is a 2001
platform
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system or ...
party video game
Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Li ...
developed by
Amusement Vision
is a video game developer housed within the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its division. It is known for developing the games in the ''Yakuza'' series, which the studio is named after, since ''Yakuza 5''.
The studio's origins can b ...
and published by
Sega
is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
. The game debuted in Japan at the 2001 Amusement Operators Union trade show as ''Monkey Ball'', an
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
cabinet running on Sega's
NAOMI
Naomi or Naomie may refer to:
People and biblical figures
* Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name
* Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth
* Naomi (Romanian singer) (bor ...
hardware and controlled with a distinctive banana-shaped analog stick. Due to the discontinuation of Sega's
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
home console and the company's subsequent restructuring, an enhanced port dubbed ''Super Monkey Ball'' was released as a
launch title for the
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...
in late 2001, garnering interest as Sega's first game published for a
Nintendo
is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...
home console.
Conceived by Amusement Vision head
Toshihiro Nagoshi
is a Japanese video game producer, director and designer. He was the chief creative officer for Sega until 2021 when he became creative director. He went on to be the general director of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and later became a member of the ...
, ''Super Monkey Ball'' involves guiding a transparent ball containing one of four monkeys—AiAi, MeeMee, Baby, and GonGon—across a series of maze-like platforms. The player must reach the goal without falling off or letting the timer reach zero to advance to the next stage. There are also several
multiplayer
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
modes: independent
minigame
A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than t ...
s as well as extensions of the main
single-player
A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. A single-player game is usually a game that can only be played by one person, while "single-player mode" is usually ...
game.
''Super Monkey Ball'' received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the simplicity and subtle depth of its control scheme as well as the new multiplayer modes not present in its arcade counterpart, although some felt its presentation was lacking. The game was commercially successful and remained one of Sega's best-sellers in the United States for much of 2002, eventually spawning a direct sequel, ''
Super Monkey Ball 2
is a platform party video game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega in 2002 for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the '' Super Monkey Ball'' series, and the first installment to have a storyline and to be exclusivel ...
'', and a broader ''
Super Monkey Ball
''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 Ba ...
'' franchise.
Modes
''Super Monkey Ball'' has three game modes: main game, party games, and mini-games. The mini-games are unavailable at first, and must be unlocked by earning 2,500 "play points" through playing the main game in single-player mode.
Main game
Reminiscent of ''
Marble Madness
''Marble Madness'' is an arcade video game designed by Mark Cerny and published by Atari Games in 1984. It is a platform game in which the player must guide a marble through six courses, populated with obstacles and enemies, within a time limi ...
'' and ''
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by ...
'', the objective of the main game is to guide one of four playable
monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
s (AiAi, MeeMee, Baby, and GonGon) encased in a
transparent ball across a suspended series of platforms and through a goal.
By moving the
analog stick
An analog stick (or analogue stick in British English), sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller (often a game controller) that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joy ...
, the player tilts the entire set of platforms that make up a level, called a ''floor'', and the ball rolls accordingly.
If the ball falls off a floor (an event dubbed a ''fall out'') or the in-game timer reaches zero, the player loses one of their three lives.
The speed, in
miles per hour
Miles per hour (mph, m.p.h., MPH, or mi/h) is a British imperial and United States customary unit of speed expressing the number of miles travelled in one hour. It is used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of smaller cou ...
, at which the ball is moving is displayed in the corner of the screen. Pausing the game and selecting the "View Stage" option allows one to rotate the camera around and examine the floor. A replay is presented after a floor's goal has been reached; replays can be saved to a memory card and viewed at whim. Every second remaining on the timer when a floor is completed adds 100 points to the player's
score
Score or scorer may refer to:
*Test score, the result of an exam or test
Business
* Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio
* Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company
* Score Media, a former Canadian ...
. Collectible bananas found throughout the game are also worth 100 points, while multipliers increasing the player's score by a factor of two or four are activated when a floor is finished in under half the allotted time or via a warp gate.
The player receives an extra life for every 100 bananas collected.
The main game features three difficulty levels—Beginner, Advanced, and Expert, consisting of 10, 30, and 50 floors each—as well as three modes—Normal, Practice, and Competition.
Normal mode allows one to four players to take turns progressing through the arcade ''Monkey Ball'', whereas competition mode involves two to four player simultaneous
split screen
Split screen may refer to:
* Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts
* Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen
* ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001
* Split-Screen Level, a bug in the vid ...
races across a selection of floors. In practice mode, any floor already played in normal mode can be repeated indefinitely with no penalties for failure.
In normal mode, the player experiences a
game over when they have lost all of their lives, but is allowed five opportunities to continue; eventually, unlimited "continues" can be unlocked.
Beginner Extra, Advanced Extra and Expert Extra floors are unlocked when each respective difficulty level is completed without losing a single life (or without using a continue in Expert)—and a hidden set of Master floors can be unlocked through playing the Extra floors without using a continue.
Party games
The following party games are available:
*Monkey Race: One to four players simultaneously race across six courses divided into three difficulty levels. Steering is handled with the analog stick, while the A button is used to activate items (if enabled) that can be used to produce an increase in speed or to adversely affect opponents. A Time Attack mode involves the careful use of three available speed items to achieve faster times.
*Monkey Fight: One to four players simultaneously engage in combat by rolling in any direction with the analog stick and using the A button to punch opponents with a boxing glove attached to their monkey's ball. Points are awarded for knocking opponents off one of the three available arenas, with more points being awarded when the player currently in the lead is knocked off. The player with the most points is declared the winner of a round when the in-game timer reaches zero. Items can be used to extend the reach, size, and strength of one's boxing glove.
*Monkey Target: One to four players take turns rolling their monkey down a ramp, launching it into the sky. The monkey's ball opens on command to resemble a pair of wings, allowing it to fly. The monkey's trajectory is manipulated with the analog stick. Wind direction and strength, altitude, and speed (in addition to random hazards selected by an optional "Wheel of Danger" feature before each flight) impact the player's ability to land the monkey on one of several
dartboard
Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard.
Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...
-like targets in the middle of the ocean. Bananas collected while airborne enable the use of items in later rounds that can eliminate wind resistance, control the ball's roll, multiply the player's score, or ensure a sticky landing.
Mini-games
The mini-games are based on real sporting activities, but with the player's ball containing their monkey.
The following mini-games are available, once unlocked through the earning of play points:
*Monkey
Billiards
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as .
There are three major subdivisions of ...
: One to two players take turns competing in a game of
nine-ball
Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball) is a discipline of the cue sport pool. The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It is played on a rectangular billiard table with at each of the four corners and in the middle of e ...
. The analog stick determines the direction of each shot and the A button is used to stop the moving gauge that determines shot speed. A tournament mode featuring four
AI challengers is also available.
*Monkey
Bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
: One to four players take turns competing in a game of
ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...
. The analog stick is used to move left and right, the A button sets the direction and strength for each throw, and the L or R buttons apply spin to the ball. A challenge mode featuring 10
pin
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.
Pin or PIN may also refer to:
Computers and technology
* Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system
** PIN pad, a PIN entry device
* PIN, a former Dutch ...
arrangements and permitting only 12 throws is also available.
*Monkey
Golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
: One to four players take turns competing across 18 holes in a game of golf with
stroke play
Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...
scoring, or two players compete using
match play
Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...
scoring. The direction and general rolling distance of each shot is arranged with the analog stick, and the shot's strength is set by the A button.
Development
![Toshihiro Nagoshi 20140125](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Toshihiro_Nagoshi_20140125.jpg)
''Super Monkey Ball'' was developed by
Amusement Vision
is a video game developer housed within the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its division. It is known for developing the games in the ''Yakuza'' series, which the studio is named after, since ''Yakuza 5''.
The studio's origins can b ...
, a branch of the Japanese video game publisher
Sega
is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...
that was created in 2000 and composed of about fifty people.
Amusement Vision president
Toshihiro Nagoshi
is a Japanese video game producer, director and designer. He was the chief creative officer for Sega until 2021 when he became creative director. He went on to be the general director of Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and later became a member of the ...
, who had previously worked under
Sega AM2
previously known as is a video game development team within the Japanese multinational video game developer Sega. Yu Suzuki, who had previously developed arcade games for Sega including ''Hang-On'' and ''Out Run'', was the first manager of th ...
's
Yu Suzuki
is a Japanese game designer, producer, programmer, and engineer, who headed Sega's AM2 team for 18 years. Considered one of the first auteurs of video games, he has been responsible for a number of Sega's arcade hits, including three-dimensional ...
and been credited as the creator of the arcade titles ''
Daytona USA
is an arcade racing video game developed by Sega AM2 in 1993 and released by Sega in 1994. Players race stock cars on one of three courses. The first game released on the Sega Model 2 three-dimensional arcade system board, a prototype debuted ...
'' and ''
Virtua Striker
is a series of association football sports video games released by Sega for arcades. Originally developed by Sega AM2 from 1994 to 1999, the series moved to Amusement Vision with ''Virtua Striker 3'', but it later moved to Sega Sports Design R&D ...
'', devised the concept of rolling spheres through
maze
A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lea ...
s based on his desire to create a game that was instantly possible to understand and play, as a contrast to increasingly complex games at Japanese arcades at the time.
Prototypes involving a plain ball or a ball with an illustration were considered visually unappealing due to difficulties in perceiving its movement, so after a series of revisions monkey characters previously created by an Amusement Vision designer named Mika Kojima were placed inside the ball, with their appearance being altered to include their "distinctive" ears.
Intended to feature a "cute" aesthetic and accurate physics engine, the game debuted at the 2001 Amusement Operator Union trade show as ''Monkey Ball'', a single-player
arcade cabinet controlled with a distinctive banana-shaped analog stick.
In early 2001, Sega announced that it was discontinuing its
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
home console and restructuring itself into a "platform-agnostic"
third-party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...
publisher. As a result, an enhanced version of ''Monkey Ball'' dubbed ''Super Monkey Ball'' was released for the
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the ...
as a
launch game
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
in Japan on September 14, 2001 and North America on November 18, 2001.
The GameCube version was demonstrated to the public at
E3 in May 2001 and at
Nintendo
is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...
's
Space World
was a theme park in Yahatahigashi-ku, Japan. It had 6 roller coasters: Black Hole Scramble, Venus GP, Zaturn, Boogie-woogie Space Coaster, Titan Max, and Clipper.
In 2016, the park officially announced that it would close at the end of the fo ...
show in August 2001; Sega confirmed that it would arrive in time for the GameCube's launch at the June 2001 World Hobby Fair.
As the first game Sega published for a Nintendo home console, ''Super Monkey Ball'' was considered a milestone for the company.
Although ''Monkey Ball'' had been developed for Sega's
NAOMI arcade board, which shared technology with the Dreamcast and was optimized to ensure games could be easily ported between the two platforms,
Nagoshi commented that Nintendo's young demographic made the GameCube an even more fitting console for the title.
According to Nagoshi, Amusement Vision staff felt more comfortable with the GameCube than Sega's own hardware and this ease of development contributed to their decision to focus on the system over the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
or
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
; he also joked that Nintendo was the only hardware manufacturer the staff did not "hate".
Out of a team composed of ten to twenty individuals, it took four Amusement Vision employees between several weeks and two months to port ''Monkey Ball'' to the GameCube.
Its graphics were enhanced with new background details as well as reflections and particle effects.
Moreover, the developers spent an additional six months incorporating six extra modes into the game, with an emphasis on multiplayer competition
and the introduction of GonGon as a fourth playable character.
The bananas in the game display the
Dole Food Company
Dole plc (previously named Dole Food Company, Standard Fruit Company) is an Irish agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company is among the world's largest producers of fruit and vegetables, operating wit ...
logo, but this was removed in ''
Super Monkey Ball Deluxe
''Super Monkey Ball Deluxe'' is a platform game, platform video game developed and published by Sega. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox (console), Xbox in 2005. The game compiles all stages from ''Super Monkey Ball (video game), Supe ...
'' due to a licensing dispute.
A theme song called "Ei Ei Puh!", which was arranged by Cheru Watanabe and featured vocals by Yu Abiru, was created for the Japanese version of ''Super Monkey Ball'' but removed from its U.S. release.
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
-based voice actor Brian Matt provided the game's narration, albeit
uncredited
In general, the term credit in the artistic or intellectual sense refers to an acknowledgment of those who contributed to a work, whether through ideas or in a more direct sense.
Credit in the arts
In the creative arts, credits are an acknowledg ...
.
Reception
Sales
''Super Monkey Ball'' was commercially successful upon release and remained one of Sega's best-selling titles in the United States through much of 2002.
The game's North American sales were strong in 2001, in addition to a further 105,000 units sold through August 2002.
While it sold well in all major territories, Nagoshi was disappointed by the game's performance in Japan, where he had expected it would be most successful; weak GameCube launch sales were cited as negatively impacting its performance in the country.
The game sold 72,631 units in Japan.
Critical reception
Released to positive reviews, with aggregated scores of 87/100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
and 88.7% on
GameRankings
GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
,
some journalists considered ''Super Monkey Ball'' the highlight of the GameCube's launch lineup.
''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' praised the main game as "absorb
ng due to its high level of difficulty, noting that the trial and error required to complete challenging levels forces one to learn the nuances of its "reductive control system" and eventually enables the player to perform seemingly impossible tasks with increasing ease: "Once a level falls, the mysticism around it vanishes. It's beatable; it's an afterthought on the route to your next impossible hurdle."
Ben Turner (''
GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
'') commented on the "excellent progression of difficulty" engendered by three distinct difficulty modes and thoughtful stage design, expounding "most levels introduce some new idea or concept to the game" and "every single level played adds to your skill."
Matt Casamassina (''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'') commended the "great level variation", with "well created mazes and puzzles that must be completed using a combination of physics calculations, careful planning and a huge helping of patience."
Turner complimented the frequent introduction of incentives to keep playing such as additional continues and hidden levels, adding that a high "ceiling of mastery" enhanced the game's longevity through a "simple but well conceived" scoring system and the ability to test strategies in practice mode.
''Edge'' and Casamassina thought similarly, with the latter stating "there are shortcuts that can be carved out by the crafty player, physics to be considered when navigating and more."
Tim Knowles (''N-Sider'') pointed out that "the latter levels in the game get extremely difficult and you will often get frustrated", while Casamassina felt "it may be a little too difficult for the casual gamer."
However, Mark Medina (''N-Sider'') called the learning curve "perfectly spot on": "Any falling off the platforms feels entirely ''your fault'' and at the same time, you always get the sense that you're just that little bit closer to that elusive goal."
''Edge'' and Jason Nuyens and Will Stevenson (''N-Sider'') agreed with this sentiment, with the latter two emphasizing the addictive quality of the gameplay.
On a technical note, Four-Eyed Dragon (''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'') faulted the camera system, which "can get out of position, making it hard to maneuver in tight spots."
Steven L. Kent (''
The Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'') described the game as "a test of nerve" requiring "advanced
eye–hand coordination
Eye–hand coordination (also known as hand–eye coordination) is the coordinated control of eye movement with hand movement and the processing of visual input to guide reaching and grasping along with the use of proprioception of the hands to ...
."
Turner reflected on the game's ability to evoke feelings of "nervous excitement", "intensity", and "electrifying, stomach-wrenching fear": "It's a thrilling feeling to be winding down a paper-thin path with ten seconds on the clock, hoping against hope that you can keep your balance for just a few more seconds and make it to the goal before time expires."
''Edge'' opined that the game is "defined" by "unrefined and angular" emotions:
"Every second brings another jagged spike of highrise elation or freefall despair, and that's what makes the game so superb ... when you finally beat a maze on your 15th try, on the last life of your last continue, it's all worth it. If that experience could be distilled into a single word, it would be euphoria; reducing ''Super Monkey Ball'' to one word is simpler. It's genius."
On the party and mini games, Kent asserted "All of the activities ... were designed with an unerring eye for quality", ''Edge'' contended "none are half-assed throwaway rewards", and ''
Nintendo Power
''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...
'' remarked "each one is a fully realized activity that you could play for hours."
Ricardo Torres (''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'') called Monkey Race "a solid little racer", and Casamassina recounted it felt "polished and finely tuned."
Stevenson "loved Monkey Fight", while Casamassina and Kent highlighted the use of a crown to identify the player currently in the lead as encouraging "players to gang up on each other."
Casamassina hailed Monkey Fight as "a thing of beauty", but Turner dismissed it as "a dud, as it's too much frantic button smacking and not enough skill or thought."
Monkey Target, lauded by Kent as the "most addictive interactive activity of 2001" and considered "the most complex" of the party games by Turner, was complimented by Casamassina for its "simple and brilliantly intuitive" control scheme and "careful science of when to use an item and when to forgo it."
''Nintendo Power'' and Medina, respectively, described Monkey Billiards as "a full-blown pool game" and "a very fun alternative to the real game"; Casamassina applauded its "ultra-realistic physics engine that perfectly mimics how pool balls would react ... it all works just as good if not better than any pool simulation available to home consoles."
Casamassina was further impressed by the physics of Monkey Bowling, elaborating that "when the pins break apart one would swear it's the real deal", but Turner criticized its physics as "slightly wonky".
Medina singled out Monkey Bowling's "nailbiting" challenge mode as a personal favorite, while ''Nintendo Power'' considered Monkey Bowling "as good as tenpin gets" and Kent wrote it "is one of the most robust bowling simulations I have ever played."
Finally, Four-Eyed Dragon conveyed that Monkey Golf provided "a humongous challenge" with "crazy, lopsided miniature golf course
, while Kent called it an "absolutely infuriating ... test
fyour aim and your logic."
Although "not extremely complex or technically impressive in the way that many other launch titles strive to be" Turner believed the graphics were "extremely well-realized and perfectly suited to the game."
According to Torres, "while the four selectable monkey models and the various levels are simple in design, they are generously modeled with well-textured and shaded polygons and have a very rich look."
Four-Eyed Dragon spoke highly of the "hilarious" monkey animations, "sharp reflections and cool water effects".
Likewise, Casamassina enjoyed the dances performed by the monkeys after winning a match and cited the water effects as "particularly incredible".
The game was described by Turner as "colorful" and "crisp" and by Torres as "cartoony" and "clean". ''Edge'' likened the game's aesthetic to Sega's ''
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...
'' series: "Every surface is bright and solid and shiny, every aspect impeccably presented."
Casamassina, Turner, and Torres all praised the consistent
frame rate
Frame rate (expressed in or FPS) is the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. The term applies equally to film and video cameras, computer graphics, and motion capture systems. Frame rate may also be ca ...
, with Casamassina emphasizing "it truly, always runs at a full 60 frames per second."
However, Four-Eyed Dragon noted the visuals were "not greatly detailed" and Casamassina observed "there isn't much geometry being drawn at any single point in the title and the backgrounds are often barren, whether it be for power or stylistic purposes."
Moreover, Casamassina was disappointed that the three difficulty modes reused level themes and by the absence of
progressive scan
Progressive scanning (alternatively referred to as noninterlaced scanning) is a format of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence. This is in contrast to interlaced video used ...
support.
Torres regarded the game's sound as "good" but "probably
tsweakest aspect", calling the music "catchy" but finding the monkey noises repetitive and the remaining sound effects "unspectacular."
Conversely, Blue-Eyed Dragon was favorable to the "boisterously entertaining monkey sounds that can be heard once a chimp hits a wall or falls off a ledge" as well as the "eclectic mix of instrumental tunes".
Turner "thought the music ... set the mood perfectly, but some may find it annoying".
Kent named ''Super Monkey Ball'' "the best party game of all time."
Torres opined that the game "makes a strong case for the power of simple yet incredibly addictive gameplay."
Knowles stated it represented "Sega at its pure best."
''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' "liked the mini-games in addition to the regular modes."
''Nintendo Power'' hailed the game as "one of the ultimate party games" and "the best in serious gaming, too."
Turner declared it "that rarity of rarities: a perfectly-realized launch title", with a "bounty of extras" that set "a new standard for arcade to home conversions".
According to Medina, "probably the greatest thing about this game is that it's so unassuming, in that you are genuinely very surprised at its extremely high quality."
''Super Monkey Ball'' was a runner-up for ''GameSpot''s annual "Best GameCube Game" award, which went to ''
Super Smash Bros. Melee''.
Legacy
![Neverball 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Neverball_1.6.0.jpg)
The success of the game spawned a franchise, with
16 sequels or spin-offs released to date. Due to its complex physics engine and abundance of possible shortcuts, ''Super Monkey Ball'' has been popular with professional
speedrun
Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and can exploit glit ...
ners.
A 2006 study conducted by the
Beth Israel Medical Center
Mount Sinai Beth Israel is a 799-bed teaching hospital in Manhattan. It is part of the Mount Sinai Health System, a nonprofit health system formed in September 2013 by the merger of Continuum Health Partners and Mount Sinai Medical Center, and ...
found that surgeons who played the game for 20 minutes prior to performing a surgical drill finished slightly faster and made fewer mistakes. ''Super Monkey Ball'' inspired ''Neverball'', a
free
Free may refer to:
Concept
* Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything
* Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism
* Emancipate, to procur ...
and
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
game for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
,
OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
,
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
, Dreamcast, and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
.
The 2020
battle royale game
A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who sta ...
''
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout'' has been described as "''Super Monkey Ball'' for the ''
Fortnite
''Fortnite'' is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: ''Fortnite Battle Royale'', a free-to-p ...
'' generation" by Tom Wiggins of ''
Stuff
Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to:
*Physical matter
*General, unspecific things, or entities
Arts, media, and entertainment
Books
*''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly (author), Joseph Connolly
*''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jere ...
'' magazine.
In 2006, ''Nintendo Power'' ranked it the 38th best game available on Nintendo platforms, commenting "who knew that such cute characters with cinnamon roll ears could be the source of so much tension (when the clock is ticking) and so much relief (when they finally break the ribbon)?" In February 2009, ''
Official Nintendo Magazine
''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo.
Originally published by EMAP as ''N ...
'' placed the game 90th on a list of the best Nintendo games, noting that "Along with the bum-clenchingly tricky puzzle stages, you get some great mini-games in this brilliant arcade game." In March 2009, ''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' ranked the game #39 on its list of "The 100 Best Games To Play Today", stating "Seeing its sturdy physics model being used to perform incredible acrobatic feats shows just how finely honed it is."
Writing in ''
1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die
''1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die'' is a video game reference book first published in October 2010. It consists of a list of video games released between 1970 and 2013, arranged chronologically by release date. Each entry in the list ...
'', Christian Donlan described ''Super Monkey Ball'' as "one of Sega's grade-A triumphs."
''Super Monkey Ball's'' stages were remade as a part of ''
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania.''
Notes
References
External links
''Super Monkey Ball''at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
''Monkey Ball''at the
Killer List of Videogames
Killer List of Videogames (KLOV) is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for pla ...
Nick Robinson's YouTube videoabout finding the narrator of the
Super Monkey Ball
''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 Ba ...
franchise
{{Super Monkey Ball
2001 video games
3D platform games
Amusement Vision games
Arcade video games
Cancelled Dreamcast games
GameCube games
Sega arcade games
Sega video games
Super Monkey Ball
Video games scored by Hidenori Shoji
Video games developed in Japan
Multiplayer and single-player video games