Party hard with Mario
There ain’t no party like a Mario party, because a Mario party don’t stop. With up to 20 rounds per game, it can certainly feel that way. You can make each bout as juicy/ interminable (depending on your perspective) as you like, but with so many items and last-minute bids for glory, you might want to keep the battle raging on for as long as possible.
“You’ll want to keep the battle raging for as long as possible.”
Toadette is keeper of the star this time and must be chased round the board. She is an unpredictable mistress. You can analyse her moves all you like and wait in the one corner she hasn’t yet visited, only to watch her glide, Mary-Poppins-esq, to the centre square, the same square she’s visited three times already, as far away from you as possible, watching, waiting, smugly laughing and keeping that star all to herself.
Lesson #1: Do not try to second guess Mario Party.
If you do, that will be your downfall- it’s as off the cuff and senseless as any other party, only there’s no booze involved and you’re still left with a migraine at the end of the night. For example, there are triggered events on the board- an explosive King Bob-omb, a crumbling bridge and climbable watermelon chunks, all of which raise it above merely “roll, move, mini-game, repeat”.
If you like RG gameplay, this is as random as every other entry in the series. At least 50% of what happens is out of your control- coins can be stolen from any player at random, same with stars, stars can be randomly doubled if that happens to be what the item square spits out. This game is less about plotting, more about adapting. Mario Party is based on skill the same way Top Trumps is: it’s not.
“Mario Party is based on skill the same way Top Trumps is: it’s not.”
Though let’s not do the Switch incarnation an injustice, this version does include some strategy elements. Much has been said on the internet already about the ability to choose your root through the board, and the choice of dice for each character. This is a nice twist on the classic formula that means each round takes twice as long while players mull their options. In reality, it makes very little difference. If you’re having a bad day, you’ll roll a 0 no matter what dice you choose because lady luck can be a stubborn she-wolf at times and likes to rub salt in the wound. This is at times frustrating, sometimes hilarious. Though never hilarious when it happens to you.
Aside from this, there are ally squares which, if landed on, can add another NPC from the character roster to your party. It’s worth doing. They add support during team mini games and contribute to your dice rolls. There’s even a bonus star if you’re Little Miss Popular at the end.
A double-edged sword.
The more game mechanics in each mode, the more you are messed over by them and ‘partner mode’ is a key example.
On party mode you need the highest roll you can get. Merely passing over the star square is enough. On 2 v 2, ie, ‘Mario Party meets chess’, you have to land exactly on the star square to get it, so mental arithmetic comes into play. You can plot out the number needed to reach that square, choose the dice with the most chance of getting it, and you ally will still materialise behind you, roll their own dice and mess you over before you can blink. In a group of friends, you must laugh it off and continue, though inside, you have begun to plot Rosalina’s gory demise.
The character roster is a good one and most favourites from previous incarnations are here:
Boo, Bowser, Bowser jr, Mario, Luigi, Rosalina, Dry Bones, Boo, Koopa Troopa, Hammer Bro,Pom pom, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Shy Guy, Wario, and Waluigi, as well as Goomba and Monty mole. Because everyone who played Mario kart Ds wants to play as that glorified speed-bump here.
Goomba is a fun inclusion. Nintendo refuses to let the co-op element of Mario party U die, though thankfully the team-work mobile is in the scrap heap now and team mates in 2 v 2 mode can move independently of each other. They can also high-five. Winning a star, winning a mini game, even rolling the same number as one another (any excuse) elicits a controller prompt and a high-five between buddies. All fun and games until you partner with Goomba and slap him in the face. Poor boy doesn’t have arms. He’s just spent an entire round being butt-stomped by Mario now his own team mate turns on him too. Mario party is delicious in its cruelty.
“Mario Party is delicious in its cruelty.”
Be it smashing friends out of the way for that all-important photo-bomb in ‘Slapperatzi’, squatting in the middle of the kitchen to hold up food preparation in ‘Dine and Dash’, or winning every ally on the board so that the ‘Tug of War’ game turns into ‘Boo and Peach vs the entirety of the Mushroom Kingdom’, there is plenty of potential to ruin friendships.
This being Nintendo, there’s no shortage of content either. With 80 mini games, 8 boards, 20 playable characters and 8 game modes, there’s plenty of replayability. The modes vary in quality- Sound stage is far better than it has any right to be- essentially ‘Just Dance’ but to a selection of Mario themes and oom-pah music. Toad’s rec room offers some great little table top games, but almost no one will play it, because it requires two Switches and two copies of the game. As this is a co-op animal, there’s no real point buying yourself a copy if a mate has it. Who knew Toad was so exclusive?
All in all then, after three days of partying, I’m only somewhat exhausted and beaten down by the ubiquitous chance elements and RG plays. There may be strategy, but the item squares throw things right back into carnage again. There must be some effort at balancing, though when your opponent gets 3 gold pipes in a row (warping them closer to the star) and you’re left with 2 dash mushrooms and a Coinado, it becomes very clear there isn’t. Luckily, Mario Party giveth, and Mario Party taketh away. Your opponent may warp to a star, but fate can slap them round the face with the next dice roll, meaning they’re just one square away. Whereas in Mario kart, items can feel frustrating- you work hard for poll position, only for a Blue Shell to snatch it all away; Mario party is less about effort, more about sheer perseverance. You may have your lead reversed by one dice roll, but you won it at a dice roll and you can win it back easily. It’s a party, Afterall, just chill out.
This certainly stands up to other entries in the series, and house parties in general. If you can put up with Waluigi leaving all his empty beer bottles in the tumble dryer, and Toad crying on the stairs.
8/10.
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