Software:Smart Ball

From HandWiki
Short description: 1991 video game
"Jerry Boy" redirects here. For the similarly titled but unrelated SNES game, see Jelly Boy.
Smart Ball (Jerry Boy)
North American cover art
Developer(s)Game Freak
System Sacom[1]
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Satoshi Tajiri
Designer(s)Satoshi Tajiri
Ken Sugimori
Akihito Tomisawa
Programmer(s)Mark Flint
Artist(s)Ken Sugimori
Mucho Tanaka
Writer(s)Satoshi Tajiri
Ken Sugimori
Composer(s)Yasuhiko Fukuda
Akira Yamaoka
Manabu Saito
Platform(s)Super NES
Release
  • JP: September 13, 1991
  • NA: March 1992
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Smart Ball[lower-alpha 1] is a platform game developed by Game Freak and System Sacom.[1] It was published by Epic/Sony Records and Sony Imagesoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991.[2][3][4][5] A sequel titled Script error: The function "nihongo_foot" does not exist. was in production, but was not released.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot.

In that incarnation, the player plays as a little jelly bean with eyes, named Jerry, traveling across a grassy landscape. The game has graphics and terrain that are characterized as cartoony and cute, which attracts younger players.

The player is able to defend Jerry or attack enemies by controlling certain physical characteristics of Jerry, such as flattening or stretching his body in order to hit enemies, or by finding objects, such as balls, to throw at enemies. The player can also run by pressing the Y button on the controller. Jerry has the ability to stick to walls and ceilings which is activated by holding down the Y button as he jumps towards them, adding an advantage over Jerry's enemies. The player advances through each level along a filmstrip map, and can revisit previously completed levels by "rewinding" the filmstrip. Each level is a romp up and down hills, jumping between platforms, and squeezing through pipes. Scattered around each level are a number of plants that open up to reveal balls, power-ups, 1-ups, seeds and jumping enhancers. Similar to Donkey Kong Country, the player must collect letters that spell "JERRY" in each level. Collecting them all will give the player two extra lives.

Plot

A young boy named Jerry was a prince and ruler of a kingdom but has been transformed into a blob by a mysterious witch at the behest of his jealous brother, Tom, who has a crush on the young princess Emi.[6]

Development and release

Smart Ball was co-developed by Game Freak and System Sacom.[1][7][8]

The entire storyline from the game, as well as all the towns in levels, were removed in the North American version. However, there is an English fan-made translation patch that can be applied on a Japanese ROM and played on an emulator.[9]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame3/5[10]
CVG85/100[11]
Famitsu6/10, 7/10, 7/10, 5/10[12]
Control64%[15]
Game Boy3/5, 2/5, 2/5, 3/5[16]
N-Force91%[17]
SNES Force(JP) 86%, (NA) 87%[18]
Super Action89%[19]
Super Gamer43%[20]
The Super FamicomB-[21]
Super Pro43%[22]

According to Famitsu, Smart Ball sold 3,345 copies in its first week on the market and 33,283 copies during its lifetime in Japan.[23] The game received a 21.33/30 score in a 1993 readers' poll conducted by Super Famicom Magazine, ranking among Super Famicom titles at the number 112 spot.[24] It also received generally favorable reception from critics.[25][26][27] Super Play stated that the game is a "run-of-the-mill platform game with only its blob-shaped hero to distinguish it from the crowd. We reckon it seems pretty average".[14] The game won the Digital Content Association's AVA Multimedia Grand Prix Award for character design.[28]

Legacy

Adaptation

Smart Ball is one of the video games featured in the manga titled Rock'n Game Boy, by Shigeto Ikehara and published by Comic BomBom from October 1989 to December 1991.

Canceled sequel

Sony Music Entertainment Japan planned to release the sequel in 1994, however it was canceled. The developer was Game Freak: Satoshi Tajiri was the supervisor, Ken Sugimori the character designer, and Yoshinori Sunahara the music composer.

The game was to be released about three years later and was slated for a Japan-only release, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Sony may have been responsible for the cancelation. The company were to help publish the game as well as having helped publish the original, but due to a strain between Nintendo and Sony around the time of the game's release and Sony moving on to their own system at the time, the PlayStation, the game was cancelled as a result.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011} In the proposed sequel, the player would take control of one of six different playable characters, each with a unique special ability. The game would have also featured an updated engine allowing for larger gameplay and enemy variety. Despite the cancellation, Smart Ball was not the last Game Freak game to be published by Sony. The last Game Freak game published by Sony was Click Medic for PlayStation, which was published in 1999.

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Jerry Boy (Japanese: ジェリーボーイ)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 【SFC】ジェリーボーイ（Jerry Boy）全１６ステージを攻略 (YouTube video). なんとなくゲーム. 15 February 2019. Event occurs at 1:26:19. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.
  2. ↑ "International Outlook - Jelly Bean". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (17): 48. December 1990. https://archive.org/stream/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_17#page/n48/mode/1up. 
  3. ↑ "Super NES Showcase - !Rumors!". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (24): 96. May 1991. 
  4. ↑ "International Outlook - Jerry Boy". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publishing) (23): 78. June 1991. https://archive.org/stream/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_23#page/n77/mode/1up. 
  5. ↑ "Super NES Games". Nintendo. http://www.nintendo.com:80/consumer/gameslist/manuals/snes_games.pdf. 
  6. ↑ "16-bit Gamer's Guide (Part 3): The Super NES - Jelly Bean". GamePro (IDG) (25): 30. August 1991. https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File:GamePro_US_025.pdf&page=32. 
  7. ↑ Sugimori, Ken (16 April 1993) (in ja). メイキングオブジェリーボーイ. Jerry Boy. 1. Tokuma Shoten. pp. 114. ISBN 978-4197930524.  (Translation by Chris Covell. ).
  8. ↑ (in ja) メイキングオブジェリーボーイ：クリエイターへのインタビュー. Jerry Boy. 1. Tokuma Shoten. 16 April 1993. ISBN 978-4197930524.  (Translation by Chris Covell. ).
  9. ↑ "Smart Ball". http://www.romhacking.net/games/312/. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  10. ↑ Weiss, Brett Alan (1998). "SmartBall - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=121&tab=review. 
  11. ↑ Rand, Paul; O'Connor, Frank (November 1991). "Review: Jerry Boy". Computer and Video Games (EMAP Images) (121): 80–81. https://archive.org/details/computer-and-video-games-magazine/Computer%20and%20Video%20Games%20121/page/n79/mode/2up. 
  12. ↑ "New Games Cross Review: Jerry Boy" (in ja). Famitsu (ASCII Corporation) (145): 37. September 27, 1991. https://archive.org/details/famitsu-0145/page/37/mode/1up.  (Transcription by Famitsu.com. ).
  13. ↑ "Console Connexions: Jerry Boy". Games-X (Europress) (24): 32. October 3–9, 1991. https://archive.org/details/Games_X_Magazine_24/page/32/mode/1up. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "What Cart?". Super Play (Future Publishing) (1): 86–90. November 1992. 
  15. ↑ "SNES Out of Control". Control (Maverick Magazines) (1): 1–16. September 1992. https://archive.org/details/control-issue-01/page/n69/mode/1up. 
  16. ↑ "The・New・Soft・Cross・Review: Jerry Boy" (in ja). Game Boy (Tokuma Shoten) 6 (11): 56. November 1991. https://archive.org/details/game-boy-november-1991-11-600dpi-ozidual/Game%20Boy%201991%2011%20%28J%20OCR%29/page/n57/mode/1up. 
  17. ↑ Roberts, Nick; Rowley, Carl (August 1992). "Reviewed! Smart Ball". N-Force (Impact Magazines) (2): 90–91. https://archive.org/details/nforce-magazine-02/page/n89/mode/2up. 
  18. ↑ "Guide Directory Enquiries". SNES Force (Impact Magazines) (1): 92–97. July 1993. https://archive.org/details/snes-nforce-magazine-01/page/n93/mode/2up. 
  19. ↑ "Crusty Library". Super Action (Europress) (5): 104–113. February 1993. https://archive.org/details/super-action-05/page/n109/mode/1up. 
  20. ↑ "A-Z of Games - Nintendo Games Index: Super NES". Super Gamer (Paragon Publishing) (1): 122–124. April 1994. https://archive.org/details/super-gamer-01/page/n121/mode/1up. 
  21. ↑ "The Testplay I: Jerry Boy" (in ja). The Super Famicom (magazine) (ja) (SoftBank Creative) 2 (18): 8. September 20, 1991. https://archive.org/details/the-super-famicom-september-20-1991-09-20-600dpi-ozidual/The%20Super%20Famicom%201991%2018%20-%2009%2020%20%28J%20OCR%29/page/n11/mode/1up. 
  22. ↑ "A-Z of Games: Game Guide". Super Pro (Paragon Publishing) (2): 91–96. February 1993. https://archive.org/details/super-pro-03/page/13/mode/1up. 
  23. ↑ "Game Search". https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/game-search. 
  24. ↑ Super Famicom Magazine (August 1, 1993). "ゲーム通信簿" (in ja). 90年11月から'93年6月21日発売までの323本を収録!! スーパーファミコンオールカタログ'93 (special supplement). Tokuma Shoten. p. 14. 
  25. ↑ Firme, Matthew A. (August 1991). "Super NES: 3 More Games to Play!". Game Player's Strategy Guide to Nintendo Games (Signal Research) 4 (8): 34–37. https://archive.org/details/game-players-guide-to-nintendo-games-vol.-4-issue-8-aug-1991/page/35/mode/1up. 
  26. ↑ Sinfield, George; Noel, Rob (March 1992). "Now Playing: Smart Ball". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) 34: 104–105. 
  27. ↑ Roberts, Nick (December 1992). "Featured! Six of the best". N-Force (Impact Magazines) (6): 62–63. https://archive.org/details/nforce-magazine-06/page/n61/mode/2up. 
  28. ↑ "1991 AVAマルチメディアグランプリ". Famitsu (ASCII Corporation) (162). January 24, 1992. 



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