The thrilling return of the Nintendo Party
Super Mario Party raises the roof
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The party has come back in a huge celebration on the Nintendo Switch, as Super Mario Party erupts in flares back to former glory.
Super Mario Party has returned with a new installment, and this time, the formula goes back to the original glory days on the Gamecube and N64.
Recent experiments by Nintendo with the franchise have been more like a swing and a miss, striking high scores with critics, however flopping within the presence of regulars to the dice rolling routine.
Super Mario Party is a breath of familiarly fresh air. The main attraction is of course the classic Party Mode, pitting four players in a board game decided by automated dice rolls and scrambling around like mad men trying to hunt down a luxurious star, with occasional breaks for a minigame or two. The player with the most stars or coins by the end of the game, wins.
Other aspects of previous incarnations return to spice up gameplay to insure a party never goes dull. For instance, every character is sporting a specific character dice with them now, giving a depths of strategy and probability manipulation. On an average, before every role, you can choose to use a regular one to six die, or the character die. You may also use items picked up from scrambling around to influence yourself and other players on the board.
Super Mario Party is the first of its home console brethren to incorporate strategy at this high of a level. The extensive library before it has only relied on items to tilt the board in your favor, so character choice and preference is a nice sight to see.
But Super Mario Party is not without its flaws. One major flaw is the lack of game boards, the lowest the series has seen yet on home consoles. Three boards and one unlockable one.
Another odd detail is the lack of a free roam mode on free for all parties, as the free roaming of the board without specific spaces is locked away behind Partner Party, a teamed version of the main mode. This might be personal preference, but the lack to have a free for all mode and only be trapped to two versus two games for a one to two hour game is a bit crummy.
Overall, the benefits outweigh the negatives for Super Mario Party. This game is a must have for Mario Party veterans or long time get togethers with friends or family. I highly recommend Super Mario Party for any Switch owner.
