A new Super Monkey Ball game may be on the way! Sega has trademarked Tabegoro! Super Monkey Ball in Japan, hinting that some kind of new release in the adorable franchise may well be in development. “Tabegoro” means “ripe” or “good to eat” which certainly makes for an appropriate addition to a fresh title for the franchise.
Gematsu reports that SEGA filed a trademark for the new Super Monkey Ball game in Japan. The trademark was filed on April 16, 2019, and is (unsurprisingly) categorized in the general entertainment categories that video games usually fall under. If this game is indeed in development, it would be the first new Super Monkey Ball game released in nearly five years.
Super Monkey Ball is a relatively straightforward game. A monkey is encased within a transparent ball. (Also, he may or may not be super.) Players can tilt the game world with their controller, causing the monkey to roll through the level. The ultimate goal in most titles in the franchise is to navigate through the level, avoid obstacles, and make it all the way to the finish line before time runs out.
The most recent game in the Super Monkey Ball franchise was Super Monkey Ball Bounce, a mobile title with gameplay closer to that of Peggle than other titles of the franchise. Super Monkey Ball Bounce was pulled from mobile stores roughly a year after its release. The last title that stayed true to the franchise’s roots was Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz for the PS Vita.
Unfortunately, the trademark does not have much more in the way of details other than the name, the trademark category, and the filing date. Filing trademarks is a pricey process, but large media companies often play it safe and file them for any kind of project in development. It’s entirely possible that the release of this game won’t pan out; while we do know that this is some kind of entertainment, we also can’t be entirely certain that this new Super Monkey Ball game will see the light of day.
