How Good Controls Ruined Super Monkey Ball
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2023
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Streamlining is a process that almost every game inevitably goes through. It may happen during development as a consequence of refining the game's core systems. Or it may be undertaken by a new dev team decades down the line in an attempt to bring in a new audience. But no matter what circumstances cause it to happen, it’s always a question that has to be answered;
How do we simplify our video game in a way that invites inexperienced players whilst still retaining an edge that experienced players will enjoy?
And there’s no better case study for this, than Super Monkey Ball
First released by SEGA in 2001 for the Arcade and then later the Nintendo Gamecube. Super Monkey Ball was created by Toshihiro Nagoshi, who you may know now as the creator of the Yakuza series who tries really hard to look like a Yakuza, but back in the day, he was an arcade game developer, more known for the streamlined high octane fun of F-Zero GX and Daytona USA than the complex gritty crime stories of Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball was no exception.
You roll around simple, arcadey levels with tricky turns and levitating ledges that require you to tilt yourself around the course with such precision that one slight misplacement of the analog stick can make your monkey fall to his death. But despite the game's inherently precise nature, Super Monkey Ball is the very definition of Streamlined. Your 1 major control is the analog stick. That’s it. You press A to select and speed up level openings, but apart from that, Super Monkey Ball is a 1 button or 1 stick game. You’d think that this amount of streamlining borders on oversimplification, but the challenges of navigating a movement system based on physics and momentum means it is a game that appeals to anyone, can be easily understood by anyone, and can be taken to its absolute limits by casual fans and fans who partake in Speedruns alike, and the added touches of the plethora of extra minigames and the cute monkey characters rolling around in the balls makes for an experience that is so bizarre yet unfathomably genius that I am sat here wondering how Nagoshi and his team at SEGA even came up with it. Streamlining isn’t just a process to Super Monkey Ball. It IS Super Monkey Ball, and not only is that by far its biggest strength, but also, historically, its biggest weakness.
This video will go through the rise and fall of the Super Monkey Ball series, its sharp decline in quality after the first 2 games, and how it could possibly bring itself back for modern audiences through a well maintained live service. - Hry
![Is Super Mario 3D World ACTUALLY Mario Galaxy 3? | The Design of 3D Mario [retro dog]](/img/n.gif)
we ballin.
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Nah bro stop it
Make a vid where u admit that u trolled them pls these kids really believe u😂😂😂😂😂
I feel like Super Monkey Ball is a perfect example of “not all games need sequels”
super monkey ball 2 slander goes hard fr
To be fair, I fell in love with Super Monkey Ball because of Banana Blitz (Saturdays spent fighting my brother for the player 1 Wiimote. Man those were the days). In defense of my favorite game, the boss fights actually felt fun and hard (the clunky controls balanced out the boss fights to the point where I genuinely had a blast trying to beat that darn Walrus over and over again).
So this is why you were on this game for 6+ hours the other day
Attentive.
I have an idea on how you can expand on Super Monkey Ball
You put them in cubes
That could be a funny gamemode lol.
@@Ardrid_I’d like to imagine sega adding that in as a joke
Touch and Roll is the first entry in the series that received criticism for its controls a year before Banana Blitz.
This series sounds like a good candidate for sequelitis lol
So you want the Trackmania 2020 model? I guess it could work.
Yes, pretty much exactly like that. Why make a new Monkey Ball game every 1-2 years when you can have the community make new levels?
They'd probably end up making better levels in the long term anyway.
As a Super Monkey Ball fan and a Yakuza fan, I'm conflicted. I love both, but I hate that one is outright forgotten in favor of another. The OST for SMB is also pretty great.
P.S. As a Virtua Fighter fan, I haven't forgiven Sega for still not releasing Ultimate Showdown on PC.
As mush as I love Super Monkey Ball I can understand why Nagoshi wanted to move on to more complex video games like the Yakuza series.
Used to play them on Xbox. Were great Sunday evening games.
That they are.
I would love a Super Monkey Maker.
As would I :)
I always wondered why their newer games weren't that interesting or popular anymore, but you explained Super Monkey Ball's existential conflict in a really intriguing way and it makes sense why nothing sticks out anymore. Makes me wonder whether the newly announced Banana Rumble will finally give an answer to this video's question. It seems they're going for that simple formula (maybe with a boost-like function?), but enhancing it with multiplayer 🤔
Ah yes, what a short but well informed video about the hit video game F-Zero GX
Yeah idk what CZcams was thinking there.
Imma keep it though.
I have the whole classic series 2001-2006 Super Monkey Ball-Super Monkey Ball Adventure
Nice
I have to emulate the GameCube game at some point
That's how I played them for this video. They work great!
OMFG the first SANE Live service proposal
monkey ball being a live service game would work pretty well since the only thing that's keeping the games alive is the rom hacking scene for the original games and having a game revolving around that would keep the game alive even if its not the same as the originals
i need now to play all moneky ball games i can
My favorite was Banana Blitz on the Wii
I don't know a thing about Monkey Ball. But I'm just here to give you my view and support because i like your channel and your content 😆
Thanks bro 👍
The real question is, when should I make a game streamline or niche?
the controls were perfect on gamecube, every game since they have been broken, this is what has killed monkey ball for me.
The closest to your idea is a spiritual sequel indie game called Rolled Out. It's currently in early access but does have a level editor and remains quite faithful to the original Monkey Ball physics.
Rolled Out still suffers from being a rehash of the earlier titles.
@AustinMSmall Well...this videos idea of a successor isn't really to add on to the formula but stick to what works and add content without sequels.
@@treylinazerros159 Rolled Out still is as content rich as Super Monkey Ball 2. Besides, Rolled Out is essentially what wouldhappen what would happen if the series continued without any changes.
@@Austinator0630 The point I was trying to make is that it supports custom levels by default, no messing around with modding or hacking into the game to make it work.
..I'm beginning to question if you watched this video cause the author of it isn't interested in changing the formula itself. None of his suggestions do.
If you don't agree with those points, then it's more productive to provide your own counter-suggestions to the video than bringing down a post where you're clearly not the target audience. I'm genuinely interested, though this reply chain isn't the place.
@@treylinazerros159 I did. I'm just reiterating his points.
i disagree. i think they need to just keep the formula and just make new levels. most new features are just cheap shallow gimmicks that dont actually make games any better. new levels and better graphics are all it needs.
Hm...do you think Monkey Ball would do well if it were handled like Trackmania?
banana blitz aint bad bro 😭😭😭😭
live service games are terrible for the consumer