Atti Abderrahim
Table of Contents
Much like Mario Kart or Mario Bros, the Mario Party franchise has endured across generations and consoles. With the anticipated announcement of a new Nintendo Switch model, the franchise, which began in 1998 on the Nintendo 64, appears poised to give the 2017 console a memorable send-off. Will it live up to the hype? After an hour-long preview session, the team at JV shares their thoughts.
Super Mario Party Jamboree :Nintendo Revisits Classic Mario Party Roots
During its June Direct event, Nintendo surprised fans with several exciting announcements. For the first time, The Legend of Zelda series will allow players to embody the titular princess herself. Meanwhile, the “Big N” is also reviving the Mario & Luigi series with a new installment, almost a decade after the last one, rekindling hope for fans who thought the franchise was done for. But it was the reveal of Super Mario Party Jamboree that truly caught many off guard. Similar to other surprise announcements like Metroid Prime 4, it raises questions about what Nintendo has been working on over the past few years.
This 18th installment of the saga marks a return to the classic formula that made the series popular: a quirky game of chance where each player advances independently by rolling a die. Recent entries in the series had experimented with a cooperative format, where all participants moved at the same pace in a shared vehicle, which diluted the competitive nature of Mario Party. The new Jamboree edition reverses that direction, promising to rekindle the excitement for longtime fans.
The Classic Formula Still Holds Its Charm
During our hands-on preview, it became clear that the classic format is back in full force. At the start of each game, players roll a die to determine turn order, with the ultimate objective of collecting stars (at a cost of 20 coins each) to secure first place by the end of the designated rounds. Every dice roll lands the character on a tile, each with its own effect based on color: blue tiles reward three coins, red tiles deduct three coins, Bowser tiles trigger his intervention, and green tiles have various effects depending on the board. At the end of each turn, all players compete in a mini-game (free-for-all, 1 vs. 3, or 2 vs. 2), with the winner(s) taking home 10 gold coins, which are crucial for purchasing stars.
Randomness is omnipresent on each board, particularly if the players are evenly matched in the mini-games. Each of the seven boards offers its unique mechanics. For instance, in the Laughing Woods, the Wriggler caterpillar can serve as a shortcut bridge, but its position can change, allowing players to set traps for their opponents. Each event has the potential to turn the game around, capturing the very essence of Mario Party and other multiplayer Mario games. In our preview session, my fate was decided by a roll of a three-sided die!
Super Mario Party Jamboree retains this engaging, unpredictable nature but doesn’t introduce any groundbreaking new elements. Enthusiasts of the series may find themselves disappointed, particularly with the classic Mario Party mode, which feels largely unchanged from previous iterations.
Super Mario Party Jamboree: An Online Mode That Feels Repetitive?
Super Mario Party Jamboree faces high expectations, especially for the variety of its mini-games and modes. Our preview experience, however, felt somewhat limited in this regard, which is concerning given that the game is billed as “the biggest Mario Party ever made.” Nonetheless, we got a glimpse of the Koopathlon mode, which was teased in the June 2024 Nintendo Direct trailer. This mode allows up to 20 players to race on a map, where every mini-game is crucial to progress.
These mini-games are shorter than the main ones, and the objective is to collect as many coins as possible to move forward. They are simple to understand but become increasingly complex as the race progresses through a cycle of four mini-games. Although we’ve heard whispers of additional mini-games being available for the Koopathlon, we found ourselves quickly stuck in a loop during a single session. While it might provide a fresh twist on the Mario Party experience, the Koopathlon seems more like an appetizer than a main course.
Our Impressions
Super Mario Party Jamboree brings the franchise back to its roots, a move that should please long-time fans who have felt sidelined in recent years. It retains the signature elements that define Mario Party: randomness, strategy, and unexpected twists at every turn. Despite this, as a potential final installment of the series on the Nintendo Switch, Super Mario Party Jamboree may not deliver a farewell celebration that lives up to the console’s legacy, missing that special something. Nevertheless, we’ll keep a curious eye on the final festivities set for October 17th on the Nintendo Switch.
By focusing on retaining the charm of past games while offering just enough to entice a returning audience, Super Mario Party Jamboree aims to close out an era for the Nintendo Switch on a high note. Whether it truly achieves that remains to be seen, but for now, the invitation is set, and fans eagerly await the party.
