Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD sales ‘could lead to further remasters’

Sales of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD could lead to further series remakes or even a new game, according to the title’s director.

The HD edition of 2006’s Banana Blitz features updated graphics, optimised control schemes and online leaderboards.

The game is out now for consoles and will be released for PC in the next few months. According to director Masao Shirosaki, sales of the title will determine the future of the Monkey Ball franchise.

“When considering how to bring Super Monkey Ball to modern platforms with the limited time and budget we had, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz was the most reasonable option,” he told Crunchy Roll.

“13 years ago was before I joined Sega; I’m really grateful for the fans who still support the Monkey Ball series after all these years, and who motivate me to create only the best for them.

“And of course, I am aware that the most favoured titles are the first two games. If there is enough support for Banana Blitz HD, this will open up doors for remaking the first two games or even a whole new title to the series. But for now, I’d be happy if everyone has fun playing Banana Blitz HD.”

Super Monkey Ball first appeared as a Nintendo GameCube launch title. The game has players tilting a series of increasingly difficult 3D mazes, with the goal of guiding their monkey-in-a-ball to the end goal.

The most recent entry in the classic puzzle action series, which is also known for its inventive mini-games, was 2014’s Super Monkey Ball Bounce for mobile devices.

Its last console release was 2012’s Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz for Vita, while you have to go back to 2010’s Step & Roll on Wii for its most recent home console instalment.

Super Monkey Ball was originally directed by Toshihiro Nagoshi, the Sega designer who went on to helm its popular Yakuza series.