Super Monkey Ball

Call your friends and warn your neighbours, it’s time to have a ball!!

JP release: 14th September 2001
NA release: 18th November 2001
EU release: 3rd May 2002
Developer: Amusement Vision
Publisher: Sega
NGC Magazine Score: 88%
Mods Used: Widescreen Patch

With their long rivalry during previous generations, there’s something special about Sega being the only third party to release a GameCube game for its Japanese launch. Sega’s first big third part games wasn’t one of their classic icons, but instead based on a very recent arcade game, all about rolling around monkeys in balls.

The core concept of Super Monkey Ball is that you don’t control the monkey directly, instead, the analogue stick tilts the stage itself. It’s such a simple concept, but pulled off extremely well.

A lot of this is due to the brilliant level design, creating an immense amount of addictive challenges. The game isn’t afraid of giving your near-impossible levels that require a ton of skill and practice to get past. There are also additional risk factors you can take, such as collecting more bananas (which give lives) while some levels can have special gates that are incredibly tough to reach, but let you skip levels. With 110 levels to get through – some that need to be unlocked by not using any continues, the main mode will keep you busy for a long time.

One thing I especially love are all the extra details that aren’t needed, but help so much. While the tracks are simple chequers, the backgrounds are lovely, having some simple 3D elements that are nice to look at, but aren’t too busy to be distracting. Another nice touch are the life icons wincing as you get near the edge, hoping that you make a risky jump to skip part of a level.

But that’s not all, Super Monkey Ball also includes extra minigames which are good enough to talk about on their own.

Monkey Race

This is a simple Mario Kart-style racing game with six tracks (so only one fewer than Wave Race) and a few items to use. It features single race, grand prix and time trial. It’s a lot of fun, and at the start of the GameCube’s life, was a decent little racing game.

Monkey Fight

There’s a giant boxing glove on a spring hovering in front of your ball, and you use it to bash your opponents off the side of the level. There’s a few power-up and levels and it’s good, senseless, fun.

Monkey Target

This is probably the most skill-based game of a lot. You go down a massive ski-jump-like slope then open the ball up into wings. You need to pilot your monkey and close the balls so you land and stop on the targets to score points. This is easier said than done, although all control is in the hands of the players.

There are a few different layouts of targets, and wind conditions will change how you fly. You can also get bananas and power-ups from the sky to help you, and there’s an optional “Wheel of Danger” that adds additional obstacles in your way. If you can get a few friends to practice, it can become highly competitive.

Monkey Billiards

It’s 8-ball pool, and a surprisingly good version of it. While some additional pool types would have been nice, this is still simple to play while being a lot of fun.

Monkey Bowling

Probably the weakest of the party games, mainly due to how aiming works – the direction metre swings wildly from side to side and you have to press A to stop it. If you do like it, then there’s an extra challenge mode with some tricky setups.

Monkey Golf

An 18 hole mini golf. Some courses are boxy minigolf style ones, while others are like more traditional golf courses, but floating in the air. It’s difficult to judge distance here, so a marker showing where full power would reach would have been a big help.

With a great main mode and a variety of high quality additional modes, this provides a great amount of variety and longevity, especially for a launch game.

Fave

A game like this lives or dies by the accuracy of its controls, and there are no moments when you can blame anything other than your own mistakes for sending the ball plummeting thousands of feet off the edge of the course (where no doubt rests a massive graveyard of unlucky apes and bits of glass). It shows how slick and responsive the GameCube’s stick is, and how useful that rubberised grip can be when the controller gets sweaty halfway through a level.
Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #67

Remake or remaster?

If you enjoy these games casually, then Banana Mania is a great remake. However, for those that want the full original experience, they really should add options for the original physics and lives systems.

Official Ways to get the game

The remake, Banana Mania, is available on PC, Xbox One/Series, PS4/5 and Switch.