Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll

"Touch The Monkies, You Know You Want To...."

I'd like to start by saying that if you have played any previous Super Monkey Ball games, you will NOT find much in the way of new content in this game. However, you WILL find a brand new and rather clever control system that will have you giggling along with your happy little simian chums AiAi, GonGon, MeeMee and Baby as they roll through the ticker tape of yet another Party Ball. And I haven't even mentioned the Minigames yet. Let's Roll...

Graphics : 8

For a Nintendo DS game, the graphics are very impressive indeed. On the top screen, Bright colours and animated backgrounds perfectly compliment the 3D stages that you roll your Monkey of choice around in, while on the Touch Screen, your Monkey in his/her ball is nicely coloured and animated, reacting to every bump in the road, every high speed roll, and every stage cleared or failed. The only thing I could complain about is the fact that your character is represented in 2 dimensions on the top screen. This isn't a major fault, by far, as the animations are slick enough to give the impression of a third dimension, but the pixels become very obvious should your monkey move too close to the camera

Sound : 9

The music in the game isn't to be taken too seriously at all. In fact, none of the game is to be taken seriously. But especially not the music. For the most part it's your typical happy chirpy music that sounds great through the DS's stereo speakers, and of course even better through headphones or speakers.
Each character has their own voice, if you can call a collection of squeeks, cheers, cries and ooks a voice, and they never seem out of place or undeserved. They also add to the fun of the game, in my opinion. Hearing your Monkeys *Weee!*s and *Whooa!*s as they tumble along is great fun.

Control : 10

The Control system for SMBT&R is fantastic, and well deserves a high scoring. For starters there are 2 ways to play the main game. You can use the Direction Pad if you like, and this is a great way to ween yourself into the game, although some of the later levels (of which there are roughly 100) may prove more difficult.
The Touch Screen controls of this game are spectacular. You use the Stylus or your finger (or anything, for that matter) to roll your monkey in a full 360* radius, and depending on how close to the edge of the Touch Screen you touch, the stage will tilt further in that direction, thus speeding up your Monkey Ball. This gives you a whole new spectrum of control, although it can be a little daunting at first. Don't be surprised if you find yourself rolling helplessly off a stage for a few tries, but once you start to clear a few levels you'll soon have it under control, and be rolling your character with ease.

Gameplay : 10

The main game, as I have already said, holds 100+ levels of Monkey Rolling fun. These range from the spectacularly easy stages to get you started, to the full blown ridiculous later stages that will have you literally on edge. You can expect twists, turns, steps, dips, curves, bumps, humps, holes, rolls, drops and even pendulums as you attempt to clear each level. But the game doesn't finish there, not by a long shot

Minigames

From the moment you turn on your DS and start up Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll, you'll be treated to a wide and varied selection of Minigames. There are 6 main minigames to choose from, each with their own sets of options and setups. There is (in no particular order) Monkey Racing, Monkey Bowling, Monkey Golf, Monkey Fight, and two new games; Monkey Wars (a kind of first person shoot 'em up) and Monkey Hockey, which in itself is two different types of game, either Classic Air Hockey or a version where you draw your own paddle.
Once you complete a world in the main game, you also gain access to the Credits minigame. This is basically a way for you to enjoy the credits without being entirely bored, and has you juggling Monkey Balls into the air and colliding them with the names of the staff that worked on the game (you can of course skip this by pressing the trigger buttons and Start + Select without fear of losing your progress)
All the Minigames are controlled using the touch screen in their own particular way, so there is plenty of variation and choice. Whether you're setting the spin on your Monkey Bowling ball or sneaking around corners in Monkey Wars (you will need to use the D-pad for forwards/backwards/sideways movement) there is literally hours of fun to be had out of the wide selection of Minigames at hand.

Multiplayer : 6

This is the only place that I can find any real fault with the game. If you're using Wireless Play (not Download and Play) then all the Minigames from 1P mode are available with full options and settings open to change. However if you are using DS Download Play, the choice of games goes down to Three (Monkey Wars, Monkey Racing and Monkey Hockey) and their options are automatically set. In other words, there isn't nearly as much variation as you would get from Wireless Play. However, this is still fun, as the Games themselves are still entertaining and challenging, Monkey Hockey being my personal favourite Multiplayer Game.

Overall : 9

Aside from the slight let-down of the filtered Multiplayer options, this is one gorilla of a game. With so many options, levels, courses, and minigames to choose from this is a game you can pick up and play on any occasion. I bought this game after playing Super Monkey Ball on the Gamecube, and I can honestly say that I prefer this version. The controls are tight, the graphics are eyecatching and the sounds just plain work. If you already have a different version of Super Monkey Ball, I still advise looking into this game for a completely new look on how puzzle games can be played. And if you've never played with the Monkey's, what are you waiting for?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/26/06