Super Monkey Ball is a series of arcade-style platform games created by Sega. The gameplay is similar to the famousMarble Madness arcade game, with one important difference:MONKEYS! Oh, and something about tilting the world instead of having direct control of your character. But mostly monkeys.

As mentioned above, the setup is quite similar toMarble Madness, with the player tilting their monkey character through a series of themed worlds. The game's challenge is in the fact that the vast majority of levels have no walls, forcing the player to avoid falling off the edges of the floor. Oh, and a majority of levels feel like they were designed by an insane physics professor.

The series is known for both its cutesy look and the fact that it's essentially the definition ofSurprise Difficulty. Think I'm joking? Let's just say that you will never think of the phrase "fall out" in quite the same way ever again.

That's not all, however:Monkey Ball games are known for their famous "party mode," consisting of several mini-games. Said mini-games were very well-done on the GCN versions. The Wii version... more hit or miss, with the developers experimenting with a range of control schemes for the then-new Wiimote.

The list ofSuper Monkey Ball games is as follows:

• Monkey Ball (The arcade game that started it all.)
• Super Monkey Ball (AGame Cube remake ofMonkey Ball. Introduced Party Mode.)
• Super Monkey Ball 2 (Obviously, the sequel to Super Monkey Ball.)
• Super Monkey Ball Deluxe (A remake of Super Monkey Ball and its sequel, forPlayStation 2 and Xbox. It also featured a number of original levels.)
• Super Monkey Ball Jr. (The first mobile version, it featured full 3D graphics...on theGame Boy Advance.)
• Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll (Another attempt at a mobileMonkey Ball, this one on theNintendo DS. Received mixed reviews.)
• Super Monkey Ball Adventure (A poorly-recieved adventure game with less emphasis on the party and regular modes)
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (AWii launch title,Banana Blitz featured a new cel-shaded look, motion controls, andtons upon tons of party games.)
• Super Monkey Ball iPhone (retains the look and motion controls ofBanana Blitz, using the iPhone's tilt motions. It's gotten mixed reviews.)
• Super Monkey Ball Step and Roll (AnotherWii game, using the Balance Board this time.)
• Super Monkey Ball3DS
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (PS Vita)
• Also, theMonkey Ball appearances in all threeSega Superstars games;Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is particulary notorious for theMonkey Ball tracks having the same difficulty as the series they're based on.

• Announcer Chatter: "FALL OUT! FALL OUT! FALL OUT! CONTINUE? FALL OUT!..."
• Attack Its Weak Point: Every boss inBanana Blitz. Notable is the final boss, which you attackits buttFor Massive Damage.
• Battle Tops: An early stage ofSuper Monkey Ball 2 is called "Spinning Top." The sole obstacle in this stage is a humongous top that knocks the monkey completely off the stage if touched due to its spinning. The goal ring is located dangerously close to where it spins, and1-up yielding bananas are hung from its edge.
• Bottomless Pits: While not technicallybottomless, the levels are basically floating in one.
• Camera Screw: The camera follows the direction the monkey's rolling, which is great in some stages, and makes others almost impossible withoutvery precise control over your ball.
• Cel Shading: This started inBanana Blitz and has been used onward.
• Charged Attack: The multiplayer, sumo-like minigame "Monkey Fight" lets you get by with little rabbit punches or charged up massive blows.
• Difficulty Spike - Happens in every game.
  • The first game had a giant difficulty spike between Advanced and Expert, Advanced was easy, while many people would get stuck quickly on Expert mode.
  • Super Monkey Ball Step and Roll had a giant spike between worlds 6 and 7, world 6 had a lot of easy stages that aren't too hard, but World 7 will kick your butt.
  • 2 ramps it up on Pistons and decides to go nuts once you hit Expert Extra. Conical Slider anyone?
• Everything's Better with Monkeys
• Game Breaking Bug: What is considered the hardest level inBanana Blitz also happens to come with a glitch in which you can fall right through a solid platform near the end. Luckily, this was fixed for the PAL version.
• Guide Dang It:Switch Inferno andLabyrinth in Super Monkey Ball 2.
  • There's also the infamous hidden bananas inBanana Blitz, for which said guide hasn't even been finished yet since they'reinvisible.
• Jack of All Stats:AiAi falls under this inBanana Blitz.
• Marathon Level: Ultimate mode in Deluxe.
• Nintendo Hard: Yes, it looks cutesy, but it willkick your ass the first time you play it. And the second time. And the third time...
• Product Placement: In earlier games, all the bananas had Dole labels.
  • Comes full circle now that, as of late, Sega is advertizingStep 'n Roll on Chiquita bananas and vice-versa.
• Scenery Porn:Exaggerated in 2. Considering that Amusement Vision worked onF-Zero GX after 2, it's no surprise.
• Schizophrenic Difficulty
• Shifting Sand Land: Detrius Desert fromBanana Blitz is this to the letter.
• Slippy-Slidey Ice World:Banana Blitz has the bizarrely-titled world of Smooth Sherbert, which fits this perfectly. (Except for the ice, thank God. Super Monkey Ball with slippery ice levels would have made peopleangry enough to kill.)
• Womb Level: The Inside The Whale world in2, although itlooksreallynice.
  • Looking at the scenery, this whaleswallowed the freakin Empire State Building whole.
  • Still, the dark blue inside of the whale and splashing ocean water below is much more pleasant than the squicky red of many levels like this.

• Work
• Franchises
• PlayStation Portable
• Platform Game
• IOS Games
• Arcade Game
• PlayStation Vita
• Super Monkey Ball
• Video Game
• Sega