Ballz

Expanded edition

Ballz: The Director's Cut is an improved version of the Genesis and SNES game Ballz 3D: Fighting at its Ballziest. Like the original, it's a 3D fighting game where all the characters are made out of balls. Each character has its own moves animations and combos. In the single player mode you first have to fight against all the playable characters after which there are a variety of final bosses such as a tyrannosaurus, kangaroo, scorpion, ostrich and bull.

Released: 1994
Platforms: 3DO 3DO Interactive Multiplayer SNES Sega Genesis
Genres: Fighting Strategy
Developers: PF Magic
Publishers: Accolade
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Comedy
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB T
Languages: English

About

Ballz 3D (originally subtitled Fighting at Its Ballziest in North America and The Battle of the Balls in Europe) is a 1994 fighting game developed by PF.Magic and published by Accolade for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, with a 3DO version being released as a director's cut in 1995. The game offers three difficulty levels over a total of 21 matches. Its distinguishing quality was that each of the characters were composed completely of spheres, giving the game a pseudo-3D look. Although the game was not a major success, it was generally well-received by critics, and PF.Magic reused its graphics technology in the Petz line of virtual pet titles (Dogz, Catz and Oddballz).

Keywords

shared screen
tactical turn-based combat

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

The idea to use spheres to represent characters in the game was proposed by lead programmer Keith Kirby; the development team decided on implementing the idea as it would save processor power, as well as the fact that characters would look the same regardless of the angle the camera is situated at when they are constructed from spheres, which are also relatively quite easy to represent in the game's code.

The Genesis/Mega Drive version was originally intended for use with the Edge 16, a modem system for multiplayer gaming which was eventually cancelled.

Reception

2 out of 10 average, commenting that "The fighters were interesting, with their various taunts and other poses, and the whole idea is innovative, but in the end it just never really came together for me." GamePro gave the Genesis version a positive review. They praised the balanced gameplay, smooth scaling effects, and humorous sound effects, and concluded, "Ballz takes the increasingly routine genre of fighting games and gives it a new bounce, injecting a wicked sense of humor into the action." They were less enthusiastic about the SNES version, saying that the graphics are better than in the Genesis version, but the irritating new soundtrack, overcomplicated control configuration, and especially the frequent slowdown combine to make the game much less enjoyable.

The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly had mixed reactions to the SNES version. Two of them praised its original design and good graphics, and the other two praised the humorous sounds, but all but one felt the game was not as enjoyable as other fighting games, with the biggest problem being the fighters' limited set of moves. 75 out of 10 average.