
Like the gameplay, the new control scheme is relatively simple to master: You simply stand on the Wii Balance board and shift your weight forward, backward, and left or right to control the direction of the monkey ball. The solution was the introduction of the Wii Balance Board, which allows a player to use his or her whole body to control the rolling primate ball. During a recent interview with GameSpot, Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll producer Yasuhito Baba revealed that the development team wanted to find a new way for players to experience Super Monkey Ball in order to increase the “party feel” of the title. We began with a tutorial stage in World 1 (Monkey Island), where we were introduced to the game’s new control scheme. The challenge is to navigate around each of the stages and make it to the finish marker before the 60-second timer runs out.

In Step and Roll, there are 10 worlds, each made up of 10 different stages that increase in difficulty. We had a chance to try out the Wii Balance Board support in a recent hands-on session with Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll, rolling our way through the game’s first three worlds and some of the new minigames.įor those unfamiliar with previous Monkey Ball games, the aim of the game is to roll the monkey ball around different stages and collect as many bananas as possible. While the core experience has not changed with this latest instalment, the new control scheme using the Wii Balance Board in Step and Roll adds a different and immersive gameplay element that could see this old party game bounce back to life. It must be tough to have to constantly find ways of breathing new life into an old franchise, but Sega appears to be doing an admirable job with Super Monkey Ball.
