Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

The Monkey Ball franchise has faced mostly prominent success since debuting as an arcade game in Japan in 2001 (which was also ported over to the GameCube a month later). With its easy-to-navigate interface and light controls, Super Monkey Ball easily established itself as the new Marble Madness (or even Chu Chu Rocket) for next-generation consoles. A sequel was soon released, boasting an increased number of levels, mini-games and options to enhance game play. A sequel to the sequel eventually found its way to store shelves, Super Monkey Ball Adventure, which was received by critics and gamers alike rather coldly. The core storyline did absolutely nothing but hinder the game play and eventually found its way into bargain bins as a dud. After crossing consoles and even spawning handheld versions, Banana Blitz, the latest in the Monkey Ball series, aims to bring gamers back to the core basics of this highly addictive title, but can it survive the controls of the Wii-mote?

With Banana Blitz, the Sega team returns to what it does best: creating mind boggling puzzles sure to catch the ire of any gamer that advances far enough. The setup of levels is somewhat similar to the dreadful SMB: Adventure title. That is, instead of listing each puzzle by difficulty, it lists them by the standard locations found in most titles: Forest stage, Fire stage etc. There are about 10 locations to explore in all, each holding at least 8 different puzzles, a couple bonus rounds and a boss battle. The boss battles are mostly isolated from any other part of the game. Since there’s no generic storyline this time around, the bosses don’t seem to have much purpose. Though they’re not challenging, either.


Just like the previous SMB games, Banana Blitz lets gamers control the ground, rather than the ball itself. As usual, the first few levels are nothing but introductory examples of how to survive the world of Monkey Ball, only now are they more necessary than ever since playing with the Wii-mote is mandatory. Is playing with the Wii’s control schematic harder than with a standard controller? It most definitely is and it will take more than a few rounds to become familiar with SMB before you start searching for hidden paths in various levels. That being said, the learning curve certainly is not an impossible feat to master, rather, it’s just going to take practice before one is comfortable enough. Holding the Wii-mote flat against your palm as you aim towards the screen, the slightest turn in any direction affects the stability of the ground of which your monkey ball is traveling. In my opinion, though, I’d say the sensitivity of the controls are somewhat similar to playing with a regular controller. So while it may appear to be overwhelming, a little practice will go a long way.

One welcome feature never seen in any of the series’ previous installments is the much appreciated jump button. Sega has integrated this addition by designing certain levels to be completed only by successful utilization of jumping, rather than recycle old levels that wouldn’t require it. It lends itself to the game play in different ways, allowing gamers to find new routes where they wouldn’t expect to see one. To jump, either flick the Wii-mote up or press the A button.

Also new to Banana Blitz are the inclusion of two playable characters on top of the original four monkeys. YanYan and Doctor lend their help in collecting bananas and have specific character abilities that differ substantially from the other characters. For example, while Ai Ai is equally average in every aspect of control and movement, the Doctor has better acceleration while executing a jump that’s every bit as slow as how GonGon jumps. Conversely, while YanYan has the best jump out of all the monkeys, the rest of her stats remain below average.

In the past, the mini-games of SMB have always been a staple of the series. Though far from perfect, mini-games like Monkey Target or Monkey Soccer never failed to entertain gamers willing to indulge in multiplayer action. This time around, Sega has packed 50 mini-games to keep gamers busy. The downside to this is that most of these games lack any depth whatsoever and appear to be thrown in just to say ‘hey, we’ve got 50 mini-games’. Combing through the list, I was more than surprised to see a few of my favorite mini-games from past titles absent (where’s Monkey Pool or Soccer?!). I certainly applaud Sega for trying to go above and beyond the call of duty in supplying such a plethora of extras but I’m somewhat irked at what they did leave out, leaving behind a number of Mario Party-like games. Though there’s bound to be something for everyone.


On the technical side, like past installments, Banana Blitz’ graphics are strikingly similar in appearance and don’t really add much new. It comes off as a smooth and polished game, similar to how Wii Sports looks in its simplicity, but with a heightened sense of flair (notice the particle effects mixed in with confetti after completing each level). Then again, I suppose no one really buys Monkey Ball for the graphics.

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz probably has enough features and good qualities to sustain its $50 price tag. Gamers who excelled at previous SMB titles might be surprised at the level of difficulty for Banana Blitz. Again, I’m not saying it’s impossible, but the degree of difficulty facing the later levels border on insanity (almost similar to achieving every gold medal on Blast Corps for the N64). Good luck!

Final Score: 8 out of 10