 Super Monkey Ball was a big hit on the Game Cube, not only for it’s simple marble maze style of play, but it’s use of multiplayer party games as well. So it’s not surprising to find that one of its sequels, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, finds it’s way into the folds as a Wii Launch game. But how well will the series simplistic game play and lighthearted approach translate on a next generation consol?
Immersion (Story/Environment)
Unlike previous games in the series, there actually is a story in this game. A pirate like monkey has stolen the golden banana, and it’s up to Aiai and friends to help retrieve them. Also, in addition to Aiai, Meemee, Gongon, and Baby, there are 2 new monkeys, Yanyan, and Doctor. Also, each monkey is now different, with different accelerations, mass, max speed, and jumping ability (which I’ll get to more later). The story isn’t of huge importance, and is rarely touched on other than when you finish a set of levels, or watch the intro. And beyond that, the game is in fairly familiar territory, with levels hovering mid-air well over any actual land. There are multiple sets, and you can do any level in a single set in any order. The sets usually have some kind of unifying theme, in layout, look, and music. The stages themselves take a few minutes each, assuming you can manage to pass them the first time, which won’t always be the case. The single player game is the usual format. Collect bananas to earn bonus points and lives, and race against the clock to the goal. A new addition to the single player game is boss fights, which are available once you’ve cleared all ten levels of a set. There are also 50 party games, all of which are available immediately and don’t have to be earned in the single player game. Each game is unique unto itself, and many have almost no actual ties to the game other than being in it, with similar music and graphics. Gameplay
The single player game plays fairly simply. You tilt the Wiimote to tilt the world. Tilt forward to accelerate, sideways to turn, and back to slow down or go in reverse. It works quite intuitively, and is very easy to pick up. The only other part is hitting A to jump. Jumping is new to the game, but it ads an extra dimension of strategy and complexity to the game, and many of the obstacles can be bypassed by maneuvers or jumping. The boss fights combine the puzzles with some extra stimuli, meaning you’ll have to move, time jumps, and target specific spots on the bosses. They add a little extra spice and break up the levels themselves nicely, giving the game some extra longevity of play. The party games are played in all different manors. Anywhere from two to four players, though you can play most with only one player, some requiring the Nunchuk, others just the Wiimote. There are quick instructions before each game, and most try to use the motion sensing of the Wiimote in some way. However, you need a separate controller for each player, even if the game is not played simultaneously. The result is that some games work a bit better than others. Many of them require you to be pointing almost directly at the screen, so all the participants are best served being in front and sitting straight at the TV. Some of the games are quite fun, entertaining, and a riot to play with multiple people. Others could benefit from being hot seat instead of simultaneous. And some of the games don’t come off well at all, but with 50 games, it seems that the developers simply threw what they could think of out there to see what worked, and a majority of the games are playable if not fun. Graphics and Sound
The cartoonish graphics are functional and smooth, if not attractive in a colorful carnival kind of way. They aren’t as impressive as one might expect from a next generation consol, but they come across with no glitches, and are solid and generally attractive looking. The music is light hearted, and generally fun for a short while. Eventually though, it gets very repetitive. Each stage or game has a song that plays repeatedly; usually repeating very quickly, and can get rather tiresome. An improvement here could have been made if the songs at least changed on occasion. The music is also very artificial/techno based, with obviously synthesized instruments. It generally fits in with the game, but it can be a negative. Sound effects are well done, with the monkeys making noises, bumps, an announcer, and those are pretty well done, and they add to the game experience. Above and Beyond
With each monkey now being different, there is some added replay value, as the levels will play differently with different monkeys. The game also keeps track of if you were able to complete any given level without continuing, so doing that on every level gives you an added challenge. It’s nice that you can start with any stage in any level, and with a fairly short play time, it’s a fairly easy game to pick up and put down. Beyond the initial start, game play is very quick to pick up and go, and other than clearing the stages inside a level, you can tackle any level at any time. The party games are generally fun, and assign points so you can compete in multiple events against your friends, and it levels the playing field by allowing the player who’s farthest behind to pick the next game, and for single player, there is a high score chart, so you can compete against yourself. Overall
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is a good title for the Wii, which uses the motion sensing controller well, and offers single and multi-player play that is fast, fun, and easy to pick up. Not every minigame is a hit, but there’s plenty of game play to keep one occupied for a while. Bront’s Score: 8.2 out of 10 Discuss this review in the Forums. |
