Hello! Justin here and welcome to the Otaku Mind. When it comes to party games there’s one party game series that has stood the test of time, Mario Party. Making its debut in 1998/1999 on the N64, Mario Party would go on to change party games forever. Now party games were nothing new at that time. They were being made and companies were profiting off them. They were cheap and easy to make, but they didn’t have the proper care and attention. However, everything changed when Mario Party hit the scene. It revolutionized the way party games were played and viewed. So much so that every party game that has come after it has either copied the format directly or used it as a base for their party game. As someone who’s been playing the Mario Party games since the N64 era I wanted to show my love and appreciation for this series. Join on this month’s Otaku Mind, as I give my retrospective on the series from the past to the present.
The N64 era
Mario Party 1 made its debut in Japan in 1998 before finally coming to America in 1999. Like I said party games were nothing new at this time, but nobody did it quite like Mario Party. We could select how many rounds the game had, there were multiple maps to choose from, mini games at the end of each round, and awards at the end that rewarded good or chaotic gameplay to give you a chance for the upset victory. Each board presented a different challenge, layout and strategy you had to employ in order to win along with characters to give you a hand in taking the lead. The mini games were split into three categories: free-for-all, 2 vs 2, and 1 vs 3. While not every game was balanced there was good variety here that kept each round fresh and gave everyone some chance to win. The game also had single player mini games, but they wouldn’t last long in the series. The objective of the game was simple: collect the most stars and coins by the end of the game to be declared the winner. A simple objective that led to a lot of competitive and chaotic gameplay. When people call this series a friendship ender, they aren’t exaggerating. These games got heated and competitive and led to betrayals and sabotage throughout the course of one playthrough. Each round everyone got a turn to roll the die, and each turn would potentially change the course of the game for better or worse. Even if you were falling behind, the game provided you ways to come back. There was Boo who you could use to steal coins and stars from your opponents and then there was Chance Time. Oh man, Chance Time. Depending on the round, this could change the outcome of a game entirely. In just one Chance Time you could go from first place to last place just like that or vice-versa. It was crazy, frustrating, but at the same time fun and exciting. There was also Bowser spaces which led to something bad happening to whoever landed on his space. Now out of all the Mario Party games, this one is considered one of the worst for it’s punishing gameplay but I argue that’s what makes it so unique. If you lost in some mini games you would lose coins and if you didn’t have coins in this game you were in for a bad time. There were even spaces where you could lose your turn next round. One of the most unique things about this game was the items. You could use coins you collected from games to buy them and then you would have the option to turn them on/off in the game. You could even turn off Boos and Koopas. It was a nice feature and I’m surprised they never brought it back. While the game had its flaws and got panned by critics at the time, everyone does look back on the game with fond memories. While not in my top 5 I do have a soft spot for the game and they would only get better from here.
Following the success of Mario Party, Mario Party 2 came out in 2000 and started the trend of a new Mario Party game being released every year. Out of all the games this one is considered to be the fan favorite and for good reasons. The game improved on a lot of things the first game started. First off, no more losing coins if you lost a mini game (that was a big one). Single player mini games were replaced by item mini games. Speaking of items, that was the big thing in this game. They introduced items and they were a welcomed addition to the series. They also added in battle mini games where players were forced to bet a certain number of coins in a game and the winner won a majority of the pot. Then there was duel mini games. If players landed on the same space during the last five rounds, they would wager coins on a map specific mini game. Speaking of mini games, there were more mini games this time around. While about 20 of them came from the first game, they were improved on to make them more competitive and better. While all these changes were good, it was the little things that made the game so beloved. Each map had a theme and the characters each got outfits matching the theme of that map. If you played on Horror Land, the characters would dress up as wizards. If you went to Cowboy Land, the characters would dress up as cowboys and so on and so on for the other maps. Again, it’s a little thing but it adds so much love to the game and lets the players know that the developers had fun making the game and want to share that love with everyone. Mario Party 2 was a great game, with iconic maps, a better story and improvements that made the game better and would go on to be permanent stays for future titles. While not my personal favorite it’s in the top 3. For my personal favorite, join me in the next paragraph.
In 2001 the N64 life cycle was coming to an end and one of their last titles was Mario Party 3. At the time, this was lowest selling Mario Party game (1.91 million) but in my opinion this was the best game the series had to offer. This was the first game to bring in new characters, Daisy and Waluigi who would go on to be main stays in the series. Other characters would also go on to be included in future titles such as Birdo, Toadette, Boo, Shy Guy, Hammer Bro, Toad, and many more. Even Bowser would eventually join the party. While some of these characters were one-time only, others would become permanent party members. Anyway, Mario Party 3 would give us the best item selection the series had to offer and once again improved on the mini games and gameplay that Mario Party 2 established. It featured all new original mini games and some of my favorite music from the series. I am not ashamed to admit that I listen to “Let’s Get a Move On” at the gym when I run the treadmill and find myself humming the catchy themes of Woody Woods and Deep Blooper Sea at random moments. The maps were good and provided plenty of action times for you to interact with and strategize. Duel games were expanded upon. Instead of just having map specific ones, we now had a selection of them to choose from. We also got a new space called the Shy Guy Game space. On this space, you could play an RNG game where if you won Shy Guy would double your coins or more depending on the game. The only downside was the space forced you to bet all your money so if you lost you would lose it all (high risk, high reward). I wish the space gave you an option to bet the amount of coins you wanted to bet. Sadly, this space wouldn’t last long as it was only available in this game and hasn’t shown up in the other entries. We also had a duel mode where you and another player/CPU could battle each other using Bowsers minions. It was a fun mode. In fact, me and my friends actually spent more time in this mode than we did the party mode making bets on who we thought would win. Once again this is another mode that was only available for this game and no others. A real shame. Mario Party 3 improved on a lot of things and experimented with stuff that was actually cool and I wish was in future titles. It’s my favorite Mario Party game that still holds up to this day. Mario Party 3 brought the series to an end on the N64 and their legacy would continue on the GameCube.
The GameCube era
With the rise of the GameCube, Mario Party 4 was released in 2002 and brought the series into a full 3D setting. While the 3D graphics were good everything else felt like a step backwards. Mario Party 4 was a fine game, but a lot of the innovations presented in Mario Party 2 & 3 were missing in 4. It honestly felt like Mario Party 4 was ashamed to be associated with its N64 predecessors and wanted to distance itself from them on this new system which was a big mistake in my opinion. The item selection got a huge downgrade and I think you can only hold one item instead of multiple if I remember correctly. The boards were nice, simpler, and centered around the all-new items: the jumbo and mini mushrooms. The mini games were also tighter, polished, and more balanced, making Mario Party 4 one of the best competitive entries in the series and friendly for newcomers. That’s the best way to describe this game, it’s friendly for newcomers. If the N64 games were too punishing, then 4 is where they found the right spot where everything is balanced and everyone has a chance to win. While it was sad to see the innovations of past games missing, 4 brought the series back to 0 and was trying to bring in more gamers on this system. Also, this game has my all-time favorite mini game, Dungeon Duos. Just genius. Whoever made that mini game is a genius.
Mario Party 5 came out in 2003. If 4 lacked innovations, 5 would bring them back with their item system known as capsules. The capsules were split into 4 categories: green, yellow, red, and blue. Green capsules help with player movement, yellow steal coins from opponents, red steals/swaps capsules from opponents, and blue were special items (i.e duel glove, chomp call). The capsules could be used on yourself or thrown on the board so it was like you were creating the board as you went along and planning out moves ahead of time. While Lego Party would do this concept better, this wasn’t such a bad idea. The only downside was each capsule you got was random. You got capsules from this machine you passed who would give you a random capsule. Totally free but no choice in the matter which means somebody could get a super cool item while you get stuck with nothing. So balanced. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the boards in this game. They’re all based around dream worlds and that just felt too childish to me especially when compared to the other boards in past games. The mini games were alright. Fan favorites like Hotel Goomba, Pushy Penguins, and Leaf Leap come from this game, but everything else is pretty forgetful. There is however one side mode they introduced that I thought was cool, Super Duel Mode. In this mode, you build customizable vehicles and fight in arenas. Shockingly, it’s deep, fun, and innovated. Again, I’m shocked they didn’t bring this back for future titles. Overall, Mario Party 5 is one of my least favorite games in the series. Not because it’s bad, but because it’s the most forgetful out of all the games in my opinion.
Moving on to 2004, we got Mario Party 6. Next to 3 this is my favorite of the Mario Parties. The capsule system made a return in this game and was actually done better than 5. While you could still get random capsules on the board, they now had a capsule shop where you could buy them. They added in a few new items in the capsules such as the slow shroom which would serve as the prototype for the custom dice and brought back Boo. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, 5 got rid of Boo. I also forgot to mention they also updated duels. You could now duel for stars and even use coins as a substitute for betting a star if you have the right amount. The main theme of this game is a day and night cycle. After every three turns the board would change to day or night with changes to the board occurring depending on each cycle. Routes, happening spaces, shops, board interactions, star conditions, and sometimes even mini games would be different and it was fun. This theme was one of the best mechanics in the entire series. It gave us dynamism without removing player control, deepened strategies, and kept the fun chaos coming. The boards were designed specifically for this mechanic and take advantage of the cycles. Faire Square is one of the best boards ever made. It’s simple but so much fun to play on. Clockwork Castle turns into a horror movie during the night cycle when Bowser is on the move and trying to chase you down. Castaway Bay is the spiritual successor to Mario’s Rainbow Road from the first game (another one of my favorite boards). Finally, Snowflake Lake is a no holds-bar star stealing board where you use chain chomps to steal stars from your opponent. Chaotic, intense, and a lot of fun. The mini games were also great. Out of all the games on the GameCube this one had arguably the best. So with the way I praise this game you have to wonder what stops it from being number 1 on my list? Well there’s only one downside this game has, the mic. In one of the strangest gimmicks ever in this game series, 6 came with a mic and provided us with mic mini games. While not terrible it wasn’t great either. It was more of a novelty, and the good news is that you can turn off these mini games so that it doesn’t interfere with your core gameplay. However, the spaces still appear on the board even when you turn the mic mini games off and if you land on the space it forces you through a series of pointless text. Aside from this one downside, Mario Party 6 is a great game with fun boards, mini games, themes, and mechanics that will keep you coming back to play. Here’s hoping they put it on the GameCube library on the Switch 2.
Mario Party 7 came out in 2005 and was the last Mario Party game on the GameCube. This is where the series honestly felt like it had no more ideas. While Mario Party 6 was a great step forward, 7 feels like a step backwards. No innovation or new ideas were presented in this game. The only new feature they added was an 8-player mode. Once again this was a novelty and only worked in specific mini games. Two players share a controller and work together to win. The mic mini games would also return and they’re not any better. The boards are nice. They’re all based off of real life places but rely heavily on their board gimmicks than the systems like in 6. The mini games just like 5 are very forgetful. While I think 7 is better than 5 overall, it’s once again one of my least favorites in the series for its lack of innovation and just settling for good enough. The GameCube era ended on a meh and this is where the series would unfortunately start to fall.
The Wii, DS, and Wii U era
Mario Party 8 broke the tradition of a Mario Party releasing every year and came out in 2007. On the surface, the Wii seemed like the perfect console for the series. The Wii was all about party games and motion control. Mario Party 8 took advantage of the motion controls and actually gave us some decent if not a few clunky games around them. The capsule mechanic was ditched in order to bring in a new mechanic centered around candy. They operated just like the capsules minus the throwing them on boards. It’s a step backwards in my opinion and once again the game just felt like it didn’t want to be associated with its predecessors. The boards aren’t that much better. Aside from the critically acclaimed and beloved Koopa’s Tycoon Town, the boards of Mario Party 8 are low in quality. The ideas are there. They have imaginative themes, but the lack of refinement and balance hold these boards back and make them a drag to play as they rely too much on luck. The game does look colorful but the low-textures and stiff cutscenes give the game a launch-title feel. Now some people have nostalgia for this game but overall, it’s not all that good in my opinion. I like it more than 5 and 7 but it’s the definitive game where you can tell something feels off. This is Mario Party but at the same time it’s not.
The DS would also receive a Mario Party game in 2007. I didn’t really play the DS all that much so I have no attachment to this game. I have heard the game is alright but held back by its small boards. It also combines the capsule and candy mechanic and actually works. Sadly, after this game Hudson Soft would shut down and the Mario Party series would go silent for the next five years.
Fast forward to 2012. Hoping to revive the Mario Party series, Nintendo puts a new developer in charge of the series. That new studio was Nd Cube best known for making the Wii and Wii U Party games. Do with that as you will. The good news was that a lot of people from Hudson Soft were absorbed into Nd Cube and worked on the Mario Party games in the past as well as the Wii and Wii U Party games, so it seemed like Mario Party 9 was in good hands. Yeah, there was a five-year sabbatical, but everyone was still excited seeing Mario Party return. Mario Party 9 came and it was bad. Incredibly bad. The formula for the game was radically changed. Instead of players being able to go their separate way throughout the board, they would now travel together in a shared vehicle, and the board was now a linear line with a start point, midway point, and finish line. Everybody gets a turn to be captain and roll the die to move forward. The objective is to collect as many mini-stars you pass while captain and the one with the most stars at the end wins. This was asinine. First off, not only does this style alter strategy and pacing, but it almost completely eliminates player choice and risk. While there are branching paths on the board, chances are you won’t have a choice on which path you go on. Meaning your opponents could potentially set you up for sabotage and cost you the game. You’re not playing the board the board is playing you. Second, the mini stars. Gone is the long-term planning and strategizing. Instead, it’s just a rush to see who can roll the highest and grab the most stars with barely anything else mattering including mini games. Speaking of which, the games almost completely eliminate mini games. Oh it has mini games, but the chances of you playing them are random and low. You have to land on the mini game space and chances are you could go a whole game and not play a single mini game. At the midway point and finish line you fight a boss which is an interesting concept but it’s the wrong games to have them in. If Mario Party 8 is where the series went wrong then 9 and 10 is where the series lost its identity completely. It tried to fused Mario Party with the Wii Party games who are the complete opposite of each other and just don’t work together. While both 9 and 10 have good mini games everything else about them is bad and ruins the experience for players. If you liked it, cool, but for long time players like myself these are some of the worst games in the series. Thankfully, things would get better on the next generation.
The Switch and Present era
Following Mario Party 10 on the Wii U in 2015, the series would once again go on sabbatical and re-emerge on the Switch in 2018 with a new title called Super Mario Party. This game brought the series back to its original form. Gone was the car and back was the traditional movement and competitive board play. The main theme of this game was allies and characters having their own dice block adding personality and team composition meta. The mini games are like a blend of Mario Party 4-6 and actually gives us a pretty good line up of games with good use of motion controls and allows allies to participate as well. The only major downside with this game is the lack of boards. We only have four boards and the content in them is low hurting the replay value. While not the best game it was a return to form and a step in the right direction.
After the success of Super Mario Party, Nintendo decided to ride this wave of nostalgia and gave us Mario Party Superstars, a celebration of the series as a whole, but really it was more of a celebration of the N64 era and an apology for 9 and 10. There were five boards and all of them were remakes of the original boards from the N64 era. The mini games were also remakes from past Mario Party games 1-10. While not the most innovative it’s another fan favorite game that everyone loves and celebrates the best the series has to offer. Even if it does only have N64 boards. It’s an apology game and the developers reminding fans and themselves what Mario Party is all about.
Finally, in 2024 we got Mario Party Jamboree. This is where the series completes its redemption arc and moves forward. We get five unique boards along with 2 returning classic boards that have been remade and updated for Jamboree. Over 110 mini games and online modes that try new things and are innovative. It doesn’t feel like an afterthought, it feels like a pillar of the game from day 1. Jamboree was a triumphant return that finally remembered what made it great in the first place and pushes the series forward in the right direction.
Conclusion
In the end, the Mario Party series has had its great points, moderate points, low points, and awful points. Through it all it’s still a beloved series and considered the king of modern day party games that has chaotic fun for everyone. Personally, the N64 is my favorite era. That era was my childhood and set the standards for Mario Party games to follow. I don’t know when the next Mario Party game will come out, but when it does I look forward to playing it and can’t wait to see what they add in. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.