Score
Gameplay:	8
Graphics:	7
Sound:	6
FunFactor:	8
PlasmaFactor:	7
Overall:	7.2

Super Monkey Ball Deluxe Review
March 22, 2005 by Peter Skerritt

by peter - March 22, 2005

What do you get when you combine monkeys, bananas, various labyrinths, a ton of minigames, and a clear ball? GameCube owners will quickly answer that question with Super Monkey Ball� and they�re right. Now, thanks to Sega, XBox (and PS2) owners can get a taste of what only GameCube owners got to play in 2001 and 2002 with Super Monkey Ball Deluxe-- an amalgamation of the two existing Super Monkey Ball games, complete with new levels and features. Was this barrel of monkeys worth the wait?

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

For the uninitiated, Super Monkey Ball plays something like Marble Madness. Players must guide a monkey-populated ball through each of over 300 mazes, shifting and tilting the maze with the left analog stick to lead the ball to the goal. Players can pick up optional bananas, which function similarly to picking up coins in the Mario Bros. games in that collecting 100 awards an extra life� and players will need every extra life that they can muster in order to successfully complete all of the mazes in the game.

The various mazes range from simple point-to-point layouts to complex labyrinths to obstacle-filled areas. All of the levels take place at extreme heights, so one false move can lead your ball over the edge, sending your monkey plummeting to certain death. Complicating matters is an ever-ticking clock that can mean automatic failure if it runs out. Quick reflexes, strategy, patience, and even a little bit of luck are requisites to success in this game. The controls are solid, and the XBox analog stick tends to handle slightly better than the PS2 stick.

The mazes can be tackled in a few ways. Story mode pits players against Dr. Bad-Boon and his mazes as the game�s simian heroes work to gather all of the bananas stolen by the evil doctor and save the monkey village. Each level consists of 10 stages, which can be completed in any order, and players have unlimited continues to complete the mode. Challenge mode groups the levels based on difficulty as players tackle each maze in succession, given only a certain number of lives and continues to finish the mode. Completing these modes opens up various unlockable features in the game, including movies and other content.

Aside from these two modes, the Super Monkey Ball games are best-known for their minigames. These 12 minigames range from billiards to tennis to bowling, among others. Each game supports multiplayer or can be played alone. Unlike the original games on the GameCube, however, where players had to play the other modes repeatedly in order to unlock all of the minigames� the games are immediately available for play in Super Monkey Ball Deluxe. These minigames are addictive and will very likely take up as much playing time as the other gameplay modes. Each game also records top scores, promoting repeated play to improve results.

The Color of Monkey

When it comes to the visuals in Super Monkey Ball Deluxe, they measure up well with the graphics from the GameCube games from 2001 and 2002� although they can be considered somewhat dated by current standards. The game presents plenty of color and varying backgrounds, ranging from lush jungles to lava-filled volcanoes to lush aquatic atmospheres. The frame rate never wavers from its 60fps benchmark in the XBox version of the game; unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the PlayStation 2 version as there are some occasional frame rate hiccups. It�s also worth noting that the movies, which were rendered via the in-game graphics engine on the GameCube, have been translated into compressed video here and look somewhat washed out. It�s not exactly clear why this choice was made, and it�s likely that only those who played the originals would notice.

Unap-peel-ing Sound

The sound in Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is a �love it� or �hate it� kind of thing. The majority of the music is very bouncy and upbeat, with a heavy emphasis on synthesizers. The tracks are pretty original, if nothing else� it�s definitely an acquired taste. Unfortunately for XBox owners, there isn�t a custom soundtrack option� so if you don�t like the music, you�re stuck with it. As for the voiceovers, they consist of annoying monkey-speak and an announcer that�s generally grating in nature. Other sound effects are pretty sparse, save for the screech of a monkey falling to its death. Players of the original Super Monkey Ball games will find nothing new or redeeming here.

More Fun Than A Barrel of Monkeys?

The fun in Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is ultimately found in its complex simplicity. What does that mean? Well� the premise is simple in the game�s main modes of play, as it�s merely a matter of guiding your monkey from Point A to Point B; however, as the difficulty increases, it takes nimble reflexes and a bit of strategy to figure out how to traverse the various obstacles in order to reach each goal. The difficulty curve is pretty steady, although when the game gets difficult, it can get frustrating. Compounding the fun from the main game modes, the collection of minigames are almost worth the price of admission alone. Each minigame is fun in its own right, delivering very playable versions of pool, bowling, tennis, and golf (among others) which can easily eat up hours of playing time. It's also unfortunate that some sort of online play or leaderboard wasn't implemented, given the popularity of the online gaming component these days.

The Simian-tangibles

The PlasmaFactor score here really can differ depending on whether or not you�ve played the Super Monkey Ball games on the GameCube already. The game is certainly original if you happened to miss out on it originally�but if you played these before, the handful of new mazes and few additional unlockables may not necessarily be enough to warrant spending $30. I can�t emphasize enough just how much fun the minigames are, though, and it�s a definite plus being able to play them all right away. Personally, I�m leaning more on the positive side with my score, but your mileage may vary. If all else fails, give it a rental first.

 

The Final Word

If nothing else, Super Monkey Ball Deluxe gives XBox and PlayStation 2 owners a chance to get in on the simian-rolling action that only GameCube owners had before now. The game literally combines both GameCube releases and puts them onto one disc with convenient access to all of the minigames from the start. It doesn�t break any new ground, unlike when the games first saw release. Still, you could do worse for $30, and it�s highly recommended for anyone who missed out on playing these games earlier. The (monkey) ball is in your court.