Hello Kitty’s next step in world domination is a playable Super Monkey Ball cameo

Hello, $4.99 DLC

Hello Kitty and Sanrio are still pretty big. Bigger than an in-house Persona cameo in many countries! And now the worldwide phenomenon is coming to the next iteration of Super Money Ball.

When Banana Mania arrives on October 5, so too will Hello Kitty. She’ll be a $4.99 DLC just like Morgana, but in this case the premium actually makes sense because it’s not a Sega crossover. Like the other playable characters, Hello Kitty will come with a signature “banana collectible;” an apple.

As a reminder, so far we have Beat, Morgana, Kiryu, and Sonic/Tails as playable characters, with a smattering of free and premium content. Sega says this is “one of the last” announcements, so there’s more to come. But no doubt Hello Kitty is one of the biggest so far. While Hello Kitty is easily the most recognizable character of the Sanrio stable, I can’t help but wonder how cool it would have been to see Aggretsuko take the stage, with both mild-mannered and angry forms: and musical note collectibles.

The publisher also reminds us that there will be free upgrades for current-gen editions if you decide to pick up the newer version later. Microsoft’s end will just work with Smart Delivery, and there will be a PS5 upgrade (likely on the PSN Store) for “no extra cost.”