Welcome to the party pal!
My hand still hurts from playing Mario Party games for over two decades. This series is easily one of Nintendo’s most beloved, as well as being its most polarizing. The idea of spending an hour playing a board game that has some of the cheapest mechanics and rage-inducing moments may not sound appealing, but 23 years later here we are, playing yet another entry in the long-running series. Mario Party Superstars is sort of a greatest hits of the first three games. It contains five of the best boards and over 100 mini-games from the original trilogy all packed into one collection with some extras and quality of life updates.
The Mario Party games are a weird collaboration of fun and frustration. I get upset almost every time I play one, but keep coming back for more. This collection is by far the best the series has been in years. This is mostly due to the fact that it focuses on the original three games, when I consider the series to be at its most interesting. I loved revisiting these old boards with my son and explaining to him why the game seemingly wanted to irritate players at every turn. It is sort of a life lesson where nothing is fair and at any moment victory becomes an excruciating loss.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Switch
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
The five included boards run the gamut from beginner to expert. The first board is Yoshi’s Tropical Island and it is the most simple of the bunch. The star only has two positions and it gets switched back and forth with a space. Space Land ups the ante with the laser that can completely change the dynamics of the game at the drop of a hat. Peach’s Birthday Cake continues to be a colorful mess of movement while Woody Woods keeps players on their toes with direction changes. Horror Land rounds out the bunch and it relies on a day/night mechanic that really tosses in a wrinkle allowing players to steal stars. I love the diversity of the collection, but I do wish there were more.
Nintendo has also done a great job of updating the look of the boards and the characters. Everything has that slick look and the effects of each board are much more detailed this time around. I would have loved a throwback graphics option. Nothing like my blocky Donkey Kong to tug on the nostalgia. The interface can be confusing at first with a host of options instead of a normal menu, but once I got to know what each section was, it was pretty smooth sailing.
The thing that makes Mario Party games though are its mini-games. Superstars brings a collection of over 100 to the mix by cherry-picking the best ones over the years. What I loved about this entry is that I could customize what types of games were available on any board. In addition there is a mini-games mode where players can opt to just play these without the board involved. These can also be customized into categories. So for example I could elect to only play 1v3 or 2v2 games if I wanted. The selection is excellent and there really isn’t a bad choice in the bunch.
What I like most about this collection is that it doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Mario Party was at its best when it was just the board and the games. The gimmicks that have cropped up over the years have taken away most of what made it fun. I do hope that Nintendo opts to add in more boards, mini-games, and characters over time though. What is here is fun, but more diversity would certainly help. This collection almost feels like a prelude to a larger game, but with their recent track record of adding additional content to their games post launch, I feel it is almost a sure thing that more content will be coming soon.
There is also an online mode now as well as the ability to play locally with multiple consoles. The fact that none of the games require motion control means that any controller will work, including the clearly superior Pro Controller. I had a ton of fun playing this with my family and it is easy to recommend for just about anyone. Here is to another generation of gamers getting simultaneously angry and overjoyed at the divisive Mario Party series.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
