Mario Bautista
Super Mario Party has returned! Okay, so it’s only been a handful of years since Mario Party Superstars dropped on Switch, but we are excited — psyched even — for this latest edition, as it promises to deliver in several key areas where the series has floundered somewhat in the past.
Yes, if you cast your mind back to our very positive Superstars review, we pointed out that game was lacking somewhat in how it played things overly safe with its selection of boards, its lack of modes, and with regards to taking the formula and modernising it in any meaningful way. There was some fairly basic online fun to be had, but a lack of boards and that paucity of modes (Mount Minigames and Mario Party was your lot), meant that, as fun as it was, we still felt like there was more that could be achieved.
And so, having spent the past few days with Super Mario Party Jamboree (and having even had the opportunity to play it with the rest of Team NL during a recent company shindig), we’re actually quite delighted that it seems Nintendo has taken some of the complaints commonly levelled at the series onboard.
We’ve got a whole bunch of modes to play with here; seven party boards (five of which are brand new), over 110 minigames, a Party Planner Trek mode based around doing missions on free-roam boards, Minigame Bay, Koopathlon, Bowser Kaboom Squad, and other stuff that we’ll get into. They said it’d be the biggest Mario Party yet, and that certainly seems to be the case.
Jumping into Super Mario Jamboree for the first time, you’ll get to choose a character from a selection of the Mushroom Kingdom’s finest before being whisked off to the game’s hub, Party Plaza. The Plaza itself is a mercifully simple and streamlined area from which you can hop into a hot air balloon to choose from any and all game modes, shop for new decorations, music tracks, postcards and gear, or get busy tinkering with the game’s settings. The Plaza can be decorated with all manner of themed bits and bobs too, which feeds into the game’s lighthearted take on a Battle Pass. Yes, a Battle Pass. Don’t worry, there’s nothing to pay here, but it operates in the same way: you level up as you play across modes and move upwards to higher ranks with better rewards as you go.
Playing any game here furthers you along said pass, unlocking decorative trinkets and other surprises which we won’t ruin here, giving the whole thing a nice sense of progression and direction that previous games have lacked.
Jumping into your hot air balloon alongside Toad, you can then set off from the Plaza — if you’ve quite finished decorating — to enjoy any of the games on offer with pals or online randoms in tow. Now, we haven’t had a chance to try anything online so far as there’s nobody to play with, but we’re excited by the possibility and by how much effort seems to have been put into introducing online components to almost every aspect of this one.
Keeping this in mind, and putting the traditional Mario Party mode to one side for a sec, it’s been Bowser Kaboom Squad and Koopathlon that have been the big surprises for us so far. If you’ve been keeping up with the pre-release hype, you’ll likely have already spotted Bowser Kaboom Squad as, well, it features an enormous angry Imposter Bowser stomping around maps causing carnage.
We really weren’t too sure about this mode going in, but having spent a chunk of time playing it in multiplayer (with this writer’s seven and ten-year-old kids along for the ride) we can tell you straight up, it’s a blast. Pun fully intended. Now, it’s important to note that you will need a separate Switch for each player in this mode, the only drawback as the map layouts and gameplay require a full screen to work, but if you’ve got a few to hand it’s worth it.
There’s a frisson of strategy in locating and calling out bomb crates for teammates (you’ll need these bombs to load up the cannon that defeats Bowser) and avoiding enemies, explosions and fire raining down all over the map certainly makes for a level of chaos and excitement that had us all fully engaged. It’s not too difficult, but teamwork is a requirement and there’s enough spanners, minigames, and silliness in the works to keep it fresh for a decent amount of time.
There are currently three maps for this mode as things stand, each one giving you different enemies and environmental obstacles to work against. So far, we’ve only tried out the Chargin’ Chuck board, but we’ve also got Bomber Bills and Ty-foos arenas to dive into before our full review drops, so expect lots more explosions and some very strong gusts of wind in the near future, we guess.
Kooplathon is another new mode that sees you take on 19 other players (again in online or local modes with bots filling any spots as necessary), by playing random sets of three minigames in order to race around a game board and defeat Imposter Bowser. Of course, it’s just another way of framing much the same activities, but it works.
The race setting gives the whole thing a lift from the normal board experience, and there are plenty of fun ways to mess with your foes, including grabbing items during minigames to, for example, chuck ink on an opponent’s screen, and a bunch of other stuff we won’t ruin. There’s also a fun escalation here in how each lap ups the ante, increasing the speed and difficulty of the same three minigames each time. Oh, and shoutout to the design of this mode and how it splits into views of the minigame and of the on-track carnage as all the characters involved make a beeline for the finish.
More additions take the form of Paratroopa Flight School and Toad’s Item Factory, both of which deal exclusively in motion-controlled games. Again, these modes are clever in how they reframe the minigames, allowing for free-roaming around small maps filled with silly little secrets and interactive points that you can discover to complete every in-game achievement on offer. Yes, Mario Party has “cheevos” now. What a thoroughly modern host that plumber is.
Of course, we’re all here for the main event really, the OG Mario Party itself, but it really does speak volumes about this latest iteration that there’s so much to discuss before even reaching the tentpole activity. Thankfully, when it comes to that main mode, there’s been a thoughtful melding of old and new.
At its core, it plays exactly as you’d expect, but the boards are more interactive this time around — you’ll already have seen the moving Wiggler that makes up the core of the Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party board — and there are also other touches, such as Jamboree pals (characters who show up randomly to aid you, if you can reach them in time), Goomba Lagoon’s shifting tide, and a bunch of other stuff we can’t mention right now that ensures the five new boards here are probably the best we’ve played in the series to date. We can’t wait to see how the older boards included have been modernised once we get a chance to try them.
Beyond all of this, and a Rhythm Kitchen mode that we’ve yet to groove into, it’s really how the online aspects, collectibles, battle pass and so on have been woven into the fabric of the game that’s the real big change so far for Super Mario Party Jamboree. This is a much more modern and fresh-feeling thing, it’s got longer legs thanks to all the collectible goodies and decorations, and there’s been some smart options added to cater for all types of player, too, including lots more stats to pore over for your performance in each game, and proper online leaderboards. Hooray!
Mario Party features an unlockable pro mode that strips out luck-based minigames, gives everyone a starting item and makes those all-important coins and stars just a little trickier to get and keep in your possession. You can turn off motion-controlled games if you don’t fancy them, and overall the selection of mostly new minigames just does a way better job of being entertaining in the moment, especially when you’re doing stuff like riding a jet ski whilst avoiding the attacks of a large sea monster controlled by your very excited seven-year-old.
So, as things stand, we’re certainly looking at the biggest and most feature-packed version of Mario Party to date. It also happens to be one of the prettiest Switch games we’ve played in a while, with zero performance issues to boot.
So far, everything is pointing towards this being quite the get-together once the full game drops on 17th October. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for our full review.
Planning on picking up Super Mario Party Jamboree? Let us know how you’re feeling about it in the comments!
