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Attention Super Monkey Ball fans....

now that I have stopped biting my fist after the disappoinment of no banana crazy news, heres what you do.

Level starts, just hold forward to get up the ramp. when you get off the skinny bit, turn left to get to the back of the platform and spin around to line your monkey up with that steep a frame. Don't take to long doing it or get it exact either, don't worry it will start to flow after a while. Floor it to the top of the a frame then pull back to stop rolling off the platform on the other side.

you should be able to get yourself down the next bit, go quick on this bit you need all the time possible at the end of the level. now you should be at the checkerboard bit. I use speed to get over this, just try and line yourself up with the middle of the right hand side set of squares and the ones one over from the right. If you go over this with speed monkey nearly doesn't even wobble. don't forget to pull back at the end to stop from falling off.

Next you are just at the skinny bit that goes all the way to the end. If you are not using baby, quit, choose baby and start again. I actually beat this level with Gongon the first time ever, but baby is so little it's easier to line him/her up with skinny things. just be careful and don't worry if the time runs close to zero. I regularly finish this level with < 3 seconds to spare.

Practice mode is your friend play this level over and over and over.
There are only 3 difficult bits on the level

1. the a frame. this was the bit I found the hardest. Once it clicks though you will do it every time.

2. the checkerboard, going quickly over this bit is the key I hope I explained it ok. Don't overshoot it when you gain speed though.

3. the windy skinny bit. This is just monkey skill. no easy way. just practice.
Try playing the level about 30 times in a row. That's how I beat it. beating this level on your first try in main game is one of the main keys to unlocking the expert and master levels.
 
This level REALLY is a fucker. I eventually got good enough so that I can usually get through it on the first try....and if I don't, it usually pisses me off too much to be able to finish it afterwards. But now it's unusually easy. You just have to get a feel for what works on each section and keep repeating it until you get good at it.

On the first run, hold forward before the timer starts so that you're guaranteed a straight run up the ramp.

On the triangular ramp (hate that fucker), just get a good head start and make sure to hold forward....you may feel the urge to adjust your direction and wobble the stick, but on this part that'll only fuck you up. Again, make sure to get a good head start because you'll need the speed to get over it.

On the next long straight ramp, uhh, go down it. Not that difficult.

On the checker square section, get a good head start and go kind of fast over the 'line' where the squares and square spaces meet, on either side of the checker section. You'll probably bounce at the end, so try to slow down right before you hit the end, or else you may make it across but with too much momentum and you'll go over the edge of the 'safe zone' after the checker section.

Then on that long curvey stretch, just go at a moderate, steady pace. I find it helpful on long curvey stretches, for some reason, to focus my attention on a five or six feet in front of the ball, instead of on the ball itself. For some reason that helps.

Good luck. :) Just do it over and over and over again in practice mode until you have a good feel for it. Then tackle it in Normal mode.
 
Next you are just at the skinny bit that goes all the way to the end. If you are not using baby, quit, choose baby and start again. I actually beat this level with Gongon the first time ever, but baby is so little it's easier to line him/her up with skinny things. just be careful and don't worry if the time runs close to zero. I regularly finish this level with < 3 seconds to spare.
Obviously I haven't paid much attention to the different monkey characters....is there really a difference between them?
 
By the way, once you pass level seven, level eight is super fucking easy if you take the short cut. Just turn and go off the side of the first ramp, which drops you onto the third ramp, from which you can drop down to the last ramp, and ride down the final long slope to the goal.
 
demon said:
Obviously I haven't paid much attention to the different monkey characters....is there really a difference between them?

There is no actual difference between the Monkeys. A lot of people pick baby (esp. in SMB1) because he doesn't obscure your view of the wires as much as the other monkeys. Its very hard navigating thin wires with anyone but Baby.
 
http://server1.vortiginous.com/smb/smb1/E07-packattack-9346.zip

In a way, it's easier to get past the checkered part with the speed. For the curve, I constantly tap the stick correcting my direction while continually moving forward.

Check the smb directory for the other vids. Trying out the shortcuts are pretty fun. Check A11 for inspiration. :D

http://server1.vortiginous.com/smb/smb1/A11-packattack-35980.zip

btw, i do believe all the monkeys are the same for the main game from what i've heard from the smb experts. Just focus on Ai Ai's foot on skinny ledges.
 
If you're looking for incredible, world-record monkey ball videos, the group at klow can't be topped:

http://www.klow.net/smb/

I used to be a big part of that monkey ball community. 9th in the world at SMB2 at one point. You wouldn't even believe some of the stuff that can be done.
 
If you think that's bad, wait til you get to one of the master levels... can't remember which one, but it has a similar feeling to Expert7, only that the A-frame is tougher, it has a blazingly fast moving checkerboad platform, and a vine corkscrew. I've beat that level once, and vowed never to play it again.
 
SMB was my 2001 GOTY for a reason. Very few games come even close to capturing the tense, high-difficulty, old-school feel of the game; in many ways I feel it surpasses some of the classics.
 
AstroLad said:
SMB was my 2001 GOTY for a reason. Very few games come even close to capturing the tense, high-difficulty, old-school feel of the game; in many ways I feel it surpasses some of the classics.

I'd be inclined to agree with you if I didn't have to fight the camera.

On most levels it's just a little focus to manipulate to my liking but the little A at the beginning of Expert 7 (Expert 2, the Warp path also makes you fight the camera) seems specifically designed to make you fight the camera. I've been stuck at this level for 6 months and I can't do it with consistency. My eyes start to blur after several tries.

I really liked this game up until this point, but I hate fighting cameras. I hate sucking even more :(
 
AstroLad said:
SMB was my 2001 GOTY for a reason. Very few games come even close to capturing the tense, high-difficulty, old-school feel of the game; in many ways I feel it surpasses some of the classics.
Agreed. I really think it's one of the very best games of this generation.
 
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