Product ReviewsSuper Monkey Ball 2 (Nintendo GameCube, 2002)

Could be fun for the right player.

I bought this game for my kids, ages 9 and 4 year old twins. Because of the subject matter and cutesy graphics, I thought it would be one they could all play. Unfortunately, the game is very challenging. My 9 year old, who is a very experience gamer, has a difficult time playing it, and often gets very frustrated with it. There is no way that my 4 year olds have the motor skills and hand-eye coordination to keep up with the fast game play. The game consists of cute monkey characters who roll around inside of clear balls. The player has to manuever through increasingly difficult obstacle courses against a timer. Even an experienced adult game player would find this game challenging. I would not recommend it for young children. FOLLOW-UP: I've been meaning to add more for some time. After a couple of months, this game became and continues to be a favorite of all my kids (now 12 and 6). After some time playing, the kids adjusted to the controls and now are very good at the game. A few parts are still hard, but it's amazing to watch them conquer the levels. Some of them seem darn near impossible, but they get past through skill or sheer luck. They also are enjoying all of the minigames that they have unlocked through their progress. There's a lot of variety to the minigames so different kids are better at different ones depending on their abilities. I've even spent hours myself playing some of them. They are indeed addicting! This game develops both hand-eye coordination and puzzle solving skills.Read full review...

Monkeying Around

I really like this game and really wished I had gotten it when it first came out. Playing this after already having the wii mote as an extension to my arm makes controlling this monkey a little bit boring and somewhat less challenging. It's really nothing to complain about just having such intuitive controls these days going back takes an adjustment and can get aggravating. As a party game its awesome, as a pickup and fly through levels whenever the mood strikes its great too. The monkey voices can be somewhat annoying but hey thats what the mute button is for. I do recommend this game especially if you like that old school arcade feel that you just can't seem to get out of your system.Read full review...

Basically multiplayer

The meat of this game is its multiplayer mode. It has an amazing 12 games to unlock with points earned in the story mode, and each one of them is complex while being a lot of fun. You can play these games single player as well, but they aren't as challenging nor as fun.

Story mode is fairly weak. Sure, it has a lot of levels, but the actual story isn't well-planned (the evil monkey wants to date Meme?) and the character voices are so annoying that you'll mute your television before the cutscene is finished. The levels are more complex than they should be in the later worlds, and most are more frustrating than they are fun.

If Nintendo had enabled WiFi for this game, it would carry a lot more weight than it does. As it stands, there is an outstanding multiplayer mode, but no high scores are saved so you don't really feel anything was accomplished. You can have lots of fun with your friends playing it, but you'll also need to play A LOT of story mode to unlock all the games. Sometimes it's not worth it.Read full review...

A Great Game...For ANYONE

I see a lot of people complaining about this game for various reasons. One reason is its difficulty...it's really not that hard. If you're expecting a 9 year old to have ease playing ANY game, regardless of it's rating and look...well...you've got your head in the clouds. This game SHOULD be challening and it IS. I love the fact that there are some levels that really make you work and work hard just to get by. If you've never seen this game before, it's quite a simple setup. You play as a monkey inside of a clear ball, the object is to get to the goal....sounds easy, but there's a catch: there's obstacles and such preventing you from just rolling into the goal. Each level is like a mini puzzle, with holes, bumps, moving belts, bouncing balls, etc. trying to make it more difficult. Each level will get harder and involve new tricks and traps. This is a great game for anyone, though, despite what anyone else may say. Yes, I said this game would be hard for younger children, but they will have fun playing it. Someone complained about the story mode not having a real story....well...what do you expect? It's not exactly easy to write a good plot about monkeys who roll around in balls, trying to get through a goal line. The plot to the story isn't well developed, but it's enough to just keep the levels coming. Each level has a different degree of difficulty. The sound isn't the best, the music can get on your nerves and the jibberish voices of the monkeys may want to make you turn it off...but they really don't speak often anyway. So that's the meat of the game, and it is LONG - you'll be playing for quite some time. There's a lot of other modes to play, especially when you get the multiplayer going. There's mini games like bowling and soccer and such...it's actually quite fun. Plus, the story mode will help you earn points to get all the unlockables. Also, if you don't want to play the story mode, you can just play a series of different levels that are ranked by their degree of difficulty. There is also a practice mode, so that you can play the different levels. It's a great game, even though the concept and design is very childish. The only qualm I have with this game is that there are a few levels that involve luck, rather than skill. Pushing those aside, this is a great game that everyone can enjoy. I've had friends and family play this game and they've all loved it, especially the younger children. There is an XBOX version which does remove many of the harder and more luck based levels, so if you own an XBOX, you might want to get the Deluxe version that was released for it - it's an improvement. Either way, you can't go wrong with this game.Read full review...

Slight bug, but great!

Love this game so much, the only issue with the disc is occasionally when I leave a match the CD bugs out and I have to reset, but this doesn't happen often at all, very pleased with this purchase :) Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: powerupvideogames

Fun, more stuff, more challenge (good for gamer, hard for novice)

For those who have played the first one, this is similar but harder. I play the games with my daughters, and it has some very easy to understand controls. The party games in this one are more difficult, and I have not played all of them. My daughter's favorite from the predecessor is Monkey Race, and this one is great, but the courses are much more difficult (both good and bad).Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: hungrymikey

The game that defined my childhood

I think I may be too obsessed with this game. Since I bought it again, I have learned to speedrun the game in a whopping 30 minutes. I know that's nothing compared to actual speedrunners, but it sure beats my playtime as a kid. I wish that more local gaming places would hold speedrunning tournaments like they do Smash tournaments. I can only dream...Read full review...

Monkey Ball!!!

Pros
+ Addictive experience & great for parties.
+ Mini-games you'll never forget.
+ Fun for the whole family.

Cons
- Frustrating to control at times.
- Some puzzles are almost impossible.
- No real depth to the game.

Comments
Monkey Ball is great. This game is highly addictive & frustrating at the same time. Great for parties. Don't pass this one up.

Verdict
Great for parties. Not really more than a rental for the lone gamer. 3.5/5Read full review...

Great for hours of fun. Story Mode and Party Games!

This game is actually the second one I've had to purchase. I have Super Monkey Ball and the new Super Monkey Ball for the Wii, however, Super Monkey Ball 2 seems to be the favorite in my household. My kids were a bit young when we had our first copy of Monkey Ball 2, so as you'd expect it got scratched beyond repair so I purchased it again because they loved it so much. My son is 7 and my daughter 4, and they both play it for hours. It is amazing to watch them play the regular story mode game and make their way through maze after maze. Each one challenges them a little more as they maneuver around holes or literally balance across tight spaces. Some of the levels my wife could not even pass, but the kids figure it out fast. They have tons of Game Cube games, yet this is one of their favorites. There is no violence which is definitely a plus for younger kids, but the difficulty is perfect for all ages. We can sit down as a family and take turns, without changing a thing, and all of us are easily entertained. The story isn't anything special, but as you progress in the game by passing each maze you earn points that unlock tons of party games that add more multi player fun. Note: I referenced mazes for each level, but I'm not sure what to call them; you maneuver a ball that is sensitive to weight and the laws of physics, and try and get this ball around obstacles and to cross the goal.
So back on track with the party games...These additional games are completely separate from story mode and offer hours of additional fun. The kids love to compete against each other by racing, boxing, hang gliding onto targets, baseball, bowling, boating, and a few more that i cannot remember off the top of my head. Once these games are unlocked, they can play them whenever they want. All of the Monkey Ball games are like this, and I tend to think they get better and better.
My kids are not video game-aholics, but I find it awesome to watch what they can do. After playing this game, they were easily able to pick up on some of the more advanced learning oriented games and even more intense thinking games like Mario RPG. There is not much I can say to complain about Monkey Ball 2. No violence, easy to figure out, mentally stimulating, pretty decent graphics for its platform (Game Cube), and fun for all ages. Plus, it is cheap. Always around $20 or so. Sure, this might seem expensive for a GC game to some, but it has been the same price for a few years, so obviously it is still in high demand; even on Ebay. If you are looking for family fun, or maybe something just to challenge your hand-eye coordination, then this game is definitely it. It keeps you on the edge of your seat; basically nervous if your character is going to fall in a deep hole or if you have it balanced just right. It sounds stupid at first, and my wife made me purchase it, but now i'm glad I did. I wish the same for you.Read full review...

Frickin Amazin

I picked this game up which I played it as a young child, and as I loved it then. I love it now its an amazing physics based rolling 3d platformer where you roll around collecting bananas, and getting to the goal. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: replayretros