It seems to be a big day for Sonic the Hedgehog news as it was earlier revealed that Idris Elba would be playing Knuckles in the upcoming movie, and now Sonic and Tails will be guest appearing in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania.
Unlike most crossovers in games like Fortnite, this will be entirely free and won’t require buying premium currency or trying to win limited time tournaments.
“Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles ‘Tails’ Prower are rolling into Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania as playable characters, free and unlockable on all platforms through normal gameplay at launch!” Publisher Sega writes on Twitter.
It’s worth noting here that Sega is also the publisher for Super Monkey Ball, so it makes sense that the two series would crossover.
This may also be why the character Beat from Jet Set Radio also also appearing in Banana Mania, with that franchise also parked in the Sega stables.
We have to wonder how many more Sega properties will be rolled out for this game. Characters from the Yakuza series? Warhammer 40K? Maybe Bayonetta or Sam Gideon from PlatinumGames’ works.
Anything is a possibility after the Sega-published Two Point Hospital also had Sonic and friends appear in that game just a few weeks ago. On top of the whole pandemic thing we’re now terrified of needing to go to the hospital only to find it manned by people in poorly fitting Sonic costumes.
Back to Super Monkey Ball and what we see in the brief reveal trailer (embedded below) and both Sonic and Tails look rather at home in the art style here. It seems that there won’t just be new skins in the game but also levels created for the crossover.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is slated for release on PC and just about every mainstream console on 5th October 2021. Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S all get access, and PC players can find the game on Steam.
