A good sequel with frustrating but fun single-player gameplay, but poor multi-player gameplay.
This formula was so successful that it warranted different sequels, and a spinoff adventure/platformer game.
Sega announced the game Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz as a Wii exclusive game, which would be released for launch. Many of the series' fans were excited about the thought of this game, because it seemed like the controls would fit the gameplay perfectly.
Story:
The story of this game is really simple. Aiai and his monkey friends have their bananas taken away from them by a monkey pirate, and they have to get them back by going through the courses in the game, and defeating the bosses.
This definitely is not the best story I have seen in a game. In fact, it's pretty stupid. However, there are certain kinds of games that don't really need a good story, and this happens to be one of those games that doesn't need one.
Controls and Gameplay:
With past games, the whole idea behind the gameplay was to make a challenging game that you can play using only one hand. This idea is part of the reason why so many of the series' fans loved the idea of a Super Monkey Ball game on the Wii. The Wii's controller was made the way it is so that certain games could be played with only one hand. And the motion controls seemed perfect for moving the course to move the monkey. However, despite the fact that it seems perfect for the controller, the actual controls are not as easy to get used to as the fans believed it would be. In order to keep the course still, the player has to hold the remote as flat as possible. If the player tilts the controller in any direction, even just a little bit, the course tilts in the same direction. This often causes the monkey to go off the ledge or through a hole. The same thing happens if the player is trying to make the monkey walk slowly around narrow paths, so that if the player accidentally tilts the controller a little more than he or she wants to, even for just a second, it could end up resulting in the monkey falling off the course.
While playing this game, I was not able to get used to it for a long time. I had managed to get past the first three worlds without getting used to the controls. However, after that, I was able to find a position where I could be comfortable while playing the game, and support my arm so that there would be very few sudden movements that would result in the monkey rolling off of the course. If I had not found that position, I probably would have still had a tough time getting used to the controls, and would have given up because of it.
Along with the motion sensors, Sega have made another change to the controls. With the controller set up the way that it is, Sega realized that they could do something that they couldn't have done before without losing the one-handed gameplay, pressing a button. They used this opportunity to add the ability to make the monkey jump by pressing the "A" button, which is well within the reach of the player's hand while playing the game. This aspect to the game is not just a cheap way to make the game's puzzles easier. In fact, Sega used the jumping ability in order to add more obstacles in the courses, such as stairs that the player has to jump up in order to get closer to the goal at the end of the course.
One of the things that made the older games in the series so popular is the fact that the courses that the player went to started out easy, in order to get the player used to the controls, but then quickly became difficult to the point where only the best gamers could get through the course. This aspect does continue in this game, but it is not quite as even as it was in older games. In this game, the first three worlds are very easy. As I mentioned before, I was able to get through the first three worlds without even getting used to the controls. The fourth world is the only world which has a medium difficulty. It is above the difficulty of the first three worlds, but not as difficult as the later worlds. After the fourth world, the difficulty gets extremely high. There were times that I wanted to throw the controller at my TV because of how frustrated I was while playing these worlds. However, despite being stuck on the later worlds, I managed to beat the eight worlds within a couple weeks.
For the dedicated gamer, the gameplay does not stop after those eight worlds. For each world, if the player gets through all 10 levels and the boss level within the world without having to use a continue, it will reward the player with a gold crown for that world. When gold crowns have been earned for the eight worlds, a ninth world is unlocked. If a gold crown is earned for that ninth world, then the tenth world is unlocked. While it's not that difficult to get gold crowns for the first few worlds, it can be a big challenge to get them for the later levels.
However, despite some of the problems that the single-player gameplay had, such as controls which are difficult to get used to and inconsistency of the difficulty of levels, the main game of Super Monkey Ball is really good. It is a frustrating but fun game, that will have gamers challenged in later worlds.
When this game was announced, Sega made it clear that they will be focusing on the mini-games as much as the main game. They announced that there would be 50 mini-games in the game. That is more than any other Monkey Ball game before. Because of this, many of the people who were getting the Wii mainly as a multi-player party console were excited to get it in their collection. With so many mini-games, how could they go wrong? However, Sega managed to find a way to mess it up. There are a few games that are good, but only a few.
One of the games that I liked was a kind of light-gun game, where the monkeys are on a space station, trying to shoot asteroids before they hit the window. In addition, there will be some bananas flying at the window, and the player has to avoid shooting those, so that they can get them and earn points.
Another good game is a racing game. In this game, you hold the controller on its side, and you move left or right by tilting your controller left or right, similar to Excite Truck and Sonic and the Secret Rings. To accelerate, you press the "2" button. There are different things in the course which make you move forward quicker. There are also items that help you in the race by hurting your opponents, which you use by pressing one of the arrows on the directional pad. This is very similar to Mario Kart, but with the monkeys inside of the plastic balls.
The last game that I thought was good is a First Person Shooter kind of game, where you choose one of three different places, and you have to find the other people and shoot them without being killed by them. You move the monkey with the analog stick on the nunchuck attachment. To aim, point you aim the remote at the screen. To shoot, press the "B" button on the bottom of the controller. To change weapons, press either the "C" button on the nunchuck attachment or press the left or right arrows on the remote. To jump, press the "A" button. And finally, to throw a grenade, press the "Z" button on the nunchuck attachment.
However, besides these three games, I thought that the games ranged from just being OK to being really bad. Some of the other games could have been good, but they had poor controls. Other games had bad ideas behind them, so it didn't really matter if they had good controls or not. I believe that they could have improved some of these games if they had spent more time on them. However, I also think that it would have been better to spend more time on making the main game better, and only having about 10 mini-games instead of having 50.
Graphics:
In the past, the Super Monkey Ball games have not had graphics that looked too realistic. However, compared to the graphics in this game, the older games' graphics were realistic. In this game, Sega decided to have graphics similar to cell-shaded graphics. This gives the game a more colorful look to it.
While some people might prefer the more "realistic" graphics of the older games, I believe that the graphics in this game go well with the game, and look really nice. It gives the game a special feeling that fits with the gameplay.
Sound:
The game has many different kinds of songs. There are some annoyingly happy songs that get on my nerves really quickly. However, there are also some really good songs in this game. My personal favorite song is the one from the fifth world.
In addition to the songs, there are the sound effects. The sounds when you hit objects are OK, although not that great. The monkey sounds can get pretty annoying after a while. However, the most annoying thing in the game is a voice saying "Fallout!" every time you get knocked off of the course. The voice itself is not annoying, but the fact that it plays every time you fall off the course is annoying.
Overall:
This game might not be as ideal as fans thought it would be, and will take a while to get used to the controls. However, if you do get used to them, they end up being really good. The main game is uneven, but provides a challenge that gamers might like, especially if they try to unlock the 9th and 10th worlds. The gameplay is so challenging later in the game that it becomes one of the most frustrating but fun games on the Wii. The multi-player gameplay is definitely not as good as Sega made it out to be, with only a few good games. If you want this game for the single player gameplay, then it is worth checking out, but if you want it for the multi-player gameplay, you'll probably be disappointed and should get a different game.