Évaluations récentes de Dead Line

As a longtime Super Monkey Ball fan/speedrunner, it's always great to see indie developers taking fresh new approaches to the games I grew up on and continue to enjoy today. Ballygon seeks to stand among its prime inspirations as a competent, mechanically intensive marble roller with an infinite amount of depth, and in my opinion, it DEFINITELY succeeds.

Ballygon is not afraid to wear its Super Monkey Ball inspiration on its sleeve, but when it comes to reviewing marble rollers, I like to objectively look at them as an individual experience. Ballygon does enough to set itself apart from its cohorts in the genre with an array of unique mechanics and stage obstacles, all the while feeling incredibly familiar to those who know their way around a solid marble roller. The game from a mechanical standpoint is pretty damn nice, I gotta say. I'm usually nervous to dive into new marble rollers because of the very specific criteria for controls I look for in a game like this, but Ballygon thankfully delivers on that front without a hitch. If you're like me and you're predisposed to Super Monkey Ball, you'll definitely notice that the physics are not 1:1. Ballygon has this unique "slippery" aspect to its controls that you as the player have to adapt to and work around. I was kind of taken aback by how slippery the controls felt at first, but the more I kept playing, the more I found myself at home. I don't think it even took me more than 20 minutes of gameplay to get fully adjusted, and the rest of my game went SO smoothly. The other aspects of the game's physics work wonderfully as well. Clipping off of corners/edges to gain height and accelerate faster in the air, Using momentum to perform wild stunts and fly over large portions of the level, etc. You can absolutely do that here, and like the mark of a good marble roller, the game encourages it.

Gameplay aside, I've really found myself praising everything this game has to offer. The art direction is a sort of cutesy futuristic vibe that I LOVE, and the main character is adorable. Seriously love the character's design. The MUSIC is spectacular. Anthony Seeha absolutely killed it, all while handling literally every other aspect of the game in the process (Yes, this game is solo-developed. Crazy, right?). For a project only being headed by a single person, Ballygon is remarkably competent in a number of different areas.

That being said, I do have my criticisms. My biggest gripe with the game is the Token system. Throughout the game, you can find and collect tokens scattered throughout each stage to exchange for unlockables and goodies. That's a really cool thing to implement! The issue is that this method of accruing tokens is a bit slow and unintuitive as the only means of progression. Tokens are accrued through natural gameplay at a snail's pace, usually on a treacherous piece of terrain or just out of the way of the level entirely. You can receive tokens at the end of each difficulty gauntlet as a reward, but you only get substantial compensation for beating the later difficulties, which I'm sure not a lot of casual players will ever end up getting to. This is a problem on its own, but it's also paired with the fact that half of the purchasables are features that should be in the base game. A questionable decision was made to have the player pay for UI elements and settings with Tokens. Stuff like instant retry buttons, Basic things that should be customizable by default are instead monetized for some reason. I think these features should be a part of the base game, as they are an important means of accessibility. I would much rather offer the player more opportunities to collect tokens naturally and spend them on items such as the different color palettes for the main character (of which there should be more imo). Spreading more tokens throughout levels and balancing out the token rewards at the end of difficulties might be a good way to go about it!

Besides that though, Ballygon is absolutely a worthwhile experience for anyone in need of a marble roller fix. I intend to continue dissecting this game, maybe even to speedrun it in the future! Who knows...

Kinda posting this review a tad late. I don't think I've made my thoughts clear on this game just yet, but I know some people are taking newfound interest in the Monkey Ball series with the release of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania on the horizon, so I want to express my thoughts on this game now.

I'll just get this out of the way: Banana Blitz is not a fun Monkey Ball game . To many, this game is seen as a pretty good platformer, and I can get by that thought, but the way this game is structured does not fall in line with what makes a Monkey Ball game work, and it's all because of one fatal flaw in this game's design: jumping.

I've been playing Monkey Ball games for under 20 years now, it's my favorite game series of all time, in fact. Despite this, I'm not afraid to be critical of the fact that the jump mechanic does not leave a positive impact on the Monkey Ball formula. On the contrary, I feel like jumping goes AGAINST what makes the Monkey Ball series shine. The simplicity of control you find in games like SMB1 and SMB2 grants the player a low entry level and an INSANELY high skill ceiling. The movement mechanics in the original games are what separate entry-level players and seasoned players. The draw of the game was that you were left without a jump, so if you really wanted to achieve those fast times, catch sick air, or do all of the other amazing momentum-based stunts the original games let you do, you had to work for it. The game encourages the player to adjust to the controls of the game and try new things using what limited options you have. It's a very rewarding feeling when you're able to finally pull off that huge skip on that level that kicked your ass as a kid now that you finally know how the game works.

That feeling is still somewhat present here, but the jump mechanic drastically waters down the core gameplay of Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. The game becomes a lot simpler and less rewarding when you can just catch air at the push of a button. Not only that, but the entire game is designed around that. It's definitely not as engaging or fulfilling as playing a level in the originals.

On the topic of things that don't work in a Monkey Ball game, boss battles should never appear in another game ever, at least not with the approach taken here. These battles are slow, monotonous, and frustrating. While others might've found enjoyment in a fresh new take on the Monkey Ball formula, I don't think this addition helps the game much at all. It's not why I play Monkey Ball.

There are a couple things I can commend this remake for. A return to stick controls to this game is always welcome considering how the SD version forced you to play. Physics are definitely not as precise or fine-tuned as a result, however. I also don't think the addition of stick controls really fixes the overarching issues with this game. Banana Blitz is flawed from a fundamental standpoint in my opinion. Its problems are deeply rooted beyond the original's poor controls and gameplay additions. It just doesn't work as a Monkey Ball game.

The addition of a time attack feature is probably one of the best additions to this remaster, although I do wish it was executed a bit better. The course selections are limited, and I can't really get down with having boss battles involved with the time attack mode itself, especially since they're all pretty much waiting games.

If you are someone who doesn't really care about the Main Game and are hoping to get some enjoyment out of the Party Games in this entry, I'm sorry to say that you are out of luck there too. The Party Game selection in this list is laughably bad. Questionable controls plus overall blandness/lack of inspiration puts these Party Games FAR below the ones featured in SMB1/2. The only returning game from the originals is Monkey Target, and even then, it's been watered down so much that it is not something you will want to pick up and play again. I can't say I didn't see this situation with the Party Games coming, considering there were originally FIFTY of them in the standard definition version of the game on Wii (♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥). It's very clear that quantity over quality was the developers' mindset going into these games, and it's not something that simply removing a bunch of them will fix.

That's the best way I can describe this remaster, to be honest: Trimming the fat, but not knowing what to do with the meat that's left. I'm certain that this remaster was put together and released to gauge public interest in the Monkey Ball series following years of laying dormant. I feel that the majority of the community has mixed opinions on this game, as they should. The developers have clearly been taking notice of feedback for this game and applying them for future Monkey Ball entries, namely Banana Mania, which as of now is looking to quite possibly top the original games in terms of quality. I'm very excited for the next entry, even if this remaster left a sour first impression on me after a long time of waiting.


PROS:
- Stick controls are a welcome improvement to the game.
- Graphical improvements are a nice touch, even if they're pretty bare-bones lighting changes.

♥♥♥♥:
- This game is still fundamentally flawed. Jumping does not mesh well with the Monkey Ball formula
- Party Game selection is laughably bare and not engaging at all.
- Boss Battles are still slow, monotonous waiting games, should never reappear in a Monkey Ball title.

Overall Score: 6/10

If you're a new Monkey Ball fan looking to dive into the series, I highly recommend just playing the originals via emulator. There is a mod for Super Monkey Ball 2 that ports all of the Main Game stages from Super Monkey Ball Deluxe, allowing them to be played with a GameCube controller through a modded Wii or PC. It's a very challenging game, but it's the ideal Monkey Ball experience in my opinion, and a great introductory game for anyone.

If you don't want to emulate or don't have a PC capable of running an emulator, I'd definitely recommend saving your money for Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania in October. The game is looking spectacular so far, and I have faith in RGG Studio's efforts to finally deliver a prime Monkey Ball experience once again.

Rolled out is a fantastic love letter to the Super Monkey Ball community. For me, it's the first real clone of the genre that fully understands the aspects of the original Super Monkey Ball games that makes them so iconic, and captures them successfully at that. I've been playing Super Monkey Ball games for over 15 years now, playing SMB2 as early as 4 years old, and yet the physics of Rolled Out felt so incredibly familiar to the touch. Anyone who is comfortable with Super Monkey Ball's controls will have little to no issue picking up this game.

That said, I do have a few nitpicks with the game in its CURRENT state that could be a result of the game being early access. Menus and UI could use a bit of a coat of polish, and I'd love to see more variation in music added to the game eventually.

My stronger reservations lie in the gameplay itself, because while the physics are familiar, they aren't entirely there yet. Short nudges to cross thin platforms are really slippery due to the incredible sensitivity of your character's momentum when at a stop. Because this game is Super Monkey Ball-inspired, it definitely gets its share of those famous razor-thin wire bridges later down the line. Naturally, I'm really looking for precision when I nudge my character along, so I hope that the sensitivity of this movement is toned down a bit. Something I also felt was lacking when I controlled my character was my influence on the character's movement in the air. This is especially apparent on larger levels like Superslide, where the temptation to make large stunt leaps and skip the level is there. I felt like it was a lot harder to make that specific stunt jump for some reason. I eventually realized that it was because my character felt super stiff while airborne, whereas Super Monkey Ball grants a bit more leniency, allowing more influence over which direction your character is moving, even if they are not on the stage. I think Rolled Out would benefit a lot from that leniency in air control, but it's just a personal preference. That's pretty much the only negatives about this game I can identify right now.

It's bright, it's fun, and it has major potential. New stage gimmicks expand and push the boundaries of an already perfect formula, and I'm hoping more will be added later down the line! If you are a Super Monkey Ball fan, I'd definitely keep an eye on this game.

After playing through the game in its entirety, here are my thoughts.

PROS:

- Appealing, charming art direction
- Writing on par with the show, feels like one giant episode
- Battle controls feel good and combos are satisfying to pull off.

♥♥♥♥:

- Battle system, while fluent and functional, gets old really fast, despite attempts at keeping it fresh. This is mainly due to the narrow enemy variety and small boss battle pool.
- Side characters don't have much unique dialogue outside of quests.
- Soundtrack is ok, but is generic and samey. Gets old kinda fast as well.
- Lack of endgame is disappointing.
- Scope of the world is too small, as you are only limited to the plaza (and one room in Boxmore.)

OVERALL: 6/10

I'd definitely recommend this game to any longtime devoted OK K.O. fans, as the writing and charm make for one giant almost-episode of the show, and develops the cast a bit more. However, if you're looking for an engaging, solid beat-em-up, I'd say this game just barely misses this mark, unfortunately.