| Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz | |
|---|---|
 The game's boxart. | |
| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Toshihiro Nagoshi |
| Platform(s) | Wii |
| Release date(s) | NA November 14, 2006 JP December 2, 2006 AUS December 7, 2006 EU December 8, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Party |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E |
| Media | 1 × Wii Optical Disc |
| Input methods | Wii Remote and Nunchuk |
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is the eigth entry in the Super Monkey Ball series following Super Monkey Ball Adventure. It is a Wii exclusive and was released as a launch title for the system on November 14, 2006 in North America.
The story of Banana Blitz introduces the space alien pirate king previously confused to be Dr. Bad-Boon. He has stolen the Golden Banana Bunch and AiAi and his friends must recover the scattered pieces of it.
Aiai is an average character. He has average stats for each category.
Meemee has less weight, resulting the second fastest character (like Baby), but she has good jump ability to make up for it.
Baby has the smallest ball and the lightest weight, giving him good jump ability and acceleration. Like Meemee, he is the second fastest in the game. 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.
Gongon has the biggest ball and the heaviest weight, resulting in the second worst jump ability and worst acceleration, but, to make up for it, he is the fastest character in the game. Because he has the biggest ball, he may hit the boundaries of a goal where other monkeys would fit snugly.
YanYan may have the best jump ability in the game and the second fastest, like MeeMee and Baby, 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 is the slowest character in the game and has the lowest jump ability.
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 features 8 boss battles, a feature new to the franchise.[3]
- The Wii controller is held parallel to the ground, with the monkey character rolling 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 is entirely optional.
- For the first time in a Super Monkey Ball game, players are able to jump by quickly flicking controller up and holding B, and jumping in this way allows one to potentially jump slightly higher than you could by simply pressing the A button. The game also features character-specific abilities and stats for the puzzle stages, previously unseen in any other game in the series.
Mini-Games
There are 50 mini-games in total in Banana Blitz. There is also a "party" mode where by 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.
Worlds
- Monkey Island
- Jumble Jungle
- Smooth Sherbet
- Detritus Desert
- Pirates Ocean
- Cobalt Caverns
- Volcanic Pools
- Space Case
- Sinking Swamp (complete the default 8 worlds without using a continue)
- Ultra Heaven (complete the 9th world without using a continue)
Reception
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 number 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". Hyper's Kosta Andreadis commends the game for its "standout party games, great use of Wii-mote for main game and its multiplayer mode". However, he criticises it saying, "boss battles can get tedious [and] certain party games are atrocious".
Ratings:
- 8.5 by Nintendo Power
- 8.4 by IGN
- 8.3 by GameSpot
- 7.2 out of 10 by GameTrailers
- 4 out of 5 by GameSpy
- 8.0 by Games Radar
- 8.0 by Digital Entertainment News
- B by Underground Online
- 6.2 average by EGM
- 81% by Official Nintendo Magazine
- 84% by NGamer
- SKIP by the Wiiviewr
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.
Trivia
- The game has had mixed reactions from fans. Some claim that it is a revivial to the franchise, while others state that the game is too easy (with the exception of Ultra Heaven 5 due to a glitch.)
- Although it is technically the first Super Monkey Ball game to have boss stages, the Party Game Monkey Shot from Super Monkey Ball 2 also has bosses at the end of a level.
- Many of this game's worlds and music are reused in the two iPhone games.
- Also, every single World in Single-Player has a remake of a song in Super Monkey Ball: Touch and Roll.
- Although this is the first game to have the characters redesigned, Super Monkey Ball: Touch and Roll has similar redesign elements.