Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

"Super Monkey Ball rolls along the right path once again."

The original Super Monkey Ball was released for the Gamecube a while back. After a little bit of confusion, a lot of popularity, and some frustration, Sega released a Super Monkey Ball 2, with even more levels, even more difficulty, and a...story mode?!

Since then, Super Monkey Ball has twisted and turned in directions that I feel it shouldn't have. The title for the PS2, Super Monkey Ball Adventures, was a mess. There have been several Monkey Ball titles apart from that, including a DS game which is stylus-controlled.

While some of these ideas are effective, I found myself very disappointed with most of them. I was looking forward to another game like Super Monkey Ball or its beloved sequel.

Therefore, as you can imagine, I was tentative about picking this game up at launch. I eventually ended up buying it a few months later. But boy, am I glad I didn't miss out on the treat I had waited for since the original Super Monkey Ball title.

GRAPHICS - 8/10
Graphics aren't important for this kind of a game. Where they do show up, however, they are brilliantly-done. Sometimes, I find myself rolling off-course because I'm admiring the lush textures and rich lighting. Environments are great, just as they were in the first two SMB installments.

SOUND - 8/10
I subtract two points from this score due to some obnoxious monkey-squealing sounds that I have noticed every once and a while. This is sound.

The music is BRILLIANT, on the other hand. To me, it's classic Monkey Ball. I'm not playing Adventures anymore. I'm messing with hardcore, original Monkey Ball. Excellent!

CONTROLS - 10/10
PERFECT. I thought I was good with the analog stick! However, when I tried out Monkey Ball with the remote, I couldn't believe how natural it was.

Basically, the Wii remote subs as an analog stick. You tilt down to roll forward, pull up to go backward, and twist your wrist to the right or left to move right or left respectively. This installment of Monkey Ball adds something the others didn't have: a jump button. The A button acts as a jump button, and it works WONDERFULLY. I was worried that it would take away from the core Monkey Ball experience, but it only adds to it.

After a few tries, or about 10 minutes, you should be playing Monkey Ball like a pro!

GAMEPLAY- 10/10
Again, classic Monkey Ball. Guide your monkey through obstacles and over razor-sharp ledges to reach the goal as fast as possible while collecting bananas. Fun stuff. The jump button adds a lot, as does the Wii remote. The game can be very frustrating. Then again, if you have ever played a Monkey Ball game in the past, you know what you're getting into. This game takes skill and precision, no doubt about it. It's a lot of fun regardless.

REPLAY- 10/10
50 Minigames. 50 Minigames.Not to mention, you can always go back and try to beat high scores, redo levels for fun, or record incredible feats using the replay feature, which is finally back!

FINAL WORD - 9/10
Buy this game. It will not be a waste of your money, nor a waste of your time. In fact, I recommend it OVER WarioWare: Smooth Moves.

Have fun, everyone, and thanks for reading!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/07