Wow, it's been over 20 years since the first Mario Party debuted on the Nintendo 64 in North America in 1999. Unfortunately, Mario Party is nowhere near as popular as it once was from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. One reason is because Hudson Soft no longer works on the Mario Party series, and instead Nd Cube has been developing Mario Party games since the Wii era. Another reason is because that the newer Mario Party games are no longer as difficult as they were in general.
Back when Mario Parties 1-3 were released on the N64, you needed real strategy in order to collect/win Stars since Stars were much more difficult to collect/earn back then. Also, it's every man/woman for themselves since you couldn't place yourself on teams with another player until Mario Party 4 was released for the GameCube. Mario Parties 4-7 weren't nearly as difficult as Mario Parties 1-3 were, but Mario Parties 4-7 were still fun games to play with and against your friends.
Some people say that Mario Party 7 was the last good game in the series since some critics didn't like how the controls operated in Mario Party 8 for the Wii. Since Mario Party 8 was the first game in the series to feature Motion Controls by using the Wii Remote. In my opinion, Mario Party 8 is a good/fun game to play with and against friends. Plus, Mario Party 8 was the last console game to be developed by Hudson Soft besides Mario Party DS. Ever since the first Mario Party was released on the N64, a brand new installment of Mario Party used to be released every single year back in the days.
Here's a timeline in chronological order when Mario Parties 1-10 were released (only Mario Parties that were released on consoles) in North America.
*Mario Party - 1999
*Mario Party 2 - 2000
*Mario Party 3 - 2001
*Mario Party 4 - 2002
*Mario Party 5 - 2003
*Mario Party 6 -2004
*Mario Party 7 -2005
*Mario Party 8 - 2007
*Mario Party 9 - 2012
*Mario Party 10 - 2015
So, Mario Party 8 was the console Mario Party that wasn't released every single year since it wasn't released in 2006. A lot of people say that Mario Party 9 was beginning of the real downfall in the series since you can no longer collect stars on a board individually. Instead, you have to have every single player hang out in a car together in order to travel across the board. Since, Mario Party 9 was the first Mario Party to be developed by Nd Cube. Although, you can collect stars individually on smaller Amiibo boards in Mario Party 10, you still have to have players hang inside a car in the main game mode.
Now, let's talk about Super Mario Party, shall we. Super Mario Party was released for the Nintendo Switch on October 5, 2018.
Super Mario Party is the first console Mario Party since Mario Party 8 to have players collect stars individually on regular size boards which make Super Mario Party first appear to revert back to the original formula of the Mario Party series. Also, Super Mario Party retains the ally mechanic from Mario Party Star Rush for the 3DS. Super Mario Party also takes advantage of the Nintendo Switch hardware which demonstrates moving the Joy-Con controller is if you were pretending to fry a pan handle. For the first time, players can link more than one Nintendo Switch console together.
Super Mario Party also features online play for the first time in the Mario Party series. Unfortunately, you can only play mini-games online with other players. Back when Fortune Street was released for the Wii, you could play Mario Party style Monopoly boards online back then.
The intro of Super Mario Party is very similar to the intro in the first Mario Party. Just like the first Mario Party, all of the characters claim to be the "Super Star". Mario then decides to break up the argument with everyone , they will have a party to see who truly deserves be awarded the "Super Star".
There are a total of 20 playable characters in Super Mario Party which has the largest roster of playable characters in the Mario Party series. Which is similar to how Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also having largest roster of playable characters as well. Of course, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Wario, and Waluigi return as playable characters. There's also some new characters that are playable in a Mario Party game for the first time such as Goomba, Monty Mole, and Pom Pom.
The rest of the playable characters are Bowser, Shy Guy, Koopa Troopa, Bowser Jr, Boo, Hammer Bro, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Dry Bones. Toad and Toadette aren't playable in Super Mario Party this time around. The four unlockable characters in Super Mario Party are Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dry Bones, and Pom Pom. Diddy Kong first debuted as a playable character in Mario Party Star Rush for the 3DS. Also, it's the first time that Bowser is a playable character fully. Plus, it's the first time that Bowser Jr, and Diddy Kong are playable character in a Mario Party game for a console.
Unfortunately, there are only four main boards in Super Mario Party. The four main boards are Whomp's Domino Ruins, King Bob-omb's Powderkeg Mine, Megafruit Paradise, and Kamek's Tantalizing Tower.
Final Verdict
While Super Mario Party does finally bring back the original Mario Party formula, it's still pretty much lacking in content overall. While it's true that Super Mario Party has the most amount of playable characters, there's still only four boards to pick and choose from. While you can play mini-games online, you still can't play online on actual boards like you could in Fortune Street.
While Super Mario Party is definitely a better game than Mario Party 9 and 10 are, Super Mario Party still isn't nearly as good as the past Mario Party games are when they were developed by Hudson Soft.
If Super Mario Party had more content with having more boards available, and being able to play against others on a board online, Super Mario Party could have easily been the best Mario Party in the series. Plus, it would be pretty cool to play on a variety of flashback boards from Mario Parties 1-8 again in Super Mario Party. Like, have a total of 8 flashback boards, and have 1 board from each Mario Party from 1-8.
While, Mario Party The Top 100 already kind of tried that approach, there was only a total of 100 flashback mini-games from the past Mario Parties.
The good
*Super Mario Party finally goes back to the roots of Mario Party where each player collects stars on a board individually again.
*Super Mario Party has the largest playable character roster in the Mario Party series.
*Online mode is available in a Mario Party game for the first time where you can play mini-games with other players.
The Bad
*Online play is limited since you can't play against players on a board online.
*There's only a total of four boards compared to how there more boards available in the original Mario Party games.
Overall, GameSpot score 8 out of 10.