Well Mario Party 10 is out and after being quite negative about the series as a whole, it felt right of me to actually go into more detail about the games and not just say what I think of the series in general which is what I did in one of my virtual console games posts. Some people like it, but a lot more people hate it and about the same amount of people would opt to play Wii Party instead of this series of games. I haven't played all the games (and rightly so), so let's take a look at the ones that I have played:
8
So what I said in my virtual console game posts about the series was more towards the games released on N64 and GC as well as the one off GBA game. I have only played them breifly and have seen many people on YouTube play them and well, I'm just going to come out and say that they are good, it just takes too long for anyone to get anywhere. That being said, let's talk about Mario Party 8, the first game of the series that I had the patience to play all the way through and then after that, I then had a break from the series (missing 9 and Island Tours as a result) while playing the DS version and then plenty of hype was being put onto 10 with amiibos and the faster moving time so that made me get that game. But back to 8. So the game is hosted by this character with a talking hat and much like with the rest of the series, the game has 4 characters on various themed boards and the general idea is you go around the board and do the best that you can with all the minigames and fun that is in it. One thing that I do like about this game in particular is the variety. There is a lot of minigames to play and they each have certain rules applied like 1v3, 2v2 or you all against each other or its a boss fight. Really the only problem I have with this game is that like with other games in the series, it just takes too long and many would choose Wii Party over this game any day. 7/10
DS
So now we have the second of the three portable games of the series and it actually has a plot. Everyone is going about their day and Bowser sends them a letter inviting them to some kind of feast to apologise for his actions in many Mario games that came before this one and the gang choose to join him. But unsurprisingly, he gets them into a trap and shrinks them to size and chucks them out of the castle. Now Mario and crew must now venture to the castle and stop Bowser once and for all, but at the size they are at, its going to take a lot more work than before. So despite the nature of the matter at hand, 4 characters of Mario's team face against each other on the board in traditional Mario Party style where whoever gets the star first can then face against various bosses and eventually Bowser. As its on the DS, the game makes use of the console's functions, especially with Download Play which allows wireless multiplayer gameplay between 4 consoles. Its an ok game, but with the DS's limited functions, its just way too slow and it being on a portable platform, when a game starts, there is no way of saving your progress during the game which makes it way too inconvenient when you're out and about. Maybe on a long journey on a train or plane, then perhaps you'll get the time needed to complete a stage, but as it is, its just disappointing of a game. 6/10
10
So now we come to the most recently hyped entry in the series which when playing, its actually not that bad of a game. The amiibo side of things could do with some work as you're having to put it on the Gamepad whenever you need to make a selection when you could just do what Smash Bros. did and just tap it once and then never again until the game ends and you want to save your progress. That's what I would expect to see in any game using NFC functions and this game despite it being Nintendo, just didn't get it. Aside from that, I don't really like the idea of having everyone move together at once on a board and all on the same space as it just gets rid of the fun element that the series is or rather should be known for. But of all the modes that are in the game, the best one is by far, Bowser Party as it makes use of the Gamepad and gives players the chance to finally be Bowser, something of which has been heavily absent in a number of games in the series. So yeah, not the best one of the series, but certainly not the worst as Bowser Party, the graphics and the amount of variety make up for all of that and the faster moving times too. 8/10
So yeah that's my feelings on the games. as a whole, Mario Party is great as a party game, but if you're wanting to play the game in a limited amount of time, your best bet is to go with 10 as its faster and gives you the patience needed to play it. The other games you should only play at parties with a lot of time given to you. 8/10
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