Ball

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This article is about the Game & Watch game. For other uses of the term "Ball", see Ball (disambiguation).
Ball
File:Ball-G'nW.png
Developer Nintendo R&D 1
Publisher Nintendo
Platform(s) Game & Watch, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS
Release date Game & Watch:
Japan April 28, 1980
USA April 28, 1980
Nintendo DSi (DSiWare):
Japan July 15, 2009
USA April 19, 2010
Europe April 23, 2010
Australia April 23, 2010
China August 12, 2010
Club Nintendo reissue:
2010
Nintendo 3DS (eShop):
Japan June 6, 2011
USA June 6, 2011
Australia June 6, 2011
Europe July 7, 2011
Genre Puzzle
Rating(s)
ESRB:E - Everyone
PEGI:3 - Three years and older
Mode(s) Single player
Media
Game & Watch:
Built-in
Nintendo DSi:
Digital download
Nintendo 3DS:
Digital download
Input
Game & Watch:
Nintendo DS:
Nintendo 3DS:

Ball is a Game & Watch game that was released as part of the Silver series on April 28, 1980. It was the very first game of the Game & Watch series.[1] It is one of the games in the Gallery Corner in the original Game & Watch Gallery. It is also an unlockable minigame in Game & Watch Gallery 2, which includes an updated "Modern" version of the game. Depending on the publisher, the game has gone by other names as well, including Juggle and Toss-Up.

In Game & Watch Gallery 2, the player starts out with only the Classic version of Ball (unlike most Game & Watch games in the Game & Watch Gallery series). In order to unlock the Modern version, they first have to either obtain five stars on both modes in the Classic version or possess a star count of 25 or more. Easy Mode seems to be like Game A, while Hard Mode is Game B.

This Game & Watch was later reworked into the Super Mario-themed Mario the Juggler; this remake was the last Game & Watch title produced (not counting Parachute × Octopus released nearly 10 years later).[2]

A reissue was made available on the Club Nintendo rewards program for 1,200 coins in 2010.[3]

Gameplay

Classic version

Classic version of Ball.
The Classic version of Ball

The player controls the hands of a doll with the goal of juggling balls for as long as possible.[4] If one ball breaks, it is Game Over. Game A has two balls to juggle (one point per catch), while Game B has three balls (10 points per catch). This has, unlike the other Game & Watch games, one chance to play, before a Game Over.

Modern version

Yoshi variant of the modern version of Ball
The Modern version of Ball (Yoshi variant)

The player starts out playing as Yoshi (depicted as a Light Blue Yoshi in the Game Boy Color version), but as they collect more stars, they can later play as Mario, then as Wario, and finally as King Koopa (who is represented by a K instead of a B), each more difficult than the last. The first mode has Yoshi juggling Yoshi Eggs. The Mario mode has the player juggling a Star, a Super Mushroom, and a heart, actually just like Mario the Juggler but with the Super Mushroom added. These items have varying arcs of flight as opposed to the fixed patterns of the eggs. The heart is also worth only two points as opposed to three. Wario's mode gives the player the same heart, the same Star, and a Wanderin' Goom to juggle. The objects have varying arcs of flight, and the Goom occasionally flies offscreen. King Koopa's mode features a Koopa Shell, a Boo Buddy, and a Goomba to keep aloft. Like the Wanderin' Goom, the Goomba and shell sometimes fly offscreen. The Boo Buddy also occasionally stops while traveling across its arc. Like the heart, the Goomba and shell are worth only two points apiece.

The Yoshi and King Koopa variants of the Modern version of Ball have Bob-ombs that sometimes fly down from the sky, while the Mario variant has fireballs and the Wario variant has Spiked Balls. If a Bob-omb, fireball, or Spiked Ball hits one of the paddles, it causes a Game Over too. At 100 points for Yoshi, 200 points for Mario, 300 points for Wario, and 400 points for King Koopa, coins rain down from the sky. Touching the coins with the paddles rewards the player with bonus points. By getting all of the coins, the player receives a 20-point bonus as well.

Unlike in the Classic version, music is featured, with the tempo changing depending on the speed of the game.

  • The Modern version of Ball (Mario variant)

    The Modern version of Ball (Mario variant)

  • The Modern version of Ball (Wario variant)

    The Modern version of Ball (Wario variant)

  • The Modern version of Ball (King Koopa variant)

    The Modern version of Ball (King Koopa variant)

Controls

  • +Control Pad (left and right): Move
  • B Button: Move left
  • A Button: Move right

Appearances in other games

Ball appears as a microgame called Game & Watch Toss Up in WarioWare: Touched! and another called Ball in Game & Wario.

Ball was remade for DSiWare. It was released on July 15, 2009, in Japan; April 19, 2010, in North America; and April 23, 2010, in Europe and Australia.

A Super Mario-themed version of Ball was included in Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros., which replaces the main character with Mario or Luigi.

  • Game Watch Toss Up.png

    WarioWare: Touched!

  • Game & Wario

    Game & Wario

  • Ball DSiWare.png

    Ball's DSiWare icon

  • Game and Watch Ball 2 (DSiWare).jpg

    Screenshot of the DSiWare version of Ball

  • Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. sleep mode artwork

    Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. sleep mode artwork

DSi Shop description

American

Nintendo first began releasing the Game & Watch series in 1980. This collection of games was available on portable LCD devices, and each title featured a game and a clock. Each Game & Watch title features two modes of play: GAME A (normal difficulty) and GAME B (more advanced play). While some controls have been changed in the DSiWare version to better suit the Nintendo DSi system, the appearance of the game itself has not been altered.

Brush up your juggling skills with Game & Watch: Ball. Move the juggler's arms to catch the balls. Drop a single ball, and it's game over!

Gallery

Artwork

  • Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.

    Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.

  • Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.

    Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.

Screenshots

  • Game and Watch Ball 1 (DSiWare).jpg

    Another screenshot of the DSiWare version of Ball

  • Game and Watch Ball 3 (DSiWare).jpg

    Yet another screenshot

Sprites

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Chinese 抛接球[5]
Pāo Jiē Qiú
 Throw Catch Ball

Trivia

File:Ball logo.png
The original game's logo
  • This game can also be played in Game & Watch Gallery 2, along with the Game Boy Camera, with the player's face instead of the juggler's.
  • This game is the only Game & Watch game remade after the Game Boy was released.
  • One of the tips for this game is inaccurate; Toad tells the player they have to catch the characters (the characters being Bob-ombs) and avoid the coins, when it is actually the other way around. This may have been an error in translation; the tip is accurate in the Japanese version.
  • In Game & Watch Gallery 2, Princess Peach was planned to be one of the playable characters in Modern Mode, with most of her graphical data still intact. In her variation, she was going to juggle cookies like those seen in Yoshi's Cookie.[6]
  • Mr. Game & Watch's throws in the Super Smash Bros. series have him juggle his opponents and toss them in different directions.

External links

References

Ball coverage on other NIWA wikis:
  1. ^ Ball info page on In The Attic, a website dedicated to classic videogames (Internet Archive: Wayback Machine). Retrieved 13 November 2010
  2. ^ Mario the Juggler info page on In The Attic, discussing its Ball-basis (Internet Archive: Wayback Machine). Retrieved 13 November 2010
  3. ^ eastexit japan merchant (May 3, 2016). 15739 Club Nintendo Game & Watch Ball Reissue 2010 RGW-001. YouTube. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  4. ^ Ball instruction booklet, page 4.
  5. ^ From the iQue DSiWare release
  6. ^ https://tcrf.net/Game_%26_Watch_Gallery_2#Ball
[Edit]
Game & Watch games
Super Mario franchise Donkey Kong (1982, MS) • Mario Bros. (1983, MS) • Mario's Cement Factory (1983, TT/NWS) • Mario's Bombs Away (1983, PS) • Donkey Kong Hockey (1984, MVS) • Super Mario Bros. (1986, CrS | 1987, Sp | 1988, NWS) • Mario the Juggler (1991, NWS) • Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. (2020, CoS)
Donkey Kong franchise Donkey Kong (1982, MS) • Donkey Kong Jr. (1982, NWS | 1983, TT & PS) • Donkey Kong II (1983, MS) • Donkey Kong 3 (1984, MVS) • Donkey Kong Circus (1984, PS) • Donkey Kong Hockey (1984, MVS)
Miscellaneous Green House (1982, MS)
MS: Multi Screen • TT: Table Top • PS: Panorama Screen • NWS: New Wide Screen • MVS: Micro VS. System • CrS: Crystal Screen • Sp: Special • CoS: Color Screen
[Edit]
Nintendo DS games
Super Mario franchise Super Mario 64 DS (2004) • Mario Kart DS (2005) • Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005) • New Super Mario Bros. (2006) • Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (2006) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (2006) • Mario Party DS (2007) • Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2008) • Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009) • Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! (2010)
Donkey Kong franchise Diddy Kong Racing DS (2007) • DK: Jungle Climber (2007)
Yoshi franchise Yoshi Touch & Go (2005) • Yoshi's Island DS (2006)
Wario franchise WarioWare: Touched! (2004) • Wario: Master of Disguise (2007) • WarioWare: D.I.Y. (2009)
DSiWare Bird & Beans (2008) • Dr. Mario Express (2008) • Paper Airplane Chase (2008) • WarioWare: Snapped! (2008) • Art Style: PiCTOBiTS (2009) • Mario Calculator (2009) • Mario Clock (2009) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! (2009) • Donkey Kong Jr. (2009) • Mario's Cement Factory (2009)
Other Yakuman DS (2005) • Super Princess Peach (2005) • Tetris DS (2006) • Game & Watch Collection (2006) • Itadaki Street DS (2007)
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