Super Monkey Ball

Last updated
Super Monkey Ball
Super Monkey Ball logo.png
Logo used from 2006–2019
Genre(s)
Developer(s) Amusement Vision (2000–2004)
Sega (2005–2012)
Traveller's Tales (2006)
Marvelous AQL (2012–2018)
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio (2019–present)
Publisher(s) Sega
Creator(s) Toshihiro Nagoshi
Platform(s)
First release Monkey Ball
June 23, 2001
Latest release Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble
June 25, 2024

Super Monkey Ball is a series of arcade platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game Monkey Ball, which was ported to GameCube as Super Monkey Ball later that year. Several sequels and ports have been released.

Contents

The gameplay involves moving one of several monkey characters in a ball through an obstacle to a goal in a time limit. Bananas can be collected for extra points. In addition, several minigames can be played, making the series party games as well.

Games

Release timeline
2001Monkey Ball
Super Monkey Ball
2002 Super Monkey Ball 2
Super Monkey Ball Jr.
2003Super Monkey Ball (N-Gage)
2004
2005 Super Monkey Ball Deluxe
Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll
2006 Super Monkey Ball Adventure
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
2007Super Monkey Ball: Tip 'n Tilt
2008Super Monkey Ball (iOS)
Super Monkey Ball: Tip 'n Tilt 2
2009Super Monkey Ball 2 (iOS)
2010Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition
Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll
2011Super Monkey Ball: Ticket Blitz
Super Monkey Ball 3D
2012 Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz
2013
2014Super Monkey Ball Bounce
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019 Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD
2020
2021 Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania
2022
2023
2024 Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble

Gameplay

As opposed to normal games where the player takes control of the character itself, Super Monkey Ball has the player move their character around in a gachapon ball by tilting the direction gravity pulls them down (the exception of this being Super Monkey Ball Adventure). By tilting gravity at various angles, players can control the speed and turning of the character. The goal of each level is to reach the goal gate before the timer runs out, and without falling off the floor. Bonus points and extra lives can be earned by collecting bananas on the stage. Early games use traditional controllers to play while many recent titles utilize modern technology, such as the accelerometers of the Wii and iPhone titles. The gameplay is similar to Atari Games' 1984 arcade video game Marble Madness .

Characters

From left to right: MeeMee, Baby, AiAi and GonGon Super Monkey Monkey Ball characters.jpg
From left to right: MeeMee, Baby, AiAi and GonGon

The original Monkey Ball arcade cabinet featured three playable characters: the primary protagonist AiAi, his wife MeeMee, and their son Baby, who has traveled back in time from the future; a fourth, AiAi's best friend and former rival GonGon, was added in the game's GameCube port, Super Monkey Ball . [6] [7] These four have become the primary characters of the series, appearing in every subsequent title to date. Two new characters, the martial artist lemur YanYan and the amnesiac scientist Doctor, were introduced in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz , while another two, athletic trainer Jam and AiAi's archrival Jet, first appeared in Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll and Super Monkey Ball 3D , respectively. Another character was introduced in Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble named Palette, an adventurer. Several games feature unlockable variations of these characters wearing alternate costumes, along with occasional guest playable characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog. Some games such as Super Monkey Ball 2 and Super Monkey Ball Adventure have also featured various non-player characters, such as the villainous Dr. Bad-Boon, a scientist from Baby's time who travels to the past to prevent MeeMee from marrying AiAi and take her as his bride. [6]

Characters from the Super Monkey Ball series have been featured in other Sega titles. AiAi has appeared as a playable character in Sonic Riders and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing , while both AiAi and MeeMee make playable appearances in Sega Superstars Tennis and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed . AiAi was also featured in Archie Comics' adaptation of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed in issue #45 of Sonic Universe .

Legacy

As of December 8, 2006, the franchise has sold 4 million copies. [8]

The iOS version in 2008 was one of the first games on the App Store and was the best selling app on launch day. [9]

In 2009, Edge ranked the first Super Monkey Ball #39 on its list of "The 100 Best Games To Play Today". [10] Writing in 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die , Christian Donlan described Super Monkey Ball as "one of Sega's grade-A triumphs". [11] An enhanced engine of the GameCube games was used in F-Zero GX , [12] which was critically acclaimed [13] and Nintendo considered a step forward for the franchise. [14] The developers of Super Monkey Ball went on to make the Like a Dragon series. [15] [16]

When commenting on the differences of the franchise between the GameCube games and the Wii entries with Banana Blitz and Step & Roll in a Tokyo Game Show 2009 interview, Toshihiro Nagoshi stated that they were made easier for kids and families. However, he stated that if they got the chance, they definitely would like to go back and make a game in the style of the old games that particularly the fans overseas want. [17] Due to the older demographic of the PlayStation Vita, the difficulty for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz was made more on par with the GameCube entries. [18]

In 2015, the mobile games were removed from App Store and Google Play and thus are now considered lost media. [19]

The 2020 battle royale game Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has been described as "Super Monkey Ball for the Fortnite generation" by Tom Wiggins of Stuff magazine. [20]

In 2023 the emulator touchHLE was released, supporting the 2008 original iOS version of the game. [21] [22]

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<i>Super Monkey Ball</i> (video game) 2001 video game

Super Monkey Ball is a 2001 platform party video game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega. The game debuted in Japan at the 2001 Amusement Operators Union trade show as Monkey Ball, an arcade cabinet running on Sega's NAOMI hardware and controlled with a distinctive banana-shaped analog stick. Due to the discontinuation of Sega's Dreamcast home console and the company's subsequent restructuring, an enhanced port dubbed Super Monkey Ball was released as a launch title for the GameCube in late 2001, garnering interest as Sega's first game published for a Nintendo home console.

<i>Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz</i> 2006 video game

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is a platform game developed and published by Sega, the seventh title in the Super Monkey Ball series, following Super Monkey Ball Adventure. It was released as a launch title for the Wii system on November 19, 2006, in North America, December 7 in Australia and December 8 in Europe.

<i>Super Monkey Ball Deluxe</i> 2005 video game

Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is a platform video game developed by Tose and published by Sega. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2005. The game compiles all stages from Super Monkey Ball and Super Monkey Ball 2, as well as adding original levels.

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<i>Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing</i> 2010 video game

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<i>Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I</i> 2010 video game

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I is a 2010 platform game developed by Dimps, with assistance from Sonic Team, and published by Sega. It is a sequel to Sonic & Knuckles (1994), following Sonic as he sets out to stop a returning Doctor Eggman. Like the Sonic the Hedgehog games released for the Sega Genesis, Episode I features side-scrolling gameplay, with movement restricted to a 2D plane. The player races through levels collecting rings while rolling into a ball to attack enemies. The game also features special stages in which the player collects Chaos Emeralds and online leaderboards comparing level completion times and high scores.

<i>Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed</i> 2012 video game

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a kart racing video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U in November 2012; for PlayStation Vita in December 2012; for Windows in January 2013; for Nintendo 3DS in February 2013; and for Android and iOS devices in January 2014. The PS3 and Wii U versions of the game were released in Japan on May 15, 2014.

<i>Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II</i> 2012 video game

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II is an episodic platform video game developed by Dimps with assistance from Sonic Team, and published digitally by Sega for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, Android, and Microsoft Windows in 2012, with ports to the Ouya and Nvidia Shield releasing in 2013. It is a sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (2010), taking place shortly after the events of the game and following Sonic and Tails as they attempt to once again stop Doctor Eggman and a newly revived Metal Sonic from using Little Planet to power the Death Egg mk.II space station. Like its predecessor, Episode II is restricted to a 2D plane with players guiding Sonic and Tails through levels, collecting rings and rolling into enemies; collecting Chaos Emeralds also requires players to access Special Stages by ending a stage with enough rings.

<i>Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania</i> 2021 video game

Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is a platform party game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. It is a remake of the first three console entries in the Super Monkey Ball series, and was released in celebration of the series' 20th anniversary for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 5, 2021. A version for Amazon Luna was released on May 12, 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition for Windows Phone [Quick Look]". BestWP7Games. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "Super Monkey Ball: Sakura Edition - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
  3. ↑ "Super Monkey Ball 3D! AiAi New Screenshots and Trailer". 19 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "GamesRadar+".
  5. ↑ Romano, Sal (February 21, 2024). "Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble announced for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Amusement Vision (2002). Super Monkey Ball 2 (instruction manual). Sega. pp. 9–10.
  7. ↑ "Super Monkey Ball for Vita". Senpai Gamer. 28 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "かわいいおサルの大快挙!! 『スーパーモンキーボール』シリーズが世界累計出荷本数400万本を達成！". Famitsu. Archived from the original on December 10, 2006. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  9. ↑ Cohen, Peter; Macworld | (2008-07-11). "Review: Super Monkey Ball for iPhone". Macworld. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  10. ↑ "The 100 Best Games To Play Today". Edge. March 9, 2009. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ Mott, Tony (2013). 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. New York, New York: Universe Publishing. p. 442. ISBN   978-0-7893-2090-2.
  12. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (2003-08-08). "F-Zero GX". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  13. ↑ "F-Zero GX". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  14. ↑ "IGN: The F-Zero Press Conference". 2008-01-15. Archived from the original on 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  15. ↑ "Sega's Project J Revealed". IGN. August 23, 2005. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  16. ↑ "RGG Studio". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  17. ↑ TGS09: Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll interview, 6 November 2009, retrieved 2020-06-07
  18. ↑ "Post-TGS Interview: Super Monkey Ball's Jun Tokuhara | TSSZ News". 2016-05-12. Archived from the original on 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  19. ↑ "Sega pulls more than a dozen games from iTunes App Store, Google Play - Polygon". polygon.com. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  20. ↑ Wiggins, Tom (12 August 2020). "Drop everything and download: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout". Stuff .
  21. ↑ "Release v0.1.0: First release! · hikari-no-yume/touchHLE". GitHub . Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "Super Monkey Ball - Apps - touchHLE app compatibility database". www.touchhle.org. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
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