------------------------------------------------------ Super Monkey Ball: Monkey Race FAQ By Sgwigly Last Updated: November 16th, 2002 Version: 1.1 E-Mail: Sgwigly@aol.com ------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Disclaimer 3. Overview 4. Before Starting 5. Game Options 6. The Monkeys 7. The Items 8. The Tracks 9. Special Thanks ------------------------------------------------------ 1. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------ Monkey Racing is the first thing I did with my all-new Gamecube, and it has since become one of my favorite parts of Super Monkey Ball. I hope you enjoy it is as much as I do! Here are some tips/tricks and other things to help you win the races. Have fun! ------------------------------------------------------ 2. Disclaimer ------------------------------------------------------ This FAQ was written by Sgwigly. It may not be used for promotional or money-making purposes. It's OK if you wish to use it on your website, but please print it in its entirety without modifying it in any way. Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------ 3. Overview ------------------------------------------------------ Monkey Race, a party game in SEGA's Super Monkey Ball, is an extremely simple yet very fun racer. It has everything a good racing game should, from the droppable banana peels to the homing bombs items. Plus, the controls are very simple and unique in that you don't need to be holding a gas button the entire race. It's just control stick to move and A to use your weapon. There's a single track race, a grand prix where you race on all six tracks in a row, and a time attack where you can record your best times. This should keep us busy until Mario Kart comes out for the Gamecube.... ------------------------------------------------------ 4. Before Starting ------------------------------------------------------ Here are some of the settings you can choose before starting the race. One Course Race - Number of Players - Character Select - Course Select - Gameplay Settings Grand Prix - Number of Players - Character Select - Course Select - Gameplay Settings Time Attack - Character Select - Course Select One Course Race If you only have a little bit of time or want to practice on a certain track with your friends, then One Course Race is for you. Just select your monkeys and your track and play. Grand Prix You will play all six tracks in a row. The first place player in each race will receive 10 points, second gets 7, third gets 3, and last place will receive 1 point. If the third player finishes and you are fourth, finish quickly to get your one point or you will retire! The player with the most points at the end wins. Time Attack Race to get the fastest time and enter your name on the high scores. You will always start with three Speed Stars; make good use of them! ------------------------------------------------------ 5. Game Options ------------------------------------------------------ Here are some of the options you can select to customize your racing experience! CPU's On/Off With this on, all non-human slots will be filled by computer opponents. The computer AI in Monkey Race is fairly intelligent and makes good use of items because it can calculate whether or not the item will hit you or not. I recommend turning it on because it makes the game more suspenseful when you have more opponents. Handicap On/Off The player in last place will go faster than the rest of the monkeys if this is turned on, so he or she has the opportunity to keep up. This will keep the game exciting, because it's less fun if the monkeys in last place never catch up. It's my preference to keep this turned on. Items On/Off Determines whether or not item boxes will appear from the sky. The items make the game more fun, but if you want your race to be pure skill and no luck, turn this off. Number of Laps (One Course Race Only) Here you can set the number of laps before the race finishes. ------------------------------------------------------ 6. The Monkeys ------------------------------------------------------ Unlike some other Party Games and Mini Games, there is no difference whatsoever between the four monkeys in Monkey Race. Aiai, Mimi, Baby and Gongon all have identical acceleration, top speed (which is around 100mph, by the way) and turning abilities. So just choose the monkey that you think is the coolest and stick with it. ------------------------------------------------------ 7. The Items ------------------------------------------------------ Here is a list of the items you can find in the randomly dropped "?" boxes, what they do, and general strategies for them. Speed Star - "Increases your speed for a limited time." The speed star will give you a small boost of speed, about 75% as powerful as a speed pad's boost. It will also cause your monkey to tumble about in his or her monkey ball, if you're into that sort of thing. Anyway, this item is especially useful on tracks without many speed pads, and when you want to speed past an opponent with a potentially harmful weapon. I wouldn't exactly recommend saving these though, because most of the other items are better, so feel free to use the Speed Star whenever you want. Banana Peel - "You can leave banana peels on the ground to slip up opponents." Since it's effect is so small (the monkey ball loses control for a short time and wobbles back and forth), and it is so easy to avoid, this item is thought of as the most pointless item in the game. And it is. But, it is not quite as bad as people make it out to be, if it is placed correctly. It's a fact that the faster you are going when you hit the banana, the more violently your monkey will swerve out of control. Therefore, the best place to drop your banana is right after a speed pad. An unsuspecting monkey looking to speed ahead of the competition will hit the speed pad, slip on the banana and go sailing into the abyss (or monkey diner). Maybe you'll even scare the other monkeys out of ever using the speed pads! Well, maybe not, but with a little practice, you can make your bananas deadly weapons while your opponents toss them hapharzadly about the track. Another nice area to place your deadly fruit peel is in front of or in between the bumpers at the end of each level. Plus, if your opponents are into shortcuts, learn of the shortcut locations and litter them with banana peels to screw them up. Ha! That's what you get for being cheap! Bowling Bomber - "Roll bombs at your opponents and watch them explode." When a monkey is hit by a bomb, it will explode, and then one of three things will happen: 1)The monkey ball will go flying directly off the track, 2) The monkey ball will bounce for a while, then fly off the track, 3) Not fall off the track, but the monkey will remained stunned for a while, impairing speed and turning abilities a little bit. All three effects are excellent, and all are good in their own special way. Number 1 is good if your opponent has a bomb, ice cube or polygon ball waiting for you when you pass them. If their monkey is busy falling, they won't be able to shoot you, and you can make a smooth getaway. Option 2 is the best as it will cost them as much if not more time than option 3 (depending on how long they bounce before they fall to their doom). Plus, if they have a dangerous item, you can wait until they fall to zoom by them. Polygon Ball - "Your opponent's ball changes shape for a limited time." The Polygon Ball will turn your opponent's monkey ball into some kind of green dodecahedron shaped thing, causing them to slow down a little bit and bump around a lot. While the Polygon Ball is the coolest item in Monkey Race, it is probably the worst of the offensive items. It doesn't slow them down all that much, and it isn't that hard to regain control once you've been polygoned. Plus, if your opponent has a weapon of their own, it will be very easy for them to retaliate as you go past them. However, the Polygon Ball is still very useful. Try using it during turns or when you're near the bumpers. These strategies will be sure to screw up their day. Ice Cube - "Freeze your opponents for a limited time." Hands down the best item in Monkey Race, the Ice Cube will freeze the opposing monkey in an ice cube. They will slow down to a near standstill. There is nothing they can do. Even if they have three Bowling Bombers prepared for your destruction, they will be so far behind that their attempts at getting you back will be futile. Laugh at them. Call them names like "Mr. Frozen Monkey Guy" for the rest of their lives. The Ice Cube item will ensure that you will get very far ahead of your enemy. If you get hit by an Ice Cube, just commit suicide, or try to hit a banana peel (possibly your own, although this is more luck than skill). Either way is much faster than waiting for the ice to melt away. Make the best of this excellent item! Monkey Ball Well, it's not exactly in the manual, but you should still be sure to put your monkey ball to good use! Bumping can be very effective if you're going faster than your opponent, especially on levels without curved sides. It's best to bump when your opponent is vulnerable to attack (they're frozen, stunned or polygonned). If you can knock them off, you've taken the lead without using any items at all! It's a skill that takes time to learn, but if you can master it, you'll have the edge. It's best to bump enemy balls after you've use a Speed Star or speed pad. ------------------------------------------------------ 8. The Tracks ------------------------------------------------------ There are six different tracks in Monkey Race, and they are separated into three categories: Beginner, Advanced, and Expert. Here I will describe the tracks and strategies for racing on them. Jungle Circuit - 5 Laps Default This is by far the easiest of the six Monkey Race tracks, as it's name "Grass" implies. Have you ever noticed that all video game levels with the name "Grass" are easy? Anyway, the Grass Track is simple in it's design, has lots of speed pads, and even has rails on the side to protect your monkey from falling. You still can fall off, however, if go to fast over into the rail or are hit over the side with a Bowling Bomber. If you do fall and none of your opponents do, you will have a hard time winning because you will have lost so much time. Be sure to hit all the speed pads you can, preferably the ones on the inside of the track to avoid speeding to the rail and falling off. Also, as with all levels, watch out for the bumpers at the end of the level and don't accidentally mistake them for speed pads. If you hit them, it will be costly. Aqua Offroad - 5 Laps Default This wouldn't be difficult if it weren't for the rocky formations that litter the track. You can go bouncing over them without much trouble, but you go slower than you would if you stayed on the normal, flat areas. Try to stay on the lower ground and avoid the rocky areas wherever you can to stay at a fast speed. There is only one speed pad on this level, so you won't have much of a chance to catch up if you fall behind. This makes weapons very effective on this level, but keep in mind that it will be harder to get your weapons to connect with your opponent if you're bouncing around on the rocks. Frozen Highway - 6 Laps Default The main challenge of this track is actually staying on the track. This track has the sharpest turns of all the tracks, save the Desert Track. It is very easy to fall off, especially when you are going fast due to a speed pad. There's even a hairpin turn near the beginning of the track; be sure to slow down as you approach it. On this track, it is vital to get all the speed pads, as they usually come in "groups" of one, as opposed to three. Also, there is a shortcut in this level, although you'll need some luck and Speed Stars to pull it off. First, notice he shape of the track. Right after the finish line, the end and the beginning of the track form a sort of "U" shape. What you need to do is go straight up the outside (right) side of the curved track. Then, as you fall back down, use you speed items to climb up the inside (left) side of the track as quickly as possible and jump to the other side of the track, before the finish line. Quite effective if you have the Speed Stars necessary. Sky Downtown - 3 Laps Default This is the first track you will encounter without curved sides. You'll notice this makes things a tad more difficult, but not by that much. It's just different. Anyway, this track is pretty simple without many sharp turns and lots of speed pads. In fact, the speed pads on this level may be your worst enemy, as they will make you go so fast you won't be able to stop before you go crashing into a Monkey Diner! That doesn't mean you should hit every one you can, however. Just be sure to stay on the inside of the track and don't be afraid to push back on the control stick. There are also rails and billboards to help you stay on track. This track has a couple of shortcuts. The more simple one involves the section of the track that presses against the tunnel area. Hit the single speed pad before the tunnel, possibly using the a Speed Star as well, and bank off the bilboard into the tunnel. You'll have to make a 180 turn to go the right direction; hitting the speed pads in the tunnel with automatically do this for you. The other, much more impressive shortcut also takes place in the same area. Instead of hitting the single speed pad I referred to in the description of the previous shortcut and banking off the bilboard, just hit it and go along the track the normal way. Then, after 1 or 2 seconds, use a Speed Star and attempt to hop the last turn wall just before the tunnel begins. You'll want to go over the left side, and towards the finish line. It'll take practice to get the right angle, but if you can get the technique correct this shortcut will give you a tremendous advantage. Pipe Warp Tunnel - 4 Laps Default Being what most would call the hardest track in Monkey Race, I will describe this track in detail. The first area of the track has a speed pad on it; it is very very important that you hit the speed pad. This is necessary because you will soon come to an area with two "rooms," or dips in the track. Hitting the first speed pad of the race will help in jumping over the first room, and if you are in the very middle of the track or use a Speed Star, the second. If you do get stuck in the first room, roll backwards for momentum, the roll forwards into the second room. In the second room, roll backwards behind the speed pad, then hit it to go soaring out of the dreaded "room area." Note that it if you leave the second room too fast with the speed pad you will fly off the edge of the track and will lose a significant amount of time. Also, it is not necessary to leave the second room with the speed pad, but it stops you from having to accelerate once you exit the room. Anyway, now you are past the rooms, and the sides of the track disappear. Eventually the track turns into a cylinder and you have to stay in the middle to avoid falling to your doom. Near the end of the track there is a 90 degree turn while the track is still a cylinder. My advice is to go slightly on the inside of the turn, so you fall a little bit, then you go back up. Straighten yourself out, and you've made the turn. This is the most difficult turn in Monkey Race, so it'll take a little bit of practice. Immediately after the turn you'll meet up with the bumpers, and hitting them on this track is almost always certain death. Avoid them if you can and start on the next lap. Oh, and by the way, if you can hit an opponent with a Polygon Ball or Ice Cube while they are in the "rooms," they won't be able to get out. Laugh maniacally and zoom far ahead of them. Speed Desert - 2 Laps Default Shaped as the activision logo, the Desert Track is the longest in the game. It is full of sharp turns and long speed pad-filled straight-aways that are slightly tilted inward. If you want to win this race, you'll have to learn to pull back on the control stick whenever you come to a sharp turn. It's very important to slow down before turns, otherwise you'll die. But dying on this level isn't so bad, since your human opponents are bound to fall off almost as much as you (read: everyone will be dying very very frequently). Many of the sharp turns have billboards advertising some of Monkey Ball's other mini and party games. You can, if you are going very fast, run straight into these billboards, bounce off them, and back onto the track facing the correct direction. However, this is difficult to pull off and pretty stupid. So don't do it, but tell your friends that it's a good strategy. The other sections of the level, with the long stretches of track that are slightly tilted inward with speed pads, are pretty easy. Try to stay on the inside but not so close as to fall of the track. Hit all the speed pads you can to cover the most distance quicker. If you do fall, immediately tilt your control stick to the right. Otherwise, your monkey ball will reappear, bounce off the tilted track, and die instantly. One more thing: This level has a simple shortcut that is easy to pull off and will give you a little head start above your opponents. Near the beginning, at the first bilboard you see, there's a 90 degree angle turn in the track. Instead of slowing down to make the turn, just slam straight foward and hit the side of the track, propelling you up and over the gap between the turn and the next section of the track. That's all there is for now! E-mail me if you have questions, comments, criticism. Thanks! ------------------------------------------------------ 9. Special Thanks ------------------------------------------------------ Special Thanks to Adam Bovie and the guys in Goldberg 4403 for the Frozen Highway and Sky Downtown shortcuts, as well as some other various tips. Nice work, guys!