This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.The original author is Evan Lahti.

Eight images from Sega's Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz have been added. The game is currently set as a launch title for the Wii, and will include some of the same simian-styled minigames and puzzle courses we've seen on other platforms.

This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Evan Lahti.

Following its recent tour on the GameCube, everyone’s favorite simian pastime has rolled its way onto the Nintendo DS, bringing all the abstract intricacies of monkey-tumbling to gamers on the go. Powered by the handheld’s touch input and dual screens, players spin and pinball their way through more than 100 stages worth of twists and turns, in addition to half a dozen minigames. Wireless and download play is also onboard, but overall, gamers can look forward to the same time-honored monkey mayhem they’ve experienced on consoles.

You might say that it’s a weird, weird world for the inhabitants of Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll. Encapsulated within tiny, unbreakable orbs, one can only imagine the dire nature of their curse; forced to weave and wander through increasingly complex geometric landscapes, making their way across narrow ridges and rails – all to collect the requisite bananas to break that damned spherical spell. Though Touch & Roll’s story isn’t quite as compelling as I make it out to be (i.e. it doesn’t actually have a plot), the quad of monkey marbles will need your help along the way to direct them through an exciting mess of 3D puzzles. 

Super Monkey Ball has always been a charismatic, youthful series that weaves together a colorful aesthetic with challenging design, and the portable version is no exception. Players use the touch screen to navigate their ape-orb through mazes littered with speed bumps, chutes, stairs, and slides that seek to impede your playful journey. Though some stages replicate what we’ve seen on the GameCube, it doesn’t make the puzzles any less worthwhile, as Sega did an excellent job relocating the core elements of the gameplay. Visually as well, everything in Touch & Roll moves as smoothly as you’d expect it to on a handheld.

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Super Monkey Ball Adventure contains 50 new puzzle levels and six new party games to challenge gamers of all ages. Players can select Aiai, Meemee, Gongon, or Baby to adventure their way through five different Monkey Ball Kingdoms to complete quests by solving puzzles and ultimately uniting the feuding Monkey Kingdoms.

"Super Monkey Ball Adventure takes the franchise in a new creative direction with a Story Mode and new monkey ball abilities" said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "Now Monkey Ball fans can enjoy the mini games that made the franchise famous as well as adventure through a fresh new world that can only exist in the Monkey Ball universe."

We'll have more information as it becomes available.