Super Monkey Ball 1.0

Available In: App Store       Price: $9.99  

Super Monkey BallThis game looked like so much fun in all the demo videos but until they fix the controls, it’s not worth the buy. Made by Sega, this game is played in landscape mode.


First you’ll come to a mode select menu. The options are: Main Game, Instant Play, Practice, Ranking, and Options. Tapping on them once shows you the title of the button selection and tapping it a second time chooses that menu option.


The “Main Game” selection takes you to another menu where you can choose your character called “Character Select”. There is AIAI a boy monkey, MEEMEE a girl monkey, BABY a baby monkey and GONGON a tough looking monkey. I’m gonna pick GONGON…



The next menu is the “World Select”. When you play the game for the first time all but the first level will be locked. So just double tap the level “Monkey Island”.


Finally you will select the level of difficulty. In the beginning, “Easy” is your only choice and the other is locked.



Now the game is as easy as tilting the iPhone to make the ball roll. At first this can be extremely frustrating and I quit within the first couple levels because I couldn’t stand it. Now, after forcing myself to play it longer for the purpose of this review I’m starting to get the hang of it and enjoy it. I would suggest testing it on a friend’s iPhone if you can for a while before you buy it. These games really need a demo mode with a couple free levels or timed demos.


There are many different levels and they are easier at the begining because there are bumpers on the sides, kinda like bowling when you were little. Eventually those go away and it gets even more challenging. You’ll want to get as many bananas as you can because they will give you more lives. Each level is also timed, so you don’t want to monkey around. :)

There are also bonus rounds where all you have to do is get as many bananas as you can. In the other rounds you need to get to the end of the trail into the goal.

There are other selections on the home menu. Instant Play takes your right into game play with no choices on level or character. Practice lets you skip to all levels you have unlocked this way you can play a level over and over until you get it perfect. Ranking takes you to the top 3 list of fastest times for any given level.



Finally the settings allows you to adjust the music and sound effects volume. You can also clear the rankings and see the staff credits.

Click here to download Super Monkey Ball via the App Store.
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Comments

  1. The trick is to go very slowly.

  2. I personally would have picked Crash Bandicoot or CroMagnon Rally if I could refund my $10, but SMB is pretty fun, too. You have to force yourself to have fun, and after a while, you won’t have to!

    It’s a great game in its essence, just needs some tweaking and patience.

  3. my main problem with this game is.. once you unlock a level you should be able to start from that point.. instead you have to start ALL over from the beginning again… also.. dont know about anyone else.. but my battery life flies by while playing this.. and enigmo too…

    • I got this game and ended up putting it down after a half an hour, never opening it again. It got so frustrating I was about to throw it against my wall! I ended up picking up Crash Bandicoot, and that’s by far my favorite game I’ve ever gotten on the iPhone. The controls are hard at first, but not frustrating like SMB. Once you get the hang of it, it gets REALLY addicting. Even though it’s a short game, it was WELL worth my $10. Long story short, if you are debating whether to get this or Crash, go for Crash Bandicoot. It’s a whole lot more fun and a lot less frustrating!

    • I totally agree, SMB needs to be updated to be more user friendly, also it takes too long to view the upcoming screens, I love Crash, but my favorite game at this point is the Texas Holdem. It takes a lot of memory, but the graphics are great.

  4. MiniMacLean says

    i completely disagree with it not being a worth while game.
    although its the only game i have bought so far, it is very addicting and once you get the hang of the controls, (which takes a while) its an awesome game, it can get frustrating but i am patient so its fun still

    i think it is just a matter of opinion that its ‘ not worth the buy’

  5. same here, crash bandicoot nitro kart is loads better than monkeyball IMO.
    Maybe we could get a Review of that, for the people who are still on the fence…

  6. I think it all boils down to whether or not you are up for a challenge. SMB is a very well designed game (except for not being able to start where you left off… I’ll bet they fix that ;-)…
    I like a game that is challenging and not too easy to complete, as they can get boring after a while. I also know what it’s like to want to throw your phone in frustration too! Try the backgammon… I swear it cheats (when it beats me) :-D

  7. im getting so many mixed opinions.
    my friends says its so worth it and then bloggers say its not as good. as i am short on money at the moment im trying to see which ones are the best. but its a hard decision.

    • Aussiephone says

      Don’t take my opinion to decide, but I don’t like SMB controls, because I want to enjoy playing the game not raise my blood pressure. I started to hate my iPhone because of this game, but we kissed and made up quickly. Crash Bandicoot is much easier to control and won’t send your blood pressure through the roof. I agree that a trial mode should exist for more expensive apps. Too late to find out once the bucks have disappeared.

  8. the thing you have to remember about this game is that you don’t control the monkey, you control the lever. its almost like the installer game labyrinth, but this time your looking at it from the balls point of view instead of and aerial view. It took me a while to realize this, but once i did i started to fly by levels and I began to really enjoy the game. I haven’t play crash yet, but by the looks of it I probably won’t. SMB is much more appealing to the eye, and racing games have never really been my thing. I would recommend SMB to anyone who’s up for a challenge!

  9. yah i think im gonna buy it. the whole point of game is to challenge its users. right?
    the only reason i really upgraded is because i noticed that the jailbroken games were good. but very boring after a while. on a 13 hour flight. i got maybe an 2 hours of enjoyment from the 2 pages of games i had on my jailbroken iPhone. so i upgraded. and this looks like something very entertaining. even if its frustrating. dont tell me that everyone that posted a cmnt has NEVER been frustrated by any video game before. weather it be on a WII or XBOX 360.

  10. I am so glad I didn’t listen to the reviews. This game is zoo much fun and I have not had any trouble with the controls from the dirse time I played it. Like michael said, you tilt the level, you don’t roll the monkey

  11. bigjstokes says

    Don’t listen to folks who say the controls are terrible. You’ve really got to use some finesse, and guide your monkey with care! Yes, the game has been frustrating for me at points, but I got the game the day after it came out, and just this morning I got to lvl 100. The parts where you have to go uphill at an angle are insane! Couldn’t beat the last level, blew about 15 lives on it, too. I’m not mad at the game, though. If I can get that far, I can beat it. It’s very fun and challenging, and easily worth $10.

  12. Where can I buy an UNUSED iPhone for under £100 please reply and tell me because im broke and i reall want one!

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