5.10.2018

It's no secret that the Mario Party journey lost its way over the previous two instalments. Such was the fallout from these titles that Nintendo clearly felt compelled to take action - something that's no longer surprising given the Switch era has seen a number of franchises return to earlier (more successful) formulas.But Mario Party is also the one franchise that could fully take advantage of Switch, with an emphasis on improved motion controls, deft rumble, portability and always having two controllers available.Thankfully, it doesn't disappoint. Or at least too much.Nintendo has gone back to basics with the original game board style of gameplay, as well as a host of new and returning features.The overall benefits of this are strategy (or at least an effort to make so) and rivalry. At the right moments you have the gift of giving or taking; the ability to ruin a friend's plan, or sneakily help them out. And this is all done with a host of improvements over the old games, such as actually practicing Minigames before playing them in realtime, a clearer map overview, items that have great impact, character-based dice blocks that encourage you to gamble rather than play safe, and no reward for just hoarding coins.In my opinion, the most interesting change is the addition of 'allies'. From landing on the correct space, you can choose an additional character to enter the game and assist you on your journey. They not only provide an additional dice but can also be present in certain Minigames. Yet to balance this effect, they can also be a hindrance as the extra dice(s) makes specific moves problematic. Either way, the feature mixes things up nicely and gives you to opportunity to create fun partnerships.There are 80 Minigames that you gradually unlock, and almost all are inspired by previous entries. The control schemes make full use of the Joy-Cons, from feeling the differences between the rumbles of different characters, to requiring you to make very silly gestures that look ridiculous. Nintendo know their audience; families have always been important, but as with 1-2-Switch, the younger adults who grew up playing the N64 will assume an altogether different perspective of furiously pumping a Joy-Con up and down.Yes, the game feels like a love letter to those who were there from the beginning. It is incredibly accessible right from the off, with the option to simply dive into whatever game you like from a simple menu, or to actually run around the 3D world with your pals before choosing a mode. Features like this, as well as a sticker mode, NPC characters who reminisce, and even some miningames clearly designed with screen-capturing and social media in mind, it's clear Nintendo wants players to recapture the spirit of earlier games and to share such.But while the best intentions are there, the content is sometimes a little lacking. At least for now.In the title's main mode, only four game boards are present, which I feel is very underwhelming. Their uniqueness doesn't quite hide the fact that previous entries have always prided themselves on both originality and quantity - so I can only presume that Nintendo is planning a gradual roll-out of 'boards in a similar vein to content from other titles.And then there's the online functionality. It could have been the golden jewel of this title, yet the online 'Mariothon' (a mode that lets you play Minigames with others across the world) can often be let down by an overly simple set-up and some connection problems. What makes this all the more frustrating is precise inputs and timing are critical; low frame rates and people quitting don't help.Other game modes pad out the software in different ways. 'River Survival' is essentially a reincarnation of the 'car' system from the previous two Mario Party entries, only this one works because, ironically, it emphasises right from the off that you are a playing as a team, rather than dressing up a team game as something else. 'Toads Rec Room' allows two Switch systems to communicate with one-another to compete for a small number of unique Minigames in tabletop mode.'Rhythm Party' is very self-explanatory - a series of Wii-esque motion-controlled games that are... well, actually incredibly fun (provided you disengage your brain and not worry about how ridiculous you'll look). It's a brief affair, but I suspect the draw is that, unlike Wii games of the past, you won't be rewarded for minimal input. Plus, who doesn't want to see Luigi breakdancing after he wins?As for the title's presentation, I have zero complaints. It was always going to be the best looking Mario Party to date, but I really can't get enough of just thoughtful the animation is now. When navigating the interface, the characters will look around at the options, or physically hold a map as you scan the map, and take on traits that just further expand their personalities. It's worth including Waluigi in every game just to see his (surely intentional) hilarious stride, which feels learned from the Ministry of Silly Walks.But that stride sums up the overall feeling of this title, which is that it is incredibly self aware. It is primarily targeting an audience that wants flexibility and control over the main game, a broad range of Minigame styles that are catalogued in surprising detail, and a range of characters who reflect the many personalities that we label ourselves. It may lack a little depth as far as boards and online functionality go, but these are correctable. The most important feature is that the basics are spot on, and Mario Party is now back.

24.12.2018

It's worth noting that this is the first Mario party game I have owned, so from that perspective, here are my thoughts.I was apprehensive at first as there are only 4 boards and you have to unlock one of them, but this wasn't a big deal as the extra modes were where I spent most of my time and playing on the other boards unlocked the fourth one naturally.The main party mode is excellent with the dice block mechanic adding a nice amount of strategy to the chaos. Items, board elements and star placement keep the game interesting throughout the 60 minute duration for 10 turns - I would recommend sticking to 10 turns as any more than that would get a bit boring for most people.River survival is a great break from the competition as it's a cooperative mode,the river itself has a lot of variety in its layout and although there are only 10 minigames, they only repeat near the end and only if you make it that far - It doesn't get too repetitive unless you play it multiple times in a row.Soundstage is a very funny mode akin to guitar hero or rhythm paradise, the motion controls are accurate and almost make you dance to the music! I would recommend trying a remix for a good challenge (or added hilarity). This only has 10 minigames too, but they are mixed up by changing the speed, which makes a big difference in a rhythm game.Partner party is a great twist on the board game format with teams of two people who can plan their moves at the same time. It's a great way to mix up the gameplay, though the random elements can interfere a bit too much at times. In my experience, it gave everyone a chance to make a comeback, and seeing the player in the lead getting overtaken was often amusing.There are some other modes too, Toad's rec room includes some crazy dual-switch games that are incredible tech demos. Unfortunately I couldn't use this as I don't have access to another switch or another copy of the game.The real star of this game though are the minigames, they are very varied and make full use of the joycon controllers with motion, hd rumble, button control and controller orientation creating a lot of unique situations. Unfortunately, pro controllers and handheld mode are not supported for this reason; this is a TV and tabletop mode game only.Mariothon and square off let you play through sets of minigames if you want to get straight into the action without a board, they're great for quick games too. There is also a mode to play any minigames you want, which is a nice addition.I did not try online or solo, though I cannot imagine it being nearly as fun as local play - I can confidently say that this is not a game to buy if you don't want to play locally with friends.In conclusion, this is easily one of the best party games on switch, up there with smash, ultimate chicken horse and overcooked 2. The sheer variety of game modes and minigames makes this fun for a good few hours on each game night and by the time we bring it out again a week or two later, the minigames are fresh again. Highly recommended.

27.10.2018

When buying this game I expected taking individual turns on a board, but I did not expect was a very enjoyable experience. The game is quick and straight to the point without holding your hand every step you take, the game is easy to get hooked playing regular Mario party mode or the various new modes such as River survival or the sound stage, the single-player mode 'challenge road' is fun to complete all the worlds, with the challenges being not too easy or not that challenging giving the player a good balance between difficulty.Additionally the new characters to the party roster, as well as their own special dice spices things up a bit,

11.10.2018

Didnt specificially purchase this product from Amazon, but rather my local game store. Overall, the game has a great atmosphere. The game requires the player to use only 1 of the joycons - which allows some of the games to incorporate more interactive elements (such as minigames where the joycons movements help you flip a pan). Sometimes due to the small size of the Joycons, some minigames require quite fast movements so I find myself occasionally dropping the joycon - but thats only with a few mini-games which dont last too long anyways (such as the cycling one). I often find myself somewhat entertained with the raft mode, which I prefer over the boardgame.In terms of the board games,

15.12.2018

This is a great game if you have friends (clue is in the title "PARTY"). It works with three people and you can have a good laugh but I haven't found an option to turn the computer player off which is frustrating as we don't really want to wait for them to take a turn and - in the mini-games - it goes one of two ways: You either trash the other team or the computer player is so thick you literally can't move. The main part of the game is obviously the board game which is good but the way of winning is to get as many stars as you can. All well and good but there are too many ways for you to steal stars off one another and it's not a game of skill anymore - it's who gets to the first block first.

8.8.2020

Reading or viewing any reviews where they claim to know their stuff and compare with a heavy bias towards a prior version of this game will keep you on the fence. So many so called pro reviewers let them selves down by simply not being able to judge a game on its own merits and not pitted against another. Move on and get over it, this game is absolutely outstanding in everyway, I am so please I watched, read and then discarded numerous pointless opinions that where there purely for the pursuit of profit and not solid impartial reviewing. Game arrived today and spent a solid 8 hrs with my kids all ranging from 3 to 18 and not one of us had played a previous version but have been absolutely loving this release.

5.3.2020

I bought the game and joycons bundle for £84.99 direct from Nintendo Official Store. The box and packaging are pure Nintendo quality, and the joycons themselves are really decent. As for the game, it's a return to the format utilised by HudsonSoft, before the dark times of Mario Party 9 and 10. It looks fantastic, albeit a little generic at this point. It can feel oddly unbalanced too in terms of gameplay, and it can become frustrating quickly, but this is generally due to how stars are allocated which can be tweaked in the game settings to make it fairer for everyone, not just the worst players! The minigames themselves showcase the capabilities of the joycons well,

23.2.2019

But wish they made it better like kept at least some games from super Mario 7 but this got nothing to do with sell the game came as it should even if it’s a family gamy you can still pay with a ai on your side 2v2 but they can sometimes be Dopey it Horst it’s a game for a single to a family game you can have good fun online isn’t that good coz I’ve got best internet but if anyone with crap internet joins you online your internet starts to glitch out I no it’s not mine ciz I play Xbox and gta online if my internet s fastest and there’s glitches out so you really want to play on line find some friends but am not a child and the switch was post to be fir me son coz was going get him one so I could

6.10.2018

Wow, what can I say? They thought of everything!From making the cartridge pickled onion flavour to bringing out one of thee most ambitious mario parties yet! Though i have only played in the hub so far and played around with a few of the rhythm games I can confirm this game was well worth the pre-order especially with all the amazing games it has to offer yeah some are reused... but that adds to the nostalgia in a way, really wish they had made a more extensive roster of characters currently there only being 4 unlockables maybe DLC would make these characters possible or a new amiibo addition? Really wanted a more mario party 4 - 8 experience with maps taking more features from the games. E.g.

13.10.2018

I haven’t played a Mario party game for years and was keen to see how the new Switch one turned out. I’ll keep my review fairly short here. The board aspect of the game in our opinion is VERY slow, boring and fairly unfair throughout the game. Maybe my one single go with my wife wasn’t a fair test, but after the whole hour we had only thrown enough dice to get to 2 single stars. We ended up only playing purely to get to the mini games. After one go, we discovered all the mini games, including the team ones and music ones are playable without going near the board game again. We’ve now spent a load of time playing the mini games and they’re really great, hardly a bad one in there.

5.10.2018

As soon as this game was announced I was excited for its release and given that in my opinion this games comes 2nd this year to the December release of Super Smash Bros. This game is a bit nostalgic for me with its style so very like the early N64 versions, but the Dice upgrade and the 80 mini games has done enough to win me over again. Cant wait to play this with mates at Christmas, was even thinking of creating a Christmas buffet party as an excuse. The only downside to this game if any is that the Joy-Con controllers are really expensive and I only have one pair.So I better start saving for the extra Joy Cons needed to enjoy this game to the max.

13.5.2020

This game has a huge library of minigames. You earn more minigames as you play, so don't have access to everything straight away. They are very easily unlocked. The games ranged from quick and fun, as well as longer and more skilled based. Each feels unique and fun to play. You'll find something you're good at with 80 minigames!The main fun comes when you play the board game mode. Here you can select how many rounds you'd like, smallest being 10, as you battle each other and race to collect coins and stars.This game is definitely worth its price. It's one of the best multiplayer party games on the Switch, great for family games nights and when you have friends over.

1.11.2018

We're a family of 4; M, D, 10yo Girl, 8yo Boy and this is a fun family hours entertainment (until the shouting starts :) It's classic Nintendo: cute, colourful and appealing. Generally it's fun but sometimes i secretly wish things moved along a bit quicker. As Dad, I always seem to lose, somehow the computer weights things against me :-) Easy for kids to pickup, the practise mode on mini games prior to the real thing is very welcome. The kids bought it with their own money, splitting and they play a lot of the mini game by themselves, so overall good value (from my PoV). I think it will be a good "winter" game for an hour on the dark nights,

2.12.2018

Good but slightly flawed when it comes to the AI side of things. Now I watched many a video on YouTube before purchasing this. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great game filled with mini games which uses the switches joy cons very well and it’s got all the polish of a usual Nintendo title. However, as one YouTuber couple said when they were playing it (NL and Kate) that the computer “feeds itself” which is true. You can be plodding a lot nicely then the AI opponents start getting loads of items, extra AI friends to help boost the dice rolls etc etc so you find yourself being out played by the AI because it just supports itself. Still this is a great party game just he wary of the AI.

20.9.2019

Mario party has been fun for years I found 8 to be pretty decent on the wii but 9 far to slow but my overall favourite is 10 on the wii u with bowser chasing you.As for the switch version it does what you need it's a fun party game with 80+ mini games as well to keep the family occupied and keeps the replay value fresh aldo has a team mode with rafting and you paddle to the finish and trafitional board game style.My own problem was the waiting/speed of game play at times but i can be impatient but a great game for kids and family times

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