Super Monkey Ball | 2001 | Gamecube | Sega
Our favourite end credits are usually the ones that intentionally fail at their purpose and don’t actually mean the end of the game. Playable credits are great for the gamer and developer alike. From our perspective, we get a few minutes of extra game for our money, rather than having to sullenly sit around and mourn the end of another one while a bunch of people we don’t know get their moment of glory. And from the perspective of those people we don’t know, they get a great way to make sure that we’re actually paying attention to their names rather than going off and putting the kettle on while we wait for the high score table.
Super Monkey Ball is a great example of that. Blasting your sphere-bound simian down a straight path filled with bananas is an engaging enough reward. Your inner magpie will demand that you get every single one, and it’s great to be able to go nuts on a Monkey Ball level after the scream-inducing need for precision has eroded your soul over the previous hour. But this is Monkey Ball, so things aren’t quite as simple as that. The developers’ names begin to appear at the top of the screen, but swiftly become 3D and drop into the play area messing up your route. Even after the game is over, those designers are still trying to destroy your sanity! Swerving between the letters to avoid them, you can’t help but become aware of the names of the guys responsible for your torment, and the blend of fun and frustration is the perfect way for them to sign off with the last word, even as you beat their years of work. Skip to 30:27 to see what we mean.
