What's the deal with the Monkey Ball mini-games that don't work?

Jimbo Slice

Jimbo Slice

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Hey I looked through the first 4 pages and didn't see a topic on it, so I was just wondering...

What's the deal with the mini-games in Super Monkey Ball that just straight-up don't work (Wii-Mote acts a fool and is totally uncontrollable)?

The only one I can think of ATM is Whack-A-Mole, but I know there was a few (maybe 3 that I tried).

Is there an update or anything out? I haven't connected my Wii to the internet yet so I wouldn't know.

Thanks in advance!
 
No updates or anything like that, it just appears that a couple of the games were underdeveloped.

Whack-a-mole is pretty terrible, yeah...definitely the worst I've encountered.

Some great ones in there totally make up for it, though.
 
Don't actually own it, but from playing my friend's copy, there are a few inoperably bad games: Trombone, Disc Golf, and Whac a Mole, off the top of my head.
 
Definitely some stinkers, but others that are really fun. Whack-a-mole and trombone were definitely impossible to control, I haven't even played all of them yet (haven't played disc golf), but most seem to be pretty well done.
 
[quote name='SilverPaw750']Don't actually own it, but from playing my friend's copy, there are a few inoperably bad games: Trombone, Disc Golf, and Whac a Mole, off the top of my head.[/QUOTE]

Really? Trombone and Disc Golf work pretty good for me.

Come to think of it, I thought I just really sucked at Trombone, but maybe it really is glitchy.

Hmm, this sucks though. Kinda feels like a rip-off (even though we still have a whole main game and a bunch of other mini-games)
 
How many mini games are there total, and how many would you classify as:

Awesome!
Fun enough
Not that fun, but not glitchy
Glitchy and unplayable
 
Yeah I was playing my friend's wii and was wondering why the hell the controller would just not react or go nuts at times.
 
I wouldn't call the mini-games broken or glitchy, but rather just really difficult and uninuitive to control. Games like wack-a-mole use the IR sensor to determine depth control and angle to determine horizontal control which can be very confusing to control and very easy to "glitch" when not pointed at the sensor correctly.


There are plenty of fun games though. "Red Light, Green Light" is a riot with 3-4 people. At first I was disappointed with the minigames, but after concentrating on the fun ones (there are a lot) with multiple people, it was a blast to play.

EDIT: I still think Monkey Wars is an excellet example of good FPS controls. Responsive and precise, fast turning, and you can press Z to hold your view so you can aim without turning.
 
Ah, glad there's a thread for this as I was going to say the same thing. There are definitely some hard to control ones. This game is the polar opposite of Rayman with respect to how to create intuitive, fun, Wiimote games. Myself and my kids are getting very frustrated with many of the minigames. A few are good, but most either control horribly or are just not fun. It seems the ones that required depth perception are particularly atrocious (like the whac-a-mole, which is handled WAY better in Rayman).

I did something with this game that I've never done in my life - rented it. They were shocked at my local BB to actually rent a Wii game (I'm the first and may be one of only a handful of people in my small town who actually has a Wii). Anyway, I had a free rental from the Coke Rewards and figured I'd give it a test run. I certainly wasn't going to buy it for $50, and now I'm not sure it is worth $20. I've had it for less than a day and I'm not sure how much more we'll play it.

A few of the games are fun - and the main game was OK, too, until the boss after the 3rd level - the spinning monkey who hides his vulnerable spot that you have to hit, puts up a shield, and then spins violently knocking you off the platform if you get anywhere near him. I mean, seriously, the difficulty curve is just not right with this game. I had little problem to that point and then couldn't get through it in about 20 continues.

Any pointers for that one? I managed to hit him once, somehow, but he needs to be hit 5 or 6 times to win. I can't see how that's possible. I've gotten very good at getting past the balls he rolls at the beginning, but as soon as I roll onto the final platform, he twists around (covering the spot you need to hit) and puts up a shield. If I jump at the shield I get shot right off the platform. If I wait he starts spinning and sometimes knocks me off. If I can get away from him and off the platform he stops, but then starts right back up again as soon as I come back on. Very hard...

(Edit - agreeing with the post above, Monkey Wars seems to be pretty good and a nice preview of FPS control. I played it a few times and it is definitely one of the better ones. I'll have to try the red light/green light.).
 
[quote name='Lan_Zer0']
There are plenty of fun games though. "Red Light, Green Light" is a riot with 3-4 people. At first I was disappointed with the minigames, but after concentrating on the fun ones (there are a lot) with multiple people, it was a blast to play.

[/QUOTE]

The man tells the truth. I had some friends over the other night. All hardcore 360 owners, i.e. wii skeptics and this was the only real SMB game that was a hit with us. (we didn't play them all but the majority we did play sucked)

The trombone was garbage. No one could figure that out. Whack a mole was crap. Darts was pretty retarded as well.

And what is up with Monkey Target only having one map? That has been the best mini since the first game. Poor decision there.
 
io, my 11-year-old son actually beat this pretty easily after he figured it out by accident. Apparently you can jump onto the balls he rolls and then they go back and get the boss guy. One time he rolled like four of them at once, and he was able to get them all to go back and hit the boss with only 1 jump.
 
I bought this game because a few sites gave it good reviews. Big mistake.

The development philosophy here must have been quantity over quality.
 
After spending a lot of time with this game last night before I went to sleep, I agree that it's the weakest of the games I bought. The main game just gets tough as NAILS in parts (to the point where it gets frustrating) and the minigames are very much hit and miss, as y'all said. But hey, you live and learn.
 
We've given up on the minigames for SMB, and I just focus on the main game now (which I think is much, much better than the mini-games). The only minigame we still play once in a while is Monkey Wars, which is definitely a nice new minigame. With Wii Sports and Rayman available, the minigames in this one aren't worth effort, IMO. Yeah, I think anything using depth perception (UFO, Trombone, Whac-a-Mole) is total crap.

Someone mentioned the red light/green light game, which worked terribly for us. Maybe we missed an instruction or something or our wiimotes were too sensitive, but our characters would randomly move when we weren't moving. And they make you play until somebody wins 3 games (and I don't know how you freaking quit), so it took forever. My friends liked red light/green light on Rayman way better, but that one is unfortunately only two player.

Does anyone know if Monkey Punch (or whatever the old monkey ball fighting game from the GC version was called) is in this game at all? I can't find it in the Wii one, and it makes me sad :(
[quote name='soonersfan60']io, my 11-year-old son actually beat this pretty easily after he figured it out by accident. Apparently you can jump onto the balls he rolls and then they go back and get the boss guy. One time he rolled like four of them at once, and he was able to get them all to go back and hit the boss with only 1 jump.[/QUOTE]
Whoa, I didn't know that. I was able to beat the guy just by running away and rushing up when he stopped (a bunch of times, of course).
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']io, my 11-year-old son actually beat this pretty easily after he figured it out by accident. Apparently you can jump onto the balls he rolls and then they go back and get the boss guy. One time he rolled like four of them at once, and he was able to get them all to go back and hit the boss with only 1 jump.[/QUOTE]

Hmm... I noticed a few times I was able to jump on the balls, but I thought it was just a fluke/glitch because it didn't seem to do anything (and I fell off after a second or two). I'll try that though today.

Judy - I think that's how I got him the one time, by waiting till he was done spinning. I just can't see doing that multiple times because if he even so much as touches you, you go flying off the platform.

Oh, yeah, Judy, the lack of a quit during mini games is atrocious. My kids would click through the startup a few times by accident and then be stuck playing some stupid game they didn't want to play. I've never seen a game you couldn't pause/quit from (well, you can go all the way back to the Wii menu via the home button, but you shouldn't have to do it that way).

I do agree that the main game is pretty good. I actually like the controls better than in the GC versions (some reviews have said it is harder to control, I disagree). This is just opposite of what I was expecting (which was a so-so main game and excellent minigames).
 
Man, after giving it such a chance, I'm a bit disappointed with this game.

The main game controls really poorly IMO. I had such trouble beating Stage 8 of world 1 because I couldn't keep it going straight. I'm a Monkey Ball vet and this game seriously gets on my nerves. Wish it just let you use the analog stick on the nunchuck. I really feel like they used the motion sensitivity just for the sake of using the motion sensitivity, similar to alot of early DS games.



Fortunately, I ordered Rayman from Buy.Com a few days ago
 
Like io, for the main game, I actually found the wiimote controls very intuitive and easier to use than the GC analog stick, which is why I really like the main game. Probably depends on person... I know I was really twitchy with the GC version.
 
Man I was a Monkey Ball "vet" I guess too...I mean I could beat the hard mode without using a continue with ease. But...when I saw this it didn't look as good to me. Sad to hear its not =/, I loved the main game and the minigames owned with even one friend over.
 
[quote name='io']
Oh, yeah, Judy, the lack of a quit during mini games is atrocious. My kids would click through the startup a few times by accident and then be stuck playing some stupid game they didn't want to play. I've never seen a game you couldn't pause/quit from (well, you can go all the way back to the Wii menu via the home button, but you shouldn't have to do it that way).
[/quote]
Hold down + for the pause menu. Many people don't know about this.

EDIT: I find the main game controls very intuitive. The developers aren't trying to mimic the analog stick controls, they want to get across the feeling that you control the board with your hands, like real marble labrynths. If anything, the analog controls of the previous games are trying to mimic the Wii controls you have right now.
 
Regarding the level 3 boss, it gave me fits too until I stumbled upon the solution. Go up to the boss, and get on the round platform. He'll start spinning, but you need to stay on the platform and avoid him by moving around within the circle -- don't jump, and don't leave. He'll tire out after 10-ish seconds, stop spinning, and expose his weak point. Hit him and repeat.
 
[quote name='abilyk']Regarding the level 3 boss, it gave me fits too until I stumbled upon the solution. Go up to the boss, and get on the round platform. He'll start spinning, but you need to stay on the platform and avoid him by moving around within the circle -- don't jump, and don't leave. He'll tire out after 10-ish seconds, stop spinning, and expose his weak point. Hit him and repeat.[/quote]

Yup, that's exactly what I did. As long as you can circle him slowly without being hit, you'll be fine.

So far, I'm kind of enjoying the boss fights. They aren't spectacular, but they do spice things up a bit. The desert boss I found to be very fun. Sort of it's own mini level.
 
[quote name='Lan_Zer0']Hold down + for the pause menu. Many people don't know about this..[/QUOTE]

I swear I tried that and every other combination of buttons. I know I pressed it for a few seconds anyway - what, is it 10 seconds? I'll try it later.

[quote name='abilyk']
Regarding the level 3 boss, it gave me fits too until I stumbled upon the solution. Go up to the boss, and get on the round platform. He'll start spinning, but you need to stay on the platform and avoid him by moving around within the circle -- don't jump, and don't leave. He'll tire out after 10-ish seconds, stop spinning, and expose his weak point. Hit him and repeat.
[/quote]

Yeah, I tried that - I can't stay away from him. And the thought of doing that 5 or 6 times without getting knocked off wants to make me throw the Wiimote through my TV. Does the ball thing really work? That sounds much easier.
 
[quote name='io']I swear I tried that and every other combination of buttons. I know I pressed it for a few seconds anyway - what, is it 10 seconds? I'll try it later.



Yeah, I tried that - I can't stay away from him. And the thought of doing that 5 or 6 times without getting knocked off wants to make me throw the Wiimote through my TV. Does the ball thing really work? That sounds much easier.[/quote]

I just beat him man! You just have to stay in the circle to keep him spinning until he gets dizzy and stops moving. The easiest way I found to stay safe away from him is to get in the circle, get him spinning, and then back off to the edge of the circle, opposite him, and roll along the edge counter-clockwise, riding the groove of the edge. He should stay mostly away from you, and just subtly move away from him if he comes at you. He isn't too quick in changing directions, so just anticipate and move carefully. He only takes three hits, it's rather painless with that technique. Good luck!

As for what I think of the game, I agree about the minigames. The first couple I played were so broken I just gave up on sifting through the other 47 or so for the 'good' ones. As for the single player, I think it controls pretty well. Although, I don't know of any perfectly comfortable way to hold the controller that keeps it level when in a neutral position and can twist left or right to the same extent as to make turning and tilting forward an equally natural experience. For instance, I am left handed, and my left hand naturally can twist more inward, to the right, than it can outward, to the left. I wish they had chosen the 'classic' position, like Excite Truck, so that tilting the sides up and down, like in Excite Truck, tilted the course and twisting the remote forward and backward accelerated and decelerated.
 
I had a decent time with Darts.

Monkey Boxing's too complicated compared to the WiiSports boxing. I wish they'd left Monkey Fight alone. I would've prefered to do some sort of lunge move for the spring-loaded fists.

Whackamole... I noticed that when my Wii sensitivity settings were higher, the experience was a lot easier to manage. It was never perfect.

UFO was the gayest thing ever.

No Monkey Billiards was a crime. I bragged about this being in there. People had expectations of it being in there!

Slingshot was fun.
Paper Sumo Fighter elicited the most laughs.
Racing Birds was okay, but needed more than the one course.
Snowboarding was okay,
Asteroid Smash was okay. I kept thinking back to all those old gun games in arcades (Terminator 2, operation Wolf) and how they'd still suck, but be a fun trip down memory lane.

Monkey Race? Someone's been smoking too much from the MK pipe. This would have been fun had it been an original game on it's own, though.

Spear Fishing was okay. Not as deep as I'd hoped. Red fish/blue fish
Monkeysmith was pretty hokey. It would pick up left swing, up swing, down swing, but never right swing, no matter what.
 
^ Same here for Monkeysmith.

I think Racing Birds is my favorite of the minigames I've played thus far. I hope there's a full game at some point that uses that control method - it's just so natural and immersive to maneuver. Even my ultimate-non-gamer dad got into it and was really feeling how it works.

BTW, man oh man do I suck at the main game. This is my first time with any SMB game, and I just stink at it. It took me so many continues to eventually figure out how to deal with the first instance of wind in the game! (Having to get past those two blasts of wind.) I only got through it with luck. Each time I play, I want to sling my damn Wiimote against my wall...but it's strapped on, so I know I can't do it without putting some effort into it. That's good. Fun game, though - once I beat a level, it's extremely gratifying.
 
Ok this is slightly off topic, BUTTTTTTTTTTTTT it's related to Monkey Ball. I didn't see an official thread, nor did I want to look for one, nor did I want to create one since there might be one and people on CAG get very mad about that..lol :p

I haven't done much of single player (Thank you Zelda, Rayman, Trauma Center), but I've completed worlds 1 and 2, and I'm not one 3. In my world selection map.. world 1 has a crown over it. World 2 doesn't. I assumed at first that it meant "I cleared this level!!" but I finished world 2 last nite...and no crown :(

Anyone know what that means?
 
As a huge fan of previous Super Monkey Balls, I went ahead and bought this. This is my findings from the games.

In case you were wondering this is 15 good games, 9 unplayable, and the other 26 are a mixed bag. Some friends loved them, some hated them.

The games I've found that were good from playing with friends:
Racing Birds
Monkey Darts
Dangerous Route
Jigsaw Puzzle
Hammer Throw
High Wire Act
Hovercraft Race
Hurdle Race
Jump Rope
Monkey Race (its passable)
Monkey Squash
Monkey Target (but its COMPLETE BULLSHIT that they took out all the levels, this was their best game!!)
Monkey Wars
Number Ball
Ring Toss

Unplayable:
Frog ball (terrible controls)
Monkey Bowling (I don't even understand how to control it)
Monkeysmith (unresponsive controls)
Disk Golf (you should be able to see your disk you're throwing to determine height)
Paraglider (I dont even understand what you do)
Rock Paper Scissors (Put on the helmet and use the hammer?? wtf)
Scoop the Goldfish (what is going on in this)
Trombone (ughhh just ughhh)
Whack a mole (bad controls)

I was very disappointed that they took out monkey billiards, monkey baseball, monkey fight, and I'm disappointed in the direction they have went with monkey golf since the first game. Putt putt is so much funner than full scale golf.
 
Just received and am a huge Monkey Ball fan who's really disappointed in this.

How awesome would it have been to have the old monkey mini games coupled with Wii Sports control?

Good lord, Sega. Quality over quantity, man! The mind boggles.

Now I may not have spent a whole lot of time with golf, but I honestly can't ever see it getting even remotely decent. Hope Super Swing Golf is as good as the previews are stating... cause I want some top end gof action (And Wii Golf annoys me in how muted your swings have to be. It's hard to intuitively get a quarter swing when you have to 1/8 swing for a non-shank full swing. It's like a 1/64 swing.)

And some of these? Sheesh. It's like the controller is possessed and your just along for its amusement.
 
[quote name='Nilbog']As a huge fan of previous Super Monkey Balls, I went ahead and bought this. This is my findings from the games.

In case you were wondering this is 15 good games, 9 unplayable, and the other 26 are a mixed bag. Some friends loved them, some hated them.

The games I've found that were good from playing with friends:
Racing Birds
Monkey Darts
Dangerous Route
Jigsaw Puzzle
Hammer Throw
High Wire Act
Hovercraft Race
Hurdle Race
Jump Rope
Monkey Race (its passable)
Monkey Squash
Monkey Target (but its COMPLETE BULLSHIT that they took out all the levels, this was their best game!!)
Monkey Wars
Number Ball
Ring Toss

Unplayable:
Frog ball (terrible controls)
Monkey Bowling (I don't even understand how to control it)
Monkeysmith (unresponsive controls)
Disk Golf (you should be able to see your disk you're throwing to determine height)
Paraglider (I dont even understand what you do)
Rock Paper Scissors (Put on the helmet and use the hammer?? wtf)
Scoop the Goldfish (what is going on in this)
Trombone (ughhh just ughhh)
Whack a mole (bad controls)

I was very disappointed that they took out monkey billiards, monkey baseball, monkey fight, and I'm disappointed in the direction they have went with monkey golf since the first game. Putt putt is so much funner than full scale golf.[/QUOTE]



Thanks for the list, I definately appreciate it. Helps out.
 
[quote name='lilboo']Ok this is slightly off topic, BUTTTTTTTTTTTTT it's related to Monkey Ball. I didn't see an official thread, nor did I want to look for one, nor did I want to create one since there might be one and people on CAG get very mad about that..lol :p

I haven't done much of single player (Thank you Zelda, Rayman, Trauma Center), but I've completed worlds 1 and 2, and I'm not one 3. In my world selection map.. world 1 has a crown over it. World 2 doesn't. I assumed at first that it meant "I cleared this level!!" but I finished world 2 last nite...and no crown :(

Anyone know what that means?[/quote]

I'm pretty sure you have to complete it without using any continues to get a crown. Did you use a continue? If not, I'm equally confused :p.
 
[quote name='SpazX']I'm pretty sure you have to complete it without using any continues to get a crown. Did you use a continue? If not, I'm equally confused :p.[/QUOTE]

Actually I did use a continue in world 2. I'm PRETTY SURE I didn't in world 1.
Next time I play.. I'm going to try and pay attention to this :)
 
Alright, I'm on the eighth world - technically the last world if you don't count the two hidden worlds - and I have to say, it didn't take long to get here. I finally figured out how to hold the controller in a 'neutral' position (which is something like a 30-45 degree angle) and since then I have become pretty damn accurate with the wiimote. I at first didn't believe this control scheme worked very well, but now I'm willing to retract that.

A couple of notes:

The later you get in the game, the trippier it gets. Holy shit, space is fucking beautiful!

In Monkey Ball 2, I noticed there were a lot more large boards to play on with tons of obstacles, whereas Banana Blitz opts for thinner pathways and goofily long courses. I'm not sure which is more difficult, though; I found myself fighting the timer in SMB2, but now it's more a matter of navigating the crazy rollercoaster-like pathways.

The bosses just aren't difficult. It takes a number of tries, but many of the times that I was knocked off the battleground I felt less like it was my fault and more like it was a fluke. Granted, the most difficult time I've had so far is chasing the little rat thing that commands the large creature composed of balls, but that was more a problem with the camera angle (low and facing the boss) and the controls, which don't cater to quick-turning chases, and less a problem with the boss itself.

EDIT: The final boss is mega easy!

The minigames aren't worth it. Period.

The single-player game is very satisfying. The last time I was pumped because I beat a level was when I finally finished that insane firefight at the end of Black. SMB is a very gratifying experience, if short-lived (played the game on-and-off since launch).

Hope I get around $30 for this in resale value. Anybody have any idea how much this sells back for at EB, GS, or GC?
 
Trombone is just mega hard, plus super glitchy.

The fish scooping game? WTF do you do?

Paragliding is just a PITA, we did it several times, and missing one botches the whole game so you start over even if you make it on time. Very boring anyway.

On Whack-A-Mole my cursor flew off screen and never returned. I had 0 points. CLICK.

The golf one my friends tried to play and it took them 30 minutes on the first hole. I dunno if they are retarded or the game is wacky.

I usually play Darts and Home Run Derby. I like snowboarding too, because its pretty easy and fun.
 
Trombone, couldnt even play it.
Paraglider one, I could play for like 10 seconds, then it stopped registering my controls completley.

Frisbee Golf, I thought was VERY playable. Heres what I did:
To begin, you must pick a left and right direction. Don't forget, its like monkey fight(or whatever the FPS one is called), where the view won't shift horizontally untill you move far enough to the side. Let the arrow face completley high while you adjust horizontally. Then, when you have horizontal set up, move the arrow downwards as much as you need THE REASON YOU MOVE HORIZONTAL FIRST IS BECAUSE ONCE YOU START ADJUSTING THE UP/DOWN PITCH, HORIZONTAL IS LOCKED, AS IN YOU CANT CHANGE THE HORIZONTAL DIRECTION. Once you have to low enough, hold A. This will lock it, then you can move into the throwing motion.
 
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