Wii Review: “Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll”

Super Monkey Ball has rolled it’s way onto the Wii for the second time, taking advantage of the Wii Balance Board this round. Step & Roll eschews plot and boss battles from previous iterations, instead taking a multiplayer path to fun. With the Balance Board as an optional, but highlighted, way to play, is the game top banana, or does it fall off the tracks?

This isn’t the first Super Monkey Ball on the Wii, and is far from the first Monkey Ball title. Spanning nearly a decade, the franchise started off fun, but has hit a stagnant note. It’s had it’s analog controller gameplay, it’s had it’s DS gameplay, it’s even hit the iPhone OS twice. The first Wii game brought in Wii Remote gameplay, and SEGA felt necessary to release a new title with the Wii Balance Board support.

The bananas need to ripen more this time, especially with regards to the Balance Board support.

There are two control schemes for the game, with one using the Wii Remote, and the other using the Wii Balance Board. Unlike the previous Wii Super Monkey Ball title, you can’t use the Nunchuck to inch your way to victory, leaving the Remote to tilt and angle towards the goal. The boards are littered with objects that will block your path. In Wii Balance Board mode, these are missing to make the path easier, and in Co-Op mode, they’ve multiplied and must be shot out. In both cases, the worlds remain the same. While the Remote mode is the greets balance between the presumed ease of Balance Board mode, and the impression of hardness that the Co-Op mode offers, various levels offer either an incredible simplicity that will only take one attempt to beat, while others will offer either a completely-flawed level design that nearly breaks the game, or will require dozens of playthroughs (thankfully, continues are infinite and leave you on the same level).

While the Balance Board is a noble, and logical, extension to the gameplay on the console, it’s often way too sensitive for actual gameplay. Lean a little, and you’ll barely crawl. Lean slightly more and you’ll go straight off the course. Additionally, a somewhat poor camera will make the player want to slow down and let it catch up, and with every level having a one-minute time limit, that time is precious and scant; many levels, not even the hard ones, were beaten within the last possible second.

The main game features the standard chunk of gaming thematic (lava, grass, ice, etc.), and while there are a good amount here for a game, if you can beat most on the first try, you can get through this mode in two or three hours. It’s nowhere lengthy, and given the overreaching simplicity and unity between the Super Monkey Ball titles, something here could have expanded the gameplay… either include levels from a previous title, or a simplistic level editor, would have greatly expanded the single-player options. Marathon mode is just like the regular game, but you can roll immediately from one stage to the next.

Co-Op mode, like all the others, is available as a choice at the beginning of each world. The secondary player(s) use their Wii Remotes akin to light blaster, and shoot the objects in the way of the main player to reach the goal. This mode is easy or hard, purely on the capabilities of the one firing against all the objects.

The true treat of the game, and one of the biggest disappointments, is the minigame mode. Primarily eschewing the actual rolling and stepping of the main game, over 20 minigames in the vein of the Mario Party titles allow up to four players to tackle each other. While fun minigames, the fact that there’s no overreaching board game or otherwise score-calculating setup makes the games feel pointless at times; the victory’s are ephemeral, and you can’t lose one and hope to catch up with another to win the overall game.

Step & Roll, while a decent effort, just falls way too short with the Balance Board support, and single player mode can theoretically be beaten in a few short hours for a decent player, and it’s impossible to recommend it at it’s current price point. With the original Wii title still readily available and most likely cheaper, unless you have the intention to play tons of minigames or just really need a bunch of new levels for the Wii, you might as well stick to the original. If anything, this title gives hope toward a Super Monkey Ball mini-game title.

A copy was supplied for review purposes.