Super Monkey Ball Jr.

"An Updated Labyrinth?"

INTRODUCTION

When I first went to the store, I went to buy The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past with The Four Swords. Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately), the store was out of the game. So instead I was looking around, but nothing seemed to catch my eye. That is, until I saw the cover art of Super Monkey Ball, Junior. The little monkey in the bubble not only caught my eye, it made me want to buy the game, if only to see what the cover was all about. I am happy to say that my spontaneous purchase was worth it, as Super Monkey Ball, Junior is one of my favorite games on the Gameboy Advance.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay of Super Monkey Ball, Junior is definitely a new twist. The player controls a board, made up of colored squares. The control pad moves the playing field to different angles. The monkey rolls around in a ball according to the direction that gravity takes him. If the monkey happens to go over the edge of the playing field, he falls an extremely long way, and eventually the player will lose a life. Once a life has been lost, the player will start back at the beginning of the level.
I will admit it, I have played this game a lot and I still have not beaten every single level. Some of the courses in the game are downright hard. The Beginner Mode is a nice mode to start out in, hence the “beginner” label. There are ten levels, each one harder than the last. The next mode, Advanced is a little more difficult. There are twenty levels in the Advanced Mode. The mode I am stuck on is Expert Mode. Supposedly, there are thirty levels in Expert Mode, but I have only reached the nineteenth level. Expert Mode is ridiculously hard, but I think that is good in a game. A game should not be too easy that it can be beaten in one sitting, and Super Monkey Ball, Junior will definitely take more than one sitting to complete.
Even with all of the difficult stages, the game’s built in Practice Mode allows the player to keep trying any level that he has unlocked, in order to get more familiar with the particular level that the player is having trouble with. Additionally, there are several unlockables that make playing the game rewarding. Overall, Super Monkey Ball, Junior has great gameplay, but difficult levels late in the game.

GRAPHICS / SOUND

The graphics of Super Monkey Ball, Junior are good, but not great. The camera angle does not always allow the player to see his monkey ball, so some portions of the game are blind. However, this does not affect much of the game, and can almost be overlooked. Other than the blind sections, the graphics are good for the Gameboy Advance. The monkeys look sort of like they look on the Gamecube, but not exactly. Of course, the Gamecube obviously has more power, so that is to be expected. In some areas of the game, it seems like the graphics could be spruced up a little. Some games, such as The Legend of Zelda, or Golden Sun, have just a little more focus on graphics, but for Super Monkey Ball, Junior the graphics do their job well.
The sound is actually pretty catchy. Most of the time, however, I am playing in class and do not use the sound feature, but when I play at home, I find that the sound is actually rather enjoyable. It has none of the MIDI sounds of old, and even sounds better than music did on the Super Nintendo. Of course, that is probably just my opinion. Some people may find that the music is repetitive, but for those that simply cannot play a game without sound, the soundtrack of Super Monkey Ball, Junior will not disappoint.

REPLAY VALUE

The set up of Super Monkey Ball, Junior allows for a ton of replay value. By playing the main game, the player earns points based on how well he plays. At the end of the game, these points will get added to whatever points the player already had. These points can then be used to unlock several things, from mini-games to extra continues. The mini-games that can be unlocked are Monkey Golf, Monkey Bowling, Monkey Fight, and Monkey Duel. Additionally, the player can unlock several more continues for use during normal game play.
In Monkey Golf, the player uses the monkey balls as if they were golf balls. There are two nine hole mini-putt courses with which the player can play a round on. Some of the holes are quite difficult, so many rounds of practice are required before the player can become a Monkey Golf “Pro.” In Monkey Bowling, the money balls serve as the bowling balls. The player tries to knock down as many pins as possible, while still adhering to bowling’s rules. Monkey Fight and Monkey Duel are similar, yet both require another player to play, and I have not played either one yet.
Overall, the unlockables, the mini-games, and the incredible difficulty of some of the levels make Super Monkey Ball, Junior a smash hit with tons of replayability. You will find yourself always trying to break your record in either Monkey Bowling, Monkey Golf, or just in the regular game. Super Monkey Ball, Junior will keep you busy for hours, and after all is said and done, the player will still end up wanting more.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/03, Updated 05/21/03