Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
Developer(s)	Sega
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Toshihiro Nagoshi
Platform(s)	Wii
Release	NA November 14, 2006 JPN December 2, 2006 AUS December 7, 2006 EUR December 8, 2006
Genre(s)	Platformer, Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is the latest entry in the Super Monkey Ball series following Super Monkey Ball Adventure. It is a Wii exclusive and was released before the system was released on November 14, 2006, in North America.

Story

Banana Blitz introduces a new pirate-like villain, previously confused to be Dr. Bad-Boon. He has stolen the Golden Banana and it's up to AiAi and his friends to recover the scattered pieces of it.

Features

• The game spans a total of 100 main game levels, and 50 mini-games that each use the controller in a different way (e.g. "Monkey Darts" has players simulate the action of throwing a dart using the Wii Remote) as well as the appearance of all major characters featured in past games.
• Unlike previous games in the Super Monkey Ball series, this game feature boss battles, a feature never implemented in preceding games in the Super Monkey Ball series.
• The Wii controller is held parallel to the ground. The monkey character rolls based on the slope of the game world, directly corresponding with the relative tilt of the Wii controller. The analog stick on the nunchuck attachment can control the camera but does not have to be connected to the Wii remote to play the game.
• For the first time in a Super Monkey Ball game, players are able to jump by quickly flicking controller up and holding B, or by pressing the A button. The game also features character-specific abilities and stats for the puzzle stages, previously unseen in any game before it.

Characters

In addition to returning characters, Aiai, Meemee, Gongon, and Baby, two new characters can be found in Banana Blitz: YanYan and Doctor:

YanYan

A new girl has come to town, sporting the name "YanYan." She appears to have a huge crush on Aiai, and she shows it well in her behavior, leading MeeMee to become slightly concerned. yan yan is also the ruler of the world!!!!!!! all hail yan yan.

Doctor

A mysterious, elderly, lemur monkey has drifted into town with a case of amnesia - he can't even remember his name! However, this amnesia-suffering monkey also has made some great inventions, which is why the townsfolk have given him the name "Doctor."

Character Attributes

As confirmed on the official Japanese site [1], each character has different stats and abilities. Categories are divided by Size of Ball, Jump, Speed, Weight, and, Acceleration:

• Aiai is an average character. He has average stats for each category.
• Meemee has less speed and weight, but she has good jump ability to make up for it.
• Gongon may have the biggest ball, resulting in the worst jump ability, like Doctor, and bad acceleration, but, to make up for it, he is the fastest character in the game and he has the heaviest weight. His size also allows him to destroy the exploding stumps. Because he has the biggest ball, he may hit the boundaries of a goal where other monkeys would fit snugly.
• Baby has the smallest ball, giving him good jump ability and acceleration, but he is quite slow and has the lightest weight. He fits safer into goals than the other monkeys, because of his small size. In this game, he gets a new costume and matching sunglasses, specifically designed for the game. [2]
• YanYan may have the best jump ability in the game, but all of the rest of her stats are somewhat below average.
• Doctor has the best acceleration in the game, and all of his remaining stats are average, but he ties Gongon for the worst jump ability.

SEGA Mascots

IGN has also mentioned the appearance of 2 other Sega Mascots in the game, who were in the demo at Leipzig 2006. However, it is unknown, at this point, as to whether or not they will be in the final version, as some have taken this to be a false rumor, claiming that IGN may have mistook YanYan and Doctor for these new characters.[3]

Further, the two SEGA Mascots were thought to be Sonic and Shadow, but Sega of America has confirmed that neither of them are unlockable characters in the final version. It is currently rumored that these secret mascots can be unlocked by successfully locating all of the game's Hidden Banana Bunches scattered throughout the stages of the main game.

Levels

Below is a list of worlds found in the game. Each stage contains eight stages, and a boss stage. Additionally, for every four stages completed in any order, players will have an opportunity to try at the bonus stage for the world.

• Monkey Island - The first world in the game, very reminiscent of the traditional, tropical/jungle setting from Super Monkey Ball and Super Monkey Ball 2.[4]
• Jumble Jungle - A jungle world, featuring brush and waterfall backdrops.
• Smooth Sherbet - An ice world, surrounded by falling snow particles and slippery, icy pathways.
• Detritus Desert - An Egyptian-style desert world, complete with pyramids, sand dunes, and bridges.[5]
• Pirates Ocean - A pirate themed world filled with spooky ships and swaying waters.[6]
• Cobalt Caverns - An underwater world that unfolds in dark caves.
• Volcanic Pools - A lava world featuring mazes inside an erupting volcano.
• Space Case - A space world, boasting galactic, and surreal backgrounds.[7]
• Sinking Swamp - A swamp world with rain and putrid green gasses. [8]
• Ultra Heaven - A world above the clouds with a sunset in one direction, and stars, planets and comets in the other.[9]

Players are able to save a total of 30 replays of any of the stages played throughout Story and Practice Mode on their Wii, according to the official manual.

Mini-Games

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There are 50 mini-games in total in Banana Blitz. There is, also, a "party" mode whereby players can choose tournament-type gameplay, selecting mini-games in an attempt to accumulate the most points. Recurring mini-games from previous titles include Monkey Target, Monkey Race, Monkey Bowling and Monkey Wars.

Unlike previous games, in some cases, it is even possible to "fail" at some mini-games, as was the case in the party game, Sonic Shuffle. [10]

Music

The game features a wide variety of music tracks for both the mini-games and the main game stages. Some tracks featured in the game are even remixes of tracks from preceding Monkey Ball games as listed below:

• The music featured in the trailer on the official US Site is a remix of the Monkey Baseball theme from Super Monkey Ball 2.
• The music found in the "Race" and "Squash" mini-games is a remix of the Clock Tower Hill and Cannon Ball Circuit music from the Monkey Race 2 mini-game, in Super Monkey Ball 2.
• The music found in the "Paper Sumo" and other mini-games is a remix of the Woody Arch River music from Monkey Boat, in Super Monkey Ball 2.
• The Music found in "Seesaw Ball" and other mini-games is a remix of the Monkey Target 2 mini-game from Super Monkey Ball 2
• The music from all of the Worlds are remixes from 'Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll'.

Reception

Banana Blitz has thus far received generally positive reviews [11]. Notable comments were the following:

EGM awarded the game a 6.2, stating that the new Wii Remote-based control scheme made the game excessively difficult but enjoyed the large amount of games even if a few were not fun, whereas IGN said the controls simply had a relatively steep learning curve, and once the player is used to them, are superior to control using an analog stick. GameSpot also praised the controls but criticized the single player game for its brevity. All three found the new cel-shaded visuals a little simplistic, although noting that it was well-suited to the tone of the game. Noteworthy, too, is the comment made by GameSpot that Banana Blitz was one of the "best in the series".

Ratings:

• 8.5 by Nintendo Power [12]
• 8.4 by IGN
• 8.3 by GameSpot
• 7.2 out of 10 by GameTrailers [13]
• 4 out of 5 by GameSpy [14]
• 8.0 by Games Radar [15]
• 8.0 by Digital Entertainment News [16]
• B by Underground Online [17]
• 6.2 average by EGM
• 81% by Official Nintendo Magazine
• 84% by NGamer

The game also achieved a high fanbase, ranking as one of the top best sellers for the Nintendo Wii and selling over 300,000 units in the United States region. [18][19]

External links

Official Links

• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz - Official Website (JPN)
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz Official Website (US)

Articles

• Interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi at 1UP.com
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz Reviews at Metacritic.com
• Wii Preview at IGN