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Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania has Yakuza customisation options, including clothing and a skin for the monkey ball.
Super Monkey Ball producer Masao Shirosaki has been sharing clips of Banana Mania gameplay on Twitter ever since the game was first announced, revealing several details about the game that the trailers haven't shown. One feature coming to Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is character customisation, and we've now seen another Sega property that'll be making an appearance.
In a new Tweet dedicated to showing off the new photo mode, Shirosaki shows off a Yakuza-themed Monkey Ball. Ai-Ai is sat inside a Monkey Ball that has Yakuza protagonist Kiryu's tattoo emblazoned on the back of it. Ai-Ai is also wearing a Yakuza shirt, confirming that Yakuza representation is included in the game. It's not quite Kiryu in a Monkey Ball, but it's still nice to see. The Tweet also mentions that the items are pre-order exclusives for GEO, whilst Rakuten gets a Fantasy Zone styled t-shirt and ball. It's not clear if we'll get them worldwide.
Fan reactions to the inclusion have been positive over on Twitter, with many hoping that it opens the way to more items from the games, including Majima, Saejima, and Ichiban's tattoos. Other fans are hoping that it leads to more Sega representation within the game, which isn't too unlikely considering the team has managed to get Yakuza in the game, of all things.
The Twitter post also gives us a look at the game's photo mode, which seems like a pretty basic way of pausing the action and not too much else. Shirosaki's Tweet said, "I tried playing with customized parts. The dragon is cool!"
Yakuza isn't the only Sega franchise that's being represented in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania. Sonic and Tails appear to be making appearances as playable characters, as images of the two in Monkey Balls were found on the game's website. The digital deluxe version of the game also states that it comes with old Sega consoles like the Dreamcast as customisation options.