_______________________________________________________________________________ _____ __ __ _______ ______ _______ / ___\ | | | | | ___ | | ____| | ___ | | |___ | | | | | |___| | | |_ | |___| | \___ \ | |___| | | _____| | |____ | __ _| ___| | \_______/ |_| |______| |_| \_\ \_____/ ___ ___ ____ ___ _ __ __ ____ ___ ___ | \ / | / __ \ | \ | | | | / / | __| \ \/ / | |\ \/ /| | | | | | | |\ \ | | | |/ / | |_ \ / | | \__/ | | | |__| | | | \ \| | | |\ \ | |__ | | |_| |_| \____/ |_| \___| |__| \_\ |____| |__| ______ ___ __ __ | __ \ / _ \ | | | | | |__/ / / |_| \ | | | | | |__\ \ | _ | | |__ | |__ |______/ |__| |__| |_____| |_____| _______ _______ |__ __| | ___ | __ | | | |___| | \ \_/ / | __ _| \___/ |_| \_\ _ |_| Expert Stages FAQ by Mike Suskie undeadmonkey@comcast.net _______________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Version History 3. Expert Stages FAQ 4. Contact 5. Credits 6. Legal Crap _______________________________________________________________________________ ________ / / / 1 / Introduction /_______/ Hi, I'm Mike Suskie and welcome to my second FAQ on GameFAQs. This time, it's based on one of my favorite GameBoy Advance games, Super Monkey Ball Jr. This actual FAQ is made only for the Expert Stages, as they are (with the exception of the five Master Stages) the hardest levels in the game. Remember that you can press Ctrl + F at any time to find something on this FAQ in a few second. Go ahead and try it out now if you never knew about it. Also, I didn't include the Extra Stages in the FAQ because I'm going to eventually make a FAQ based on tips for them. That's pretty much it. Enjoy the FAQ. _______________________________________________________________________________ ________ / / / 2 / Version History /_______/ 2/28/02 Version 1.0 Whew, long day. I finished the entire thing today. I'm tired. 2/27/03 Version 0.3 I made the ASCII art, the Table of Contents, the Intro and this. I'm just getting started. Oh, and at the end of the day I added tips for the first four Expert Stages. _______________________________________________________________________________ ________ / / / 3 / Expert Stages FAQ /_______/ First off, I want to recommend that you unlock Infinite Lives before attempting to beat the super-tough thirty levels in Expert Mode. Secondly, don't forget that these stages are based off of pure skill and that this FAQ was made to give advice for each stage, as well as a few strategies. Also, I rated each stage's difficulty on a scale of one to ten. Good luck beating Expert Mode!:) ~Forest World~ Stage One Difficulty: 1 This is very easy. Avoid the hole at the beginning, scoot towards the goal, and then roll around the gap separating you from the goal, while picking up any bananas along the way. Stage Two Difficulty: 3 Not too hard if you want to make the standard goal. Roll forward until you get to a fork. At this point you have two options. The first: Go to the left along a fairly skinny platform and go through the goal to go to level three. The second: Go right along an even SKINNIER platform, and then up a slope. If you go right, don't stop on your way up the slope or it will screw you up. There's a bonus goal at the top of the slope that will warp you to a higher level. It's easier to go through the goal on the left, but the one on the right pays off more. It's your decision. Stage Three Difficulty: 7 Argh, I hate this one. The two platforms are completely separated. You'll have to wait for the platform with the goal on it to lean down before you can charge off the platform you're on and fall onto it. You'll have to hold the A button for more speed and power. This stage is really a matter of luck, mostly. If you make it across, don't forget that you'll have to immediately lean in the opposite direction the platform is tilting as a recovery. Good luck, this stage is hard. Stage Four Difficulty: 9 Oh boy, here we go. In stage two it's best to use the bonus goal to completely skip over this toughie. Okay, first head left and over the two hills. Next, ride three moving platforms. The first two are sort of "connected:" Board the first one and wait for it to take you take the second one, board THAT one, and it will take you to a still platform. From there, take a third moving platform over to the path. After that, hold A for mega speed and charge at full power towards the gap. If you're lucky you'll be able to ram your way across. Next, over a small bump. After that, you'll have to run off a ramp onto another path which will lead you to an area with four bumpers. CAREFULLY weave your way through them. Now you're left with only one more thing: A long, curved, skinny platform. As I like to say, "Take your time, but hurry up." Which means, don't take too long but don't get careless. At the end is the goal. If you make it through this stage, give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it. Stage Five Difficulty: 6 This one takes a bit of getting used to. Start off by rolling down the skinny ramp. Once you get to the end, roll off the right side and you'll land on an arrangement of a bunch of platforms. Watch out, it's slanted! As it lets you roll down, shift to the left and carefully manveuver to each of the platforms. It's tricky. If you're good you can grab the banana bunch in the center, and eventually make your may to the bottom left, where you can go through the goal. ~Canyon World~ Stage Six Difficulty: 4 This isn't too hard as long as you're used to moving platforms. The two platforms in the center split up into eight smaller platforms each and move outward. Wait for one to come to you and board it, then wait for the platoforms to join together, then board the other set of platforms, and ride them home to the goal. Stage Seven Difficulty: 9 Okay, oh my God. This one is sooooo hard. Start by making your way up the skinny ramp. When you get to the top, stop hard. Now here's the really hard part: You have to combine a straight movement with the A button so you can get over the super-skinny hill here. If you lose balance, you'll tumble off the stage. Boo-hoo. After this, head down the bumpy hill (but not too fast or you won't be able to recover). Here's another tough part: Make your way across the square platforms byusing their connected corners. After that, though, it's a piece of cake. Continue along the skinny twisted platform here and slam through the goal. Stage Eight Difficulty: 2 This is pretty easy. You have to make your way down the skinny slopes and get to the goal. You have to be careful not to fall through the square holes on the way down, but other than that it's very, very easy. Stage Nine Difficulty: 10 Take a deep breath. This is possibly the hardest stage in the entire mode. What you've got here is a skinny slope that is filled to the brim with bumpers. You always have to keep moving up, because if you stop you'll go tumbling backwards and die. But you also have to be incredibly careful not to hit the bumpers, as they'll kill you, too. Joy. Some of them move and some of them stay still. I must have used about 20 continues on this one before I was able to beat it. I really have no strategies for it -- it takes pure skill. Good luck, you'll need it. ~Bonus Stage~ Stage Ten Difficulty: 5 If you want to get all of the bananas in this Bonus Stage, it will take a little effort. On each of the seven platforms are four bananas. To get from one platform to another, run towards one at full speed. Keep in mind that if you die in this stage you won't lose a life. Instead, you'll just keep the bananas you got and go to Stage Eleven. ~Desert World~ Stage Eleven Difficulty: 4 Eh, not too hard. You basically have a bunch of skinny, rotating platforms. Just hop onto one and wait for it to connect to another platform, then roll onto that one and continue doing so until you get to the goal. This one should not cause you much trouble. Stage Twelve Difficulty: 1 This is dead easy if you want to just get through the goal, and much harder if you want to collect all the bananas. If you want to just get through the goal, just wait for it to center and slam through. If you want to get all the bananas you'll have a much harder time. First, wait for the goal to slide to one side and walk along the other side to one of the banana bunches. Do the same thing for the other side. Now, if you REALLY want to get those last five bananas (which aren't worth it, by the way), you'll have to CAREFULLY weave your way through the bumpers in the back to get them. Then go on through the goal. Stage Thirteen Difficulty: 3 This stage isn't too hard as long as you DON'T take you time. The three curved, moving platforms move at different speeds, and the best thing to do is use your judgement and speed across them as quickly as possible, while making the smallest necessary tilts along the way. You can try to get the banana bunches along the way but that's a hard thing to do. Don't forget the additional banana behind the goal. Stage Fourteen Difficulty: 4 This stage isn't nearly as hard as it looks as long as you DON'T take your time. The moving platforms are always connected, they're just... Shifting. Go as fast as you can across them and you'll be surprised how easy it is to complete this stage. Woohoo! Stage Fifteen Difficulty: 9 You just went through a few easy ones. Now here's a hard one. You have to move across the square platforms here. To get from one platform to the other, you have to roll over the corners of them. It's NOT easy. Be slow but not too slow. Be careful but not too careful. You get the idea. There's one goal about halfway through the stage (TAKE THAT ONE!) or a bonus goal at the very end (IGNORE IT!!!). It's your decision (THE FIRST ONE DUMBASS!!!). YOU'RE HALFWAY THROUGH. KEEP GOING! IT GETS HARDER! ~Ocean World~ Stage Sixteen Difficulty: 6 This is kind of an obstacle course of several different types of challenges. It's not overly difficult, but may take some practice. Start by collecting the two bananas at the start and not falling into the square hole. Next, carefully make your way through the mext platform, which has both four bumpers and a square hole in the middle. Weave through both. Next you've got the same "straight hill" thing you encountered in Stage Four, but this time you have more room to get good speed and linearity going. After you're over that, you'll see a platform rocking back and forth. Stick to one side of it and wait for it to rock downwards, then hop on. Now wait for it to rock up and jump off to the next platform. Now head across the square platforms via the corners. Here's the tricky part: Head up the hill but tilt the platform along the way to weave in and out of the holes. When you get to the top, you'll come up to a sort of halfpipe shape with a huge hole in the bottom. You'll have to stay on the slopes to get across (it's best to use the B button here). After that, head two small hills and into the goal. Stage Seventeen Difficulty: 3 An easy stage, as long as you're fairly careful. All you need to do is roll off of each stage in the direction the arrow is pointing. You'll keep landing on different platforms, some of which rotate a bit but not too much. Pick up some speed for the final jump and slam the goal. Stage Eighteen Difficulty: 6 You'll have to make your way across five rotating platforms in different shapes. The first two are shaped like large gears, the second two are shaped like small gears, and the last is shaped like a large "I". Maneuver across them carefully, you should be used to this kind of thing by now. Stage Nineteen Difficulty: 3 Not too hard. These moving platforms have slopes on either end of them, so try to stay away from the ends. Just move across them like any old set of moving platforms. Piece of cake. ~Bonus Stage~ Stage Twenty Difficulty: 5 What you've got here is one long, continuous half-pipe slope with bananas zigzagging on the way down. Move back and forth as you make your way down to get all the bananas. It's a simple stage. There's a banana bunch at the end that's easy to get. ~Arctic World~ Stage Twenty-One Difficulty: 5 Once again another moderately-difficult stage. In this one, you'll have to first go down a bunch of zigzagging ramps, then up some, while avoiding the holes on the way. You can also go to the left or right (up more zigzagging ramps) and get the banana bunches. The goal is on the opposite end of the stage that you started. Stage Twenty-Two Difficulty: 4 This is a lot like Stage Thirteen except that the platforms are curved upward instead of downward and there are four of them. Wait for them to line up and head on across. When they disconnect, balance yourself on one platform until they line up again, then head on home. Stage Twenty-Three Difficulty: 6 This is pretty much a large set of long, skinny, connected platforms. They tilt a bit, but they don't really hurt you that much except that they may sometimes know you off balance. Also, there are some bumpers on them that you'll have to avoid. Sometimes the tilting platforms will know you into them (ouch). Stage Twenty-Four Difficulty: 8 Ha ha. The platforms in this stage are shaped like letters and they spell, "REALISM." Ha ha. Anyway, this is a tough stage. Here are instructions for getting to the goal: Roll around the "r" and hop onto the "e". From the middle of the "e", roll CAREFULLY onto the "a". You can than get onto the "L" at any spot, and use the bottom of the "L" to get to the "I". From there, go to the top of the "I" (don't you dare try to get the banana bunch) and hop onto the "s". Finally, roll from the bottom of the "s" onto the "m" and swing into the goal (not literally, I'm just trying to use variety in words). Stage Twenty-Five Difficulty: 2 This is eeeeeeeeeasy. Board the first moving platform, and from there, roll onto the others and into the goal. The banana nuches aren't worth getting. ~Ancient World~ Stage Twenty-Six Difficulty: 10 This is almost certainly the hardest level in the entire mode. Remember how, in some of the other Expert Stages, you had to get across square platforms by moving along their corners? Well, this stage is composed ENTIRELY of those. Yee-haw. My only recommendation: GO RIGHT. DO NOT GO LEFT. The path to the left is longer. Go to the right, it's shorter. Other than that, this is a stage that is entirely devoted to skill. Just remember: Don't get too frustrated. Stage Twenty-Seven Difficulty: 4 Aaaaaah, a refreshingly easy stage in comparison to Stage Twenty-Six. Work your way across the moving platforms either by dropping from one to the other or by waiting for one to bring you to a safe platform. Not too hard, you should be used to stuff like this by now. Stage Twenty-Eight Difficulty: 2 Easy easy easy. Roll along the skinny platform until you reach an elevator. Board it and ride it up to another skinny platform. Roll along it (be careful, it rocks back and forth) and slam through the goal. Stage Twenty-Nine Difficulty: 8 Here's a toughie. This stage is a long strip of path that gradually gets more narrow. The thing is, you have to RUSH to get along it quick enough. Hold the A button for the first part of the level, then slow down a bit when the path gets narrower. Be careful and fast. This stage should take many tries to beat. Stage Thirty FINAL STAGE Difficulty: 8 And a nice little finale stage to top of the Expert Mode! First, carefully move along the spinning platforms. Next, move along the narrow path in a well-timed speed so you can avoid the spikes. When you get to the end, CAREFULLY move across the skinny rotating platform, across more spikes, and down the platform here to get to the end. CONGRADULATIONS! YOU BEAT A HARD ASS GAMING MODE! _______________________________________________________________________________ ________ / / / 4 / Contact /_______/ If you want to contact me, just e-mail me at undeadmonkey@comcast.net. Easy, huh? PLEASE only e-mail me if you have a question, comment or suggestion. Hate mail will be ignored and deleted. _______________________________________________________________________________ ________ / / / 5 / Credits /_______/ If you help out with this FAQ in any way, your name will be added to this list. Here it is: Myself, for making my second In-Depth FAQ. My computer for not freezing or anything. GameFAQs.com for still being the best. GameTalk.com for being the OTHER best. Sega for bringing this awesome series to the world's favorite handheld. AV for supervising this game. THQ for co-developing this brilliant game. Realism for creating it. _______________________________________________________________________________ ________ / / / 6 / Legal Notice /_______/ This FAQ Copyright 2003 Mike Suskie. So don't use it. Don't ask to use it. Only GameFAQs, GameSpot, IGN and myself can use this guide whenever they want. No one else. Don't bother asking because I'll say no. _______________________________________________________________________________ That's it. This is the end of the FAQ. Go home.