Super Monkey Ball Touch & Roll – NDS – Review

Sega’s Super Monkey Ball launched
alongside the GameCube in 2001. Alongside a quirky platforming sidestory
(Luigi’s Mansion), an intense Star Wars game (Rogue Leader), and just preceding
a masterpiece of a fighting game (Super Smash Bros. Melee), Monkey Ball rounded
off an excellent starting lineup with its tense, challenging puzzle gameplay
topped with a load of playful charm. It was almost like a 3D update of the
classic Marble Madness, except with monkeys trapped in glass balls out to
collect as many bananas as possible.

The game proved to be a big hit, and
was followed with a sequel and eventual deluxe edition on other game consoles.
This game marks the series’ first foray into the handheld market. It seems like
a great idea: the quick spurts of puzzle gameplay lend itself wonderfully to a
portable system. Fire up the DS, play a few rounds, and voila – the bus trip is
over already.

All is not quite well with the game,
however. While the game boasts 100 stages – about half of which are brand-new –
many of them are insanely hard to control. The original Monkey Ball was
challenging, to be sure, but this is torture. Even the beginning levels prove
quite tricky to someone who had no trouble completing similar tasks in the
GameCube version. This is largely attributed to the control scheme. While the
GameCube sported an analog stick that actually has little notches to help the
player make straight lines – especially useful when moving exactly forward – the
DS relies on a surprisingly cumbersome setup with the stylus.

The action unfolds entirely on the
upper screen of the DS, while the player uses the bottom touchscreen to control
the ball (well, technically, you actually move the entire stage, like one
of those old-fashioned wooden box maze puzzles with a marble inside). There’s an
enlarged sprite of the monkey ball on the screen, and pressing in any direction
around it will tilt the stage in that way. The player might find it useful to
press in the middle of the screen where the ball is and drag the stylus to
create an analog effect. However, the entire thing feels futile: it’s too hard
to move exactly straight, too hard to “put on the brakes,” and entirely too
difficult to perform super sharp turns that are often required by the game’s
later levels.

You are allowed to use the DS’s
D-Pad, thankfully. This allows for much, much more precise digital control –
especially useful when needing to move straight, and generally just easier to
make precise movements with because the user can lightly tap in a direction
rather than test out an “analog” movement with the stylus. I found myself
struggling to get through the first batches of levels with the stylus, but when
I moved to the D-Pad I found my game improved tenfold. Sadly, using the D-Pad
feels a little bit silly when controlling a 3D game like this – it’s not quite
as good as using the GameCube’s analog stick, in any case. But it helps in
getting the job done much more than the touchpad does.

If you can get over the frustrating
controls, there’s a lot to like about Touch & Roll. Sporting dozens of levels
and six different party games, it should keep you busy for a long time. Most of
the later levels are extremely challenging – which is welcome, if you’re up to
the task. One annoying thing, however, are the scrolling credits that show up
every time you complete a batch of 10 levels; completely unskippable, you’re
basically going to be setting your DS aside for five minutes or so. And there’s
no fun mini game to play while they scroll like in the GameCube version! The six
party games aren’t perfect either: some of them feel quite inferior to the
GameCube versions, although the Monkey Golf game controls quite well with the
stylus. Only some of them are available “via download” wirelessly to other
players, but anyone else with a full copy might appreciate a few rounds of
play.

Graphically the game is mostly a
hit. The 3D engine is very impressive, sporting an important and silky smooth
framerate. The levels are painted with simple, but crisp textures, and the
backgrounds look lavish. The only annoying element is the 2D monkey ball sprite
– that is, an actual one on the 3D playing field, not the enlarged one on the
bottom screen. It’s a 2D sprite in the middle of a 3D field, and its range of
animation is pretty pathetic and sometimes misleads the player when making
judgments about the current path of the ball. Perhaps this was done to reduce
the polygon count and keep the framerate smooth – in any case, it’s a little
annoying, but not a major problem.

Audio-wise, the game is pleasant.
Each group of levels has a different musical feel, usually accompanying the
environment (jungle, or desert, for example). The music is quite playful and
chipper, and never gets too old. There’s not a terrible lot to hear otherwise,
as sound effects are sparse, ranging mainly from a chime in collecting bananas
to the “thwack” of the ball as it may bounce on the course.

Touch & Roll is a good effort, but
it’s hard to feel that it’s great, especially when the play control is as
hampered as it is. While it’s largely playable, it is very, very difficult to
control in comparison to its big brother – even when using the more precise
D-Pad. If you can get over that, though, you’ll find loads of stages and some
amusing mini games to keep you busy for hours on end. Fans of the series or
those looking for a tempting puzzle challenge should check it out.

Gameplay: 6.5
The fundamental gameplay of the original is here in full form, but the
frustrating control makes the entire game questionable.

Graphics: 8.0
Marred only by an out-of-place 2D monkey ball, the swift 3D engine keeps the
smooth levels moving at a slick, rock-steady framerate.

Sound: 8.0
Not bad by any means, a variety of music keeps the game feeling upbeat and
exciting at all times.

Concept: 6.0
The original game was quite clever five years ago, but this doesn’t differ
at all from that formula. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – a well-done,
portable Monkey Ball is an exciting prospect.

Difficulty: Hard
The game will definitely have you pulling out your hair in frustration –
even in the early levels, and especially in the later levels. This is
largely due to the cantankerous control scheme.

Multiplayer: 7.0
While only some of the games are available to others via download, there are
six in total, and some of them are rather fun to play.

Overall: 6.9
Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll is a bit disappointing. A portable version
of Monkey Ball this is, but perfect it is not, and that’s too bad. It’s tainted
with a very frustrating control scheme that makes even simplistic stages much
more difficult than they should be. Still, it’s fun, and if you can embrace the
controls rather than abhor them, you’ll definitely have an enjoyable time. It
might be best to rent this one first before investing in a purchase.