OK, so most people have played at least one of the Super Monkey Ball games in the series, but this one is unlike the others, in both presentation and controls. Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll (note that there is no colon (“:”) in-between Ball and Touch) was released in the UK on 17th February, 2006. I was given this game as a random present I think when my mother went out shopping for games for herself, I’ve probably had it since June, and it’s a personal favourite in my collection. However I still haven’t finished the game, and I’ll explain why later.


Yes, Aiai is actually shaking his bottom and wants you to touch him, preferable there*

PROTIP: Balloons pass upwards on the Main Menu. If you pop more than 10 balloons in a row, a minigame is initiated and you can set a new high score of how many balloons popped in a row. My personal record is 14 if I recall correctly.

Storyline

There isn’t one. No Dr Bad-Boon here folks.


Graphics

Like Super Monkey Ball Jr. (the GBA version), Touch & Roll uses a cartoon look for the characters.


Super Monkey Ball Jr.*


Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll

I didn’t think I would be able to get used to such a look after having the nice 3-D graphics from Super Monkey Ball 2 on the GameCube. However I was happy to be wrong, as the graphics are executely extremely well with each character looking good in 2-D and having different animations for different speeds.


GonGon Too Fast!


Friggin Banana peel!

The stages are in 3-D, are look great on the DS. In the actual game, the Top Screen shows you the stage and is the play screen, the bottom screen shows your character, for reasons which I will delve into later.

As always the stages and certain minigames have scrolling backgrounds. Some of these are beautiful, for example in Monkey Golf the background is a sweet sunset, what can I say, I’m a sucker for the sky.


Controls

There are two ways to control your Monkey Ball, using the D-Pad, or the Touch Screen, I had thought that the A, B, X & Y buttons would also be used to control the ball for left handed people, but I just checked and they do nothing.


My eyes! The A, B, X & Y buttons do nothing!*


Feels like these buttons do, nothing at all, nothing at all… nothing at all*

Well that’s enough Simpsons quotes for now.

As previously mentioned the touch screen can also control the game. When I first heard about the game I thought you might use the touch screen to roll the ball as in glide the stylus across the screen to roll it, however this is not the case. Instead, the screen only has to be touched at one point and your acceleration and direction will be constant. For example, to touch the screen at the top, will make you faster then if you just touch it at the middle or anywhere else in the top half. Touching the screen in the bottom half will cause retardation (that is a real word and means deceleration) and eventually reverse. Touching the screen on the left edge will make you turn left more than if you just touched the rest of the left half of the screen.

I’ve probably made it sound a bit complex so here is a diagram:



1.Maximum acceleration, fairly sharp left turn
2.No acceleration, fairly sharp left turn
3.Moderate acceleration, moderate left turn
4.Maximum acceleration, no change in direction, just heading forward
5.Maximum acceleration, fairly sharp right turn
6.No acceleration nor change in direction (which I don’t think is possible)
7.Maximum deceleration, random change in direction (inevitable)
8.Maximum deceleration, in right direction (you can’t sharp turn while going backwards
9.Moderate deceleration, slightly in left direction

Hopefully you figure out what I’m on about, if not just then just go home. I don’t care if you are home, just go home!


Gameplay

Well the formula in the game is the same as it’s predecessors, get to the goal while collecting bananas on the way.

The levels are very well designed, with some very uniquely designed ones.

There are 10 normal worlds, each having 10 levels, and 2 hidden stages which cannot be normally unlocked.

Now as I said before, I haven’t finished this game. I am on World 7 and the reason I can’t well couldn’t now was because of the last level in this world, called Fluctuation. Now I had actually filmed this video expecting to play the game for 10 minutes constantly flopping the level because I had never beaten it. What I filmed instead was this:


lol I know I flopped the first go, and sorry for pausing it like 30 seconds I had to sort out something*

Yes I bloody beat the level for the first time, with a webcam infront of it, it sucks that that wasn’t even in the main game, it was practice lol.

The game really is something special haha.

As always the game comes with mini-games, but alas, no monkey target in this one. Touch & Roll comes with 6 mini-games:

• Monkey Race: The good old classic, rubbing your character before the race starts can give you a boost. Comes in 3 flavours: Single Race, Grand Prix & Time attack
• Monkey Fight: Another classic, you use the stylus to move around and either the L or R buttons to punch (good for lefties). Using the stylus to move is different but more enjoyable in the end I find. As always you can hold the L or R button to charge a punch. Comes in 2 flavours: Normal & Survival and includes 3 levels, Jungle Square, Ice Octagon and UFO circle.
• Monkey Bowling: You move the ball left or right using the stylus, then click the spin button and use the stylus to set the spin by rolling the ball in the direction you want to spin in. Then you set the path by drawing a line towards the pins, the faster you draw the line the faster you bowl. Comes in 2 flavours: Normal and Challenge. In challenge mode you have a certain number of chances to complete 10 stages, with each stage having the pins in a different formation. Challenge also has 3 levels with you having to complete the 10 stages in a level to get to the next one, I haven’t gotten past the first level yet haha
• Monkey Hockey : Good ole air hockey, with two options, normal hockey where you move a puck around trying to hit the ball (OK that’s not really air hockey). The other option is Line Smasher, where you draw a line (limited amount of ink to draw with). As the ball hits your newly drawn bat, your line erodes slowly, but you can redraw your bat at anytime. In both modes there is the opportunity to play singles or doubles, and there are items that you can hit the ball into that let you change the size of the pucks or goals.
• Monkey Wars: First Person Shooter! You use the D-Pad to move around, and the bottom to look around. You also use the bottom screen to fire by tapping on the screen where you want to fire. This becomes a bit unpractical but you get over it eventually. There are different weapons such as watermelon machine guns (reminds me of that Tom & Jerry episode), and pineapple grenades. There are 3 courses, Jungle Attack (small size), Pyramid Maze (medium size) and Cosmofield (large size). You get 1 point for every shot that hit’s and 10 point’s for “killin’ a mownkay”! When killed you respawn anyway.
• Monkey Golf aka My Favourite Mini-Game: A returning mini-game however it was never this fun in Super Monkey Ball 2. The music is great (electric guitar style track, but not rock, more spanishy), the back ground is great (beautiful sky, with different holes having different times of day in the background) and the controls are a delight. First you aim (using the bottom screen) which direction you want to aim, and then you use the stylus to actually swing the club! The faster you hit it, the further it goes. The further back you hold it and then swing, the further it goes. Man this is such a game I’ll have to record a video of it in action if you guys want it.


This is the normal version of Monkey Hockey*


This is Monkey Shot, notice the part at the bottom of the screen to look around with*


Monkey Punch in action!*


Line Smasher mode in Monkey Hockey, notice the two power-ups towards the bottom goal and the amount of ink to draw with on the right*


Monkey Golf, you glide the stylus in a clockwise motion to the distance you want, and then anti-clockwise to hit*


Monkey Race works with the same principle of the main game, see the diagram for help haha*


Longevity

This game will last you quite a while in terms of the main game, and even when you’ve finished it the stages and mini-games will keep you coming back. A must have in your DS collection, Gamespot were way off on their Score.



The Justoid Review #1: Super Princess Peach

Once again sorry for the Gamespot images, also I used Wikipedia for a bit of help with the facts because I had to check that game ‘nuff times today and I couldn’t be asked to keep doing it.