User blog:ZeoSpark/Super Mario Party - Is it Good, Bad or Average?

Greetings! ZeoSpark here and I'll be beginning a somewhat blog review series about games that are either really good, really bad, or just plain average! I'll be reviewing the most recent game of the Mario Party series Super Mario Party and as a disclaimer, it's is 100% my opinion so don't take it lightly if it appears that I badmouth this game. Without further ado, let's get to it!

Alright, lets first get to the characters. This game brings back most of the past players including the returning Boo, Dry Bones, and Bowser Jr. Newcomers introduce Pom Pom, Goomba, and freaking Bowser! While it's cool that Bowser is a playable character, I still rather have him as a space where he is there to ruin your lives. Seeing Bowser giving high-fives to others is just odd and I feel it tones down his threatening disposition. The hosts of SMP are Toad, Toadette, and Kamek, all three character who were playable in the past (Kamek goes by Magikoopa in 9 but that still counts) and some people consider that a disappointment considering A. Toad and Toadette were rather popular playable characters in the past who been reduced to hosts and B. More Toads stealing the spotlight as well. As if we had enough of Toads lately. Kamek basically replaces Bowser and it's just a meh from me. Didn't care much about him anyway. Overall, I feel that the cast of characters is definitely a step in the right direction but considering we already had Toad as the main host for previous of Mario Party: Star Rush, it's nothing really unique.

Next is the big one: The game play. First off, no more car! Thank goodness! That thing was stupid in 9 and Nintendo really made a bad move bringing it back for 10. However, this is where I tear into the game because even if this game is far better than 9 and 10, it still has a lot of flaws. The first one is the boards. There are only 4 (and one of them you need to unlocked) and all of them are generic boards. You have your jungle/ruins board, the coastal/beach board, a lava themed board, and a gold board inspired from New Super Mario Bros. 2 I'm sure. And it doesn't help that all of these boards are very small. Like, even 9 and 10 had bigger boards and they all had that same "race to the finish" gimmick. I don't know why Nintendo felt like they had to compact things like that but I rather not pay $60 for a game where I could pay around the same price for an older MP game with 10 times more of the content. The items aren't that great as well. Instead of Mushrooms giving you two dice blocks to roll, it only adds a 3 to it. They did that to cope with the tiny as heck boards but the fact the items suffer because of the boards is another flaw of this game. Speaking of dice blocks, this game introduces us to two new gimmicks: Character dice blocks and allies. Each character has their own dice block they can use to help them out on the board. Some characters have good dice blocks that can get you up to 10 on the dice block and others have rather bad ones that consists with 0's or minus coins. Yeah, this means that there is actually a tier list in Super lol. And the allies, there are new spaces called Ally Spaces that allow you to summon an ally at random. When an ally is summoned, they will aid you in rolling dice blocks for the remainder of the game. This can be useful in moving around quicker but still, the boards are so small, sometimes, it isn't worth it. Oh yeah, stars cost 10 coins instead of 20. That means every time you win a minigame, you're guaranteed a star if you can get to it.

Another thing I should explain is the online mode and the single player mode. Yeah, they both are kinda bad and flawed as well. The online mode (if you're willing to pay money for Nintendo's rather poor online service) only allows you to play up to 5 minigames and it can last very quickly. I know Nintendo did that because they didn't want to risk longer boards taking up time and could lead to a connection error or something but still, you could've done something more. I mean, wow, I have to pay for my online just to play a mode with random people online with only 5 minigames... Yeah, you're better off finding some local friends to play party mode because online isn't really worth it. And the single player mode can only be played if you have all minigames. I know some games did that in the past but unlocking all minigames can take forever especially how short-lived the boards all meaning you'll be playing the same boards over and over and over again and trust me, it'll get boring quick.

However, at least the minigames are some of the best in the series. Yeah, you have to use that very small joycon sideways and it can get tiring on the hands, but most of the minigames aren't too straining on the hands and some even make good use of the HD rumble feature. Sizzling Stakes is the best minigame that handles that feature and it's a real fun minigame to play with friends. That feature really helps you feel that you're actually in the minigame itself. These minigames are definitely a step up from 10's lackluster set. The only downside to these is that, well, the online mode only lets you play 5 of these amazing minigames at a time. I know there are other modes to discuss (like that mode that allows you to use two switches at a time) but I haven't really gotten into those yet and only wanted to address the main ones.

Overall, Super Mario Party is a game with very mixed-feelings indeed. It's actually the most average game I've played since 5. It has a good roster of characters, some unique gimmicks, and very fun and interactive minigames. However, the small number and size of the boards, the dull themes, and the terrible online mode are takeaways of this game. Super Mario Party was trying to go back to the roots but it really does feel like an unfinished game with so little it offers you for $60. There are rumors that there are going to be DLC boards but the fact this game started out with only 4 is a huge letdown. It's worth maybe $40 but not $60.

Rating: 5/10 - It's decent and average. Fun minigames and good selection of characters but the small boards and poor online mode really hurt this game. My advice is to wait until it goes on sale if you're buying yourself. Anyway, thanks for reading!