13. Super Monkey Ball
Amusement Vision | Sega | 2001
You just roll around a monkey in a ball. What could be more fun than that?
Some ideas are so obviously good that in retrospect it feels like they've always been with us. One of the best launch titles for the GameCube was Super Monkey Ball, and it was so much simple fun that it made instant fans out of most everyone. The setup is basic: you've got a ball, with a monkey in it. The levels are mazes made out of platforms; if you fall off, you die. If you make it to the end of the maze, you win. Instead of controlling the monkey, you tilt the world.
The reason it rocks is down to the maze design being excellent and the control and physics being more or less perfect. It's proof positive that you don't need an idea that makes a hell of a lot of sense if you can put it together just right - and that cute monkeys make anything better.
Get ready to play
This is a game anyone can understand and enjoy, as it should be. The original edition of the series is, predictably, the most stripped-down. Its simplicity is what makes it so appealing, of course. Really, what are you waiting for?
Been there, done that?
Super Monkey Ball 2 isn't much different from its predecessor when it comes to single player, but the minigames are much improved. Monkey target!
