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Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega of America
Format: Android , IOS
Something that I'd say every good game franchise needs to spice things up is to have a good spin-off. Just to add variety to an I.P. I love Super Monkey Ball to death, and then I came across it's spin-off title, Super Monkey Ball Bounce. This is a pachinko game, which is absolutely perfect genre for a spin-off Super Monkey Ball title.
The gameplay is very simple and fun. You just shoot the little ball and hit all of the specified pegs on the level. You only have a certain amount of balls and if you run out, you have to restart the level as well as loose a life. There is a little hoop, usually at the bottom of the stage, that can get you an extra life. In most cases, this only keeps you from losing a ball once it goes off the bottom of the screen. This way you can keep from losing too many balls, as well as allows bonus points via trick-shots and the like. A cool thing to note about the gameplay is that it can all be done with one hand (or thumb, really), making it all the better for the casual play mobile devices are great for.
The levels can range from good design to way too difficult. The design can take a plummet for some levels, which can hold you up from progressing for a while. There are multiple worlds wit their own theme and unique pegs with unique mechanics attached to them. Each world also has a character with a unique ability that you have to play as. You save a character at the end of each world, and then use that character when playing the next world. The abilities that the characters have can range from useful to close to useless, making some worlds a bit harder than others.
A flaw that gets on almost everyone's nerves when it games to this game is the wait times. When you lose a life, you have to wait for 20 minutes to get it back. You only have 4 lives total, making getting stuck on a level all the worse. There is also the arbitrary roadblock between worlds, which makes you wait 3 whole days for it to go away. Of course you can pay to get rid of these via micro transactions. Let me tell you why I don't think this is all that bad.
This game is very fun and even addicting at times. I usually have multiple games downloaded on my phone, but I don't really play them too much when I'm on a roll in Super Monkey Ball Bounce. The roadblock forces a few days for me to not play it and instead play those games. I like how it paces me in that way. Sometimes when I'm having a hard time with something I need some time to refresh, and the time waiting for new lives enforces that. So I firmly believe that the wait times are well-implemented. They are there to make sure you don't burn-out on the game and drop it, which I appreciate.
The aesthetics are snazzy and ever so fitting. The colors are vibrant and in a wide variety due to all the different worlds. Everything just pops out while still contrasting against each other. A neat little addition, which is what made me realize just why pachinko is perfect for a spin-off, is what whichever character you play as is actually in the ball when you shoot it around the stage. Really makes the game feel like a Super Monkey Ball game. The sound effects are spot-on and while the music isn't too much to talk about, it's fitting and doesn't take away from the experience.
Super Monkey Ball Bounce is great. It's just an amazing addition to the series, even if it's not in the same style of gameplay. It's got a lot of charm and is very easy to play anywhere due to the fact you only need one hand to play it. Some may say that it has major design flaws, but the only problems I've ever had with it was poor level design and some crazy lag once I progressed through the worlds. Other than that this game is golden.
