''Super Monkey Ball Jr.'' is a platform

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by Realism and Creations and published by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

for the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

. It is one of the few games on the system to make use of its 3D graphics capabilities. It reuses levels from other games in the ''

Super Monkey Ball ''Super Monkey Ball'' is a series of Platformer, platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision (now Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio) and published by Sega. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game ''Monkey Ball'', which was ported to ...

'' series. It was the last game to be developed by Creations before their acquisition by Acclaim Entertainment.

Gameplay

Like many other games of ''

'' series, the player has the option to choose AiAi, MeeMee, Baby or GonGon. In multiplayer, two to four people can pick the same character.

Main game

As with previous entries, the objective of ''Super Monkey Ball Jr.'' is to control a monkey to reach the goal before time is over. New to this game, the player has the option to speed up or slow down the tilt by pressing the A or B Buttons respectively.

Party games

*Monkey Duel: Playable with only two players, both players race to the finish as fast as they can while picking up any nearby bananas. The winning player gets five bananas added to their overall total. The mode can be played up to five rounds and the player who has the most bananas at the end of the specified number of rounds wins. There is also an option to give one player or the other a head start, up to five seconds. Monkey Bowling, Monkey Fight and Monkey Golf, all three mini-games that were present in ''

'', return in this game and function exactly like their original appearances. With the exception of Monkey Fight, players can play Monkey Bowling and Monkey Golf on one Game Boy Advance system by alternating turns.

Reception

''Super Monkey Ball Jr.'' received "generally favorable" reviews, with an average score of 82 out of 100, according to

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website

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, but the game was criticized for a lack of analog movement. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' gave the game a 9/10, praising its high replayability and gameplay. ''GameSpot'' gave the game an 8/10, lauding the gameplay and its appeal to those who do not like puzzle games. ''Game Informer'' were also positive, describing it as "amazingly ambitious and well done" and having an "overall high quality" to its level, though noted that the controls "were a tad off". In 2023, ''IGN'' named Super Monkey Ball Jr. the 25th best Game Boy Advance game of all time.

References

{{Super Monkey Ball 2002 video games 3D platformers Game Boy Advance games Game Boy Advance-only games Multiplayer and single-player video games Sega video games Jr THQ games Video games about animals Video games about mammals Video games developed in the United Kingdom