okay there's definitely some issues regarding this version of Monkey Ball, but it's SMB1 and SMB2 on one disc, can't go wrong with that.
almost all the SMB1 and SMB2 levels are here (except for the GameCube one for obvious reasons) as well as some new levels from a scrapped SMB3. granted the new ones aren't as interesting as the first two game's levels, but they're still neat.
Story Mode is still here but now SMB1 levels have been added. On top of that, you still only need to complete 10 for a world, which means there's lot of variety on how you can tackle worlds. Challenge Mode got seriously buffed though, 40 levels in Beginner?! damn no hand holding here, this is a man's game
all of the party games from the first two are here at the get-go. you can also choose the SMB1 style or the SMB2 style for the first game's party games which is really dang cool. having all the party games here is definitely my favorite part of the game.
but let's get into those problems. the first game's party game music is missing and that's a big shame. some of the SMB1 music got shuffled too. Arctic stages now use the Sky music, Extra stages now use the Arctic music, and the original Extra music is straight up gone for some reason. some of the ball SFX are gone too for no reason whatsoever. Challenge Mode is also ridiculously long compared to the first two games. you could make it easier by using Play Points for more lives, but for some reason they changed it so that you gain lives randomly! this is definitely a big hit to Challenge Mode, as being able to buy move lives the more you play worked so well, having it being reduced to RNG straight up sucks. cutscenes are prerecorded videos here and they look pretty washed out. also the PS2 version is terrible lol. 30 FPS, missing textures, messed up backgrounds, loading times at every single possibility, I could go on but we'd be here for hours. playing on Xbox 360 ain't perfect either, some levels lag as well as the cutscene dialogue, leading to unintentionally funny moments.
despite those negatives though, I'd still recommend you to get this game if you can't play the GameCube versions, especially if you enjoy the party games. just make sure you get the original Xbox version unless you like watching loading screens.
almost all the SMB1 and SMB2 levels are here (except for the GameCube one for obvious reasons) as well as some new levels from a scrapped SMB3. granted the new ones aren't as interesting as the first two game's levels, but they're still neat.
Story Mode is still here but now SMB1 levels have been added. On top of that, you still only need to complete 10 for a world, which means there's lot of variety on how you can tackle worlds. Challenge Mode got seriously buffed though, 40 levels in Beginner?! damn no hand holding here, this is a man's game
all of the party games from the first two are here at the get-go. you can also choose the SMB1 style or the SMB2 style for the first game's party games which is really dang cool. having all the party games here is definitely my favorite part of the game.
but let's get into those problems. the first game's party game music is missing and that's a big shame. some of the SMB1 music got shuffled too. Arctic stages now use the Sky music, Extra stages now use the Arctic music, and the original Extra music is straight up gone for some reason. some of the ball SFX are gone too for no reason whatsoever. Challenge Mode is also ridiculously long compared to the first two games. you could make it easier by using Play Points for more lives, but for some reason they changed it so that you gain lives randomly! this is definitely a big hit to Challenge Mode, as being able to buy move lives the more you play worked so well, having it being reduced to RNG straight up sucks. cutscenes are prerecorded videos here and they look pretty washed out. also the PS2 version is terrible lol. 30 FPS, missing textures, messed up backgrounds, loading times at every single possibility, I could go on but we'd be here for hours. playing on Xbox 360 ain't perfect either, some levels lag as well as the cutscene dialogue, leading to unintentionally funny moments.
despite those negatives though, I'd still recommend you to get this game if you can't play the GameCube versions, especially if you enjoy the party games. just make sure you get the original Xbox version unless you like watching loading screens.