Kororinpa: Marble Mania

"The Best game on the Wii"

Kororinpa caught my eye at Blockbuster one day and I figured why not, I need something to rent on my game pass. How does it play? Is it worth checking out? Do we finally have a decent Wii game to play? Read on!

The graphics in the game are colorful and crisp. They aren't super realistic or overly detailed but it's rather whimsical. I liked the visuals and the different marbles was an interesting idea. Got to love a penguin marble.

The sound in the game is very nice. Pleasing music to the ears. Not cd purchase worthy but very relaxing. The sound effects are very cute, almost sickeningly so but it's neat that each marble has a different sound relating to its own theme.

Control in the game is surprisingly good for the most part. Hold the Wiimote dead on. Once the stage begins you tilt around and move the marble that way. It's simple but in the later stages you need to tip it over onto stuff and almost have to do flips. It can get a bit messy when you flip the marble but otherwise the game hollows out items so you can see or you can just see. Very nice in deed.

The game consists of 45 levels. If you've played Super Monkey Ball then the general idea is the same. You need to guide your marble to the end of the level but you also need to collect all of the orange gems but they are always in the path of your journey to the end.

The game starts off easy enough with linear and easy levels. It later kicks it into gear and you'll be flipping the levels to certain degrees to climb up tiers. It's really fun and while they aren't super hard it's very entertaining to see what kind of level will be thrown at you next. Treasure Hunt was the hardest level for me.

You have infinite time, lives and all of that. Later levels offer check points because they become longer and more difficult. You can pick the type of marble you want to use. At first you only have easy ones but as you advance you unlock normal, hard, super hard and very easy marbles. They change speed, weight, jump distance and all of that. It's nice that it's left up to the gamer to decide how they want to play.

Inside each level is a green gem. Collect them to unlock secret levels. 16 in total I believe. These aren't your normal levels but a little more complex with a lot more orange gems. You also gain gold trophies in levels if you finish fast enough. These unlock the final 5 levels if you get them all. I haven't done that yet. Upon beating the game you unlock mirror mode.

The game is addictive, that's for sure. I actually stood there for 3 hours straight playing this game to 60% completion. If the game hits the $20 price point I will buy a copy for my collection. It is a bit short and easy though but it's the first Wii game I'd actually add to my collection.

Story - N/A
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 10/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 10/10
Replay Value - 9/10

Final Score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/13/07