AC23: Random Video Game Review - Mario Party: Superstars

 

Sometimes when it comes to the Mario Party games, you occasionally will get that one game that is basically an attempt to celebrate the series with remastered or remade minigames and boards from previous entries. In this one, it has remade boards from the Nintendo 64 games and minigames from across the series. Many people in December will no doubt be looking to the Mario franchise for some family game time, and there are plenty out there for that purpose besides the Mario Party games. Some of the mainstream games got multiplayer, and of course there is the Mario Kart and sport games too. It's like Mario has all genres covered for a wide array of fans and gamers. So let's see how this party plays out:

So as I mentioned, this version of Mario Party has five boards that come from the Nintendo 64 era of the games while the minigames come from across the series. Its not all of them, but it is a large amount coming from mainly the Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii and Wii U eras of the game series. As the boards are all remakes of their original forms, a few noticeable changes are made to include events not seen in their original forms (possibly due to the limited space a 64 game pak had at the time). The user interface from Super Mario Party returns as does Birdo who hasn't been a playable character since Mario Party 9. Amongst the minigames, a few that came from the very first game now have a health and safety warning regarding the use of the analog stick, which actually makes sense to have so that players avoid injury.

While very much a compilation or "greatest hits" game if you will, this Mario Party is probably much better than the original versions of the boards and minigames. It's a remake that feels like a remake, with up-to-date graphics and model designs and also a few quality of life improvements to make this a more pleasant experience. Yet I say that, but remember that this is one game series that is far from pleasant. Fun though and definitely one that many will be playing this Christmas weekend. 8/10