Super Mario Party
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Super Mario Party is the eleventh home console installment of the Mario Party series, and the only one released for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on October 5, 2018.
Bad Qualities
- Even though the game returns to the traditional formula of the Mario Party series since 1 to DS, it sucks out the charm of the original playstyle.
- There are a total of only four boards each for the Mario Party and Partner Party modes. The Partner Party boards however are just modified versions of the Mario Party boards, which is just lazy. Worse still, none of the boards in the Mario Party mode are really that interesting, only having one or two main gimmicks at best. Plus, the game would have been more well-received when it has 6-8 boards.
- Even with the smaller boards, even the best of the game mechanics don't do much to allow the player to effectively cover much distance per turn.
- Unskippable cutscenes and/or tutorials, making the whole gameplay experience more tedious than fun.
- Continuing from BQ#3, there are barely any customization options for the game, which severely undercuts the game's replayability.
- Having characters have their own dice block seems good on paper, but in execution it is flawed due how poorly they are executed. The boards are only built for characters with more risk-reward or consistent blocks, making characters like Bowser and Shy Guy far superior to others like Donkey Kong, Monty Mole, and Koopa Troopa.
- The ally system is usually rigged in favor of the player who has the most of them, due to being able to advance far more spaces than someone without allies. To add salt to the wound, there's also two bonus stars focused on having allies, which are cheap and basically "luck-based" bonus stars. Not even having one ally throughout the entire game is almost always equivalent to a defeat.
- River Survival mode, while a fun collaborative take, is rather tedious to 100% due to how long the stream is and how long the co-op minigames tend to take.
- Rather dumb AI that can compare to that of Mario Party DS and Mario Party: The Top 100's AI.
- False advertising: The game was marketed as being the first in the series to feature online support via the Online Mariothon mode; however, only five randomly-selected minigames are playable per round in said mode, making for an underwhelming, laggy experience.
- Lack of Pro Controller support. The Joy-Cons are completely mandatory. People who aren't fans of the Joy-Cons wouldn't enjoy this game.
- Speaking of which, while the motion controls for most of the other minigames are fine, the rhythm minigames often suffer delay problems.
- Very little content for a $60 full-priced game.
- The last minigame against Wario in Challenge Road's Salty Sea, Pull It Together, is near-impossible to complete mainly due to the rubberband AI gimmick especially on normal difficulty. No matter how fast you tap the button, you won't be able to beat Wario unless you cheat with your knuckle, kneecap or pencil in order to finish the minigame easily since you can't mash the button quickly enough. This causes many people to break their Joy-Con controllers and get new ones.
Good Qualities
- A decent character selection, even if Toad and Toadette don't return. Particularly, Hammer Bro returns as a playable character since Mario Party 8 and Koopa Troopa marks his return since Mario Party 9.
- It's also nice to see Bowser as a fully playable character for the first time in the Mario Party series and Goomba and Pom Pom make their playable debut in the Mario Party series in general.
- The minigame selection is one of the most balanced in the series, with some players considering Bumper Brawl to be a significant improvement over Bumper Balls.
- The rhythm mini-games are also introduced to the series, which are very fun to play.
Reception
Super Mario Party initially received immense of hype due to the game returning to the previous roots of the Mario Party series. However, after its release, the game received fairly positive reviews from critics, but mostly mixed reviews from casual players.
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