{"id":14803,"date":"2016-04-06T00:01:17","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T00:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=14803"},"modified":"2016-03-10T21:56:29","modified_gmt":"2016-03-10T21:56:29","slug":"the-mini-games-of-super-monkey-ball-banana-splitz-vita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/06\/the-mini-games-of-super-monkey-ball-banana-splitz-vita\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mini-Games of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (Vita)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MONKEYBABY\"<\/a>I got a PS Vita for Christmas this past year. There are enough games on it that interest me now, but I guess it\u2019s a little late since nobody is making new games for the Vita hardly anymore.\u00a0 But one of the games I wanted for the Vita was Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz.\u00a0 Luckily since it\u2019s been out for so long, I was able to get it from Amazon for only 12 bucks!\u00a0 Which is good considering it\u2019s not much different from past Monkey Ball titles, and they\u2019ve been declining in quality anyway.\u00a0 But the first two Monkey Ball titles on the GameCube were great, so I always like to give the series a chance anyway, if the price is right.\u00a0 While the main game has you rolling around a monkey in a ball through mazes and obstacles, many of the Monkey Ball titles have fun mini-games, too.\u00a0 Banana Splitz included.\u00a0 So since I like to write about mini-games, here are all the mini-games you can find in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz for Vita.<\/p>\n

But before I start with that, I wanted to say how proud I am that I\u2019ve played nearly all the games in the Monkey Ball series. Even the ones in the arcade!\u00a0 Yup, Monkey Ball started out as an arcade game and you used a banana-shaped joystick to move your monkey around mazes.\u00a0 It was a little embarrassing holding onto a banana joystick for the arcade version.\u00a0 Luckily, a couple of years ago, they released a new one in arcades called Super Monkey Ball: Ticket Blitz and I\u2019ve played it, too!\u00a0\u00a0 You just roll around mazes like last time but you can earn tickets for prize redemption.\u00a0 And instead of a joystick, you used a trackball, thank goodness!\u00a0 No more embarrassment.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also played nearly all the console Monkey Ball games, too. Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2 on GameCube are some of the best games for that system.\u00a0 Super Monkey Ball was even a launch title for the GameCube and it was a very good one!\u00a0 The mini-games in those were especially fun.\u00a0 You can also get Super Monkey Ball Deluxe on the PS2 and original Xbox, but they\u2019re just a combination of the first two GameCube games.\u00a0 There is also a GBA title called Super Monkey Ball Jr., but don\u2019t let the Jr. part of the title fool you.\u00a0 It\u2019s still a great game and pretty awesome that it\u2019s all in 3-D.<\/p>\n

Sadly, the series went downhill from there. Super Monkey Ball Adventure put in exploration elements and a story, but it wasn\u2019t near as fun as the first two games.\u00a0 There were some handheld titles like Super Monkey Ball: Touch N Roll on the DS and Super Monkey Ball 3D on the 3DS, but they were not as good either.\u00a0 Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz on the Wii was just plain awful, and there was another Monkey Ball game that used the Wii Balance Board called Step N Roll and that\u2019s the only Monkey Ball console game I\u2019ve never played.\u00a0 When it came out, I didn\u2019t have a Balance Board so I didn\u2019t get it, but even now that I have one, I don\u2019t feel too compelled to get it anyway.<\/p>\n

There were a bunch of Monkey Ball games on the iPhone, but most of them came out long before I had an iPhone or iPad. I did review a Monkey Ball iPad game a while back called Super Monkey Ball Bounce<\/strong><\/a>, but it\u2019s just a Peggle clone.\u00a0 Monkey Ball characters have appeared in other Sega games like SEGA Superstars (an EyeToy game), SEGA Superstars Tennis, and the Sonic and SEGA All-Stars racing games.\u00a0 I\u2019ve played all of those, too.<\/p>\n

Sadly, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz on the PS Vita falls into the mediocre category. The main game is just like the others, just with better graphics.\u00a0 In fact, a lot of the levels I\u2019ve played in the main game are exactly like the ones found on the GameCube versions.\u00a0 But like most other Monkey Ball games, there is a selection of mini-games you can try, so let\u2019s go over those now.<\/p>\n

Monkey Bowling<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the mini-game mainstays in any Monkey Ball title is Monkey Bowling. You\u2019re already controlling a monkey in a ball, so it makes sense.\u00a0 The Monkey Bowling games on GameCube were so good that I never felt the need to buy a stand-alone bowling game for that system.\u00a0 The one on the Vita version isn\u2019t quite as good, but it\u2019s still kind of fun.\u00a0 You use the Vita\u2019s touch screen to roll your ball down the lane, and you tilt the Vita to move it as it rolls toward the pins.\u00a0 You also hold the Vita on its side as you play.\u00a0 You can choose to play a game with regular bowling lanes, or lanes that have obstacles, curves, and holes to steer around.<\/p>\n

Monkey Target<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other big Monkey Ball mini-game favorite also makes an appearance on the Vita, and it\u2019s pretty fun here as well. You roll your monkey ball down a ramp, and as it flies in the air, push a button to make the monkey open up the ball into halves, and then the monkey uses the halves to hang glide down to a target below.\u00a0 You then must press the button again to close the ball and land on targets to earn more points.\u00a0 Just make sure you close the ball and don\u2019t fall into the water, otherwise you won\u2019t get any points.\u00a0 After three tries the game tallies up your score and posts your highest total scores on a board.\u00a0 There are three kinds of Monkey Target boards you can try.\u00a0 The first is the typical circle targets found in many other titles.\u00a0 Another one has you landing in a pachinko style board and you must land in certain spots for points.\u00a0 The last one has a long vertical target with a giant stone monkey hammering on it, and I don\u2019t know how you\u2019re supposed to land on the darn thing!\u00a0 At least the other two boards are fun.<\/p>\n

Monkey Bingo<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a four player game. I don\u2019t know if you can play this online via multiplayer, but I haven\u2019t tried any of that because I don\u2019t know anyone who has a Vita or this game.\u00a0 But if you play solo, the computer controls the other players.\u00a0 You have a playfield with little notches on each square, and if you can fit your ball into a notch, you\u2019ll claim that as your square and start somewhere on the board to try and claim another square by rolling around.\u00a0 You score points for each one you claim, and if you can claim a row or column (like bingo), you\u2019ll earn even more points.\u00a0 As long as you hurry and get in a hole as fast as you can, you\u2019ll win anyway.\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty easy with the computer players, but it\u2019s still quite fun.<\/p>\n

Monkey Rodeo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this one\u2019s not fun at all! It\u2019s another four player game, and you are riding one of those inflatable hippity-hopper things like you used to bounce on as a kid.\u00a0 Every monkey has one and it looks like a horse toy, and they\u2019re all wearing cowboy hats and riding in a western setting that looks kind of like a bounce house.\u00a0 Your job is to collect the most bananas in a time limit to win.\u00a0 But the way you control your hopper horse is what ruins the game.\u00a0 You use the bottom touch screen on the Vita to bounce your horse from the floor, and it\u2019s really hard to control that way.\u00a0 You can hold down on the touch screen to give your bounce some force and try to knock bananas out of other players, but it\u2019s easier said than done.\u00a0 Not one of the good mini-games on this list, unfortunately.<\/p>\n

Number Ball<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this one, you tilt the Vita vertically to view the playfield. A bunch of billiard-looking balls with numbers on them will roll and bounce around the screen, and each ball has a number on it.\u00a0 You can either choose to tap them in order for points, or tap on the ball that has the same number at the top of the screen (at random).\u00a0 But it\u2019s super hard because as the balls roll around, you can hardly see the numbers and when you do, they only are visible for a split second and sometimes they\u2019re upside-down!\u00a0 I just couldn\u2019t do this one at all.<\/p>\n

Battle Billiards<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a four player game. CPU controls the other players if you\u2019re the only one.\u00a0 Each player starts with three balls of their color, and one of them has a monkey in it.\u00a0 You use the touch screen to aim and pull back and hit your ball to knock other players\u2019 balls into holes.\u00a0 Kind of like pool.\u00a0 The table has lots of walls and bumpers and other obstacles.\u00a0 You get more points if you knock a ball that has a monkey in it in a hole. Also, there is a flag on the table, and whoever gets it will continuously earn points each turn, and you can get more points if the flag is on your ball with a monkey.\u00a0 I found the game rather tedious and slow, and I would\u2019ve rather they just had plain ol\u2019 pool on here instead.\u00a0 Monkey Billiards on the Super Monkey Ball games was pretty fun.<\/p>\n

Pixie Hunt<\/strong><\/p>\n

This one uses the PS Vita\u2019s camera. I didn\u2019t even know the Vita had a camera until I got one.\u00a0 Anyway, you take pictures with it, but your camera reticule is a certain color.\u00a0 You must photograph something in real life that is the same color or close to the reticule\u2019s color. When you do, pixies will pop out and you must tap on the screen to catch them for points.\u00a0 Once you tap all of them, you must repeat the process with a different color.\u00a0 When time runs out, your score is tallied up.\u00a0 It seemed to work fairly well with me, but I recommend doing this game in a well-lit, brightly colored room.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what this game has to do with Monkey Ball, and it could\u2019ve also easily have been done on the Nintendo 3DS.<\/p>\n

Love Maze<\/strong><\/p>\n

All right, last game. This one uses both analog sticks, or you can move one and someone else can use the other one on the same Vita.\u00a0 There are two monkeys on the screen and you must roll them around a tandem maze without letting them fall off the sides or get too far from each other, as they are connected by a string.\u00a0 You view the action from overhead, and it kind of reminds me of the gameplay found in The Adventures of Cookie and Cream mixed with Libble Rabble.\u00a0 I know that probably doesn\u2019t help you imagine what the game is like, as those are pretty obscure game references.\u00a0 But I recommend looking up those games anyway.\u00a0 With as many systems that have twin analog sticks now, I wish Namco would release Libble Rabble in the US as it was created by the same guy who made Pac-Man.\u00a0 Anyway, I can\u2019t physically play Love Maze very well myself because I\u2019ve been blind in my left eye since birth and have pretty narrow central tunnel vision in my right eye, so it\u2019s hard for me to focus on two things on the screen at once, like Love Maze requires you to do.<\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n

And those are all the mini-games in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz. Aside from these and the main game, the Vita version also lets you edit and make your own levels.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to make my own Pac-Man maze with it, but I doubt I\u2019ll mess with it anytime soon as I don\u2019t know anyone who would still play this game.\u00a0 Anyway, in the comments section, let me know what your favorite Monkey Ball games are, and what mini-games you like in those series.\u00a0 I\u2019ll probably write about the other Vita games I got in a few months after I play them all!\u00a0 Later!\u00a0 –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got a PS Vita for Christmas this past year. There are enough games on it that interest me now, but I guess it\u2019s a little late since nobody is making new games for the Vita hardly anymore.\u00a0 But one of the games I wanted for the Vita was Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz.\u00a0 Luckily […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14803"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14805,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14803\/revisions\/14805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}