''Super Monkey Ball'' is a series of platform video games initially developed by

Amusement Vision , doing business as , is a Japanese video game developer and a division of Sega. It is known for developing the games in the ''Yakuza (franchise), Like a Dragon'' series, which the studio is named after, since ''Yakuza 5'' and the Super Monkey B ...

(now

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio , doing business as , is a Japanese video game developer and a division of Sega. It is known for developing the games in the ''Yakuza (franchise), Like a Dragon'' series, which the studio is named after, since ''Yakuza 5'' and the Super Monkey B ...

) and published by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game ''Monkey Ball'', which was ported to

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

as ''Super Monkey Ball'' later that year. Several sequels and ports have been released. The gameplay involves moving one of several monkey characters in a ball through an obstacle course to a goal, with a time limit. Bananas can be collected for extra points. In addition, several minigames can be played, making the series

party games Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillia ...

as well.

Games

* '' Monkey Ball'' ( arcade) (June 23, 2001) * ''

Super Monkey Ball ''Super Monkey Ball'' is a series of Platformer, platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision (now Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) and published by Sega. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game ''Monkey Ball'', which was ported to ...

'' (

) (September 14, 2001) * ''

Super Monkey Ball 2 is a platform video game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the ''Super Monkey Ball'' series, and the first installment to have a storyline and to be exclusively released on a ...

'' (

) (August 25, 2002) * '' Super Monkey Ball Jr.'' (

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

) (November 19, 2002) * ''Super Monkey Ball'' ( N-Gage) (October 7, 2003) * ''

Super Monkey Ball Deluxe ''Super Monkey Ball Deluxe'' is a 2005 Platformer, platform video game developed and published by Sega for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox (console), Xbox. The game compiles all stages from ''Super Monkey Ball (video game), Super Monkey Ball'' and '' ...

'' (

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

) (March 15, 2005) * '' Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll'' (

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

) (December 1, 2005) * '' Super Monkey Ball Adventure'' (

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

) (June 30, 2006) * '' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz'' (

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

) (November 19, 2006) * ''Super Monkey Ball: Tip 'n Tilt'' (

J2ME Java Platform, Micro Edition or Java ME is a computing platform for development and deployment of porting, portable code for embedded system, embedded and mobile devices (micro-controllers, sensors, gateways, mobile phones, personal digita ...

) (2007) * ''Super Monkey Ball'' (

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft Mobile for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design languag ...

) (July 10, 2008 for iOS, March 18, 2011 for Windows Phone) * ''Super Monkey Ball: Tip 'n Tilt 2'' (

) (2008) * ''Super Monkey Ball 2'' (

) (2009) * ''Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition'' (

, Android,

) (2010, re-released in 2018 for Android) * '' Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll'' (

) (February 9, 2010) * ''Super Monkey Ball: Ticket Blitz'' ( Arcade) (2011) * '' Super Monkey Ball 3D'' (

Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...

) (March 3, 2011) * '' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz'' (

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

) (June 14, 2012) * ''Super Monkey Ball Bounce'' ( Android,

) (2014) * '' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD'' (

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

) (October 29, 2019 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, December 10, 2019 for Windows) * '' Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania'' (Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4,

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

, Xbox One,

Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...

) (October 5, 2021) (May 12, 2022 for

Amazon Luna Amazon Luna is a cloud gaming platform developed and operated by Amazon. The platform has integration with Twitch and is available on Windows, Mac, Amazon Fire TV, iOS (as a progressive web app) as well as Android. Games and channels from b ...

) * '' Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble'' (Nintendo Switch) (June 25, 2024)

Gameplay

As opposed to normal games where the player takes control of the character itself, ''Super Monkey Ball'' has the player move their character around in a gachapon ball by tilting the direction gravity pulls them down (the exception of this being ''Super Monkey Ball Adventure''). By tilting gravity at various angles, players can control the speed and turning of the character. The goal of each level is to reach the goal gate before the timer runs out, and without falling off the floor. Bonus points and extra lives can be earned by collecting bananas on the stage. Early games use traditional controllers to play while many recent titles utilize modern technology, such as the accelerometers of the Wii and iPhone titles. The gameplay is similar to

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade video games, active from 1985 to 1999, then as Midway Games West Inc. until 2003. It was formed when the coin-operated video game division of Atari, Inc. was transferred by its owner Wa ...

' 1984 arcade video game ''

Marble Madness ''Marble Madness'' is a 1984 platform game designed by Mark Cerny and published by Atari Games for Arcade video game, arcades. Set in an Isometric video game graphics, isometric perspective, the game tasks the player with guiding a marble throug ...

''.

Characters

The original ''Monkey Ball''

arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

featured three playable characters: the primary protagonist AiAi, his wife MeeMee, and their son Baby, who has traveled back in time from the future; a fourth, AiAi's best friend and former rival GonGon, was added in the game's

port, ''

''. These four have become the primary characters of the series, appearing in every subsequent title to date. Two new characters, the martial artist

lemur Lemurs ( ; from Latin ) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea ( ), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are Endemism, ...

YanYan and the amnesiac scientist Doctor, were introduced in '' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz'', while another two, athletic trainer Jam and AiAi's archrival Jet, first appeared in '' Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll'' and '' Super Monkey Ball 3D'', respectively. Another character was introduced in '' Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble'' named Palette, an adventurer. Several games feature unlockable variations of these characters wearing alternate costumes, along with occasional guest playable characters such as

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...

. Some games such as ''

'' and '' Super Monkey Ball Adventure'' have also featured various

non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...

s, such as the villainous Dr. Bad-Boon, a scientist from Baby's time who travels to the past to prevent MeeMee from marrying AiAi and take her as his bride. Characters from the ''Super Monkey Ball'' series have been featured in other Sega titles. AiAi has appeared as a playable character in '' Sonic Riders'' and ''

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a 2010 kart racing video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and Windows, featuring characters from multiple Sega franchises. The game is the third title in the ...

'', while both AiAi and MeeMee make playable appearances in '' Sega Superstars Tennis'' and '' Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed''. AiAi was also featured in

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...

' adaptation of ''Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed'' in issue #45 of ''

Sonic Universe ''Sonic Universe'' is an American comic book series that was published by Archie Comics in association with Sega, based on the latter's ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. It is a spin-off (media), spin-off of the comic book series of the Sonic the Hedgehog ...

''.

Legacy

As of December 8, 2006, the franchise has sold 4 million copies. The iOS version in 2008 was one of the first games on the App Store and was the best selling app on launch day. In 2009, ''

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

'' ranked the first ''Super Monkey Ball'' #39 on its list of "The 100 Best Games To Play Today". Writing in ''

1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die ''1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die'' is a video game reference book first published in October 2010. It consists of a list of video games released between 1970 and 2013, arranged chronologically by release date. Each entry in the list ...

'', Christian Donlan described ''Super Monkey Ball'' as "one of Sega's grade-A triumphs". An enhanced engine of the GameCube games was used in '' F-Zero GX'', which was critically acclaimed and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

considered a step forward for the franchise. The developers of ''Super Monkey Ball'' went on to make the '' Like a Dragon'' series. When commenting on the differences of the franchise between the GameCube games and the Wii entries with ''Banana Blitz'' and ''Step & Roll'' in a ''

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...

'' 2009 interview, Toshihiro Nagoshi stated that they were made easier for kids and families. However, he stated that if they got the chance, they definitely would like to go back and make a game in the style of the old games that particularly the fans overseas want. Due to the older demographic of the PlayStation Vita, the difficulty for '' Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz'' was made more on par with the GameCube entries. In 2015, the mobile games were removed from App Store and Google Play and thus are now considered

lost media Lost media is any piece of media thought to no longer exist in any format, or for which no copies can be located. The term primarily encompasses visual, audio, or audiovisual media such as films, television, radio broadcasts, music, and video ...

. The 2020

battle royale game A battle royale game is an online multiplayer video game genre that blends last-man-standing gameplay with the survival, exploration, and scavenging elements of a survival game. Battle royale games involve dozens to hundreds of players, who ...

'' Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout'' has been described as "''Super Monkey Ball'' for the ''

Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...

'' generation" by Tom Wiggins of ''

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

'' magazine. In 2023 the emulator touchHLE was released, supporting the 2008 original iOS version of the game.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Super Monkey Ball (Series) Sega video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2001