Super Monkey Ball 2
| Super Monkey Ball 2 | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Amusement Vision |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Toshihiro Nagoshi |
| Composer(s) | Hidenori Shoji Haruyoshi Tomita |
| Series | Super Monkey Ball |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo GameCube |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Platforming |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Distribution | 1 × GameCube disc |
Super Monkey Ball 2 is the second installment in the Super Monkey Ball series developed by Amusement Vision which was released on the Nintendo GameCube. It is the first installment to have a story-line and to be released solely on a home console.
Levels
Each level, called "stages", is made up of a large starting platform, checkered platforms, and at least one arch-shaped goal that marks the end of the level. Many levels also have moving platforms, buttons that control the speed and direction of moving parts, and other various obstacles.
Each stage is designed uniquely and has a title. The stages contain platforms such as slopes, half-pipes, moving platforms, etc... The game introduced new gimmicks that didn't exist in the original game such as conveyor belts and teleportation doors (stages that contain these doors will always have at least two doors. If the player enters one door they will be transported to the door to which it corresponds. All doors are two-way doors).
There are two ways to fail a level: falling off of the stage or running out of time. In most stages, there is a 60-second time limit. However, in the stages 'Melting Pot' and 'Teapot', players are only given 30 seconds. Very few of the levels have any protection from falling off the stages, meaning it can be easy to mess up and fall, resulting in what is known as a "fall-out."
Modes
Super Monkey Ball 2 contains 3 different gameplay modes.
Story Mode - A new game mode introduced where the player follows a story-line to complete the game. The stages are grouped into to ten sets, called worlds, consisting of ten stages each. The player can complete the stages in any order, but the world's must be played in order. The player may use warps (different colored goals that are more difficult to reach, green being more difficult than the default goal and red being most difficult) but no levels may be skipped, and no level may be played again after it is cleared. Each world has a unique theme and setting that relates to the story such as a jungle, volcano interior, space station and many more.
Challenge Mode - Originally the "Main Game" in the first installment. Like the original, Challenge Mode is playable to up to four players & consists of three difficulties: "Beginner" which has 10 stages, "Advanced" which has 30 stages, and "Expert" which consists of 50 stages. With all difficulties, each stage gets progressively more challenging then the previous stages. The stages are recycled from story mode, but some of them having a different theme and setting. Like the first installment, Bonus Stages are stages that are played in between the transition of a different theme. An example being the transition from the jungle to the carnival. Bonus Stages in this game still consist of a large amount of bananas to collect, but introduces a goal so the player is not required to collect all of the bananas or purposely fall off to end the Bonus Stage. If the player completes any difficulty without using a continue they will progress to the "Extra" stages. If the player manages to complete the "Expert Extra" without using a continue the player will be progressed to the "Master" stages, which also have a set of "Extra" stages.
Practice Mode - A mode where you can select stages that you've previously progressed to and practice. You can only play stages that you've visited. Even if you failed to complete the stage, you are still allowed to practice it. The player is given an unlimited number of lives, but scores are not recorded.
Story Plot
In story mode, the player is given an unlimited number of lives to complete 100 levels. The levels are grouped into ten sets, called worlds, consisting of ten mazes each. Within a world, the player is free to complete the levels in any order he or she chooses, but the worlds must be played in order. Even when you use warps, no levels may be skipped, and no level may be played again after it is cleared. It tells the story of the four monkeys from the original Super Monkey Ball (Aiai, Meemee, Baby and Gongon) pursuing the nefarious Dr. Bad-Boon, who has stolen all of the bananas from their island as part of an even more evil purpose.
Points System
There are two types of points: Regular Points and Play Points.
Regular Points- These are earned by picking up bananas scattered around the levels and quickly completing mazes. There are two sizes of bananas. A lone banana is worth 100 points. However, a rarer banana bunch is worth 10 bananas and 1,000 points. There is a side benefit from collecting bananas: every 100 bananas gives the player an extra life in challenge mode. The number of points earned for the completion of a level is determined by the clear score and a number of possible multipliers, defined below.
- The Clear Score is the number of centiseconds remaining on the clock when the monkey breaks the goal tape. In addition, an extra 10,000 or 20,000 points are awarded if the player enters a green or red goal, respectively.
- This score can be multiplied by the Time Bonus, which doubles the player's clear score if he or she finishes in less than half of the allotted time. If the player finishes with exactly half of the time left (15.00 or 30.00 seconds), no bonus is awarded.
- The number of points earned to this point can be further increased by the Warp Bonus, which multiplies the points already won on the stage by a factor of the number of stages passed by taking a warp, when applicable. A green goal gate's warp bonus is x2, while a red goal gate awards a x3 bonus.
- The points earned on the stage to this point are referred to as the Stage Score, and are added to the player's running total score.
One peculiarity of this scoring system is that an excessively difficult level will not necessarily award more points than the easiest levels. This is especially true in stages that force the player to take a considerable amount of time to reach the goal, such as "Gimmick." The final score, achieved after completing all levels in a particular difficulty, can be recorded into a high score chart specific to the level of difficulty if it is one of the top five in value. Any continues used during the course of play will reset the running score.
Play Points - Play points are earned by playing the game. The longer and better one plays the game, the more play points are awarded. Unlike regular points, play points are carried over from each game. Play points can then be redeemed for party °games, additional lives, and cut scenes. At first, one can only use play points to purchase the six locked Party Games (Monkey Boat, Monkey Shot, Monkey Dogfight, Monkey Soccer, Monkey Baseball, and Monkey Tennis) for 2,500 points each. Once those are unlocked, a new menu option, "Gift", will be available in the Options Menu. Here, the starting number of lives in challenge mode can be increased for 500 points a life (up to a maximum of 100 lives), each cut scene can be played any time the player wishes for 1,000 points each movie, and the credits minigame can be played after unlocking it for 1,000 points.
After everything is unlocked, the highest number of Play Points earned in a single game will be recorded, and the player is invited to try to beat his or her record continuously. The maximum amount of play points achievable in a single game is 17,080, which can be achieved by beating the Expert, Expert Extra, Master and Master Extra without warps or losing a monkey.
Reception
On release, Famitsu magazine scored the GameCube version of the game a 31 out of 40.[1] Metacritic gave the video game a Metascore of 87
Awards
- E3 2002 Game Critics Awards: Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game
- This game is a GameCube Player's Choice game.
Medical applications
Super Monkey Ball 2 is one of three video games that are associated with improved performance in laparoscopic surgery.[2]
References
- ↑ ニンテンドーゲームキューブ - スーパーモンキーボール2. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.102. 30 June 2006.
- ↑ Rosser, James C., Jr, MD; Paul J. Lynch, MD; Laurie Cuddihy, MD; Douglas A. Gentile, PhD; Jonathan Klonsky, MD; Ronald Merrell, MD (February 2007). "The Impact of Video Games on Training Surgeons in the 21st Century". Archives of Surgery 142 (2): 181–186. doi:10.1001/archsurg.142.2.181. PMID 17309970.
| ||||||