Just one day after announcing players will be able to shove Hello Kitty into a Monkey Ball following the release of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania next month, Sega has revealed another post-launch DLC character for its simian-rolling platformer: Monster Rancher's Suezo.

For those previously unfamiliar with Koei Tecmo's long-running Monster Rancher series (and I count myself in that number), its blend of sim-like creature-rearing and battling originally debuted on PlayStation back in 1997, meaning next year marks its 25th anniversary.

Koei Tecmo previously revealed it's releasing versions of the first two Monster Rancher games on Switch in the west this December as part of the series' birthday celebrations (the first time Monster Rancher has travelled west in over a decade), but we now know those anniversary festivities will also extend to shoving one of the games' most iconic monsters - yellow one-eyed worm-thing Suezo - into a Monkey Ball too.

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Hello Kitty is the latest character to be announced as paid DLC for the upcoming Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania.

You'll be able to purchase her for $5 on day one of the game's release, 5th October, alongside other DLC.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, an updated compilation of the series' first two legendary games, has a bulging roster of characters to play as. Some of these characters are free. Some of these are not.

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Persona 5's Morgana is the latest playable character coming to Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, Sega has announced, as paid-for post-launch DLC.

Tonight's Gamescom Opening Night Live trailer for the game showed off the game's new feline addition (though also stated his voiceover and background music aren't in the game).

We also got a brief glimpse at the 12 party games included in Banana Mania. (Don't worry, Target is of course there.) The full list includes Monkey Target, Baseball, Tennis, Racing, Fight, Bowling, Golf, Billiards, Soccer, Shot, Boat and Dogfighting.

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Kazuma Kiryu from Yakuza is in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, Sega has announced.

The Yakuza protagonist is a playable character, free and unlockable through normal gameplay on all platforms at launch, Sega said. Trailer is below:

The news comes hot on the heels of confirmation Sonic and Tails are playable in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania. Like, Kazuma Kiryu, Sonic and Tails are free and unlockable via normal gameplay. Selecting them also switches the game's bananas to rings, with the Sonic series' classic sound effects included.

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UPDATE 11/8/21: Sega has finally confirmed the appearance of Sonic and Tails in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, after a previous leak tipped their inclusion.

But while we knew they were coming, today brings word that the pair thankfully won't be DLC - unlike other in-game characters. Both Sonic and Tails will be free and unlockable via normal gameplay. Selecting them also switches the game's bananas to rings, with the Sonic series' classic sound effects included.

The duo's announcement comes a week after Sega revealed Beat from Jet Set Radio would also be included - more on that below. Who's next - Idris Elba?

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UPDATE 15/6/21, 11PM: In much the same way that Sonic made a surprise roly-poly appearance in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD, it looks like the blue hedgehog will be making a playable return in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania - and this time with Tails in tow.

One enterprising internet sleuth (as spotted by Sonic fan site Sonic Stadium) has gone a-poking around Sega's newly launched Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania website and - presumably through a combination of curiosity, cunning, and guesswork - uncovered currently hidden art for a potentially playable Sonic and Tails.

You can see for yourself! Scroll down to the Characters section and you'll find six boxes, each showcasing one of Monkey Ball's familiar playable roster. Conspicuously though, the site layout leaves enough room for two more characters - and manually altering the image paths so portrait and in-ball art ends in sonic.png or tails.png reveals hidden Sonic and Tails versions of both:

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Sega's much-missed Super Monkey Ball series looks set for a return, thanks to a leaked (and now deleted) game listing.

Gematsu reported on a listing for a game titled "Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania" briefly being visible via the Australian Classification Board. The page now returns an error.

Hopes for a new Super Monkey Ball game have been high since 2019's re-release of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A remake of the series' so-so Wii entry, it marked Sega's return to the franchise after a break of more than five years.

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No, you read that right, there's now a fan game combining Super Monkey Ball and Wolfenstein 3D. It wouldn't be the top of my list for potential crossovers, but somehow, it works.

Made by Nickireda and published on Itch.io, Return to Castle Monkey Ball is a free browser game that lets you smash Nazis in a hamster ball to your heart's content. So yes, it's the perfect antidote to last week's news. The fan game has the classic Super Monkey Ball timer, goal and banana collection mechanics, but smacking into Nazis can earn you extra time... if you can avoid getting shot by them first. You only get three lives to make it through the stages, but there are health item pickups along the way to help you through.

I gave the first few levels a go and it's a truly bizarre collision of worlds, while moving around the maze can be rather trippy. My main tip: don't let those Nazis box you in.

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For reasons unclear (but not unappreciated), Sega has released a new update for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD on Steam, enabling players to ditch their traditional roly-poly spheres and take a tumble using rather less ergonomic cubes, triangles, and even stars.

Sega announced the new feature over on Super Monkey Ball's Japanese Twitter page, explaining that AiAi's traditionally spherical mode of transport can be altered while on the game's character select screen by typing "cube", "triangle", or "star" with a keyboard. If all goes well, you should hear a confirmatory sound effect.

According to Sega, the feature will only work during Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD's main game, and there are no guarantees that it'll be possible to clear every stage while tumbling around in a non-regulation Monkey Ball. In order to return to AiAi's regular ride, players simply need to exit the main game or enter "sphere" while on the character select screen.

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Sega's solid, if not exactly much-requested, remake of 2006 Wii game Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz will be making its way to PC next Tuesday, 10th December.

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD, as the remake is officially known, features 100 single-player stages of tumble-based navigation, 10 mini-games (down from the original version's 50), a Decathlon mode that challenges players to complete 10 mini-games in a row, and online leaderboards - all spruced-up with enhanced visuals.

The imminent Steam release adds the expected array of graphics settings (including various frame rate, resolution and display options), plus support for controllers alongside keyboard and mouse. There're also achievements, Steam Trading Cards, and Steam Cloud support. Oh, and a banana mouse cursor, if that's the kind of thing that toots your fruit.

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