Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
As this is World 9 EX out of 10, it would correspond roughly to late Master and early Master Extra in the original Super Monkey Ball games, and frankly, I feel like they are right up there in their difficulty. We’re also back to the “different time of day” motif for Caelum EX, with it being set at night instead of daytime, though the rainbows are still there. In a sense, Caelum manages to look more vibrant at night, as a lot of things in the background glow, like the holograms, the holographic energy, the jet contrails, and the rainbows themselves (however rainbows at night would work).
This time, I chose Doctor because his thing (though not shown in this game) is building technologically advanced devices, so he would likely feel right at home in a futuristic place. Had I been younger, I would’ve assumed he originated from Caelum as he has no memories of who he is or where he grew up. But I was already a teenager when the original Super Monkey Ball games came out, and the location of Caelum would not be important enough to be a part of a major character’s backstory.
As mentioned before, “caelum” is Latin for “heaven.” It is where we get the English word “celestial” (but not “ceiling” as I presumed) and Spanish word “cielo” (meaning “sky”). Those of you who have played Kingdom Hearts III may remember a location called Scala ad Caelum; it means “stairway to heaven” in Latin.
00:00 - 9 EX-01 Shifting Panels
01:43 - 9 EX-02 Nimbus
03:31 - 9 EX-03 Blockers
06:25 - 9 EX-04 Seesaw Blocks
07:07 - 9 EX-05 Mysterious Objects
08:41 - 9 EX-06 Pipe Maze
10:48 - 9 EX-07 Sky Ridge
11:47 - 9 EX-08 Saturn
12:49 - 9 EX-09 Push-Bar Tower
15:51 - 9 EX-10 Strange Universe
9 EX-01, Shifting Panels, has a generic name for a Super Monkey Ball stage, but it’s tougher than it looks. I was at this for a good 45 minutes on my first time through; I realized that the only way to make it through the third spinning platform was to remain near its axis of rotation as it moves up the path, only going to the end to get to the platform with the goal. The bumper along the way keeps things difficult even if you know this.
9 EX-02, Nimbus, is named after the nimbus cloud, a dense cloud that usually (but not always) brings rain.
9 EX-03, Blockers, is the next in the line of stages involving spinning stick-shaped obstacles, like 4 EX-07, Interruption, or 7 EX-08, Curving Blockers. It also has the plainest name of all, simply “Blockers,” and is the last one in this game. And yet, I struggled here more than I did te first time around. I did remember sometime along the way, though, to stay near the pivot, where the obstacles move closest, and always remain left of the spinning bars. Easier said than done with the last set though, which are spaced pretty close together and have no safe zones between them. (Fall Out Count: 27)
There is a pause menu featur to examine the stage in this game, and I made heavy use of it in 9 EX-06, Pipe Maze, to see where I am and where to turn next. Thanks to this feature, I completed it on my first try on my first time through, and I did so again here. The answer is straight, straight, right, right, right, straight, straight, left, right, straight, right, left.
The inclines in 9 EX-07, Sky Ridge, are too steep to climb normally. Spin Dashes are required for them. The hard part, of course, is stopping in time without falling off.
I have a hard time with 9 EX-09, Push-Bar Tower. The push-bars themselves aren’t that big of a deal, but the fact that you go up inclines and have to stop at specific spots to wait for moving platforms to take you higher. You have to travel quite a distance like this, and the 60-second timer is a real problem because it punishes you for taking it too slow. (Fall Out Count: 17)
The name for 9 EX-10, Strange Universe, used to be “Strange Bath” until an update fixed it. I don’t know why it was called that; I can only guess it was a mistranslation. There is an infamous camera swing near the end where, even if you make it this far, the game will prevent you from seeing where you’re going. Not that the rest of the stage is a breeze though; each set of rotating platforms must be approached at the correct angle. Too soon, and it’ll remain too steep to proceed. Too late, and it will become too steep. Each set also has narrower platforms than the last. (Fall Out Count: 16)
As this is World 9 EX out of 10, it would correspond roughly to late Master and early Master Extra in the original Super Monkey Ball games, and frankly, I feel like they are right up there in their difficulty. We’re also back to the “different time of day” motif for Caelum EX, with it being set at night instead of daytime, though the rainbows are still there. In a sense, Caelum manages to look more vibrant at night, as a lot of things in the background glow, like the holograms, the holographic energy, the jet contrails, and the rainbows themselves (however rainbows at night would work).
This time, I chose Doctor because his thing (though not shown in this game) is building technologically advanced devices, so he would likely feel right at home in a futuristic place. Had I been younger, I would’ve assumed he originated from Caelum as he has no memories of who he is or where he grew up. But I was already a teenager when the original Super Monkey Ball games came out, and the location of Caelum would not be important enough to be a part of a major character’s backstory.
As mentioned before, “caelum” is Latin for “heaven.” It is where we get the English word “celestial” (but not “ceiling” as I presumed) and Spanish word “cielo” (meaning “sky”). Those of you who have played Kingdom Hearts III may remember a location called Scala ad Caelum; it means “stairway to heaven” in Latin.
00:00 - 9 EX-01 Shifting Panels
01:43 - 9 EX-02 Nimbus
03:31 - 9 EX-03 Blockers
06:25 - 9 EX-04 Seesaw Blocks
07:07 - 9 EX-05 Mysterious Objects
08:41 - 9 EX-06 Pipe Maze
10:48 - 9 EX-07 Sky Ridge
11:47 - 9 EX-08 Saturn
12:49 - 9 EX-09 Push-Bar Tower
15:51 - 9 EX-10 Strange Universe
9 EX-01, Shifting Panels, has a generic name for a Super Monkey Ball stage, but it’s tougher than it looks. I was at this for a good 45 minutes on my first time through; I realized that the only way to make it through the third spinning platform was to remain near its axis of rotation as it moves up the path, only going to the end to get to the platform with the goal. The bumper along the way keeps things difficult even if you know this.
9 EX-02, Nimbus, is named after the nimbus cloud, a dense cloud that usually (but not always) brings rain.
9 EX-03, Blockers, is the next in the line of stages involving spinning stick-shaped obstacles, like 4 EX-07, Interruption, or 7 EX-08, Curving Blockers. It also has the plainest name of all, simply “Blockers,” and is the last one in this game. And yet, I struggled here more than I did te first time around. I did remember sometime along the way, though, to stay near the pivot, where the obstacles move closest, and always remain left of the spinning bars. Easier said than done with the last set though, which are spaced pretty close together and have no safe zones between them. (Fall Out Count: 27)
There is a pause menu featur to examine the stage in this game, and I made heavy use of it in 9 EX-06, Pipe Maze, to see where I am and where to turn next. Thanks to this feature, I completed it on my first try on my first time through, and I did so again here. The answer is straight, straight, right, right, right, straight, straight, left, right, straight, right, left.
The inclines in 9 EX-07, Sky Ridge, are too steep to climb normally. Spin Dashes are required for them. The hard part, of course, is stopping in time without falling off.
I have a hard time with 9 EX-09, Push-Bar Tower. The push-bars themselves aren’t that big of a deal, but the fact that you go up inclines and have to stop at specific spots to wait for moving platforms to take you higher. You have to travel quite a distance like this, and the 60-second timer is a real problem because it punishes you for taking it too slow. (Fall Out Count: 17)
The name for 9 EX-10, Strange Universe, used to be “Strange Bath” until an update fixed it. I don’t know why it was called that; I can only guess it was a mistranslation. There is an infamous camera swing near the end where, even if you make it this far, the game will prevent you from seeing where you’re going. Not that the rest of the stage is a breeze though; each set of rotating platforms must be approached at the correct angle. Too soon, and it’ll remain too steep to proceed. Too late, and it will become too steep. Each set also has narrower platforms than the last. (Fall Out Count: 16)
