This is my first ever Monkey Ball game and while I appreciate that for long time fans the physics and stuff wasn't what they hoped for, as a newcomer they were good enough to sell me on the franchise.
It's definitely a game you can tell was designed for the notched controller the Gamecube had because the full circle sticks on modern controllers make it difficult to roll in a set direction and makes it soooooo easy to fall off thinner platforms.
That said, the core concept of moving stages to guide a monkey in a ball to a goal? Addictively fun! I love arcadey style stuff like this so much. Easy to learn, difficult to master as stages become more complex, asking you to pull off manoeuvres that make you feel like a Monkey Ball deity when you do them.
I do appreciate that for long time fans, the physics being off can be hugely detrimental to your enjoyment (I've experienced that with Sonic 4......) but I think for newcomers like myself, this is good enough to hook us on the series and get us interested in trying out the Gamecube originals that people love so dearly