Review cameronisok 4/5 · Nov 6, 2021
Super Monkey Ball is a Surrealist Horror Game
Why are the monkey's in balls? Who put them there?
Why must they cross a perilous seesaw suspended over a hot pot?
I never played Super Monkey Ball 1 or 2 as a child (of which this game is a sloppy compilation.) Thus, the indoctrination into its nightmarish spaces only occurs to me now.
"Nightmarish" is the best way to …
Why are the monkey's in balls? Who put them there?
Why must they cross a perilous seesaw suspended over a hot pot?
I never played Super Monkey Ball 1 or 2 as a child (of which this game is a sloppy compilation.) Thus, the indoctrination into its nightmarish spaces only occurs to me now.
"Nightmarish" is the best way to describe these games. Levels are often huge plains of checkerboard patterns full of obstacles to knock your monkey into oblivion, with ominous names like "THE COMB" and "THE FREEFALL." The player perspective is limited to a focus on your monkey in thier (plastic?) capsules, leading to surprise drop offs, surprise secret portals, and surprise moving platforms.
These horrific spaces are actually the main character. The player controls not the entrapped primates, but the worlds themselves. Tilting them with a jittery sense of accuracy at best.
To contrast this inexplicable horror, is the game's colorful and enthusiastic art direction. (Imagine if Dali directed a Japanese soda commercial.) The monkeys also seem to be happy with their dangerous fates, fearing neither free falls nor death.
The game is horrific, but very fun. The gameplay ideas introduced 20 years ago still feel unique and timeless. As someone who missed this franchise in its peak, it was a delight to experience.
