Super Mario Party is bursting with content, too. Outside of regular board games there’s plenty of new modes to take your fancy, including one fairly full-featured baseball game that my partner and I were absolutely addicted to – and that caused rows late into the night. There’s plenty of unlockables here as well, and enough wrinkles in standard play to keep things fresh no matter how many Mario Party nights your crew will include in its weekly schedule going forwards.
Presentation:
Super Mario Party has that classic Nintendo sheen – a deceptively beautiful eye for detail in the outwardly cartoony graphics. Everything shines and sparkles and pops in gorgeous colour, from the boards to the character models to all of the ludicrous minigames.
And the music is just as charming, with classic Mario tunes returning along with some new jingles. I particularly liked the little tune your Joy Con plays when it’s your turn. The sound design in general – from the sound effects to the sparse voice acting from the big cast of playable partygoers – really adds character to the game, and weight to any dastardly tricks players pull on you.
Conclusion:
‘Super Mario Party‘ is the best game in the series since its outings on the N64. I know that feels like a bold claim to make, but once you’ve gotten a couple of games under your belt I think you’ll see it too. There’s a focus here that’s been absent in recent entries in the venerated series, cutting straight to the core what makes Mario Party so great: screwing over your friends and playing minigames. There isn’t much here that isn’t influenced by those two core mantras, and Nintendo’s willingness to get out of its own way and simply present some of the best minigames they’ve made along with all new ways to kick your friends whilst they’re down. Just ban the golden pipes, Nintendo, PLEASE.
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