For the last few weeks, Sega has been hyping its upcoming Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania. Many of the announcements have been regarding the many guest characters from the company's back catalogue that will be appearing. These guest appearances include its iconic mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, to more modern classics like Morgana from Persona 5. The most recent of these DLC characters to be shown is an iconic character from Koei Tecmo's Monster Rancher series.
Monster Rancher first came out on the PlayStation in 1997, known as Monster Farm in Japan. Monster Rancher revolves around the player raising a series of monsters in the game that can be used to fight, with several different breeds and skills. The first two Monster Rancher games will be re-released with modern tweaks later this year, after many requests around the world, and now it's been confirmed that the franchise's mascot monster Suezo will be appearing as a post-launch DLC Character in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania.
Suezo are creatures that have appeared in every single Monster Rancher title to date, being a single eye on a stalk. They're obtained at the start of every game, but considered difficult to raise due to their selfish personalities. With their frequent appearances and early captureable status, they're considered the mascot of the franchise. They'll be "joining the gang" as Sega puts it, rolling around levels in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, despite only having a single stalk as a leg. Suez will be available as DLC for purchase starting October 19th at $4.99.
A short teaser trailer was put out recently, showing how the game's aesthetics change when Suezo is used. Much like other guest characters in Banana Mania, the collectable Bananas will be changed to something that matches the character's home series. In the case of Suezo, their collectable will be changed to a CDs. These stem from Monster Rancher's ability to create monsters through these items, which in-game are known as "Disc Stones." The monster can also be seen reacting while inside the ball, with them trying to turn its whole body when trying to make hard turns, or hopping on its one leg to gain momentum. The eye will also react when Suezo crosses the goal line, with a big smile with its tongue out.
All these unique guest characters for this upcoming Super Monkey Ball game makes it stand out in comparison. The games are considered somewhat niche in comparison, but this game is showing the amount of love that Sega is essentially making its own inter-company crossover. The inclusion of other guests like Hello Kitty is proving Sega isn't afraid to make some crossovers outside of its company too, and looking to celebrate Super Monkey Ball's anniversary in style.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania launches for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 5, 2021.