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  • Recorded with VisualBoy Advance Re-recording 19
  • Abuses programming errors
  • Plays on hardest difficulty
  • Aims for fastest in-game time
  • Uses a password
   
Super Monkey Ball Jr. is part of the Super Monkey Ball series (most certainly not the best), in which a monkey inside a bubble spins around a course, aiming to either collect the bananas or get the fastest time. In the GBA port, you have far less control of your monkey ball, and you have 2 different modes: the main game and mini-games. The Mini-games are: Monkey Duel, Monkey Fight, Monkey Bowling, and Monkey Golf. The Main game has 3 different difficulties, each with a different number of courses: Beginner (10), Advanced (20), and Expert (30.) There is also a Master difficulty (5), normally only attainable once you beat Expert without any continues, which this TAS completes. A password (Down, Down, Up, Up, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A) is used in order to unlock this difficulty from a power on.
The reason why I chose Master over Expert is that Expert has 30 courses, and they might get tedious after watching a while, and I wasn't sure of audience feedback yet. Master difficulty has only 5 courses, which are even more difficult, so I felt that this mode should be used. (The music is also different and the stages are fiery. Hyah!!!!)
The game is notoriously difficult to play in real time, because of the lack analog controls, the course tilting, the slipperiness, and the very thin platforms. To quote a gameFAQs review: "The ball has a parachute...right?"
I could not find any speed, turning, or acceleration differences between the 4 available monkeys, so I just chose the first one.

Times

Here are the times for the 5 courses. Each timer starts at either 30 or 60 seconds, and goes down.
Level 3 uses a non-intended shortcut. Level 4 uses 2 intended shortcuts.
  • Level 1 (30.00"): 6:00" left on timer
  • Level 2 (60.00"): 42.9" left on timer
  • Level 3 (60.00"): 47.4" left on timer
  • Level 4 (60.00"): 46.0" left on timer
  • Level 5 (30.00"): 17.6" left on timer
The credits have a mini game that requires input, so I skip it, and end input after entering the name.

Afterthoughts

If this game is received well, the Expert difficulty can be run as well (a different category, or obsoleting since it's the hardest difficulty without a password and may be liked for the presence of 25 more stages), and also a 100% run that does all courses (and maybe all mini-games) and gets a perfect bonus on each one, which is attained by collecting all of the bananas, which really changes the way the game is played.

NesVideoAgent: Hi! I am a robot. I took a few screenshots of this movie and placed them here. Oh! I also replaced the ROM name.
  • You indicated Super Monkey Ball Jr. (U).gba
  • I updated it to Super Monkey Ball Jr (U).gba

comicalflop: I just found that the intro screens can be skipped faster, and lackluster viewer response, cancelling.

TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #1713: Comicalflop's GBA Super Monkey Ball Jr. in 02:20.47
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I think I want more, though I'm not sure what I would say of other courses. The GC version looks much better, especially if played unassisted by a skillful player (hello Scott Kessler). Although your behavior of saying that all projects are on hold until MM is done then immediately submitting yet another short run can be called whimsical at best. Not voting yet.
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Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
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moozooh wrote:
Although your behavior of saying that all projects are on hold until MM is done then immediately submitting yet another short run can be called whimsical at best.
2 days ago I just completed Seasick Climb; that's 20 out of 52 stages done so far, or over 20%ish. I knew it would take a lot of effort to get this next boss fight optimal and entertaining, so I took a mini-break. I got bored, and started a little on this out of curiosity. And ended up finishing it today. And very soon I'll start Migen's Brawl. And even so, it shouldn't matter, right? I'm not mad or anything, but... You don't see me sheparding your TAS activities. I know you want to see MM finished, so I apologize for this 2 day deviance, and shall get back to Mischief Making.
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JXQ
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Well, it was kind of neat, but it was also kind of bleh. Usually racing game TASes look better for me if they look really fast, and this wasn't too fast-looking. It wasn't boring either though, so I will vote meh.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
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Joined: 9/1/2005
Posts: 803
Voted meh. i cant really say this run was overly enjoyable to watch, having played the gamecube versions of monkey ball 1 and 2 (and the gba version also). the game is a lot slower than the previously mentioned titles, and probably shouldn't have been developed to start with.
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JXQ wrote:
Well, it was kind of neat, but it was also kind of bleh. Usually racing game TASes look better for me if they look really fast, and this wasn't too fast-looking. It wasn't boring either though, so I will vote meh.
It's not really a racing game at all, more like puzzle/platformer. Just play it for 1-2 minutes, and it'll become crystally clear what this game is about.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
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om, nom, nom... blech, stale!