Approximate Release Date: November 1, 1992
Genre: Action
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito

Nothing is better than discovering a fun Super Nintendo game that has been long forgotten. On the Ball is the latest.

First, I don’t normally highlight games’ box art from other parts of the world, but On the Ball‘s Japanese art is amazing. It’s called Cameltry there, for some reason. I have seen no camels so far.

On the Ball is a simplistic action puzzle game. If you’ve ever played the bonus stages in Sonic the Hedgehog, you have the gist of what this game is. You are a ball, and you need to get to the level’s exit before time runs out. To do so, you use the L and R buttons to rotate the level. It’s easy enough to grasp. The B button causes the ball to jump, which is fine except it doesn’t work thematically. If you’re only in control of the level itself, how can you make the ball jump? This is a major plot hole that On the Ball refuses to address.

The video above shows off the first two sets of levels. There are four sets total. On the Ball is not a long game, and that’s the only knock I have against it. It’s also not a difficult game, and most people could power through it in about an hour or so. The levels start getting tough in the third set, but it’s the kind of tough that a second try will always overcome. There’s multiplayer and high score lists to encourage replaying the game, at least.

There’s also support for the SNES Mouse if you want a reason to dust that thing off. The controls with a controller seem perfect, so I can see the SNES Mouse being more annoying than useful.

I feel like I’ve spent 300 words not saying much about On the Ball, but there really isn’t much to say. There are thousands of games with the same gameplay for smartphones, but that doesn’t diminish how this game is very fun, just starved for content.

Tomorrow: Wikipedia calls Out of This World a “cinematic platformer.” Good to know.

Title screen

Main menu

The tutorial provides handy instructions.

The goal

Completed!

As the levels get more complicated, the arrows are very welcome.

Penalty boxes

Blocks can be broken through with enough speed.

Peg path

Congratulations!

Each set of levels ends with a funny picture.

The name entry screen is very difficult to use because the cursor is so squirrely.

Some blocks will give you bonus time for breaking them.

Lucky chance!

Ouch!

Point bonuses

The fuzzy red areas push your ball.

You have to wait for the Stop signs to turn green.

Things definitely get more challenging.

Stuck!

When you run out of time, you have a small chance to reset the clock.

Continue?

Game over