Three dimensions, three games, three times the fun? Find out inside.
Developer: Dimps
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: March 27, 2011
Score: 3.5 / 5
When the Gamecube first launched in 2001, one of the titles that came along with it was the original Super Monkey Ball, a challenging and highly addicting platforming title that quickly became popular. The franchise spread to a large number of games, including a Wii launch title with Banana Blitz, and now it’s moving to the third dimension with Super Monkey Ball 3D. While the platforming gameplay benefits from the ability to perceive depth, at the same time it doesn’t feel as deep as previous games in the franchise.
There are three main game modes in this title, and the largest one is naturally Monkey Ball mode. As in all previous versions of the game, you’ll find your sphere-trapped monkey at the beginning of an obstacle course, and you’ll have to carefully navigate your way to the end by tilting the entire course, like an old wooden labyrinth. You’ll contend with bumpers, slopes, moving platforms, buttons, narrow paths, and few railings keeping you from plunging into the depths below.
Like in previous games, the controls and physics are fine-tuned to perfection. Using the Circle Pad to navigate the labyrinth is very intuitive and precise, and Monkey Ball veterans will find it to be very familiar. You can also control the game with the Motion Sensor by tilting the 3DS, if you’re completely crazy. With the way the game calibrates the sensor, you can only move forward if the system is pointing downward, which means you’ll have to play hunched over. Additionally, turning left and right requires a “roll” turn as opposed to a “yaw” turn, so if you want to see the 3D effect and not be blinded, you’re going to be craning your neck in very awkward directions. Don’t bother with motion controls here.
The only major problem I have with the Monkey Ball game is the level design. It’s not that the level design is really bad per se, but it’s not nearly as imaginative or challenging as in previous titles. You’ll roll along a mostly flat level with next to no moving elements, and the only challenges you’ll ever face are being careful during a tricky passage for a couple of seconds. While previous titles made you think through your plan of attack, in SMB3D you can just plow forward and generally make it past any difficulties you have without much trouble. It sort of feels like “My First Monkey Ball”, and the replay value suffers from it.
The next mode is Monkey Race, which is simply an inferior Mario Kart, straight up. You’ll choose a character, choose a car, choose one of nine tracks and you’re off to the races. As you race, you can slip behind other characters to get a speed boost from their slipstream, or run through item gates to grab items to use against your opponents. It sounds like a recipe for fairly unoriginal and derivative success, but the controls just aren’t tight enough.
Steering isn’t quite good enough even on cars with top steering, and braking doesn’t help. The only way to corner effectively is to use this confusing spin-drift mechanic that more often than not will send you careening off the edge. It’s the only real flaw in the racing engine, but it’s something you should never, ever screw up. Every time I raced, I felt like I was battling the controls instead of my opponents. You shouldn’t be picking this game up for the race component.
The final included game is Monkey Fight, which feels like an offshoot of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. You battle against four other monkeys in an attempt to collect the bananas scattered around the stage, and once the bananas are all gathered, you try to beat them out of each other. The controls are a bit difficult to get used to, since they’re complex; you have regular attacks, dash attacks, strong attacks, grab attacks, special attacks, guards, super guards, etc. It’s not quite as complicated as I’m making it sound, but there’s a bit of a learning curve before you’re beating up monkeys efficiently. Like I said, the engine feels very reminiscent of SSBB; you’ll knock monkeys about not to reduce their health, but to knock them off screen, where they’ll lose some bananas and have to wait to get back on the stage.
Unlike Monkey Race, I do enjoy playing Monkey Fight; once I can get into it, it’s fun jumping around a stage and whacking monkeys with a hammer, even if I am terrible at it. My main problem with this mode is the sluggish controls. I played several different characters and it felt like it took too long for me to get an attack off, and often when I tried, someone faster would already have knocked me down. Getting knocked down, while I’m at it, is a total pain, since you have to hammer a button to get back up; you’ll probably be hammering buttons a lot, actually, as that’s also how you get out of grabs, and get back on stage after you fall out. I’m probably being unfair in comparing it to the stellar Smash Bros. series, but it is pretty hard to get used to, and feels a bit unnecessary in this mode. You may have fun with Monkey Fight, and you may end up frustrated.
So, after the description of the game mechanics, how is the presentation? I’m glad to say that the 3D effect is used very well in SMB3D. As you navigate a labyrinth in Monkey Ball, you get a very good idea of where everything is in relation to you, and having the 3D turned on is actually very helpful in completing a large number of levels. In 2D mode, it’s easy for the parts of the stage to appear to mesh together and you can get disoriented, but with the 3D you get an excellent sense of where exactly you are and where you need to go.
As for the visuals themselves, they’re pretty good. SMB isn’t a series known for amazing graphical prowess, but the art style is well done, with eye-catching colors and motifs that you’ll enjoy navigating as you play through Monkey Ball’s 80 levels. The music and sound effects are enjoyable as well; while not many tracks will stick out in your mind, they’re enjoyable to listen to as you navigate narrow passages and annoying bumpers. Unfortunately, the Monkey Ball levels might be too simple to offer a lot of replay value, but the ability to play the game against human opponents may make up for this. You can play against your friends with multiple cartridges, or you can use Download Play to lend your friends a chunk of game.
As usual, the general Super Monkey Ball mechanics are polished to a mirror shine, so if you enjoy rolling a monkey in a ball around labyrinths, you’ll probably enjoy the main mode that this game has to offer. Monkey Race leaves a lot to be desired, but Monkey Fight is enjoyable if you take the time to get into it. The title feels more like an introduction to the world of SMB, though, so if you’re a Monkey Ball expert, this might not satisfy your craving. If you’re new to the series, however, this is an enjoyable title that a number of newcomers would probably enjoy. Just make sure to try out the original games afterward.
