Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz proves just how fun the Wii's motion sensing controls can be.
The normal game mode is only one player. Simply choose one of the six monkeys, (It really does not matter what monkey you choose, since they only look differently, and do not actually perform in the levels differently.) click a world, and then click a level.
This video game places a monkey on a stage with tons of obstacles in the way. The object of each level, excluding the bonus levels and the boss fights, is to make it to the big winning circle with a glow in it. It is pretty easy to spot out. In order to move the monkey, you must point the Wii Remote in the direction you wish to move the board. You technically move the board when you are doing the adventure mode, but it does seem as though you are moving the monkey.
It is not that easy to reach the goal at the end of the level. On the way, there are small platforms that you must jump to without falling off the edge of the board, enemies you must dodge, areas that you have to run through at a fast pace, and much other stuff. The first three or four worlds should not cause you any problems, but after that, you can expect quite a challenge. As you progress through the worlds, you'll notice how there will not be as many walls that will save you if you fall off the board, gaps begin to become smaller, more enemies will appear, more challenging enemies will appear, and a lot more things. Super Monkey: Ball Banana Blitz easily has the most new features the series has ever had.
There are eight worlds, but two extra worlds can be unlocked by performing what you need to do to unlock it. The ninth world can be unlocked by beating the first eight worlds without any continues, and the tenth world can be unlocked by beating the ninth world without any continues. This task is so extremely difficult that most people will probably never do it.
To gain access to the next world, excluding the ninth world and the tenth world, you must beat all eight levels in the world, as well as the boss, but you do not have to beat the bonus stage. Each world usually has some theme to it. World Three is an ice world, World Four is an Egyptian World, and World Seven is a volcanic world, just to name a few.
Some levels feel a little bit too challenging. I did spend over three hours on one level. Most levels are not that difficult, though. It will take a lot of time to beat them once you get to World Four or World Five. The challenge begins to pick up almost too quick.
While you are doing these levels, you can collect bananas. They only add to your score, and eventually get you an extra life, depending on how many you collect. There is either one banana, or a group of about five bananas that you can collect throughout the stages. They are sometimes placed in the direction that you are headed in, but sometimes they are placed in an area that you do not have to go to complete the level. If you want to try some incredibly difficult challenge, then try collecting every single banana in the video game. That is probably the hardest challenge in any video game, ever.
The levels do not allow you to take your sweet time. No, instead, depending on the length of the level or how long it will take to complete about, you will either have sixty seconds or one hundred twenty seconds. I also noticed that only one level had thirty seconds. While this seems like little time to complete a level in, it really isn't. I, personally, have about twenty seconds left. There are few instances where you will only have about one or two seconds left, but it could happen if you do not act fast enough.
The bonus levels are in the middle of a world, and they are just levels that usually place you in a circular area with a couple of holes, and then you collect bananas. Video gamers try to get as many bananas as they can in sixty seconds. It is nothing too great, but it is quite fun to try to beat your record.
This is the first Super Monkey Ball video game that features bosses in it, I believe, as long as you do not count the Super Monkey Ball adventure video game. These new bosses mostly are pretty simple to beat, and there is even a big arrow pointing to the place where you have to it the boss to damage him before you even start the match! Every single boss is pretty simple to beat, but at least all of them provide something fun to battle against.
In the past, the Super Monkey Ball video games have had a few mini games, but this installment has fifty mini games! Honestly, there are too many bad ones. Some I cannot even control or I do not understand how to control, so I just avoid it. There are more than a handful of mini games that you will play once, and only once. There are tons of good ones, though, such as Monkey Squash, Monkey Race, and Monkey Target, just to name a few. I feel that the Wii Remote made some mini games too difficult at times, and that they would be better off being played with a normal control stick/controller, but most of these mini games are better with the Wii Remote.
Most of the mini games are four players, but some are limited to only two players. It is either limited to a minimum of two players, or to a minimum of four players. Some mini games also require the use of the Nunchuck, but most just require the Wii Remote.
The graphics do look a little kiddy. Most of the bosses had little pinkish parts in their bodies. The series does seem to aim towards younger children, so the graphics to look this way is completely necessary.
The backgrounds and color effect in Super Monkey: Banana Blitz mostly has a very similar background to all the other levels in the world. For example, World Seven has a volcano in the background in almost every one of World Seven's levels. You will be too focused on your monkey to even look at the background, most likely, though.
The monkeys never really say anything, but this is mostly due to the lack of any real storyline. Players will hear the ball moving as they roll it, and it will grow louder as they roll it fast, and this is a very good way to judge the pace you should go at. There are nice little tunes in every level, but if you are stuck on a level for awhile, you may want to turn the volume down a bit.
The Super Monkey Ball series has never made a huge appeal to me, but this new entry into the series has made me look at the series in a totally new way. Not only does it make the most use of the Wii Remote; it is also a superb video game that every one with a Wii should definitely consider checking out.
Overall: 8.3/10
Review created on January 5, 2007.