Review: Super Monkey Ball 3D for Nintendo 3DS

Review: Super Monkey Ball 3D for Nintendo 3DS

I’m not going to lie to you, this isn’t my usual cup of tea. I mean, I enjoy more story-driven things, and tend to play games with mini-games when I’m hanging with friends. But a chance to review a 3DS game is awesome, and if there’s one that actually shows off the capabilities of the new system, it’s this one.

So, what we have here is three mini-game modes. Before we get into it, I need to point out a new thing I’ll be doing when reviewing a 3DS game: talking about what level of 3D. While playing this game, I found that certain levels of the 3D works. Of course, it’s all individual taste.

Monkey Ball

If you’ve played an entry in this series, you know how this works. Use your controls to tilt the game board to send your monkey character in their ball along, collect the bananas, complete the course in the time allotted, and don’t fall to your doom. What’s special here is the option to use the built-in motion sensor of the system to control this mode, which with the 3D makes it feel like you’re actually holding a board with a little monkey spinning around on it. However, I recommend turning the 3D off if you’re going to play with this control scheme. If you’re not looking at the screen at the right angle, you will end up with distorted images, and that can happen a lot when tilting the screen.

Monkey Race

Here we have your standard cart racer, featuring the monkeys driving in cars and shooting each other with items. You know the formula. That said, it is a fun little racer, especially with friends. For this one, I recommend a more slight 3D, since things will be rushing at you while you drive.

Monkey Fight

First off, I’m extremely happy I get to write the words above. As for this mode, it’s a Smash Bros. type of game where you and three other monkeys bash each other to collect bananas before the timer runs out. This is probably the only game where the choice of monkey actually makes a huge difference, as they all have unique stats. I recommend full 3D on this one, since it’s a side-view brawler affair, and you get a really good sense of depth with the backgrounds. I also recommend you don’t play this against three computer players (basically get all your friends), because they can gang up on you, and it takes time to get used to the controls.

There are things to complain about, since it’s a game of this type. If you’re not playing with friends, the most fun you’ll get is from the test of dexterity in the Monkey Ball mode. If you’ve got friends on hand, then go wild with the other modes. And as I said, it takes time to find what mode of 3D works for you.

If you have a 3DS, and want a full demo of what this system’s capable of, you can’t go wrong with monkeys.

Review

ProsCons
Fun modes, and a good demonstration of the system's capabilities.3D has to be adjusted when switching modes, and you really need more people to get the most out of this game.
Rating
79 out of 100
Ahmed is not just a fanboy, but also a martial artist and an indie author who has published such fantasy adventure books as "Lunen: Triblood".

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