Smart Ball | |
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North American cover art
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Developer(s) |
Game Freak System Sacom |
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 | |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure game |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Smart Ball is an action-adventure game developed by Game Freak and System Sacom and released by Epic/Sony Records and Sony Imagesoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. It is known as Jerry Boy (ジェリーボーイ?) in Japan. A sequel titled Jelly Boy 2 (ジェリーボーイ2?) was in production, but was never released.
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 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, 1ups, 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.