''Super Monkey Ball'' is a series of arcade platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision and published by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, 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, r ...

. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game ''Monkey Ball'', which was ported to

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 Wii ...

as ''Super Monkey Ball'' later that year. Several sequels and ports have been released.

Games

*'' Monkey Ball'' ( arcade) (June 23, 2001) *'' Super Monkey Ball'' (

) (September 14, 2001) *''

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 exclusively r ...

'' (GameCube) (August 25, 2002) *''

Super Monkey Ball Jr. ''Super Monkey Ball Jr.'' is a platform game, part of the ''Super Monkey Ball'' series, developed by Realism for the Game Boy Advance. It is one of the few games on the system to make use of its 3D computer graphics, 3D graphics capabilities. It i ...

'' ( Game Boy Advance) (November 19, 2002) *''Super Monkey Ball'' ( N-Gage) (October 7, 2003) *''

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 ...

'' (

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 ...

and Xbox) (March 15, 2005) *''

Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll ''Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll'' is a party video game for the Nintendo DS, part of the ''Super Monkey Ball'' series. It uses the DS's touch screen as the primary controller for maneuvering the monkey around the level, although D-pad control is ...

'' (

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

) (December 1, 2005) *''

Super Monkey Ball Adventure ''Super Monkey Ball Adventure'' is a Platform game, platform video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Sega. Part of the ''Super Monkey Ball (series), Super Monkey Ball'' series, it was released on 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Pla ...

'' (PlayStation 2, GameCube,

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

) (June 30, 2006) *'' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz'' (

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

) (November 19, 2006) *''Super Monkey Ball: Tip 'n Tilt'' (

J2ME Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME is a computing platform for development and deployment of portable code for embedded and mobile devices (micro-controllers, sensors, gateways, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, TV set-top ...

) (2007) *''Super Monkey Ball'' ( iOS) (2008) *''Super Monkey Ball: Tip 'n Tilt 2'' (

) (2008) *''Super Monkey Ball 2'' (iOS) (2009) *''Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition'' (iOS,

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

, Windows Phone) (2010, rereleased 2018 for android) *'' Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll'' (Wii) (February 9, 2010) *''Super Monkey Ball: Ticket Blitz'' (Arcade) (2011) *''

Super Monkey Ball 3D is a Platform game, platform party game, part of the ''Super Monkey Ball'' game series. It was developed for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. Players can either use the Nintendo 3DS#Hardware, Circle Pad or the internal gyroscope of the Nin ...

'' (

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

) (March 3, 2011) *'' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz'' (

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...

) (June 14, 2012) *''Super Monkey Ball Bounce'' (Android, iOS) (2014) *'' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD'' (PC,

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, Xbox One) (October 29, 2019 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, December 10, 2019 for PC) *'' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania'' (PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4,

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...

, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) (October 5, 2021) (May 12, 2022 for Amazon Luna)

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 world itself (the exception of this being ''Super Monkey Ball Adventure''). By tilting the board 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 Atari Games Corporation, known as Midway Games West Inc. after 1999, was an American producer of Arcade game, arcade Video game, games. It was formed in 1985 when the coin-operated Arcade game, arcade game division of Atari, Inc. was transfered ...

' 1984 arcade video game '' Marble Madness''.

Characters

The original ''Monkey Ball''

arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

featured three playable characters: AiAi, MeeMee, and Baby; a fourth, GonGon, was added in the game's

port, '' Super Monkey Ball''. These four have become the primary characters of the series, appearing in every subsequent title to date. Two new characters, YanYan and Doctor, were introduced in '' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz'', while another two, Jam and Jet, first appeared in '' Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll'' and ''

'', respectively. Several games feature unlockable variations of these characters wearing alternate costumes, along with occasional guest playable characters such as

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 ...

. Some games such as ''

'' and ''

'' have also featured various

non-player character A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...

s, such as the villainous Dr. Bad-Boon. 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 is a 2010 kart racing video game, produced for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS (February 23, 2010), and Microsoft Windows (March 3, 2010), featuring characters from multiple List of Sega video game franchises, Sega franchises. The game ...

'', 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 Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Sonic Universe''.

Legacy

As of December 8, 2006, the franchise has sold 4 million copies. A 2006 study conducted by the Beth Israel Medical Center found that surgeons who played ''Super Monkey Ball'' for 20 minutes prior to performing a surgical drill finished slightly faster and made fewer mistakes. The iOS version in 2008 was one of the first games on the App Store and was the best selling app on launch day. In 2009, '' Edge'' ranked the first ''Super Monkey Ball'' #39 on its list of "The 100 Best Games To Play Today". 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". An enhanced engine of the GameCube games was used in '' F-Zero GX'', which was critically acclaimed and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, 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 produce ...

considered a step forward for the franchise. The developers of ''Super Monkey Ball'' went on to make the '' Like a Dragon'' series. 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. 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. 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 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Super Monkey Ball (Series) Sega Games franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2001