Remakes don't have to be reserved for sprawling blockbusters, Polygon argues in a new retrospective — and Sega has an obvious candidate sitting in its vault: Super Monkey Ball, which the outlet calls the publisher's most influential platformer.

The piece lands as the GameCube-era classic marks 25 years, a milestone that invites the question of why shorter, pick-up-and-play games keep getting passed over in the remake gold rush. Polygon's case is that quicker plays from yesteryear could benefit from modern treatment just as much as hundred-hour epics — maybe more, since their appeal is timeless by design.

Sega has shown an appetite for reviving its catalog in recent years, but the monkey-in-a-ball series has mostly seen compilations and ports rather than a ground-up reimagining. If the publisher is looking for a low-risk, high-nostalgia project, the retrospective makes the pitch for it.