It is not hard to tell when you enter a party if you want to stay late or head home early. Who is scheduled to attend? What is the venue like? Which activities are they? The same is true when starting up a fresh Mario Party, and after playing Super Mario Party Jamboree for about an hour, I can tell with confidence that I will most likely stay in until the last call when the house lights come on.
However, 2018’s Super Mario Party, which got us back on the board and out of the automobile in a game that was unquestionably a move in the right way, marked the beginning of things to improve. Mario Party Superstars, released by Nintendo Cube in 2021, was a masterful romp through previous parties that brought back memories of the series’ heyday on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube.
From what I have played so far, Super Mario Party Jamboree looks to be the best Mario Party game in over 15 years. It aims to bring together all the lessons learned from Super and Superstars into one new ultimate party bundle.
One of the best Mario Party games in almost a decade could be Super Mario Party Jamboree.
To begin with, the guest list is spot on. With 22 playable characters (that we currently know about), Jamboree already boasts the biggest cast the series has ever had. The Mario Party series played with characters like Donkey Kong, Toad, and Toadette for years, relegating them to hosting roles or minigame side modes, but now they are all back on the roster. The classics are all here. The return of my favorite Boo made me very happy, and I immediately chose him for my first jamboree. Pauline and Ninji are great additions.
Our party organizers also selected a fantastic location. In the Jamboree, there are seven boards. I had the opportunity to play a few rounds on Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party, a stunning map with a forest theme and a massive Wiggler in the middle that rotated positions if a player landed on a particular area, opening up new passageways and quicker approaches to the Star. You can try to plan out your next few turns to make sure you arrive at the Star first, but something is sure to happen that will throw a wrench in your plans. This mechanic leads to the ideal blend of Mario Party luck and strategy.
For the first time since Mario Party 8 and Mario Party DS in 2007, I had a great time using the original Mario Party rules on a brand-new board. Super Mario Party did not feel too unbalanced because there were no character-specific dice blocks, and stars cost 20 coins as they should have. In addition, the board was large, which is a welcome change from Super Mario Party’s cramped settings, where you could not fit a 10-turn game. However, it appears like you will be able to get a lot of use out of the boards in Jamboree, and from what I have heard, you can party for up to 30 turns if you would like.
I stopped by the item shop on my first turn to get something from Koopa Troopa. A few new goods caught my eye when I was perusing the inventory, such as a Shop Hop Box that transports you directly to a random shop. This may get interesting if the shops provide strong items like Golden Pipes in the later stages of each game. Additionally, board-specific objects have returned, such as the Wiggler Bell that allows you to move the Mega Wiggler that is now dozing in the center of the map.
Like everyone else, my goal when playing Mario Party is to destroy friendships, not to collaborate.
We had to fight Bowser for around fifteen minutes, and that seemed like a long time. I am not sure how frequently I will return for seconds in this mode given the abundance of other options available at the Super Mario Party Jamboree buffet. While it was nice to finally vanquish Bowser, it did not give me the same buzz as winning a minigame or being the first player to purchase a Star on the board.
Except for the lackluster 20-player modes, Super Mario Party Jamboree looks to be a fantastic comeback for the franchise. Superstars’ triumphant comeback to the franchise’s biggest successes gave me faith that the upcoming new release would be a fitting sequel to the masterpieces. I am also persuaded that Jamboree has a solid grasp of what devoted Mario Party players desire after spending a lot of time rolling dice, purchasing Stars, and betraying friends on the game’s initial board.
Even while I have not played many of Jamboree’s massive roster of 110+ minigames, the ones I have played have impressed me, and I am excited that some of the beloved minigames will be returning to go along with the new ones. I am hopeful that Jamboree is the party I have been waiting for an invitation to, but we will have to wait and see if the other boards can avoid some of the unwanted gimmicks that have dogged the series in recent years.
