Hot on the heels of Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble‘s release, one fan has suggested perhaps the coolest way to play the series: using an actual ball.
Now, it might not be the most accurate way to navigate the sky-high courses, but Dr Tom Tilley‘s creative build — which uses the same trackball principle as the Super Monkey Ball Ticket Blitz arcade game — certainly looks the part.
Shared to Twitter in the following video, the build utilises a mouse trackball and three old roll-on deodorant balls to take to the slopes in the most immersive way possible. The 3D-printed AiAi encased in the build is the icing on the cake, with springy arms and legs reacting to every movement.
You know what? This is really one of those that needs to be seen to be believed. Here’s the controller in action on what appears to be the OG Super Monkey Ball:
The creator, Tom Tilley, designed the controller last year to play the obscure ’90s Japanese arcade game Armadillo Racing. He has since put it to the test with Katamari Damacy too, though there is something about this Monkey Ball addition that just feels right. Tilley even hopes to adapt the build to get AiAi’s legs running as the ball rolls. Okay, now we really want one.
We found AiAi’s latest adventure to be a fun ride in single-player with “some of the best stages we’ve seen in recent memory”, but we were disappointed by its lacklustre multiplayer modes and short runtime. You can find out full thoughts below.