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Dress like AiAi for Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll
Though you could just buy a Chiquita banana and call it authentic Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll merchandise, Sega Europe has created some new swag that won't rot and won't result in any comedic pratfalls. The publisher has printed up some replica shirts as worn by AiAi, complete with printed backpack, as a promotional item for Step & Roll. The only known way to get hold of one of these delightful items is through Sega's Free Stuff Friday contest (follow @sega on Twitter and message back key phrases at the right time on Fridays). Just add some cinnamon roll ears and a giant plastic bubble, and you'll be all set for Halloween!
Crucial Super Monkey Ball banana market changes hands
Ever since the series' inception, the bananas in Super Monkey Ball have been adorned with tiny Dole stickers. But now the balance of power has shifted, like a floating checkerboard platform, as Sega announces a partnership with rival banana company Chiquita for the latest Monkey Ball game, Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll. This changes everything. Well, it changes a few things, at least: in addition to the labels on the in-game bananas (we assume), real Chiquita Bananas will have Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll branding on their stickers. It also changes the number of "Family Gaming Room Makeovers" being given away by Chiquita to one.
Video of Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll's minigames
Sega has released a new trailer showcasing some of the minigames to be featured in Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll. Favorite games make a return, namely the target drop game that's been around since the original Super Monkey Ball on GameCube. There are several other games in the mix, including a firefighting game, a ninja star deflection game, skydiving and ... erm ... hip wrestling. Yeah, that's it. Hip wrestling. See it all in the trailer above. Expect the game to roll onto North American shores February 9.
Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll gameplay trailer
Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll is something of a troubling proposition. Sure, it might be fun at first -- something we can attest to -- but it could very easily become the most maddening experience in video games. Remember all the times you fell off the old Monkey Ball levels while using the precision inputs of a controller? Yeah, that's probably going to happen a lot more with the Balance Board. That said, after watching the above video, we'll be darned if we don't wanna give it a try.
TGS 2009: The Recap Post
Last week, the Tokyo Game Show brought in over 100 posts worth of news, previews, interviews, galleries, and videos. Clearly, a lot happened. If you're looking for a comprehensive list of all the goings-on during TGS 2009, Joystiq has you covered -- and organized! Click on a platform below to scan the highlights: (On the far right: that's "News" and "Culture" on the top and bottom, respectively)
TGS 2009: Feet-on: Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll
It's surprising to think Sega hasn't already made a Super Monkey Ball game for the Wii Balance Board. It seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? However, Sega made the playable debut of the very first Balance Board-enabled Monkey Ball game at TGS this year with Step & Roll.Conceptually, the game is rather easy to grasp. Once again, players are tasked with getting monkeys (that are mysteriously trapped in plastic balls) to a goal by tilting the game world. This time around, the game can be controlled through shifting your weight on the Balance Board -- the translation should be immediately apparent.Perhaps masters of Wii Fit (and subsequent fitness-related knockoffs) should find no problem with Step & Roll. However, a Balance Board novice like myself was a bit overwhelmed by the sensitivity demanded by the game: it takes subtle shifts in weight to carefully control the monkeys. Instead, my exaggerated movements caused the board to jerk around, tossing the trapped simian around haphazardly through the course.
Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll into new screens
These latest screens of Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll reveal that, aside from the new Balance Board functionality, this is the Super Monkey Ball we're all used to. Which is to say, it's the cutest thing in the world. We admit we have a soft spot in our hearts for AiAi and his cinnamon-roll-eared pals. Not enough to keep us from throwing them all off of a checkerboard platform, but enough that we, you know, try.We suspect that, by allowing ourselves to be charmed by Monkey Ball and its promise of wonderful minigames once again (some kind of Monkey Landspeeder thing!), we're setting ourselves up for crushing disappointment when it turns out not to be as good as Super Monkey Ball 2, like they all have since Super Monkey Ball 2.%Gallery-70484%
Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll revealed by Sega 'Jackpot' countdown
It's with cautious ... not quite optimism, but cautious lack of total pessimism that we regard the official reveal of the new (and trademarked) Balance Board–compatible Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll for the Wii. Sega's "Jackpot" countdown elapsed today, leading to the site for this new Monkey Ball game and its admittedly cute trailer.We love Monkey Ball, but tilt control hasn't turned out well in previous attempts. Maybe tilting with our whole bodies on the Balance Board will work out better than tilting with just our hands? It has to work out better than tilting the screen while trying to keep our eyes locked on it.
