Super Monkey Ball is a game I have been putting on the back burner for as long as I can remember. I remember watching my friend play Super Monkey Ball on a stream and becoming intrigued by the gameplay mechanics. Rolling a ball down a multitude of courses, collecting bananas, and reaching the goal before the time limit is up is so simple, yet satisfying.

Super Monkey Ball is full of charm, fun, and simplicity. It is an arcade game that was ported to the GameCube after all. As you progress further into each difficulty, it becomes more and more tedious to tilt your ball due to the precision. Some of the levels in this game are easy to digest or understand while other levels felt as though they were designed by a sadist. Super Monkey Ball has its fair share of grievances as well, like the gimmicks of the camera and levels and environments feeling repetitive, making the game have little variety.

For an arcade game, it was surprising to me how extreme some of the levels were set up. It felt fulfilling to get through the levels and learn the mechanics through repetition to master each level. All in all, Super Monkey Ball is monkeys rolling through courses and collecting bananas to reach the goal, how innocent and sweet is that?