Bloons Supermonkey (series)

The Bloons Supermonkey logo as it appears in the mobile version of Bloons Supermonkey 2

Bloons Supermonkey (also parsed as Bloons Super Monkey) is a series of vertically scrolling shooter games developed by Ninja Kiwi as a spinoff to the Bloons TD series, the first spinoff of the TD series specifically and the third series of games within the Bloons franchise. The player controls a Super Monkey who must pop waves of Bloons which in turn drop Blops. Blops are used to buy weapon upgrades to increase his damage and/or allow him to pop specific Bloon types.

The series consists of two Flash games and a 3D remake of the second game for mobile devices.

Gameplay

The Bloons Supermonkey series are top-down vertically scrolling shooters. The player controls the movement of a Super Monkey that automatically fires his weapons. The goal is to pop several waves of Bloons. In Bloons Supermonkey 2, as the game progresses, stronger Bloons with resistances to certain kinds of weaponry start appearing more frequently. Both games have MOAB-Class fights – Bloons Super Monkey features the MOAB and BFB, while Bloons Supermonkey 2 contains conventional MOABs and Boss Bloons that spawn additional Bloons and, in the mobile version, inflict debuffs on Super Monkey. If a Boss Bloon escapes a level, the level is lost.

Gameplay screenshot from the first Bloons Super Monkey

Bloons drop Blops that can be used to buy upgrades for Super Monkey's weapons, either via the pause screen (for the Flash titles) or the lab menu outside of a level (for the mobile remake). Each game has a powerup system where popping Bloons also occasionally triggers a random effect that benefits Super Monkey.

The player earns a rank depending on the amount of Blops collected. In Bloons Super Monkey, the ranks are represented as Bronze, Silver, and Gold trophies that add to the score at the end of the game. In Bloons Supermonkey 2, these are represented as trophies (medals in the mobile version) spanning from Bronze to Diamond. A Bronze medal/trophy is required to win a level in all games, while in Bloons Supermonkey 2 certain levels require a set amount of trophies/medals of a certain quality to unlock, encouraging the player to replay past levels.

Super Monkey is usually restricted to three weapon types. In Bloons Super Monkey, he only has three weapons (Darts, Boomerangs and Energy), while Bloons Supermonkey 2 introduces weapon paths for Bombs and Magic. While Super Monkey is the only playable character in the Flash games, the mobile version of 2 introduces the unlockable characters Ice Monkey, Storm Monkey and Dr. Monkey, which each have access to their own weapon types in addition to most of the standard ones.

Each game is split into several zones with even more levels each, the amount increasing and terminology changing with each installment – Bloons Super Monkey has a single zone with five stages which each have three levels for a total of fifteen levels, the Flash version of Bloons Supermonkey 2 has four zones with five stages each for a total of twenty levels, and the mobile version has four worlds with a varying amount of levels each for a total of 100 levels.

List of games

Bloons Super Monkey

Main article: Bloons Super Monkey

Released in 2010, Bloons Super Monkey establishes the basic gameplay loop of the franchise, including upgrades and Blops (called Power Blops). There are seven standard Bloons, up to Ceramic Bloons that take 10 damage to destroy, and two MOAB-Class Bloons.

The goal of the game is to beat all fifteen levels with at least a Bronze trophy in the first fourteen. Not meeting these requirements results in a game over, while beating the game leads to a score screen influenced by the rank of the trophies earned per level.

An iOS port of the game exists, developed by Digital Goldfish and released a few months after the Flash version. It plays largely similarly.

Bloons Supermonkey 2

Main article: Bloons Supermonkey 2

Bloons Supermonkey 2 is a title shared by a browser-based Flash version and an expanded mobile version with 3D graphics. Both are free-to-play, though the mobile version used to be a paid app.

Flash

Main article: Bloons Super Monkey 2 (Flash)

The original Flash version of Bloons Supermonkey 2 was released in 2013. It introduces several new mechanics and expands upon the gameplay of the original with more weapons, an arm/core equipped weapon system, Epic Powers that are the ultimate upgrades for weapons, Special Powers, Ultimate Monkey transformation, and a research system that improves various aspects of Super Monkey's arsenal. Instead of raw Blops, Blops are converted into Blop Cash to fund upgrades.

It additionally introduces several new Bloon types. Among these Bloons are ones with resistances to certain weapons, such as Glass Bloons that resist Energy and Black Bloons that resist explosives, and Boss Bloons, who must be fully popped before exiting the level or else it will be counted as a loss.

Mobile

Main article: Bloons Supermonkey 2 (mobile)

The mobile version of Bloons Supermonkey 2 was released in 2016, and introduces more levels, Boss Bloons, and playable characters than the original game, in addition to being the first Bloons game to fully utilize 3D graphics.

Blops are reinstated as the currency and are now separated into Red and Blue colors, Red being used to buy weapon upgrades and Blue being used for research and buying skins. Red Blops are primarily earned by popping previously unpopped Bloons, while Blue Blops are earned by revisiting levels and popping Bloons that were previously popped.

The remake introduces Allies, replacing Ultimate Monkeys, which are characters that assist Super Monkey in popping Bloons, and Powerups that replace Special Powers, which are up to two special passive or Activated abilities equipped just before starting a level. Boss Bloons can now debuff Super Monkey with Blop-like projectiles, while Shielded Bloons physically prevent Super Monkey and his darts from flying through Bloons with the modifier.

Game chronology

Game	Description / Version	Release date
Bloons Super Monkey	Flash	15 February 2010
	iOS	19 August 2010
Bloons Supermonkey 2	Flash	14 May 2013
	Mobile	1 November 2016