Super Monkey Ball (video game)

This article is about the first ball in the series. For information on the series as a whole, see Super Monkey Ball (series).

Super Monkey Ball
Developer(s)	Amusement Vision
Publisher(s)	Sega
Platform(s)	Arcade, Nintendo GameCube, Mobile Phone, N-Gage, iPhone
Release	Arcade 2000 GameCube JPN September 14, 2001 NA November 18, 2001 EU May 3, 2002 N-Gage USA: October 6, 2003 PAL: October 7, 2003
Genre(s)	Party
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Super Monkey Ball is an arcade platform game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega featuring a cast of humorous monkey characters (see below). The game debuted in Japan in 2000 as an upright arcade cabinet called Monkey Ball (which featured a banana-shaped joystick) and later that year was released as one of the launch titles for the Nintendo GameCube.

Main game

The objective of the main game is to guide a monkey character encased in a ball (hence the name "Monkey Ball") across a suspended series of platforms and through a goal. The main game is very simplistic--in fact the only control required is the directional analog stick. By moving the joystick, the player actually tilts the entire set of platforms that make up the level, called the floor, and the monkey ball rolls accordingly (hence, you don't control the character itself). Although this is virtually indistinguishable from actively moving the ball, it is revealed subtly in the general tilt of the camera when turning. While moving across the floor the player can collect bananas by rolling into them to score points and attempt to earn an extra life (earned at every 100 bananas). If the monkey ball rolls off the floor it is a fall out and the player loses a life. If the player can complete all of the floors in beginner, advanced, or expert difficulty without using a continue (10 floors in beginner difficulty, 30 in advanced, 50 in expert) (complete beginner or advanced modes without losing a life in US), extra floors are unlocked. Finishing all of the floors in the expert difficulty (including the extra floors) without using a continue unlocks the master difficulty, which contains ten incredibly difficult levels.

Strategy

Bananas are worth 100 points each. Each second on the timer is worth 200 points if finished with the time bonus (More than half of the time left) and 100 points if finished with less than half of the time left. Thus, it is advantageous to make detours for additional bananas if it will take less than 1 second or 0.5 seconds per banana respectively. It may also be appropriate to sacrifice time and points if the player is close to reaching 100 bananas and an extra life. Many players find it advantageous to select Baby, the son of AiAi and Meemee, as courses become more difficult. He is small in both stature and girth, allowing the player to more easily focus on the monkey's progress rather than the ball itself when navigating challenging levels.

Characters

These descriptions are taken from the Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll instruction booklet, and the official Super Monkey Ball website.

AiAi

A high spirited monkey who just can't get enough bananas. He can be scatterbrained at times, but he is very reliable when it counts. He is an unlockable character in the original Sonic Riders. Loves bananas so much he spends his carefree life thinking "The banana I ate was really good"

MeeMee

A cute stylish monkey who is adored by all the other monkeys. She loves AiAi and is married to him in the future. Baby is the child of AiAi and Meemee. Meemee changes his diapers and AiAi does not. Only Meemee can calm him down. She is the cutest monkey around.

Baby

He is the son of AiAi and MeeMee, traveling back to the past from the future. Although still young, he is reliable like his mother. He is the fastest, coolest baby around. He travels from the future to stop the evil plans of Dr. Bad-Boon to break up his parents. His cries reverberates across Jungle island and only Meemee can calm him down. baby loves to go swiming. and baby loves to color. baby loves the park.

GonGon

This powerful monkey trains everyday to become the strongest monkey. However his size makes him the slowest of the 4 characters.

Worlds

There are many worlds featured in Super Monkey Ball that have set the stage for future games in the Super Monkey Ball series to follow and emulate. Here is a list of them:

• Grassland/Jungle (Beginner, Advanced, Expert)
• Valley/Sky (Beginner, Advanced)
• City/Mall (Advanced, Expert)
• Underwater (Advanced, Expert)
• Desert (Expert)
• Arctic/Ice (Expert)
• Tempest Storm (Expert)
• Night Sky (Bonus Stages)
• Space (Extra)
• Temple (Master)
• Clouds (Arcade Version Only)
• Gamecube (Expert, Race, Fight)

Party games

The GameCube version, known as Super Monkey Ball includes three party games for up to four players.

Monkey Race

Monkey Race is a lap racing game combining elements of the main game and racing classics such as Mario Kart. There are a total of 6 tracks - Jungle Circuit, Aqua Offroad, Sky Downtown, Warp Pipe Tunnel, Frozen Highway, and Speed Desert.

Monkey Fight

Monkey Fight places four monkey balls with attached boxing gloves in a king-of-the-hill punching battle, where points are scored for knocking other players off the stage. There are three different battle arenas - a jungle stage, an ice stage, and a space stage.

Items are dropped throughout the match to enhance the powers of a character. For instance, one item enables you to punch more powerfully.

Monkey Target

Monkey Target is an accuracy game in which the monkey ball is launched off a large ramp and splits in half to form wings. The player must guide the glider over the sea (see trivia section 4 for details) to floating targets of various point values.

Monkey Target may appear very simplistic at first, but actually allows for many different play styles. Many levels contain small buoy type objects in the water. It soon becomes apparent that these are each worth 500 points, much more than any other part of the boards. Using brake ball or magnet ball, these become fairly easy to land on, but the ultimate challenge comes in landing on them without the use of any items. This is known as "free balling", or "dry pole-ing".

Free balling is very difficult at first and requires practice to master. In order to attain the low speed needed to land on the buoys without rolling off, a high headwind (above 10 miles per hour) is needed. For more skilled players, "Sticking it" with a zero wind, or even a tailwind is possible. This is incredibly difficult, and considered by many to be the apex of Monkey Target skills.

Monkey Race Worlds

Beginner- Jungle Circuit- Aqua Offroad

Advanced- Frozen Highway- Sky Downtown

Expert- Pipe Warp Tunnel- Speed Desert

Minigames

Three minigames are also featured in the GameCube release, based upon actual games and sports. These games must be unlocked by earning 2500 play points gained by repeated play of the main game.

Monkey Billiards

Monkey Billiards is a 9-ball pool game.

Monkey Bowling

This a stylized arcade version of the sport that features two modes. One normal mode and another mode called Challenge Mode where the player can try their best to clear different bowling lanes whereby the lane moves around in various different ways.

Monkey Golf

This is an arcade miniature golf game. The monkey characters are of course, prominently featured in the balls that are traditionally used to play these games.

Popularity

The popularity of the game in Japan, North America, and Europe has led to several sequels and ports: Super Monkey Ball 2 (2002) for the GameCube; Super Monkey Ball Deluxe (2005) for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, which included levels from both GameCube releases plus original levels, as well as updating the party games; Super Monkey Ball Jr. (2003), a release for Nintendo Game Boy Advance based on the original title; a release under the original title for the Nokia N-Gage gaming system (2003); a release for the Nintendo DS entitled Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll (2006), and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (2006) for the Wii console. It is also featured in the Sega SuperStars Eye Toy game for the PlayStation 2 (2004). The franchise took a new direction in 2006 with Super Monkey Ball Adventure developed by Traveller's Tales which came out for PS2, GameCube & PSP. Other iterations of the franchise include Sega Super Monkey Ball (2004), Monkey Ball Mini Golf (2006) and Super Monkey Ball: Tip 'n Tilt (2007) for mobile phones. A Super Monkey Ball iPhone application has been released as well, in which the platforms are tilted by tilting the iPhone.

Records

The most well-known community for hosting some of the best records for games in the Super Monkey Ball series is Elite Scores. The record-based website hosts some of the greatest records for this game, Super Monkey Ball 2, Super Monkey Ball Adventure, Super Monkey Ball: Touch and Roll, Super Monkey Ball Deluxe, as well as Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz.

Trivia

• Aiai was also the Japanese name for Coconuts, an enemy from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• The bananas in the game feature advertising for the Dole Food Company. The logo also appears on objects that are not part of the level, such as a satellite or a pineapple shaped hot air balloon (Monkey Target).
• The concept of the Monkey Ball game is very similar to an old board game called Labyrinth, which was a big wooden box with a maze on top with holes, a steel marble, and two knobs. The object of the game is to try and tilt the top to guide the marble to the end of the maze, without letting it fall into any of the holes.
• Sega showed a ported Version of Super Monkey Ball for the Apple iPhone at the WWDC 2008. The price is USD $9.99 and was released on July 10th, 2008.

See also

• Neverball, a similar game available under the GPL for Windows 2000 / XP, Linux, FreeBSD, and Mac OS X
• GooBall
• Marble Madness
• Marble Blast, another similar game to Super Monkey Ball.
• List of characters in the Super Monkey Ball series

External links

• "The Psychophysiology of Video Gaming", Niklas Ravaja, May 31, 2005.
• Elite Scores, world record high score competition page
• Mansized review of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz