much more well-received UsefulNotes/GameCube games get a HD remake or would have preferred a brand new game entirely. [[note]] Those wishing for the UsefulNotes/GameCube games to get an HD remake had their wishes fulfilled with the announcement of ''Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania'', though. [[/note]]

** ''Step and Roll'' had a giant spike between worlds 6 and 7. World 6 had a lot of easy stages that aren't too hard, but World 7 is much more challenging.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** In ''Banana Splitz'' for the PS Vita, they brought back the same arcade-esque style of Challenge Mode like it was back in the [=GameCube=] days[[note]]10 easy stages, 30 intermediate stages, and 50 hard stages[[/note]], and had a reasonable amount of minigames[[note]]8, 9 if you include the level editor, in comparison to Banana Blitz's 50 minigames and 3D's measly 2[[/note]]. Critics and fans praised this for making the game more like the well-acclaimed [=GameCube=] titles.
** Much of the original criticisms with the original release of ''Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz'' were addressed with the HD remaster. Notably changing the control scheme to a more traditional button layout and adjusting the levels to have less rails to make them more challenging, putting it more in-line with the earlier ''Super Monkey Ball'' titles on the [=GameCube=]. The infamous glitch in stage 10-5 is patched in this version.
** The announcement of ''Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania'', a CompilationRerelease, at E3 2021 certainly qualifies for this since it will include ''Super Monkey Ball'', ''2'', and ''Deluxe''. Considered the most acclaimed games in the series, they did not have any sort of re-release since ''Deluxe''.
** When people saw the controversial jumping mechanic from Banana Blitz was in Banana Mania's trailer the developer through the Super Monkey Ball Instagram account assured fans by replying that jumping would be turned off by default and is entirely optional.
** Sega went out of their way to confirm that the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch version of Banana Mania would run at 60 frames per second, as well as have gyroscopic controls.

* GoodBadBugs: In the first 2 games, if you break the goal tape EXACTLY when you get a time over, when you restart the stage the game would read it as the final stage. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJdXwv-rblA See for yourself]]

* {{Speedrun}}: The first two games and any of their [[UpdatedReRelease re-releases]] have a niche, but dedicated community for this. It helps that there's an incredible amount of ways to [[WreakingHavok exploit the physics engine]] and [[DungeonBypass skip the intended way to solve the stages]] in the process.

* EightPointEight: Though the first two UsefulNotes/GameCube games have gotten great reviews from IGN (an 8.3 and 9.0 respectively), for some reason the people at IGN downright ''despise'' the music and sound effects, citing it as repetitive and uninspired, and giving most games in the franchise at around 6 out of 10 in the sound category. The reviews were made in the early 2000's, [[VindicatedByHistory so it's possible this may no longer be the case with IGN.]]

* TastesLikeDiabetes: It's a game about cutesy monkeys rolling around in hamster balls. Total no-brainer.

* EightPointEight: Though the first two UsefulNotes/GameCube games have gotten great reviews from IGN (an 8.3 and 9.0 respectively), for some reason the people at IGN downright ''despise'' the music and sound effects, citing it as repetitive an uninspired, and giving most games in the franchise at around 6 out of 10 in the sound category. The reviews were made in the early 2000's, [[VindicatedByHistory so it's possible this may no longer be the case with IGN.]]

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Creator/{{Sega}} thought that the series would be a big hit in Japan, because [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys monkeys.]] But due to the [=GameCube=]'s poor sales in Japan, it became a CultClassic in the United States. To this day the American fanbase for the game is much larger than elsewhere.

** Octopocus from Stage 5 of ''Banana Blitz''. His boss arena is incredibly small and has no safety features whatsoever, meaning it's ridiculously easy to fall of the stage. Tiny octopus minions will [[ZergRush constantly swarm from]] the edges of the arena, making it easy to get bumped off by them. Then when he actually shows up, the difficulty gets turned UpToEleven. His tentacles span the entire stage and constantly move around, blocking your path from all directions and trying to knock you off the stage. His weak point has a strange hitbox and is very difficult to hit with all the tentacles showing up. His actual attacks cover a wide area and can knock you off the stage if you so much as touch them. And, he is prone to retreating into the ocean and then jumping on top of you, instantly knocking you off the map. There's a reason why most people consider him the hardest boss in the entire game.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Creator/{{Sega}} thought that the series would be a big hit in Japan, because EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys monkeys.]] But due to the [=GameCube=]'s poor sales in Japan, it became a CultClassic in the United States. To this day the American fanbase for the game is much larger than elsewhere.

** Who expected Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog to be playable in Banana Blitz HD, specifically in his Classic design? In addition to his return, Banana Mania even going out of its way to add Tails into the roaster.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Normally subverted -- the games appears to be honest about its age rating, but they could invoke the trope [[TrialAndErrorGameplay for]] [[PlatformHell much]] [[NintendoHard different]] [[ThatOneLevel reasons]].

** Much of the original criticisms with the original release of ''Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz'' were addressed with the HD remaster. Notably changing the control scheme to a more traditional button layout and adjusting the levels to have less rails to make them more challenging, putting it more in-line with the earlier ''Super Monkey Ball'' titles on the [=GameCube=]. The infamous glitch in stage 10-5 is also fixed in this version.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Creator/{{Sega}} thought that the series would be a big hit in Japan, because [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter mon]][[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys keys.]] But due to the [=GameCube=]'s poor sales in Japan, it became a CultClassic in the United States. To this day the American fanbase for the game is much larger then the Japanese fanbase.

* HilariousInHindsight:

* MemeticMutation:

* {{Squick}}:

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: Normally subverted, the game is honest about its age rating [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything (title not withstanding)]], but it could invoke the trope [[TrialAndErrorGameplay for]] [[PlatformHell much]] [[NintendoHard different]] [[ThatOneLevel reasons]].

** Speedrunners tend to always pick Baby (due to him being the smallest, allowing for the most accuracy).

* {{Speedrunning}}: The first two games and any of their [[UpdatedReRelease re-releases]] have a niche, but dedicated community for this. It helps that there's an incredible amount of ways to [[WreakingHavok exploit the physics engine]] and [[DungeonBypass skip the intended way to solve the stages]] in the process.

* AlasPoorScrappy: Ale'wat from ''Super Monkey Adventure'' is highly disliked for being such a brat, but it's not hard to feel sorry for him when he gets carried away into the sky by his balloons with no indication of what happens to him.

** In ''Banana Splitz'' for the PS Vita, they brought back the same arcade-esque style of Challenge Mode like it was back in the [=GameCube=] days[[note]]10 easy stages, 30 intermediate stages, and 50 hard stages[[/note]], and had a reasonable amount minigames[[note]]8, 9 if you include the level editor, in comparison to Banana Blitz's 50 minigames and 3D's measly 2[[/note]]. Critics and fans praised this for making the game more like the well-acclaimed [=GameCube=] titles.

** ''Banana Mania'' made changes to how the original game controlled, [[CameraScrew particularly with how the camera moves]], that many find don't gel with the stage designs and can make things considerably harder, even though they were likely done to have the opposite effect. More smoothed out stage tilting makes areas that need slow and careful movements a bit easier, but removes the precision needed for speedrunning strategies and makes it take longer to get to full speed. The camera changes have it swinging around much more in response to smaller movements, making the many stages with tightropes much more frustrating since trying to correct yourself will make it violently jerk from side to side, and falling great distances doesn't have the camera point down far enough for you to actually ''see what's directly below you''.