August 21, 2018, 2:33 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
In 1998, Nintendo released “Mario Party,” a short and family-friendly collection of skill and luck games, paired with a digital board game. In 2018, the series celebrates its 20th anniversary with “Super Mario Party” for the Nintendo Switch. Can it still captivate, or has it become outdated? TECHBOOK got a first impression at Gamescom 2018.
Few game series remain successful after ten sequels. But at Mario’s party, the lights just won’t go out: For two decades, the multiplayer hit “Mario Party” has been a staple on every Nintendo console, finding its place in children’s rooms and at beer nights with friends.
The concept is quickly explained: Up to four players are handed a controller, take turns rolling a digital die, and move around a large game board, similar to a game of “Sorry!” The goal is to collect as many stars as possible by the end. You earn them for a certain number of coins, which you can get on specific spaces, steal from opponents, or win through mini-games. The 80 to 100 small skill games are the secret stars of the series, requiring dexterity, a good memory, or sometimes just luck.
Like “Mario Kart,” “Mario Party” thrives on schadenfreude: The feeling of snatching valuable coins or stars from a fellow player just before the end of the game and knocking them from first to last place is immensely satisfying—comparable to a blue shell on the final stretch in “Mario Kart.”
Back to Square One?
In recent years, the series has faced criticism: New features, characters, and game modes overloaded the game, making it unnecessarily complicated or too reliant on luck. With the eleventh installment, simply titled “Super Mario Party,” a fresh start is intended. As a Nintendo spokesperson told TECHBOOK upon request, the game is taking a step back and aims to align more closely with the earlier parts of the series. However, they wouldn’t reveal details about the board games, and we were only allowed to play the mini-games. As the trailer suggests, annoying elements like the car rides over the board from “Mario Party 9” are a thing of the past.
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Great Games Thanks to Motion Control
We were able to try out five of the new mini-games. Most make use of the very precise motion function of the Switch controllers: In one game, you need a lot of finesse to flip a piece of meat in a pan. If you give the controller even a slight nudge, it falls out, and you have to start over. In the next game, the player must roll a barrel to the finish line, tilting the Switch controller slightly forward. In the third game, the player must react quickly and dodge a horde of enemies. If the player is hit three times, they lose.
The motion function of the Switch controllers is perfect for small skill games, and the controls are much better implemented here than with the also movable Wii controllers in “Mario Party 8.” We definitely had fun with “Super Mario Party” during the test.
Where Are the Online Board Games?
The graphics, with their colorful characters and environments, are appealing but not groundbreaking, comparable to the predecessor “Mario Party 10” on the Wii U. Players can still enjoy it, but it’s puzzling why there’s only a rudimentary online mode. While the roughly 80 mini-games can finally be played against opponents worldwide, the board game cannot. This would be particularly fitting here.
“Super Mario Party” will be released on October 5, 2018, for the Nintendo Switch and costs just under 50 euros. A limited bundle with the game and a second controller in neon colors will be available on November 23.