Mario Party is a game that can either strengthen or ruin friendships. It has always been a competitive style game, trying to find out who can become the Superstar and be the talk of the town (or who gets the last slice of pizza sitting on the counter). But over the years, more and more Mario Party games have been released, and it seems like there is a change in the style of game it wants to be.
Certain games are better played with family than friends, while some are just outright horrible to play with anyone, including yourself. Which iterations of the classic party hold up today, and which ones are the party poopers? While it may be clear to some people, where they all stack up is a question only answerable through analysis.
Updated on November 30th, 2020 by Patrick Mocella: Ever since its original release back in December 1998 on the Nintendo 64, the Mario Party franchise has been simultaneously enhancing friendships and tearing them apart one dice roll at a time. Although there have only been 11 games released on home consoles, there have been tons of spin-off and side games which some gamers have never even heard of on handheld consoles. By expanding the entries of this list we will sort out the ones gamers should give a second look while letting you know of others you can steer clear of.
15 Worst: Mario Party: The Top 100
Over the years and across tons of Mario Party games, people are sure to have some favorites after all this time. However, it still doesn't make much sense for Nintendo to release a compilation of the "best" mini-games on the 3DS.
Quite simply, this was a blatant cash grab from Nintendo. Although the game features some genuinely beloved classic mini-games, other ones have players scratching their heads at why Nintendo included them. More problematic however is the lack of any game boards which strip away one of the core aspects of the series. Combine this with a lack of playable characters and you have one of Nintendo's lamest packages... until Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
14 Best: Super Mario Party
By the time the Nintendo Switch came around in 2017, the Mario Party franchise was in desperate need of a return to prominence. After the last two main console entries failed to impress long-time fans, Super Mario Party came in to provide some welcome additions to the formula.
While the game isn't perfect by any means, the additions of different dice depending on who you select implements a layer of strategy absent from previous games. As well, the nature of the console itself allows for unique interactions among players never before seen in the franchise. As of now Nintendo has yet to release any significant updates to the game and that's a shame as this was a good base to build upon.
13 Worst: Mario Party 4
Graphically speaking, the first Mario Party game on the Gamecube was a massive leap forward for the franchise. However, later entries on the purple lunchbox would improve upon this in every way leaving no reason to return to Mario Party 4.
Mario Party 4's boards are huge which leads to many games feeling like a drag. While there are few truly bad minigames in the package, there are few worth speaking of either. All in all while the game might have been seen as a big leap forward at the time, nothing stands out about the title nowadays.
12 Best: Mario Party 8
As the first Mario Party to release on Nintendo's most successful console ever, Mario Party 8 had a heck of a console to live up to. Thankfully though, the game comes together to form one of the better releases in the series.
While motion controls have died a painful death in the gaming world, the way they are implemented in Mario Party 8 make perfect sense as a casual party game to bust out with non-gaming friends. While fans have seen better boards from the series, the core minigames are solid enough to keep the game feeling fresh. Perhaps most importantly though, this is the only Mario Party game on the Wii to still have the traditional gameplay structure of the franchise. None of that nonsense of traveling in a car from 9 & 10 to be found here.
11 Worst: Mario Party
While some gamers will still swear by the original Mario Party on the Nintendo 64, fans have to acknowledge that the 1st entry in this series is not that great and has aged worse with time.
The legends are true, the controls for some of the mini-games in this title will destroy your hands and yes, Nintendo really did get so many complaints that they had to send out gloves to concerned parents. Aside from that however, the boards and gameplay structure is incredibly unbalanced and while that's part of Mario Party's charm, it gets to be too much when you throw in mechanics such as "Chance Time". While respect must be given to the game which started it all, it shouldn't be considered one of the best in the series.
10 Worst: Mario Party 9
You could say that the descent of the Mario Party series began here. Mario Party 9 introduced a new type of gameplay style. Players now travel together and take turns going along a linear path, collecting Mini-Stars and defeating bosses in hopes to become the Superstar. However, while the boss battles are a good change of pace, the loss of independence hinders the game greatly.
Mario Party, while having lots of luck-based aspects to it, also allowed you to choose your own path to collect items, extra coins or land on specific spaces. This game lets other players make those choices for you, taking away from the control that players who were fans of the previous series once had.
9 Best: Mario Party 5
Mario Party 5 highlighted Nintendo’s creativity in it. The boards, based on specific types of dreams, gave that imaginative touch to it that gave roots back to Mario Party 1 and 2.
The story mode in this game was unique as well, having the player compete against Bowser’s Koopa Kids to eliminate their coins by competing in minigames or using capsules, which were also introduced in this game. The capsule system was something that was kept for two games after this and was only improved on by the other games.
8 Worst: Mario Party Advance
Is it even fair to call this a Mario Party game? It uses dice to move around a board and has minigames in it. However, that’s the closest it comes to being a Mario Party game. Firstly, it’s more focused on being a one-player adventure, collecting gadgets and minigames to rebuild the area Bowser has taken.
There are six areas in Shroom City that players explore to collect minigames without losing all their lives. When the title highlights that the game is a “Party on the Go,” many didn’t expect this to be the product, especially when it came out after Mario Party 6.
7 Best: Mario Party 2
Imagination in this game is similar to that of Mario Party 5. Have you ever wanted Mario to be a cowboy or wizard? Mario Party 2 satisfies these wants by having boards with particular themes and dressing up characters to fit those roles.
The minigames in Mario Party 2 were some of the most memorable, bringing iconic games such as Face Lift back from the first game. One of the best features of the game is that the winner of each board gets to fight and defeat Bower, who is also thematically dressed in each theme. Take on the Koopa King in a standoff to see who wins!
6 Worst: Mario Party 10
The game looks good, but little else can be said for it. It doesn’t change the style from Mario Party 9, at least when it comes to gameplay. You still move with others around a board, collecting Mini-Stars and defeating bosses to become the Superstar. There are more characters in this installment, bringing back Donkey Kong, as well as adding new faces such as Spike and Rosalina.
However, this game brought one of the most unbalanced game modes in a Mario Party game, known as Bowser Party. This allowed 5 players to play, with four working together to get to the end of the board before Bowser, which is the fifth player, takes their HP away. With the increase of luck-based focus in this game, Bowser had an unbelievable advantage since most of the spaces on the board helped him, instead of the others.
5 Best: Mario Party 3
One of the best aspects of Mario Party 3 was its story mode. Players needed to collect Star Stamps in order to return their world back to normal at the hands of the Millennium Star. You would first play a board to collect the most Stars, and then face off in 1v1 specific boards that were a mixture of a party mode and Pokémon, gathering up to two partners to fight your opponent’s partner to eventually get to attack them directly, taking away their HP.
This was also the introduction of a final boss battle that players could actually play, instead of simply watching. This game also had some of the best minigame balance of all the titles, focusing on mostly skill-based minigames while also having some luck thrown in. Mario Party 3 also added two new characters to the game, Waluigi and Princess Daisy.
4 Worst: Mario Party: Island Tour
Released for the Nintendo 3DS, Mario Party: Island Tour looked to be an answer to original fans of the series, gearing towards a more independent style of play, allowing players to move separately.
While that is true, the other changes that were made were far worse. This game is soaked with luck-based boards and minigames. Each board gives a Mushroom Ranking for Skill, Luck, and Minigames, but frankly, most should have four mushrooms in luck. While they try to be creative (especially with the Bowser board), the start-to-finish stages, Mini-Stars, and over reliance on luck make the game poorly designed.
3 Best: Mario Party 7
The debate on whether Mario Party 6 or 7 is the better game gets complicated. Mario Party 7 added the 8-Player mechanic, allowing four teams of two to compete on the same boards to become Superstars. This also added 8-Player minigames, from things such as jumping rope to hitting switches fast enough to not be shocked. A high mark for the game is the music.
Even the music when winning a minigame is catchy. And the tune when receiving a Star makes it feel like you’ve accomplished something spectacular. The minigames in Mario Party 7 are also some of the most balanced in terms of luck and skill, even though the single-player Bowser minigames are mostly luck-based.
2 Worst: Mario Party: Star Rush
Ever wanted to play a Mario Party game where you couldn’t play as the character you wanted? Look no further than Mario Party: Star Rush, the worst game in the series by far. Even Mario Party: Island Tour has the respect to allow you to pick the character you want.
In this game's main mode, Toad Scramble, players play as Toad and move around the board defeating bosses to collect stars and coins. However, unless you pass by another character, you only get to play as Toad. This created the ally mechanic, allowing you to recruit characters who would help you hit dice blocks or even help in minigames. This was also one of the most unbalanced mechanics that was brought into Super Mario Party.
1 Best: Mario Party 6
While the story mode of Mario Party 6 may not be as extensive as Mario Party 7, this game brings one of the best and most creative mechanics ever introduced into a Mario Party game: Day and Night. With this, stages could have paths open and close, certain new interactions happened when landing on a Happening Space, or, with stages such as Clockwork Castle, the movement and goal of the stage would be reversed.
But at night, players need to run away from Bowser, or else they will lose coins or Stars when he catches up to them. The music and look to this game outshine Mario Party 7, and the minigames were creative, even changing depending on the time of day. In the minigame “What Goes Up…,” when played in the daytime, players scale clouds to be the highest player before time runs out, but at night, players fall to see who can make it to the bottom the fastest.
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