You read that right, it’s a red and white machine. The console your dad used to play Contra when he was a kid. Now, from Elite Beat Agents and Oshinin! fighting! The former developers of “Cheering Group” established a new team, Work3 Studio, and made a high-profile debut with a “new” Famicom game “Banana Bash!”.
This is a single-screen puzzle action game with a monkey as the protagonist, mixing the Pacman thrill of Gremlins with the strategic elements of sliding blocks. Players have to rely on the “inertial movement” mechanism to dodge enemies and eat fruits. They can dodge left and right in a map full of traps, fly up and down, and beat the enemy at the same time.
And all of this will run completely on the “real red and white machine”. That’s right, it’s not a simulator, it’s not a tribute – it’s a real cassette, a real machine, a real manual, and a real box. Officials stated that the game will be loaded on a 4 Megabit cartridge, making it one of the most “super-large-capacity” works in the history of the Famicom.
The Kickstarter page has been released first, it is expected to officially start raising funds in June 2025, at which time players will be the first to support this crazy retro masterpiece. According to the information released so far, “Banana Bash!” will include the following features:
- 4 Megabit super card cassette: It is larger than most NES games in the past, and the content is rich as you can imagine.
- Two player battle mode：Compete head-to-head with friends, who is the king of monkeys?
- Combo and ranking system: Play well and score high; more combos and higher ratings, suitable for players who pursue extreme scores.
- There are so many level features: Turntable, rotating pole, wall breaking, bouncing bricks, teleportation hole… Not only can you run, but you can also use it to deal with enemies.
- Speed clearance friendly: Each level can be practiced repeatedly to study the best path, satisfying Speedrun enthusiasts.
- An exciting sound and picture experience: 8-bit style art with modern rhythmic BGM, and the percussion sound effects will be synchronized with the rhythm.
Although everyone may have been addicted to the new world of Switch 2 by June 2025, it is also a kind of healing to occasionally reflect on the crazy era of Famicom. Especially when this game is still developed by the original team that brought you enthusiastic support back then──now you have reason to look forward to it, right?