Admit it, when you pick up a system on launch day, a lot of the thrill is having bragging rights. When you have your friends over to show off your new toy, you want something you can all play. Enter the Monkey. Super Monkey Ball, that is.
For the older videogame crowd, the main portion of SMB will bring back memories of Marble Madness. If you have never played Marble Madness, then Super Monkey Ball can be summed up like this: Direct your monkey (inside of his ball) to the finish line while avoiding obstacles and not falling off the track. This is done by titling the track and moving your monkey via gravity. While finesse is part of the challenge, solving the puzzle of each track is usually the biggest portion of the level. This part really reminded me of Chu Chu Rocket. The problem is, just like Chu Chu Rocket, once you beat the game and unlock the secrets, you may never go back and play it again. Beating the Beginner, Advanced, and Expert levels perfectly (without losing a life) will unlock the Extra levels. Trust me, this will take some patience to achieve.
But, like I have said before, you have all your friends over and you want to show off your 'Cube. This is where SMB does its best work. Instantly accessible are the multi-player games Monkey Race, Fight, and Target. Players rip through course trying to get the best time, knock each other off of levels using exaggerated boxing gloves or land on targets and earn the most points. When everyone goes home for a break, you can tune in the main game, earn play points and unlock Billiards, Bowling, and Golf. These unlockable mini-games are actually much more durable and entertaining than the instantly accessible ones in both single and multiplayer mode.
Super Monkey Ball is essentially a collection of mini-games, none worth of a purchase on their own but together they give you a variety of challenges to break in you GameCube.
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