Customer Reviews

Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

The problem with games like Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz is that you have rabid fans of the series - some who love them no matter what, and others who hate any slight change, no matter how small.

That means that no matter how well or poorly the Wii version was, those who loved the game on previous platforms will either hate it for changing - or love it because it has the same theme.

Let me first say that I love the Super Monkey Ball series in general. I grew up playing the actual marble game - Labyrinth - that this is based on. In the Monkey Ball games, there is a marble (holding a monkey) that rolls around on a surface. You tilt that surface via the controls, to move the marble. Your aim is to gather up bananas, avoid obstacles, stay on course and reach the goal. There are both the main game path, which involves trickier and trickier courses to navigate, as well as mini-games.

With the Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz version for the Wii, you get an entirely new level of interactivity. In essence it's becoming more "real". In previous versions you pressed buttons to tilt the board - but now you are actually *tilting* the controller. You're in essence playing with a real board, with a real marble. You tilt your controller forward, the marble rolls forward. It is incredibly intuitive.

For some people, like me, this is great. It's no longer a button press "translating" into motion. Your hand is causing the motion. I can hand the controller to anybody that comes into my house, show them the game, and they get it immediately. It's physics, it's beautiful.

While this is great, it also means that it gets challenging for really little kids. They don't have great hand-eye coordination yet. While they might be OK with button pressing, they aren't wonderful at holding a controller steady to guide a marble along a path. They probably aren't playing professional soccer either. I'm not saying this is "bad" - but I'm saying it's something you have to accept. The challenge level of this game is fine for kids in the intro levels, but the later levels are meant to challenge talented gamers. Little kids might feel stumped here. They can always replay those earlier levels to try to get all the points there, and practice their skills until their bodies catch up.

In addition to the main gameplay path, there are 50 mini-games. This is of course a huge number, but as with any new release, some are upset that their previous favorites are altered. That's going to be true with any new game. I have to agree that some mini-games here aren't my favorites. I specifically don't like the games like the "harpoon" games that make me "thrust" my spear into fish. I don't find that thrusting motion with the Wii to be very accurate. On the other hand, I love some of the other games. That's why they give you 50 of them - you'll like some, dislike others. I'm sure other people love the fish game and hate some of my favorites. If you're fond of some of the previous GameCube mini-games, heck, stick the GameCube game into the Wii to play them. The Wii takes the older discs, after all.

In general the graphics are quite nice, bright and colorful. The music also strikes the right note of fun and casual gameplay. The real beauty of this series - and the Wii controllers - is that you can get anybody to walk into your house and within minutes they grasp what is going on and play along. You can't say that for most XBox 360 or PS3 titles, or even for several other of the Wii games we own. I really do give Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz great kudos for what they have here. If I had any complaint, it's that they might have wanted to add a "super easy" mode so that little kids could play through the entire game even if they lacked coordination. This is one of those super-kid-friendly games and while it could allow adults to cheat, I think the benefit to little tykes to "get through the game" and be happy would be worth it.

Man, I never write reviews, but this game is just too cool. Especially once I saw that people were dissing it, I had to throw my two cents in. I don't understand how someone could say something negative (or even neutral) about this game! It is so much fun! Yes, a few of the mini-games (like Trombone) are awesome in theory, but don't really work in practice. But there are FIFTY of them!! AND - they are all UNLOCKED from the get go! That is SO awesome! Some of the games require you to get really into it as well. I love that! One of the mini-games has you flying like a bird through rings, and I couldn't get the controls to work right until I started flapping my arms like a bird. Yes, FLAPPING MY FREAKING ARMS LIKE A BIRD!! I'm a 30 year old man with two kids and a hot wife and I own businesses and I'm flapping two controllers like a bird in my living room. NINTENDO Wii IS THE GREATEST THING EVER!!
***A WORD TO THE CURIOUS***
Almost all of the negativity I've heard about the Wii and/or its games comes from hardcore gamers. They are used to pushing buttons to hit a homerun, and getting their thumbs to do everything. But with Wii (and Super Monkey Ball and its mini-games), if you want a better backhand, you've got to practice your backhand! My videogame-illiterate wife picked up this game and is just having a blast with it! It is very intuitive, especially to those that have little experiences to marr their Wii adventures. New wine fits better in new bottles, to paraphrase a biblical passage.
Also, I should point out that the regular Monkey Ball game is better than ever, too. It takes a second to adapt if you're familiar with the old games, but using the Wii controller is so much more fun. Also, you can jump now! In closing, my favorite mini-game is a racing game in which you turn your Wii controller sideways and drive it like a steering wheel!! It really changes the whole game experience. Once everybody gets used to this way of gaming, Xbox and Playstation don't stand a chance. Who cares if the graphics are great if you still hit a button with your thumb to swing your sword? And this game is the best game to experience Wii that I've played (which I realize only includes Zelda and Wii Sports, but still). If you have doubts, rent it first. But don't listen to the skeptics - you'll love it once you get a taste. Trust me. I usually sell games a week after buying them, but this one isn't for sale.

I was a little disappointed with Super Monkey Ball. It has a main game, and 50 mini-games. The main game is quite fast paced and fun, however, it is a little too simplistic to justify the cost of a full game. Supposedly the 50 mini-games should make up for it. However, these mini-games are so difficult to control to be any fun. After playing Wii Sports, I just cannot get used to the awkward gaming experience Super Monkey Ball has to offer.

When I first bought my Wii I was torn between what game to get along with Zelda: Twilight Princess. It came down to Rayman: Raving Rabbids and Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. Ultimately I went with the former and decided to make Monkey Ball a Gift Card post-Christmas purchase.

First off, the nunchuck is only used for certain mini-games (more on those later.) In the main "storyline" (read: had to throw something together so there'd be a reason for monkeys in balls racing around a track collecting bananas and slamming into gigantic monsters heads and belly buttons,) the controls are simple enough - the Wiimote acts as a sort of extention of the playing field. When you tilt the controller forward, the playing field tilts forward, sending your monkey-in-a-ball in said direction.

It took me awhile to get the hang of it, and I was partially thankful that I had sharpened my Wiimote teeth on other games so I could get used to the intricacies of the motion sensitivity. If you're not careful you could very easily send your poor monkey... ball... falling to his or her demise.

A nice behind the scenes feature of the control scheme, again for the main game, is that it's based on the actual controller movement, so you don't have to worry about jacking everything up because you moved out of the way of the sensor bar (or your cat jumped up on the coffee table... stupid cat.)

Gameplay wise, the pace is pretty tight, with very little in the way of lag time between finishing one level and moving on to the next. The gameplay mechanics actually are such that you have to force yourself to stay calm to make sure your moves are accurate, even though your monkey is bouncing around and ricocheting off things (stop laughing.)
You can choose between a variety of different characters, each of which have their own special abilities. It will be up to you to figure out which one to use in order to 100% a level.

The mini-games, at least for me, leave something to be desired. Yes, there are a ton of them. Yes, they offer a boat load of multi-player possibilities. Yes, I'm going to kill someone if another Wii game comes with some crap-tastic version of wack-a-mole. I'm still impressed Nintendo built full 3D controls into the Wii, but I'm not impressed with its use in the SMB:BB mini-games. While it can be cute (ex: playing a trombone, using the Wiimote as the slide,) it's extremely frustrating to get exact to the point where I just didn't feel like playing them. Good on paper, but lacking in real world product.

With around 100 levels of main game, SMB:BB is sure to offer you plenty of replayability. A solid buy for Wii owners.

Like a few of the poor comments, a lot of people will buy this game thinking they're getting a lot with the 50 mini games. One can't dismiss this in a review stating that 1 or 2 or 5 of the mini games are fun, therefore justifying a 5-star rating. Sega needed to make 10 of these mini games exceptional, dump the other 40 early in development, and then spend the rest of the time tweaking the main game. Then, this package would deserve 5 stars. As it stands, half of the mini games are unplayable (once you have played Wii: Sports and can see how the games are supposed to react to controller movements). Of the remainder, most are not fun, frustrating, or simply not 'special'. And really, that's what it comes down to. SMB was supposed to be a 'special' title. Instead, it's going to be one of the first bargain bin games for the Wii.

I don't know about the quality of the Multiplayer games, as I haven't played them, but the Single Player is terrific. When I first bought this game I was very disappointed and just kept going back to Rayman, but I kept messing with this and eventually I got suckered in. After a few days it went from a mediocre game that was not worth fifty buck, to one of my favorite games ever. It is easily one of the hardest games I have ever played. I cuss more at this little kids game than in all the time I spent on Grand Theft Autos. The thing is each level is usually less than a minute. So if you screw up, you're right back in it. I really think if the levels had been another thirty seconds long I'd have quit long ago. You get a feel as you go along that you are improving and as soon as you feel like you've got it down there's newer harder levels to challenge you. With the addition of the two hidden worlds, there is hours and hours of replay. And I usually never replay a game for hidden content. This is probably the most challenging game out there right now for the Wii, easily more so than Zelda, Red steel,rayman, or Trauma Center.

I have been an extremely devoted SMB fan since the very first time I laid eyes on it. I own ALL of them, and so when I stood in line all night Saturday (and through Sunday morning, 8am), I made sure to grab myself a copy of SMB: Banana Blitz for my brand new Wii. I bought an entire set of controllers, anticipating the mini-game fun with all my friends. (We're huge SMB fans, all of us. It always makes an appearance at our parties.)

But now I'm really angry. They completely gutted our favorite mini-game(s), hitting Monkey Target worst of all. I can honestly say I don't care that there are 50 freakin mini-games, because now Monkey Target is completely worthless. Instead of the amazingly subtle game play with bonus items, increasingly difficult levels, magnets, velcro, double bonuses, wind speed and direction, and the all-import ramp run-off you have... a cannon, one level, no wind or wind direction, no bonuses, and no special items.

Who cares if I can SORT of pilot a submarine on a single level? Monkey squash -- no joy there. A lot of the controls for the mini-games are terrible. And so on, so forth. The new mini games suck almost unilaterally, but gosh darn, there are 50 of them! But volume does not make up for lack of quality.

I love traditional SMB levels and the ones on SMB: Banana Blitz are nice. The graphics are beautiful and fun. But the best part of the game for me and my friends, is now gone and dead. None of the reviews I'd read mentioned the fact that this favorite of most SMB players was killed like this, and if they had, I certainly wouldn't have wasted my $50 plus tax.

If Sega people are reading this: BRING BACK MONKEY TARGET. That's what people play at parties when they're slightly drunk and sick of listening to Super Smash Brothers, and way too awake to enjoy Mario Party.

Bought this game today and we've been enjoying it all day. We got through the first few worlds fairly quickly. Perhaps that's because we're used to the Wii remote especially in Mercury Meltdown which is a LOT more challenging than this game. Overall it's just really cute, nice music, cute levels, a bit frustrating, but very engaging. It's one of those games that I like to pop in after getting frustrated w/ adventure games like Prince of Persia or Tomb Raider. One star off for the mini games, we tried a few of them and they're not interesting and hard to control.

The Wii controller makes this entry in the Monkey Ball series - Soooo much harder - but you get over that, and learn how to adjust - but then the levels start getting near impossible to beat. A few I only beat through luck after the 80th or so try... For such a fun game, it's unfortunate how hard they made it.

I checked an online guide, and apparently to unlock some of the later worlds - you have to beat the entire game without "continuing" - huh??? Yeah I don't think I'll ever have the patience or time to do that - but the first 8 or 9 levels were a lot of fun for my wife and I... just be ready to get VERY ANGRY here and there :)

Side note - the mini games are a let down, we got bored (and frustrated) after only trying a few of them...
But that might be an unfair review as there are still 37 or so to try...

The Main game is enjoyable- but that is a formula that has been set in stone. The controller adds a new element- and its a blast. However- they are trying to sell most people on the MiniGames- and they just aren't good.

I have played a handful of them- and they all control very poorly. Half of the time- we just started over because one of the controllers would go eratic. I hope that this isn't a sign of what is to come from SEGA for all of their Wii games.