These sorts of games tend to draw a lot from the classic Marble Madness, but Koririnpa is more in that lineage than something like Banana Blitz is. Forgoing most wacky extra features in the core game, Koririnpa has you navigate through abstract platforming levels made up of materials ranging from the expected wooden marble track to curving city streets suspended in the air, to a large red apple with pathways carved into its surface. In each environment there is a series of crystalline prisms that, at least in the levels I was able to play, conferred bonuses but were not required to complete the stages.

Koririnpa uses only the Wii remote's accelerometers; unlike in Banana Blitz, there are no additional functions such as jumping. Those who have played that game are likely to need a bit of readjustment time with the tilt control as well. Kororinpa's tilt control is slightly less subtle than Monkey Ball's, meaning that it's a little easier to overtilt until you get the hang of it. This is partially because you are given a greater potential angle to rotate. There are parts in the games require full 90-degree rotation, completely changing the orientation of a level, and it is possible to rotate much farther in true synchronization with the controller. This allows for some creative level design approaches, where floors turn into walls and sometimes even ceilings. One of the other advantages afforded by this more extreme control is the ability to pull off some amazing saves, keeping your marble from flying off the edge by putting the ground at a sharp resisting incline almost instantaneously.

As well as the single-player consisting of some 40 different stages, Kororinpa features a split-screen two-player versus mode. Multiplayer levels are littered with objects to collect, some like the crystals of single-player, and some entirely different objets, but unlike in the single-player mode the objective is to actually collect either all the objects or a certain number of objects then reach the level exit before your opponent is able to do the same. The mode is actually surprisingly fun, even though you have no direct interation with your opponent. While you coexist on the same track and sometimes even compete for the same items--which adds to the frantic fun--the two marbles cannot actually collide, taking away some of the potential insanity.

In a nice touch, Hudson has allowed the multiplayer game to be playable by giving the second player the nunchuk attached to the first player's remote, so that even Wii owners with only one controller set can have a buddy over for some competitive Kororinpa. Since the game uses only the console's accelerometers, which are contained in both controller components, either half is sufficient. It does feel somewhat odd to hold the nunchuk in your dominant hand and use it as the primary control method, but as an extra bonus feature who can complain?

To mix things up a bit, Kororinpa allows players to select from a variety of different marbles, some of which are merely skinned differently for personal aesthetic preference--there's a penguin ball, a soccer ball, a Katamari-like clump of cars--and some actually operate differently in game; some marbles vary in terms of weight and controllability.

Kororinpa is looking to be a solid title for both those who enjoyed Monkey Ball and are interested in trying a slightly more traditional take on the game type with the wacky Wii controls, as well as those who simply want as much world-tilting, ball-rolling action as they can get. Look for it in the next few months.

Konami plans to ship Hudson Soft's Kororinpa: Marble Mania in spring 2007.