The game debuted in Japan at the 2001 Amusement Operators Union trade show as Monkey Ball,[b] an arcade cabinet running on Sega's NAOMI hardware and controlled with a distinctive banana-shaped analog stick.

[5][6][7][8] Reminiscent of Marble Madness and Labyrinth, the objective of the main game is to guide one of four playable monkeys (AiAi, MeeMee, Baby, and GonGon) encased in a transparent ball across a suspended series of platforms and through a goal.

[6][7][9] By moving the analog stick, the player tilts the entire set of platforms that make up a level, called a floor, and the ball rolls accordingly.

Collectible bananas found throughout the game are also worth 100 points, while multipliers increasing the player's score by a factor of two or four are activated when a floor is finished in under half the allotted time or via a warp gate.

[6] The following mini-games are available, once unlocked through the earning of play points:[8] Super Monkey Ball was developed by Amusement Vision, a branch of the Japanese video game publisher Sega that was created in 2000 and composed of about fifty people.

[25][26] Amusement Vision president Toshihiro Nagoshi, who had previously worked under Sega AM2's Yu Suzuki and been credited as the creator of the arcade titles Daytona USA and Virtua Striker,[27][28] devised the concept of rolling spheres through mazes based on his desire to create a game that was instantly possible to understand and play, as a contrast to increasingly complex games at Japanese arcades at the time.

[29][30] Intended to feature a "cute" aesthetic and accurate physics engine, the game debuted at the 2001 Amusement Operator Union trade show[31] as Monkey Ball, a single-player[32] arcade cabinet controlled with a distinctive banana-shaped analog stick.

[2][41] Although Monkey Ball had been developed for Sega's NAOMI arcade board, which shared technology with the Dreamcast and was optimized to ensure games could be easily ported between the two platforms,[26][42] Nagoshi commented that Nintendo's young demographic made the GameCube an even more fitting console for the title.

[45] Moreover, the developers spent an additional six months incorporating six extra modes into the game, with an emphasis on multiplayer competition[40] and the introduction of GonGon as a fourth playable character.

[26][32][39] The bananas in the game display the Dole Food Company logo, but this was removed in Super Monkey Ball Deluxe due to a licensing dispute.

"[6] Matt Casamassina (IGN) commended the "great level variation", with "well created mazes and puzzles that must be completed using a combination of physics calculations, careful planning and a huge helping of patience.

"[7] Turner complimented the frequent introduction of incentives to keep playing such as additional continues and hidden levels, adding that a high "ceiling of mastery" enhanced the game's longevity through a "simple but well conceived" scoring system and the ability to test strategies in practice mode.

"[2][7] However, Mark Medina (N-Sider) called the learning curve "perfectly spot on": "Any falling off the platforms feels entirely your fault and at the same time, you always get the sense that you're just that little bit closer to that elusive goal.

"[6][7] Monkey Target, lauded by Kent as the "most addictive interactive activity of 2001" and considered "the most complex" of the party games by Turner, was complimented by Casamassina for its "simple and brilliantly intuitive" control scheme and "careful science of when to use an item and when to forgo it.

Edge likened the game's aesthetic to Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series: "Every surface is bright and solid and shiny, every aspect impeccably presented.

"[6][7][15] However, Four-Eyed Dragon noted the visuals were "not greatly detailed" and Casamassina observed "there isn't much geometry being drawn at any single point in the title and the backgrounds are often barren, whether it be for power or stylistic purposes.

"[15] Conversely, Blue-Eyed Dragon was favorable to the "boisterously entertaining monkey sounds that can be heard once a chimp hits a wall or falls off a ledge" as well as the "eclectic mix of instrumental tunes".

[18][62] A 2006 study conducted by the Beth Israel Medical Center found that surgeons who played the game for 20 minutes prior to performing a surgical drill finished slightly faster and made fewer mistakes.

[63] Super Monkey Ball inspired Neverball, a free and open source game for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Dreamcast, and iOS.

[64] The 2020 battle royale game Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has been described as "Super Monkey Ball for the Fortnite generation" by Tom Wiggins of Stuff magazine.