#92 ON THE BALL - FULL PLAYTHROUGH - Beating My Snes Games
1Here is my Full playthrough of On The Ball done live on IGTV.
Follow me on instagram @CabinSNES_fever to join me live or via my reviews and uploads to witness me take down all the games currently in my SNES colleciton, following on from having already beaten all 234 licenced UK releases for the NES. I only use original carts, no cheats & no save states..
REVIEW
While always fascinated by the intricate craftsmanship on show in those little puzzle mazes where you have to guide a ball-bearing through miniature hazards to a hole, in reality who doesnt find those things incredibly frustratingly? Well the people at Taito obviously enjoyed them because the decision to convert the concept into an Arcade experience saw fruition in 1989, with a port to the Snes arriving in 92.
'On The Ball' or 'Cameltry' in the Japan; ('Camel-Try?' Really? The box does has a camel on it? Seriously tho, a camel? I don't get it!) Nonetheless Taito's initiative creation really does challenge what is seen as normal gameplay through the unique decision to give the player control of movement, not for the ball, but instead for the level itself!
Much like the actual game of guiding a ball-bearing through a maze, in order to reach the end goal, you have to rotate the level around the ball, account for its bounce & avoid hazards in order to succeed. Victory is always at the mercy of the timer, which, similar to Marble Madness on NES (potentially the only other 'Ball & Maze' game I can recall), time remaining at the end of a stage is added to next. The relief encountered through heroically beating a stage with only seconds remaning, is quickly replaced with concern after realising you'll only have half the time to began the following with.
Difficulty only excels as gameplay progresses & far meaner handicaps arise. Like restricting level movement to only 180 degrees, or inverting gravity. It all plays into the fun factor but also the frustration one, especially when required to break those damn crates!
The mechanics & controls take some getting used to & only perfect execution will see you through the final stages, but the desire to keep trying is strong & with a password only offered after defeating every 4 setups (each with multiple stages), its handy gameplay is addictive!