A Trials-Like Racer with a Monkey Twist
Monkeys? Bananas? Say no more. Just like when SEGA chucked a few little simians into transparent balls and set players to work collecting bananas, Bananitro combines these excellent game components, albeit in a different way.
Bananitro is the first game by Little Giant, a developer and publisher who have brought together the frankly irresistible combination of monkeys and bananas, as well as chucking bicycles into the mix. The result? A series of increasingly tricky courses to navigate in order to reach the finish cannon.
Physics, Flips, and the ‘Bananitro’ Boost
This is a runner game which reminded me immediately of the mighty Trials series, which is no bad thing at all. This is because the aim of each level is to keep your monkey on the track, avoiding obstacles, clearing jumps, and lining the bicycle wheels up to execute the perfect landing and avoid crashing out. Oh, and you can pull off some mid-air flips too if you are brave enough.
This means physics are all important in Bananitro, and are somewhat erratic at times. Jumping wildly varies depending on which part of a bend or ramp you launch from, and the trajectory doesn’t always feel logical. Also, jumping in itself can be a little hit and miss, sometimes not registering at all if you are too close to the edge of the rail.
In Bananitro there are thirty levels to master across three different biomes. In each you are challenged to collect all of the bananas, as well as finishing the level before the time runs out. Failing either of these doesn’t mean you’ll have to try again, but it will prevent you from getting the maximum three stars on offer on each track.
Boosting for Success
In order to guarantee success you’ll need to make the most of the titular Bananitro, which is also the name of your speed boost, but to fill it you’ll need to collect bananas as you whizz through each stage. Just because you have some in the tank doesn’t necessarily mean you should use it either, as different sections of the level need to be approached at different speeds to prevent you spinning off course.
Bananitro adopts the retro pixel style for the tracks themselves, with a smoother, more detailed approach to the backgrounds. However, it’s the funky music that I enjoyed the most, successfully walking that fine line between being catchy and irritating.
Challenges and Difficulty
I had a good time with Bananitro but it didn’t quite gel together as well as I’d like. What I mean by that is I could rarely jump in and play a level from start to finish, relying on my reflexes and reacting to the hazards as they pop up. Instead through many failed runs, I ended up clearing the more difficult levels by learning the sequence of what was coming. Perhaps a wider field of vision would have helped.
Still, it’s refreshing that Bananitro offers a healthy challenge overall. To put it bluntly, you’ll die often. If you’re a perfectionist like me, and couldn’t move onto the next level until you collected every banana, you’ll hit the view button quickly, and repeatedly, to restart the level. This extends the playtime a wee bit, however it would have been nice to have a few more levels chucked in as it won’t take you long to blast through the thirty on offer. Still, at that classic £4.19 price point, it’s hard to complain too much.
Although the achievements aren’t as ridiculously easy as some other games of Bananitro’s ilk, they are very generous when it comes to doling out the Gamerscore. You’ll be rewarded for hitting the maximum three stars, but also for simply jumping and dying. 2000G does feel a little overkill, but I’m sure (like me) you’ll take it.
Monkeys and Bananas!
Overall, there’s a lot to like about Bananitro and it would be good to see more in the future. The components are all there, but the execution falters at times, resulting in an experience which regularly swings from being good fun, to feeling like a chore.
Important Links
Eat Bananas, Go FAST! Quirky 2D Runner Bananitro Speeds onto Xbox and PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/eat-bananas-go-fast-quirky-2d-runner-bananitro-speeds-onto-xbox-and-pc/
Buy an Optimised for Series X|S version – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/bananitro/9MSSS2R6HTT4/0010
Go and grab an Xbox One edition – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/bananitro-xbox-one/9P8LF72PJRF8/0010
