The turn of the millennium was a tumultuous one for Sega and its fans. The Dreamcast’s launch in 1999 after a series of hardware missteps and internal company strife was exciting, but the system failed to gain enough traction despite its innovations and a slew of blue-sky patented software. The news in early 2001 that Sega would be exiting the hardware business to develop games for other platforms shook fans to the core, but within months the company’s debut GameCube title—adapted from the arcade original that debuted in June 2001—showed that, despite the demise of the Dreamcast, Sega’s inimitable arcade style and spirit were alive and well.
Super Monkey Ball felt like a mission statement when it arrived as a GameCube launch title. With a premise that was as wacky as it was instantly understandable, you move a free-floating course under your monkey’s feet (well, balls) to guide them to the finish line while collecting bananas. Easy! The game was an explosion of colorful arcade fun from Sega veteran Toshihiro Nagoshi and signaled to fans not to worry, everything would be just fine.
The Monkey Ball series has grown to more than 20 titles, with about half of them coming to Nintendo platforms. But What is the best Super Monkey Ball game? We asked Nintendo Life readers to rate the ones they’ve played, and the result is the ranked Monkey Ball list below! Ranked from worst to best works banana dramait’s time to find out who is the best.
Please note: the order below is updated in real-time according to each game’s corresponding user rating in the Nintendo Life games database. Even as you read this, it is entirely possible to influence the order below. If you haven’t rated your favorites yet, simply click the ‘star’ of the game you want to rate below and assign a score instantly.
So while we await the launch of the upcoming Switch exclusive, Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble, in June, let’s take a look back at the best Monkey Ball games on Nintendo systems, starting from the bottom. TO GO…
Bringing back the Wii’s launch game with a bit of HD 13 years later, Banana Blitz HD featured more refined controls — specifically allowing you to control mazes with the analog stick — to help you enjoy this 100-level series, but with a broader gameplay it was still let down by strange leaderboard decisions and some lackluster minigames. Maybe the best monkey ball game since Super Monkey Ball 2, but not a return to the series’ peak.
Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll was a decent addition to the franchise, but it just set the bar too high in the difficulty stakes for it to last. There were plenty of minigames on offer, though there were inevitably a few duds and games that could have done with a little more detail. For the solo, more experienced player, there wasn’t anything to be found here that came close to the genius of the original Super Monkey Ball — Sega has clearly moved into the expanded market with this franchise. If you did want to take the leap into this motion-controlled monkey ball thing (it didn’t turn out well), then it’s best to check your blood pressure and practice Zen meditation first.
The tame level design and lack of the beloved Monkey Target minigame came as a major disappointment in 2011, but if you were willing to accept something a little different, Super Monkey Ball 3D offered a fun experience. The game’s reduced difficulty opened up Monkey Ball to a wider audience, and the flashy 3D visuals, multiplayer fun, and gyroscopic controls provided enjoyable moments, even if many veterans felt their attention wandered and craved Monkey Target.
Taking Super Monkey Ball and turning it into a story-based platform ‘adventure’, Traveller’s Tales developed this entry in Sega’s series. It’s only natural to want to expand the world of Monkey Ball beyond the confines of simple, abstract gauntlets and explore other possibilities, but there’s something joyfully ‘Sega’ about a catchy yet fun premise presented without context — just step inside and have fun like the blue sky! Without the controls and refinement to make the platformer shine, Super Monkey Ball Adventure, with its expanded story and lore, felt like you were headed in the wrong direction.
Essentially a GBA port of the original Monkey Ball, no one is suggesting that Super Monkey Ball Jr. the best way to play the game. However, that developer Realism managed to scale down the original enough for this to work well this one the hardware is still impressive today. Framerate isn’t everything (and could actually be improved if you entered the code in the main menu to enable ‘Super Blocky Mode’), but again, you’re getting a version of Super Monkey Ball that you can comfortably play on 16-bit 2002 .Much better than a kick in the… er, shin.
One of the first Wii games, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, introduced the era’s requisite swagger to its mix of monkey sliding and minigames and, like many motion-controlled games, proved to be a love affair. or-hate-’em discord. Boss battles and the ability to make your monkey jump made their debut this time and, as an early Wii game, served as a fun introduction to the console and its features for a time when you weren’t busy getting your ass in the hands of your grandparents in Wii Bowling.
It’s Monkey Ball, on the DS. You roll around the monkey in a ball while collecting bananas, using your stylus or D-pad if you prefer. It has a ‘Main’ mode and a ‘Party’ mode with mini-games. How how. Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll does quite a lot exactly what you expect, offers another round of perfectly portable Monkey Ballin’, this time with a second screen displaying a cute picture of your chosen primate. Interestingly, while the worlds and tracks are presented in 3D, the monkeys in the balls on the upper screens are flat sprites, but the effect is pleasant enough. Not the tallest of rollers, but a solid returner.
It might not be saying much, but Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania is the best series in nearly two decades, and newcomers are sure to find a lot to love. It’s clear that the team has a real passion for the franchise and it’s packed with content, new ways to play, and so many additions and improvements that never existed in the original. Unfortunately, the engine underneath it all is not Enough up to the job. What they have achieved with Unity is simply not on par with the originals and while the main game is still enjoyable, many of the party games are severely hampered. For us, this one is full of features, but it’s not a top banana.
Times were changing in the early 2000s, and there was no surer sign for gamers than the launch of Nintendo’s console with a game from its biggest rivals. Fortunately, Sega hit the ground running (or should that be?) on other companies’ hardware with Super Monkey Ball, a fantastically surreal and colorful new series where you had to tilt the terrain to get a monkey in a ball to the finish line. Natch.
As has been the case for years, it’s really all in the title, and while Sega fans may have been blue at the time, this was a great indication that the spirit of the company would live on.
Super Monkey Ball 2 saw original developer Amusement Vision add something that was missing from the original game: Story Mode. Yes, if you were wondering how or why these monkeys were trapped inside transparent balls and tossed around on surreal floating stages, this sequel has now provided much needed narrative context and the story of Monkey Ball was born.
Jokes aside, it offered more of the same great gameplay as the original and proved to be an equally brilliant party game. There is nothing not to like! He did the series Monkey Ball really climax with another game? Quite possible.
Surprised by the result? Feel free to let us know your thoughts on the rankings above and share a comment about your favorite Monkey Balls below.
