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Zinn's Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Wii)
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| [February 11, 2007 05:50:36 AM]
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Well I finally did it! I made it past world eight without using a continue! I *almost* made it (but not quite) so many times that I was starting to go crazy. A couple shots of Bacardi 151 later, I was able to calm down enough to actually do it. My strategy was to play the hardest levels first. That way if I were to get a game over, it wouldn't be after passing most of the world. I found that using the smallest monkey to fight the boss was ideal, since he could barely touch that one.
So on my fifth attempt, I finally made it all the way through! Now I can play the first secret world, "Sinking Swamp" which seems to be extremely difficult. But if I crown this world, there's one more hidden world to play!
Ah, I love this game! It feels so good to finally have gotten all those crowns :)
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| [February 9, 2007 01:47:59 AM]
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It's going to be awhile before I'm ready to even try getting that last crown. Currently, I'm in practice mode and trying to perfect my technique in some of the hardest levels of the game. It's not going very well either. I expect that it will take me some time before I'm good enough to get the crown, but I welcome a challenge, especially considering that most recent games are devoid of any serious challenge.
This game reminds me of how tough games used to be back when I was a kid. No, I don't think it was because I sucked at games back then. I think it's because nowadays game companies want to make games easier to beat so they can sell more sequels.
Come to think of it, almost all of the games I've played recently that are actually challenging are on Nintendo systems: Super Mario Sunshine, Viewtiful Joe, Metroid Prime, Super Monkey Ball 1, 2, Banana Blitz, and Sonic Rush (DS). None of the games I had on XBOX 360 or currently play on PC are nearly as difficult as any of the games I've listed... with the exception of perhaps Gears of War in Hardcore mode.
What makes a "hardcore" gamer?
It's kind of ironic that the majority of next-gen high definition games cater themselves to the "hardcore gamer" and then end up using flashy graphics and cinematics as a crutch for derivative, watered-down and easy gameplay. It makes me wonder what exactly is a hardcore gamer? Is it a person who spends a lot of money to buy expensive high definition home theater systems, consoles and $60 games that want to be movies? This seems to be what many people believe, but I don't think it's true.
Is gaming about graphics or gameplay?
Before we had multi-core PowerPC processors, unified-architecture DirectX 10 graphics, physics acceleration, surround sound and high definition televisions, there were still a lot of great games. Game developers were limited by the hardware constraints of the platform they were programming on, and instead of dazzling people with eye-popping 3D graphics, they had to resort to great gameplay in order to make a game commercially successful. And back then, there were gamers who took gaming way too seriously and honed their skills far beyond what most people would want to, much less be able to do. These are the guys who would own the the high scores at arcades. These are the guys who could beat manic shooters like Ikaruga without using a continue. I believe that this spirit of competition and desire for mastery is what makes a gamer "hardcore." Certainly more so than how much money a person is willing to throw into a fancy home entertainment center.
In any case, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz does not have detailed bump mapping, high resolution explosions, realistic particle effects or panoramic views of bombed-out cityscapes in shades of gray and brown. Instead it has bright fluorescent colors, childish characters, peppy music, and simple graphics. Yet despite these things, trying to gain mastery of it certainly feels like a "hardcore" undertaking. Certainly more so than playing through any of the dozens of shooters on the PC and 360 over the last few years (except perhaps Gears of War in Hardcore mode). Banana Blitz makes good on the Wii's promise to bring gameplay back to gaming, and I'm loving it.
And yet he complained that his belly was not full.
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| [February 9, 2007 12:53:09 AM]
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HA! I collected myself and beat world seven in a matter of minutes. Now all I have to do is get the crown in World 8 and I'll be able to play the hidden worlds!
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| [February 8, 2007 11:12:21 PM]
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OH MY GOD. This is so frustrating. I got all the way through world seven up until the boss without getting a game over. And then, (of course) I got my game over fighting the boss. Worse still, it was because I ran out of time. I only had to hit her one more time! Arrrgh! There goes an hour of playing down the tubes.
Now I have to do the whole world over again AND beat that stupid boss in order to get the crown. I am so disappointed. I was so close! My heart is still beating fast and my hands are still sweaty as I type this. This is just so not cool! World seven is so incredibly difficult. I don't even know how I'm going to do it over again. Or how I got that far without using a continue in the first place.
On the plus side I will feel really really great beating the crap out of that stupid boss next time around. Now I know what to expect...
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| [February 8, 2007 05:38:22 AM]
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I'm feeling drained, a little stressed and my deodorant has gone MIA after an hour of this. And to think that I once claimed this game was too easy! Yeah, easy to learn, hard to master.
Most of the negative things I had to say about this game have melted away in the last couple of days. My opinion changed greatly when I recently beat the game and learned that no, this isn't an overly short or watered down Monkey Ball game. On the contrary, this is the most challenging one yet! And why? Not just because the last two worlds were hair-tearingly difficult, but because "beating the game" really just opens the door to a new challenge: unlocking the two hidden worlds and completing the game!
Apparently there are 20 levels spread across two hidden worlds, and you can't unlock them until you beat all of the previous worlds individually without getting a game over. (Each time you beat a world this way, the game puts a gold crown next to it in the world-select screen indicating your success) To crown all 8 worlds is an insanely difficult goal and one I set out to achieve earlier tonight. Hence, the sweat, stress and fatigue.
I actually made it pretty far, crowning all worlds up to seven. One nice thing is that the game gives you a chance to practice in any level before you put your lives on the line playing it. So I just kept doing that--practicing in levels I felt shaky on until I could confidently beat them, then going out of practice mode and actually beating them. I got pretty far this way, but I just couldn't take any more of it after world seven. My frustration-o-meter was over the top.
It's going to be crazy difficult to get the crowns for worlds seven and eight, but one thing I'm glad of is that this game was designed to reward skill instead of sheer luck, (a welcome change from Super Monkey Ball 2).
I wish more games were this challenging and rewarding!
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Zinn's Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Wii)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 29 November, 2006
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