Roll Around Like… The Dragon of Dojima?

There was already a lot of reason to be excited about Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania when it releases October 5th. Bringing over 300 levels from Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, and Super Monkey Ball Deluxe together looks like the most promising decision the series’ has made in over a decade. Now there’s one more reason to be excited.

The legendary Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu will be a playable character in the collection. That’s right, you can roll around in a ball as a chibi version of the beloved protagonist of the Yakuza franchise.

While a bit of tonal whiplash is to be expected here, that’s half the fun. It won’t be entirely a palate swap either. Instead of chasing after bananas like a silly monkey, Kiryu looks to be gathering Staminan X, a healing item from the Yakuza series. Okay, maybe that’s just another palate swap, but it goes beyond just the character.

Kiryu is the latest character to join this collection. In recent weeks Sega revealed other beloved characters joining the game such as Beat from the Jet Set Radio series and Sonic and Tails. They’ll each collect items unique to their games as well, such as rings for Sonic and Tails.

Who else could be set to join what is quickly becoming a Sega family reunion? Someone like Ulala from Space Channel 5 feels like she’d fit right in. We’ll be sure to let you know if more are revealed. Check out a trailer for Kiryu in Banana Mania below.