Mario Party

Description

Mario Party is the first of several Mario games planned for this year that are being created by developers outside of Nintendo. In this case, the developer is Hudson, a company best known for the Bomberman series, while the others are HAL Systems, the creator of the Kirby line (which is handling the Mario fighting game, Smash Brothers), and Hot Shots Golf maker Camelot (which is doing Mario Golf). Each of the games' focus plays to what the developers know best, in this case, Hudson's knowledge of good multiplayer game modes gleaned from producing countless incarnations of Bomberman, the seminal party-game series. How do they do that? By setting up Mario Party as a video game take on a traditional board game. One to four players compete against each other (and computer opponents if there are fewer than four humans present) for coins, stars, and bonus points. Instead of going the route of Monopoly's little dog and top hat assortment, Mario Party offers a handful of Mario characters for use as "game pieces" such as Mario, Yoshi, Wario, Peach, Donkey Kong, and Luigi. Each of the title's boards is based on the series as well (Donkey Kong has a jungle stage, Yoshi an island, and so on), and each differs in prominent ways. Once the characters and board are chosen, you vie for the order you'll proceed through the game by stopping a rotating number block, which reappears at the beginning of each turn to decide how many spaces you'll move. Plain spaces provide a number of coins, while specially marked spaces will draw you into bonus minigames (explained fully later) or introduce you to friendly or unfriendly nonplayer characters such as Toad, Shy Guy, and Boo. The one you least want to bump into is of course Bowser, who will either steal coins from you outright or engage you in forced minigames where you don't gain any coins if you win, and you lose coins if you lose. The main goal is to have the largest total number of stars at the end of a game, which can be bought along the way from Toad or by paying off a Boo to steal one from one of your opponents (this costs more than twice the regular 20-coin amount but is much more fun). The minigames are the Mario Party features that most take advantage of the title not being set on a flat plate of cardboard. You enter at the end of each round or by landing on marked spaces on the board. The games come in various shapes and sizes and in configurations of every player against the others, two vs. two, or three against one. Of the 50 in all, the most noteworthy examples are probably the Bobsled Run (which is reminiscent of the snow race in Super Mario 64, but with two characters sharing a sled), Face Lift (you try to drag around a mushed face a la Super Mario 64's intro), Mario Bandstand (a distant cousin of Parappa the Rapper), Lava Boardin' (you race down a collapsing platform and jump over obstacles), and Cash Bash (one player is dressed up as Bowser, and the others hit him with hammers and steal his coins). Some are skill based, while many require button mashing or joystick twirling. The winner or winners gain coins, while the losers pay out or just leave with what they came into the game with - nothing more, nothing less. Playing with a group of friends makes this game shine. There are enough random elements at work that enable huge upsets to happen about once every other round (which continues straight up to the end when bonus stars are given out that can nudge second- or third-place players to the forefront), and going after the lead player or teaming up against the computer is superfun - especially when you're trying to garner stars for the collective total (get enough and... things happen). On the negative side, some of the minigames aren't very fun to play in the multiplayer mode because of control or perspective problems, or because they're just plain boring - but that's to be expected with the sheer number of games. Meanwhile, the games that are enjoyable to play in multiplayer are nowhere near as good in the single-player mode. Really, it's that multiplayer competitive spark of screaming at and/or cheering for your friends that injects life into these often-simple little games, and without it, they're just simple little games. The single-player mode seems thrown in the way multiplayer modes seem thrown in most other games. Mario Party is intended to be played with a group of friends, and for those people who can really take advantage of that, this game is a must-buy. The less-social gamer might want to rent. --Joe Fielder
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review

Features

• Mini Games

Customer Reviews

Fun, without being violent.

This is my 8 year-old daughter's favorite video game. It seems like most Nintendo games have a lot of punching, kicking, hitting, etc. This has none of that. Instead, it's like playing a board game. Definitely a good game if you're trying to avoid a violent setting.

Awesome Game

My 6 year old son and I just love this game. There are so many violent games out there and it's so refreshing to find a game like this that I'm not going to be worried about what my son might be exposed to. We never get bored with this game because your always doing something different. There's several different worlds to choose from and within those games are the minigames, and they are picked randomly by the computer. Every time you play it's different. After renting this game twice I am definately buying this game for my son for christmas. It is well worth my money.

Great party game!

I've only ever played this game at my brother's house, and every time has been a LOT of fun. It's a board game where the pieces can't be "sneezed" across the room. It's also silly and goofy enough that losing doesn't have much of a sting. Also, it's not just for kids: I've mostly seen adults playing - and enjoying - this game.

Roll Of The Dice
Michael Kerner

When Nintendo first made it onto the scene with Mario 64, they had no idea of how interesting it is to mold and shape the format of the Mario Brothers industry for the Nintendo 64. It became so big, that every single thing had to be topped off to the next level of excitement, and so on down the line.With Mario Party for Nintendo 64, they had absolutely no idea of how successful it has become. The game features your choice of six characters to choose from, Wario, Mario, Peach a.k.a. Princess Toadstool, Yoshi, Luigi, and Donkey Kong. The object of the game is to collect as many stars as possible by winning several different types of games including Tug O' War, where it is 1 player vs. 3 players, Bombs Away, where you have to try stay on a floating island for 30 seconds, without getting the shock from cannon shots coming, and there is Deep Sea Divers, where you have to collect as many treasure chests as possible, without losing your breath. There are also six different kinds of boards to play the game on, as well as two very special hidden boards, so look out.It is a shame that most games didn't seem to be like Mario Party. Although many people are interested in the newer ones and the Gamecube version, the original is always the best one to try for starters. If you really want it, then roll the dice and take that very first chance.

Hilariously Fun

As an adult, my children and I have had many fun filled hilariously good times playing Mario Party. Easy to learn with many different versions to play. We;ve added this video game to our Christmas list.

Tunes of Fun for Everyone

My name is Dru and I'm 13 years old. I got this game about a year ago and I love it. It's a Fun party for anyone who plays. You can go up to 4 players so your whole family can play. Or you can invite 3 friends over to play. It's a wonderful game and anyone who buys it will love it

Not the best game in the world!

The only really great part of this game are the mini-games. The rest of the time, you just wait for the other players to take their turns. After each player has gone one turn, then you all play against each other in a mini game. The two really bad things about this game are: (1), The computer players cheat A LOT! (2), A couple of the mini games are very bad for your controller, and can give you a burn in your palm, because they involve moving your controller around in circles (and you have to do it vigourosly or otherwise you'll lose). So, if you are going to buy this game, you should have a lot of patience! But, overall, it is fun.

WOW:):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

This game is action packed fun! It is fun to play with 1,2,3, or 4 players. It has great mini games, and many different styles of board games. The mini games are the best part of the game. Everyone gets to participate in them, and there are a lot of mini games to choose from. I highly recommend you to buy this game.