Yes, that’s the right way round - the sequel to Kororinpa will be called Marbles! Balance Challenge, with Konami publishing the game in Europe. It seems Konami wants to disassociate itself from Hudson’s original ball-roller by calling it something else entirely, perhaps because the name doesn’t actually mean anything outside Japan and the first probably didn’t sell that well anyway (shamefully).

This time there’s a method behind the tilt-based madness - you’re helping an ant named Anthony, who needs to save his colony by, er, rolling some balls into holes across a series of fiendish maze-like levels suspended in space. It’s much bigger than the original - 300 stages in all, with 100 stages specifically crafted for balance board owners. So if you were a fan of the put-the-Mii-balls-in-the-holes game in Wii Fit and want a whole lot more of it, then this little beauty is the game for you. Fit-less Wiiers are catered for too - 200 stages are offered up there, which compares very favourably with the all-too-brief original.

While the mechanics remain fairly similar, you’ll have more collectibles to pick up on the way - the final stage is reached by a road constructed from parts you collect throughout the game, while you can also get your hands on items for use in the game’s edit mode. These levels can be shared with other Wii users online via WiiConnect24. There’s also a suite of multiplayer modes, offering challenges for up to four players via splitscreen. Your best times for each stage can also be uploaded to online leaderboards.

It’s a pleasingly comprehensive feature set for a sequel, and hopefully the name-change will aid its success. Though more likely to help it roll up the charts is its recession-friendly price - a bargainous £24.99. Marbles! Balance Challege launches in Europe on April 30th. If it’s as good as the original, you should probably buy it.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 11:16 pm by Chris Schilling
Balance Board, Forthcoming titles, Wii.