Mario Party Superstars Review
Verdict
Mario Political party Superstars is an enjoyable 'All-time Hits' collection of the series, including 100 archetype mini games and five boards that all experience distinctive. But with the lack of modernistic features such equally co-op play and motion controls, it'due south clear this entry is prioritising nostalgia over innovation.
Pros
- Superb pick of classic mini games
- Each lath features a unique quirk
- Fantastic customisation options
- Impressive updated visuals
Cons
- A picayune boring to play in solo mode
- Lacks mod features such as co-op play
- Sure items feel overpowered
- No motion-control mini games
Availability
- Britain RRP: £49.99
- USA RRP: $59.99
Key Features
- Supports ane-4 multiplayer: Tin play both local and online multiplayer with friends.
- Supports the Nintendo Switch Pro controller Since move controls aren't supported, you tin can use both Switch Pro controllers and Joy-Cons.
Introduction
Nintendo has launched countless iterations of its Mario Party series, which adopts the format of a classic board game while adding in lots of delightful Mario-themed mini games. Merely there's always been one common criticism with the latest entries: they're merely not as proficient as the N64 classics.
Looking to put an stop to such criticism, Nintendo has repackaged some of the classic boards from the N64 era into the new Mario Party Superstars game on Switch, while also incorporating 100 of the very best mini games from the series' history. It'south essentially the equivalent of a 'Greatest Hits' album.
Nintendo has updated the visuals to mod standards, while too adding in an impressive number of customisation options so you can ready your own rules. There are likewise new online features and an optional game mode that lets you cut out the board game antics and focus solely on the mini game activity. Simply are these features enough to bring Mario Political party back into its prime number?
Board game
- Cadre gameplay is the same as original Mario Party
- Features five boards from N64 era
- Great customisation options
Anyone who's played a previous Mario Party game should know the drill here, as Superstars sticks faithfully to the blueprint set out in the belatedly '90s. You roll a die to traverse around an interactive board, competing with rivals to collect as many coins and stars as possible.
Superstars features five boards from the N64 era, all beautifully remastered for the Nintendo Switch. Each lath has a unique quirk that makes information technology feel distinctive, whether information technology'due south the constantly changing routes in Woody Woods, or the 24-hour interval and nighttime wheel in Horror Land that can modify the function of board spaces.
I enjoyed every lath I played, although the likes of Space Land and Horror Land certainly packed in more than interesting features than the more beginner-friendly Yoshi'southward Tropical Island.
I'yard also disappointed that there are only five boards on offer hither, which feels stingy for a full-priced Switch game.
Yous tin choose from x different characters, from Mario to Birdo, but they only take aesthetic differences. Super Mario Party featured a bit more replayability with optional character-specific dice, so Superstars feels like a pace dorsum with this omission and its focus on providing a hit of nostalgia instead of whatsoever fresh ideas.
I was also disappointed to see there'southward no Partner Play in Superstars, which allows you to pair up in teams of two. But co-op play would have probable forced Nintendo to innovate boosted boards, so it'south understandable that this feature didn't brand the cut.
As with many board games, success in Superstars largely comes downwards to luck. Y'all can amass every bit many coins equally Scrooge McDuck has in his vault if you're talented in the mini games, but that nonetheless won't guarantee you success if you're unlucky with the die rolls.
With that in mind, Mario Party is best thought of as a multiplayer game rather than something y'all should play alone. You lot can play with up to three CPU rivals, merely seeing them roll a 10 on the dice or uncover a hidden block is merely frustrating – it's more than forgivable if a friend or family unit member benefits from such fortune, allowing anybody a chance of victory regardless of their skill level.
Items can as well provide a big reward, with triple dice allowing yous to reach the other side of a board in a single turn, and the Warp Block making yous swap places with a random opponent.
Nevertheless, I do feel that some items are overpowered and all too piece of cake to purchase. The Gold Pipage tin can exist purchased for only 25 coins, and warps you lot right to a star. If you're able to purchase this item multiple times in one game, and so yous've got a fantastic run a risk of winning.
Once you've finished the game, boosted stars will besides be distributed to players using random metrics, such as the number of times yous landed on a Bowser Space or the quantity of items y'all purchased. Such randomness adds some chaos and tension for the final count, just information technology can also exist incredibly frustrating if you're thwarted last infinitesimal.
Fortunately, developer NDcube has added in lots of fantastic customisation options so you can switch off these random star prizes if yous wish. You tin also select what kind of mini games will appear, whether they're skill-based, family unit-focussed or from a specific era. It's a keen mode to cater the game to a specific audition, while also making echo visits to a board feel fresh.
You can also decide how many rounds y'all desire to play, and fifty-fifty add in boosted rounds midway through a game if you don't want the fun to stop. We all know that lath games can drag after a while, so information technology'south expert to see you don't accept to commit to a specific length.
Mini games
- Features 100 classic mini games
- Both 2v2 and 3v1 games available
- No motion control back up
Mario Party Superstars features a whopping 100 mini games. That'south a big jump up from the 80 games on offer with Super Mario Party.
There aren't any new mini games hither, with Nintendo instead cherry picking the very best from previous Mario Party entries, including the original on N64 all the way up to Mario Party 10 on the Wii U. This ensures a consistent loftier quality, only may also put off Mario Party veterans who don't fancy revisiting old games.
There's a superb selection hither, ranging from skill-based games that require speedy reactions or clever tactics, to laugh-out-loud scenarios that anyone can win.
Every level has been upgraded with the new visuals also, so you won't exist able to tell which console generation each mini game originated from by looks lonely.
Nintendo has too included some 2v2 and 3v1 mini games, which refreshingly change the dynamics of the face-offs. But when playing alone, I didn't enjoy working with the AI – it either eliminated the challenge of coordination, or proved an incommunicable task without the ability to communicate.
Nintendo clearly knows that the mini games are Superstar'due south greatest strength, and has so added in a game mode chosen Mt. Minigames, where you can hop into whatever bitesize game y'all like or even compete for high scores with people online. It'southward a nice addition, but playing multiple mini games in a row exposes how curt and simple they are without the slower pacing and wider context of the board game.
Superstars sadly doesn't characteristic whatever game that uses motion controls, which is a pity since they would have further increased the versatility of the roster. On the plus side, this means you're able to use the Nintendo Switch Pro controllers, which is a massive boon since it's e'er a scrap of an issue finding enough gamepads when playing in a grouping.
Multiplayer and collectables
- Lots of online multiplayer options
- Gained coins can exist spent on new stickers
Nintendo has tried to cram in as many multiplayer features as possible, allowing you to compete with both friends and strangers in the core Mario Political party way.
Information technology's a great option to have, simply I personally don't think online strangers are a worthy substitute for playing with a group of friends, as half of the fun is laughing at your pal's misfortune or crying in despair when your sibling snatches a star from your grasp.
Stickers have been added to Superstars to permit you to communicate with other players without using vocalism chat. You could ship a celebratory 'Yay' with Yoshi'south face up stamped on after you've won a mini game, or a sticker of Bowser doing an evil laugh if you just used a Boo to steal someone'due south star. You tin even unlock more than stickers to use by spending the coins you earn while playing Mario Party.
However, these stickers tin arguably get abrasive apace if some other histrion starts spamming the characteristic. The stickers will pop up on your screen, and tin sometimes even cake important text on the board. I can see that becoming a frustrating result with online multiplayer.
I tin can see Mt Minigames being the best avenue for online multiplayer, with the likes of Survival allowing yous to compete with players for hot streaks and Daily Challenges offer an incentive to return each twenty-four hour period.
I don't think there's quite enough content to keep players hooked long-term like with Splatoon or Mario Kart, merely they're enjoyable distractions if you lot're waiting for your group of friends to arrive for couch play.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If yous want a game to play with a big group: Mario Party Superstars is best played with a group of friends or family members, with upwards to 4 players at a time.
You want a game to play solo:
It's perfectly possible to play this game solitary, with the CPU taking over rivals, merely it's nowhere virtually equally fun when played this manner.
Final Thoughts
Mario Party Superstars is an enjoyable packet of some of the very all-time mini games in the serial' history. Like with well-nigh Mario Party games, information technology'due south best played with a group of friends as the CPU simply isn't that fun to play with, and relies too much on randomness in order for information technology to exist hugely enjoyable when playing confronting strangers online.
Y'all could make the case that Superstars feels similar a backwards footstep for the Mario Political party series with the limited number of boards, lack of character-specific features and omission of motility-control mini games, simply information technology's still a hugely enjoyable experience when playing in a large group with friends and family unit.
How we examination
We play every game we review through to the end, outside of certain exceptions where getting 100% completion, like Skyrim, is close to impossible to practice. When we don't fully cease a game earlier reviewing it we volition ever warning the reader.
Played every available game fashion
Tested on Nintendo Switch OLED
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FAQs
Is Mario Party Superstars a remake?
Not exactly. It features remastered boards and mini games, but also has a new Mt. Minigames manner and additional online multiplayer options.
Can you play Mario Party Superstars on Switch Low-cal?
Yep, y'all can play Superstars on whatsoever of the Nintendo Switch consoles, including Switch Lite and Switch OLED.
Tin yous play Mario Political party Superstars online?
Yes, Superstars allows you to play both the Mario Political party and Mt. Minigames modes online. But you will need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
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