Monkey Ball 3D is not a bad title. But like most other 3DS launch games, it would have benefited from more time in development. The lack of extra modes and options makes it difficult to justify the $40 price tag, especially considering mobile and other handheld versions sell for much cheaper.

Look, it?s Monkey Ball; you know exactly what you are getting. Using the new analog slide pad makes controlling your monkey?s balls easy and players might also be pleased with how well the gyroscope controls work. While the 3D effect helps when judging distance during your banana collecting, it renders the gyroscope controls moot because of screen/eye positioning.

Besides the standard monkey adventure mode that spans 8 worlds and lasts only a couple of hours at best, Monkey Fight is a poor man?s Smash Bros and Monkey Race is a sloppy Mario Kart clone that suffers from poor AI, cheap weapons and bad track design. Sure, these mini games are standard and what you would expect; it is just too bad that this Monkey Ball could not offer anything more. Multiplayer mode is restricted to local play only, but at least there is a single pak wireless option. Not having monkey target, baseball, billiards, bowling, tennis and soccer really makes this game feel like Sega had to rush this game out the door.

Again, Monkey Ball 3DS is not a terrible game; it is just very light on content. The color pallet is bright and the sound track is of high quality, but when the meat of the game can be completed in a short amount of time with no replay value, the cost of admission becomes questionable. Waiting for this game to fall into a clearance bin might be the smartest course of action even if you are a fan of the series.

Not As Good As: Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)
Also Try: Super Monkey Ball Jr. (GBA)
Wait For It: Monkey Ball 3DS 2 with more mini games and online play
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