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Super Monkey Ball Jr. Review - GBA

23rd October 2003 by
91%
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Super Monkey Ball is one of those rare games that comes along every once in a while. A game that seems to throw all convention out the door and focus on doing its own thing. While many games attempt this, very few succeed, and when one succeeds on almost every level, you know you've got a gem on your hands. Such is the Monkey Ball sleeper phenomena. Released at the GCN's launch, most people overlooked it for the big name titles like Rogue Leader, word of mouth quickly spread and many nights were lost in frenzied bouts of monkeying around.

Ported from the GCN version, which was originally ported from the arcade with its trademark banana joystick, there is little doubt that quality has been lost. After all, it's a 3D game on a 2D console, needing the slightest touch and full analogue control to get a handle on your balls. So how does Super Monkey Ball Jr. hold up on the GameBoy Advance?

Gameplay

The gameplay for Super Monkey Ball Jr. is done surprisingly well. Using the D-pad is quite unusual at first, especially if you're used to the GCN version with full analogue control. Movement has been mapped to the d-pad, with the A button increasing the tilt giving you greater speed. The B button decreases the tilt this giving you finer control in the game. It's very intuitive, and the system works surprisingly well.

As for the single player game, many of the levels have made it over, offering 10 for Beginner, 20 for Advanced, 30 for Expert and 5 for Master. For those unfamiliar with the original, this means that about only 35 levels were lost in the conversion, mostly ones which would have been hard to do on the GBA's limited 3D hardware. More than half of the original levels, plus mini games and an excellent end credit sequence have survived, which is unusual for a handheld scaled down title. Sega has done extremely well with the conversion from console to GBA.

As for the games multilayer, it's all accounted for. Monkey Fight, Target, Race, Bowling, Billiards, and Golf have all come across relatively in perfect form. Multiplayer takes some getting used to, but quickly becomes a great portable substitute for those away from home. Multiplayer can even be played by yourself, if you're so inclined. It can prove relaxing after some of the ridiculous challenges thrown up against you in the single player game.

Graphics & Sound

Graphics seem a little odd at first, mainly due to their reduced size and pixilated appearance. I'm not sure if the character models are actual polygons or sprites taken from the frames of animation, but either way, it's hardly the most important thing going on. The gameplay is solid, and the graphics are only less so. The 3D levels look good and sharp, with nice backgrounds. There's not really much to say about the graphics, as they are serviceable and only help give the game its own unique charm.

The sound runs along ... (continued next page)

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