FA+
Shop
"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
8 years ago
A familiar series, but it is also still from the bargain bin.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
Well now, it is time to look at another one of Sega’s bigger series. The Super Monkey Ball series has been around for a few years now, and here we are going to look into the Wii version of the series. People must like this series if it has been around for a few consoles at this point. However, you will find this game in the bargain bin instead of it keeping a higher price as some main series can have attached to them. Is there a reason for that? Well, let us take a closer look and find out for ourselves alright.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz is split into two different modes. There is the main mode which is your classic monkey ball game. You have eight different worlds with eight different levels in them. You have to get to the goal ring of each level while collecting bananas and not falling off to complete the level and go to the next one. If you have played standard monkey ball in the past, you know what this mode is all about. Though luckily, I will say that unlike the older games in the series, this game is a bit more beginner friendly in that a game over doesn’t force you to replay the older levels over again. This one lets you continue right where you got the game over at. If you want to fully clear a world though, you do still have to do it without getting a game over. The game will still let you move on though if you beat the levels and the boss in each world though, which is nice. Still, the difficulty does eventually start to creep up as you play more of the levels. Around half way through the worlds, the difficulty starts to get higher and higher to where you are going to be dying way more frequently. Just be glad that you have unlimited continues is all. Still, the bulk of the difficulty at times does come from the controls being thrown on top of these tricky courses. I’ll talk more about the controls later though, for good reason as well. The second mode is the party mode, which is a mode where you are given a large number of mini games and you are allowed to play any that you wish to try and get a high score, or to try and compete with your friends. The game offers quite a large variety of games, so if you want to try many different types of games, you got your wish here. You are going to be busy with them for a while, though of course some games are better than others. Some of these games are longer than others, and others are over very very quickly. That’s why you are going to have lots of fun with friends with all the variety of choices that you get from having so many games. However, when I said some games are better than others, I really did mean that. Many of these games are plagued by the controls once again, and that will really kill your enjoyment if you can’t even play the games right or in the way they were intended to be played. This is an area where the motion controls are going to create some frustration, which ruins your gameplay enjoyment over all. Some of these games are very good and work fine, but from my experience, the ones plagued by the controls tended to be a bit more common than the ones that weren’t. Still, I can see this being a game that is more fun with friends when you play party mode, and the single player being better for someone wanting to play the traditional levels like from the previous game. Each mode can be fun, but there are definitely a few flaws that hold them back.
Story
Not applicable, as this is an arcade game mostly. I think there may be a story in there somewhat, but there is really nothing said about it, so I’m just skipping this.
Graphics
The graphic actually do look really nice overall in this game. Everything has that cartoony look, and one that looks smooth and very well done at the same time. Unlike in the last review, you can tell some effort was put into making the cartoony characters look good and not like they were on some outdated console, even if it was the same console the other game was on. All the backgrounds look nice enough, even if you sometimes wish there were more of them. The mini games all look nice, and environments you are playing games in, same as in the main mode, all look detailed enough to get the job done. Sure, I wish there was a little more around, and it wasn’t still the floating out in the middle of nowhere type of thing, but I get why they do it still. I didn’t really run into glitches, nor did any of the characters or environments look out of place or wrong in any sort of way. You can tell some effort at least went into making the game good. Seeing as this is an arcade game after all, you would expect maybe not the best, seeing as it is usually about high scores and just completing levels, but Sega does do the job of giving you something enjoyable to look at as you play this game. I just wish some other areas were as good is all.
Sound
Sound is good and it gives you something to listen to as you are concentrating so hard to make sure you aren’t falling on your main levels in this game. Again, this is another game, that while it sounds good as you are playing it, that memorable feeling just isn’t there, other than maybe the sounds of the clock ticking down and what the monkeys sound like as they are making their noises during play. In fact, the sound effects are way more noticeable and what you are likely to be paying more attention to than the level music as you are playing. There is level music yes, don’t get me wrong, and it is good, but it does its job in my opinion without being super memorable to my mind. None of the sound effects or music is annoying in any way, so do enjoy it, as it is good, and would be something you wouldn’t mind listening to, I just couldn’t think of it being something you would always remember in your mind to be honestly for a long time to come. Again, there is very little else wrong otherwise, so really, the sound is just fine, which is good still.
Control
The controls of this game though are a major area of discussion that I need to bring up. When you are playing the traditional mode, the controls aren’t that bad and do make an alright use out of the Wii’s motion controls. You simply tilt the wiimote in the ways you want the board to tilt instead of using a joystick like the older games did. This does seem to work well, plus, you can still use a button to do jumps instead of having to fling the remote, even if that is still an option as well. With the main mode, you aren’t going to have many troubles, but in later levels where you have to be more accurate, you are going to slowly begin to get frustrated as you know motion controls aren’t always known for their accuracy and steady hand, even with a motion plus adapter. For those areas where you need to be so careful or you are going to fall off the map, these controls can definitely get a little irritating when it comes to making sure your character stops when you want it and also doesn’t go flying off in some direction due to a jerky movement from your controller. As tricky as that sounds though, there is nothing to prepare you for the party mode’s controls though. Oh my goodness, there are just some games where the controls just feel like they are flat out broken beyond belief. Not all games are like this, in fact, some games work rather well with motion controls, but others will make you full your head out. You will be swinging and doing the motions that the game told you to do, and nothing will either be happening, or your cursor will be flying all over the screen with the smallest of movements. There are literally some games that were near impossible to play because of this. You can’t believe how frustrating it is to think you are doing something right, but the controls just don’t seem to be responding to the movements described on the screen. I hope you have some understanding friends if you can get some together to play this with you. I can see some very frustrated people with this game if they start to get into some of the games that don’t respond so well. While the main mode is alright enough and just brings with it the traditional frustration that monkey ball normally has with having to be very accurate at times, the party mode just at times feels very broken when you are trying to play it. If you want to brave these games to find the good ones, then be my guess, but I would almost recommend just sticking to traditional mode and not playing this mode as much.
Replay Value
The replay value of the game is actually not that bad. Even with the somewhat broken controls in some of the games in party mode, there are still many games that do work well, and with so many to choose from, I’m sure you can easily find some favorites that you or your friends can enjoy for quite some time. This is just a game based on high scores as well, so there is no long wait time between games like in Mario party. You also get to pick the ones you want to play, and can avoid the ones you don’t like as much. Being able to do that definitely will increase the enjoyment over all, even if it is a bit sad that it can be somewhat bogged down due to the controls. The main mode is a bit short, but at the same time, there is the fact you can always try and do each world without using a continue. You can try and complete the levels getting all the bananas, or you can even try and beat your best time. They did a good job making the main mode very arcady, but also doing it in a way that lets you sort of pick and choose what you want to play, instead of being stuck in a very linear and one shot and that’s it kind of way that traditional arcade modes can be at times. I can see people that either don’t mind the controls or can figure out how to deal with them getting quite some enjoyment out of this game, especially if they want to become masters at the game. For those that are easily frustrated by the controls though, I can see a controller going flying as well, which can kill replayability for some people. If you enjoy those games that have a real arcade like feel to them though, you are going to get many hours out of this game.
Overall, I would say that Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is an alright Sega title, but it does have some flaws that can ruin enjoyment for some people. The controls are the main downfall to this game, and certain modes and games do really suffer from the wii’s motion controls. The rest of the game though has that traditional monkey ball feel, and you get an honestly enjoyable arcade game, without the frustrating constantly restarting that some arcade games can throw out you to make them artificially longer than they really are. If you can get over the control problems, you got an alright game here, especially for the bargain bin price. Just keep the control problems in mind when you go and pick it up, but I would say you should at least give the game a try and see if it is for you or not. For the super cheap price it runs for right now, you aren’t going to be out much either way.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz a seven out of ten.
Gameplay: 7
Story: N.A.
Graphics: 9
Sound: 8
Control: 4
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 7
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
Well now, it is time to look at another one of Sega’s bigger series. The Super Monkey Ball series has been around for a few years now, and here we are going to look into the Wii version of the series. People must like this series if it has been around for a few consoles at this point. However, you will find this game in the bargain bin instead of it keeping a higher price as some main series can have attached to them. Is there a reason for that? Well, let us take a closer look and find out for ourselves alright.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz is split into two different modes. There is the main mode which is your classic monkey ball game. You have eight different worlds with eight different levels in them. You have to get to the goal ring of each level while collecting bananas and not falling off to complete the level and go to the next one. If you have played standard monkey ball in the past, you know what this mode is all about. Though luckily, I will say that unlike the older games in the series, this game is a bit more beginner friendly in that a game over doesn’t force you to replay the older levels over again. This one lets you continue right where you got the game over at. If you want to fully clear a world though, you do still have to do it without getting a game over. The game will still let you move on though if you beat the levels and the boss in each world though, which is nice. Still, the difficulty does eventually start to creep up as you play more of the levels. Around half way through the worlds, the difficulty starts to get higher and higher to where you are going to be dying way more frequently. Just be glad that you have unlimited continues is all. Still, the bulk of the difficulty at times does come from the controls being thrown on top of these tricky courses. I’ll talk more about the controls later though, for good reason as well. The second mode is the party mode, which is a mode where you are given a large number of mini games and you are allowed to play any that you wish to try and get a high score, or to try and compete with your friends. The game offers quite a large variety of games, so if you want to try many different types of games, you got your wish here. You are going to be busy with them for a while, though of course some games are better than others. Some of these games are longer than others, and others are over very very quickly. That’s why you are going to have lots of fun with friends with all the variety of choices that you get from having so many games. However, when I said some games are better than others, I really did mean that. Many of these games are plagued by the controls once again, and that will really kill your enjoyment if you can’t even play the games right or in the way they were intended to be played. This is an area where the motion controls are going to create some frustration, which ruins your gameplay enjoyment over all. Some of these games are very good and work fine, but from my experience, the ones plagued by the controls tended to be a bit more common than the ones that weren’t. Still, I can see this being a game that is more fun with friends when you play party mode, and the single player being better for someone wanting to play the traditional levels like from the previous game. Each mode can be fun, but there are definitely a few flaws that hold them back.
Story
Not applicable, as this is an arcade game mostly. I think there may be a story in there somewhat, but there is really nothing said about it, so I’m just skipping this.
Graphics
The graphic actually do look really nice overall in this game. Everything has that cartoony look, and one that looks smooth and very well done at the same time. Unlike in the last review, you can tell some effort was put into making the cartoony characters look good and not like they were on some outdated console, even if it was the same console the other game was on. All the backgrounds look nice enough, even if you sometimes wish there were more of them. The mini games all look nice, and environments you are playing games in, same as in the main mode, all look detailed enough to get the job done. Sure, I wish there was a little more around, and it wasn’t still the floating out in the middle of nowhere type of thing, but I get why they do it still. I didn’t really run into glitches, nor did any of the characters or environments look out of place or wrong in any sort of way. You can tell some effort at least went into making the game good. Seeing as this is an arcade game after all, you would expect maybe not the best, seeing as it is usually about high scores and just completing levels, but Sega does do the job of giving you something enjoyable to look at as you play this game. I just wish some other areas were as good is all.
Sound
Sound is good and it gives you something to listen to as you are concentrating so hard to make sure you aren’t falling on your main levels in this game. Again, this is another game, that while it sounds good as you are playing it, that memorable feeling just isn’t there, other than maybe the sounds of the clock ticking down and what the monkeys sound like as they are making their noises during play. In fact, the sound effects are way more noticeable and what you are likely to be paying more attention to than the level music as you are playing. There is level music yes, don’t get me wrong, and it is good, but it does its job in my opinion without being super memorable to my mind. None of the sound effects or music is annoying in any way, so do enjoy it, as it is good, and would be something you wouldn’t mind listening to, I just couldn’t think of it being something you would always remember in your mind to be honestly for a long time to come. Again, there is very little else wrong otherwise, so really, the sound is just fine, which is good still.
Control
The controls of this game though are a major area of discussion that I need to bring up. When you are playing the traditional mode, the controls aren’t that bad and do make an alright use out of the Wii’s motion controls. You simply tilt the wiimote in the ways you want the board to tilt instead of using a joystick like the older games did. This does seem to work well, plus, you can still use a button to do jumps instead of having to fling the remote, even if that is still an option as well. With the main mode, you aren’t going to have many troubles, but in later levels where you have to be more accurate, you are going to slowly begin to get frustrated as you know motion controls aren’t always known for their accuracy and steady hand, even with a motion plus adapter. For those areas where you need to be so careful or you are going to fall off the map, these controls can definitely get a little irritating when it comes to making sure your character stops when you want it and also doesn’t go flying off in some direction due to a jerky movement from your controller. As tricky as that sounds though, there is nothing to prepare you for the party mode’s controls though. Oh my goodness, there are just some games where the controls just feel like they are flat out broken beyond belief. Not all games are like this, in fact, some games work rather well with motion controls, but others will make you full your head out. You will be swinging and doing the motions that the game told you to do, and nothing will either be happening, or your cursor will be flying all over the screen with the smallest of movements. There are literally some games that were near impossible to play because of this. You can’t believe how frustrating it is to think you are doing something right, but the controls just don’t seem to be responding to the movements described on the screen. I hope you have some understanding friends if you can get some together to play this with you. I can see some very frustrated people with this game if they start to get into some of the games that don’t respond so well. While the main mode is alright enough and just brings with it the traditional frustration that monkey ball normally has with having to be very accurate at times, the party mode just at times feels very broken when you are trying to play it. If you want to brave these games to find the good ones, then be my guess, but I would almost recommend just sticking to traditional mode and not playing this mode as much.
Replay Value
The replay value of the game is actually not that bad. Even with the somewhat broken controls in some of the games in party mode, there are still many games that do work well, and with so many to choose from, I’m sure you can easily find some favorites that you or your friends can enjoy for quite some time. This is just a game based on high scores as well, so there is no long wait time between games like in Mario party. You also get to pick the ones you want to play, and can avoid the ones you don’t like as much. Being able to do that definitely will increase the enjoyment over all, even if it is a bit sad that it can be somewhat bogged down due to the controls. The main mode is a bit short, but at the same time, there is the fact you can always try and do each world without using a continue. You can try and complete the levels getting all the bananas, or you can even try and beat your best time. They did a good job making the main mode very arcady, but also doing it in a way that lets you sort of pick and choose what you want to play, instead of being stuck in a very linear and one shot and that’s it kind of way that traditional arcade modes can be at times. I can see people that either don’t mind the controls or can figure out how to deal with them getting quite some enjoyment out of this game, especially if they want to become masters at the game. For those that are easily frustrated by the controls though, I can see a controller going flying as well, which can kill replayability for some people. If you enjoy those games that have a real arcade like feel to them though, you are going to get many hours out of this game.
Overall, I would say that Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz is an alright Sega title, but it does have some flaws that can ruin enjoyment for some people. The controls are the main downfall to this game, and certain modes and games do really suffer from the wii’s motion controls. The rest of the game though has that traditional monkey ball feel, and you get an honestly enjoyable arcade game, without the frustrating constantly restarting that some arcade games can throw out you to make them artificially longer than they really are. If you can get over the control problems, you got an alright game here, especially for the bargain bin price. Just keep the control problems in mind when you go and pick it up, but I would say you should at least give the game a try and see if it is for you or not. For the super cheap price it runs for right now, you aren’t going to be out much either way.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz a seven out of ten.
Gameplay: 7
Story: N.A.
Graphics: 9
Sound: 8
Control: 4
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 7
