Sega's new web site reveals another minigame that will come in the GCN package. Besides the already mentioned Race, Billiards, Golf and Bowling, Amusement Vision has created "Monkey Target," a bomber game of sorts. After the Monkey Ball has been launched off a ramp, the ball will split open at a hinge, creating "wings." Players will fly through the air, choosing a target to BOMB! The person with the most points wins! Mwahahah!

Thanks to IGNCube we’ve learned that opposed to the arcade game (and what we saw at E3) there are four playable monkeys – not 3. Gongon is a new character, exclusive to the GameCube version. Apparently, Aiai is the most balanced of them all, but doesn't excel in any one area; Meemee is also all-around average; Baby is small and quick and Gongon is heavy and slower, but more powerful.

If you missed it, Billy got us a picture of the Monkey Ball arcade game, banana joystick and all. Apparently the advertising for this game in Japan is more abundant than for any other GameCube game.

Last updated: 08/22/2001

Nintendo has been criticized for catering to young gamers with “cute” games and cartoony characters, though often cannot be faulted because it consistently offers high gameplay quality that appeals to all ages. Sega’s Super Monkey Ball clearly takes heed from this Nintendo formula, combining adorable monkey-in-ball characters with irresistible gameplay. What’s more, with its simple yet addictive nature and cute appearance, Monkey Ball may be one of those rare gems that entice even non-gamer types (like your grandma or your girlfriend) to play and enjoy it.

Super Monkey Ball first appeared in Japanese arcades in May 2001, sporting a unique banana shaped joystick. The same month at E3, Sega’s Amusement Vision team confirmed that it is coming to Nintendo GameCube. Ever since, Amusement Vision president Toshihiro Nagoshi has been openly excited to be making games on the GameCube. Super Monkey Ball will be Amusement Vision’s first NGC game. Moreover, it will be the first game from one of Sega’s development teams to grace the newest Nintendo home console. Fortunately, Super Monkey Ball is prepared to live up to the honor, sporting tons of fun, unique gameplay and several improvements since its arcade debut.

The game is an action/puzzle game featuring 3 monkey characters that are enclosed within transparent spheres. Aiai is the “hero” monkey, the one in the orange shirt with a star on it; Miemie is the female “wife” monkey, and Baby is the uh, “baby” monkey and is tiny and has white fur.

The object is to maneuver your monkey-in-a ball through each level and reach the goal within the time limit, which is quite often more difficult task than you’d think. A bomb ticking down to detonation represents the time limit and if you do not complete the level in time, you lose a life. Things will get pretty tricky for your lil’ rolling ape as you progress… Along with the time limit, you must be careful not to maneuver your ball off the edge and levels and various traps and gimmicks that serve as obstacles on each floor.

There are 100 Dole-licensed bananas in every level to collect. In Max’s impressions of the game, he mistakenly said that you needed to collect all bananas before moving on to the next level. It turns out that although you can complete levels before collecting the bananas, every 100 bananas you collect awards a 1-up to the player. Therefore, if you’re trying to get through all levels in the game, you may want to go out of your way to collect bananas. This adds a bit more strategy to the game, though you must be careful not to recklessly pursue bananas or you might overlook traps…

On some levels, the floor will tilt beneath you, and there has been some debate on whether you control the monkey or the floors in the game. You may actually be able to do both at different points of the game. We can say with some certainty that you control the monkey in modes we’ve played.

If you’re just looking for a little bit of fun, you can just worry less about bananas and more about reaching the goal. This is just one example of how non-restrictive the game is. Super Monkey Ball encourages all styles of gameplay, so that anyone can play the game and find something they enjoy. Don’t assume there is only one route to the goal on each level either; Super Monkey Ball offers even more fun by encouraging players to find their own routes. Many times, there will be several possible routes to take, which may save you time, give you extra events, hidden games or other surprises. You can allegedly achieve perfect scores (make no mistakes) but only if you try to explore each level thoroughly. Unless you are creative, you will never truly complete the game.

PGC has just discovered that some of the mini-games will include bowling, billiards and golf! There may be a few others too!

The graphics to Monkey Ball are colorful and attractive, though not overly detailed or flashy. The game’s improbable yet imaginative setting is several suspended tracks in midair, which are colorful. There are reportedly improvements to the graphics compared to the arcade version and the bonus level where the floor ripples violently beneath you looks cool. Super Monkey Ball’s gameplay is what takes center stage though, and that’s fine with us.

One of the biggest additions over the arcade version is four-player multiplayer. In previewing the game at E3, Nagoshi seemed excited that Super Monkey Ball would join the Nintendo tradition of great multiplayer fun. With several four-player modes being added to the mix, Super Monkey ball is primed to be a party game that’ll run group gaming sessions late into the night!

Although PGC has not had sampled Super Monkey Ball’s multiplayer at great length, we have been able to glean some details on the modes… In Monkey Race, you compete to reach the goal before your opponents. In Monkey Fight, each monkey has a spring with a boxing glove attached which is used to try to push opponents off the edge. A variety of power ups can be obtained by breaking blocks open that fall from the sky. These power ups can increase the length of your punch, the size of your glove or cause your glove to spin around you like a shield. In a unique twist, the power ups can even be combined! In Monkey Dive players’ monkeys start rolling down a hill and then ramp into the air; the balls can then be opened, and work as a hang glider. Gliding through the air, players must steer and attempt to land on a targeted location; whoever lands closest wins.

Back at E3, we asked Nagoshi-san if Super Monkey Ball would make launch and he replied “it’s up to Nintendo.” It looks like Nintendo decided to hook us up; Super Monkey Ball is now set as a launch title for both Japanese and North American GameCube launches (and probably will be for Europe too in ‘02). That’s great news, save for the fact that it adds yet another fantastic title to the already crowded NGC launch lineup. Still, PGC highly believes that Super Monkey Ball should be close to the top of your “must buy” list come GameCube launch—wherever it may be.

Super Monkey Ball will be one of the games featured at SpaceWorld, and (luckily) PGC will be there to play it! PGC sources have hinted that there has been lots of stuff added to the game since its E3 showing, so we’ll have a lot more info soon!