The Mario Party franchise is one of Nintendo's most beloved among a large part of its fanbase. The colorful party games are fun for the whole family, and they inspire the same kind of friendly competition as any other classic board game does. As far as Mario spin-offs are concerned, Mario Party is arguably the most popular, and its long history has built up cherished memories in a generation of fans. Now, Nintendo is preparing to give classic Mario Party fans a taste of nostalgia, while also creating all new memories for others in the form of Mario Party Superstars.
Mario Party fans have felt let down by the most recent entry, Super Mario Party, for a serious lack of content compared to previous games. Mario Party Superstars looks to fix that by giving fans more mini-games, more boards, and all of it coming from classic N64 Mario Party games. This announcement was fantastic news for fans that grew up with the very first Mario Party games, but Super Mario Party shouldn't be completely disregarded. While the Switch game fell short in some ways, Super Mario Party did have some features that could make Mario Party Superstars the ultimate Mario Party experience.
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Super Mario Party may not have been the most innovative in regards to its boards, but there was one feature that added a layer of strategy to each game. The many characters of the Super Mario franchise are known for their unique quirks, and Super Mario Party recognized this by giving each character their own special dice block. For example, Mario's dice block gives players a better chance at rolling a three, while Bowser's dice block is the only one that can roll a ten. They added a layer of personality and strategy to Super Mario Party, and they could spice up the classic N64 maps that Mario Party Superstars is bringing back.
Although Super Mario Party lost some of the franchise's special board spaces in order to include Bowser and Donkey Kong in the playable roster, the game did introduce new mechanics to make up for it. One of the more exciting new features was the ally system, which gave players an additional character by their side if they landed on an ally space. This then gave players access to that character's unique dice block in addition to their own, and the ally would be able to roll their own dice to help out the player. This feature could really shake up the momentum of some games, and it was especially useful in late-game situations.
On top of the usual Mario Party features, Super Mario Party also introduced some new modes for players to try out. Partner Party allowed players to pair up with a friend and move through the board in whatever way they want. It gave players a chance to work together when most Mario Party games have an "every man for themselves" mentality. The free movement across the board was perhaps the most interesting feature, and it could be an interesting new way to approach the classic boards in Mario Party Superstars.
Mario Party Superstars seems to be doing right by classic Mario Party fans. The game is giving players the best of Mario Party in one sleek, modern package, and there's endless potential to expand from there. If Nintendo really wanted to, it could add Mario Party content from the GameCube era in the form of DLC, extending the life of the game well into the future. And even though Super Mario Party wasn't everything players were expecting, there are still redeemable elements that are worth keeping.
Mario Party Superstars releases October 29 on Nintendo Switch.
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