Most people are familiar with the Super Monkey Ball series, but for those of you who have never taken the plunge here’s the low-down. You play as a monkey trapped within a large two shaded, clear ball (well it would need to be large to house a monkey obviously). As the monkey moves, the ball in turn rolls and this is your vehicle for the game (sort of like a hamster in an exercise ball). You guide the monkey ball around set courses, to a goal, all the while collecting random bananas dotted about the place whilst trying to remain on elevated and moving platforms and not fall to your death. It’s sort of like a giant Marble Madness, with monkeys and tilting platforms as opposed to a moving marble—if that makes sense?

Super Monkey Ball was a huge hit on the Nintendo GameCube, but now it’s rolled its way onto the DS in the form of Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll, and it certainly looks very nice. It’s graphically resplendent, colourful and sharp. It’s also got bags of charm and the word ‘cute’ is bound to be thrown around whenever people refer to it. Levels are on par with the GameCube version in the sense that although clearly not as lavish, they’re fluid and smooth with no apparent frame rate problems. The same unique gaming experience exists here that existed on the GameCube original but, given the available control methods, it may well prove to be a ‘love it or hate it’ title. The lack of an analogue stick means that controls are executed with either the directional pad, which is at times about as precise as guessing the length of a piece of invisible string, or using the touch screen, which though more precise can also lead to frustration. Levels vary but can become extremely difficult further in, despite the game having that ‘just one more go’ appeal.

Various modes of play exist but the main one remains the Challenge mode (single player/main game), which revolves around the floating levels where you guide your monkey ball toward the final goal—preferably without falling off. There’s also plenty to do in the Party Games section, with varying game types including Monkey Race, Monkey Fight, Monkey Bowling, Monkey Hockey, Monkey Wars and Monkey Golf. They’re all essentially mini-games that utilise the touch screen, and some of them are a lot of fun and can be played by up to four people via Wi-Fi. Three of the mini-games can be played over single card download (Race, Hockey & Wars). I’m opting not to cover all there separately as they’re all fairly self-explanatory.

The sound in Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll on the DS is wonderful. The musical score is full of zest and chirpiness that truly adds to the game; although they are essentially looped mini tunes, they’re all done very well and in keeping with the game’s levels and overall design. There are no real voices in attendance, just monkey exclamations based on direct control commands, but that certainly doesn’t detract. Sound effects are extremely well executed, too; I actually found the audio on this title to be fairly loud by comparison to other DS titles, and I liked it that way. Deaf or hard of hearing gamers are at no real disadvantage with lack of audio cues as Touch and Roll is a fairly visual title.

Female gamers actually get to choose female characters in this title, which we all know makes a refreshing change. Despite the monkeys generally being cute, it’s a given that Meemee is most definitely female and Baby may be male or female—I’m not entirely sure. The other two characters are male in the form of Gongon and Aiai. It’s all fairly moot, however, when it comes to actually playing the game because the ball is more the star than the characters within it—still, it’s nice to have the option.

Overall, Super Monkey Ball Touch and Roll is a good little game for your DS. It’s not without its problems however, as frustration regarding the control mechanism may well rear its ugly head as you progress deeper into the game; also the fact that you’re forced to use the touch screen on many of the party games may also be off putting. Regardless of this, it’s still a competently assembled title and won’t be a disappointment to fans of the series. Graphics are super-cute and ‘monkeying’ around on your DS is certainly fun with the chirpy music to help you along. Probably not a ‘must-have title’ for all gamers (the loose control methods may put off some) but it’s definitely an above average ‘must at least look’ release.