Super Mario Party Jamboree makes a great first impression (2024)

Super Mario Party Jamboree boasts big numbers: 110 minigames, seven game boards, and an online mode that supports up to 20 players. But the new Mario Party — the third entry in the franchise on Nintendo Switch and the 19th overall — doesn’t appear to coast on volume. Instead, there are inventive new twists on the Mario Party formula in Jamboree, including new cooperative modes and fun dynamic new boards.

During a recent preview event in New York City, I played some Super Mario Party Jamboree with a small group of media. Our first experience was a round of Jamboree on a brand-new board called Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party. At the center of the board is, naturally, a giant Wiggler vibing in a circular pit. This Wiggler’s body is part of the board’s path, and players can actively move it around to alter the map to their advantage, or to the disadvantage of others.

Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party is one of seven boards in Super Mario Party Jamboree, alongside new creations Roll ’em Raceway, Goomba Lagoon, King Bowser’s Keep, and Rainbow Galleria; and classic boards Mario’s Rainbow Castle from Mario Party and Western Land from Mario Party 2.

Image: Nintendo

More interesting to me than any of the boards, though, was the Koopathlon, an online mode for up to 20 players — the highest number of players ever supported in Mario Party online play. In our session, we played as five human players against 15 bots in an online competition to see who could make it five laps around a race track, as opposed to a typical game board.

Koopathlon throws players into competitive minigames, many of which are played independently, like one where you have to bake bread to just the right level of doneness and another where you’re basically playing a modern version of Nintendo’s block-busting Alleyway. Other Koopathlon games throw up to 20 players on the screen at once to dodge Bowser’s attacks or try to avoid falling to their deaths.

Koopathlon, while a great time with friends and family (and Mario Party frenemies), seems like it will be the go-to option for Super Mario Party Jamboree players who just want to get online by themselves and get their Mario board game fix. (Super Mario Party Jamboree comes with three months of Nintendo Switch Online access, by the way.)

Image: Nintendo

Maybe the most fun I had with Super Mario Party Jamboree was in Bowser Kaboom Squad mode, in which up to eight players cooperate to battle King Koopa with cannon fire. Doing so requires running around a small map, grabbing explosives from falling crates, and launching those bombs at Bowser. Between rounds of scrambling for ammo and avoiding Bowser and his minions, players are thrown into group minigames where they need to play cooperatively.

Some of these minigames have simple premises; one puts all players onto a grid, challenging them to make their character look in the direction of an ever-changing arrow on screen. That arrow pulls some dirty tricks though, and tests your reflexes in amusing, sometimes frustrating ways. Another minigame tasks players with rearranging a series of cards, requiring them to arrange numbers one through eight in ascending order. Once that’s done, the minigame switches it up, replacing the numerals on those cards with dots. In our playthrough, the game then asked us to arrange an illustration of a sea serpent in the right order. As the clock counted down each time, there was a good deal of fumbling and scrambling to get it right.

Image: Nintendo

How you perform in Bowser Kaboom Squad mode’s minigames determines what kind of power-ups you’ll take into the next round of gathering bombs to launch at Bowser. Those power-ups change over time, and include things like banana peels that will make enemies slip and boost pads that you can lay down to give your teammates extra speed. If regular ol’ Mario Party is too competitive for you, Bowser Kaboom Squad’s style of cooperative play might be a great alternative.

But Super Mario Party Jamboree is pure Mario Party through and through. It has plenty of new additions, like all-new minigames and two characters fresh to the franchise — Pauline and Ninji — but you probably know what you’re getting yourself into with this 25-year-old franchise. If you skipped out on Mario Party Superstars and Super Mario Party for Switch, Super Mario Party Jamboree is a great place to jump in.

Super Mario Party Jamboree is coming to Nintendo Switch on Oct. 17.

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Super Mario Party Jamboree makes a great first impression (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to winning Mario Party? ›

Here's a hot tip: Listen up! You need to pay close attention to the music to hit the right beat. And hitting the right beat is a great way to gain the most points in this mode's Rhythm Minigames.

Is Mario Party local multiplayer? ›

Up to two consoles can connect locally. Both consoles must have a copy of the game.

Will Mario Party Jamboree have DLC? ›

The Jamboree Expansion Pass is a DLC Expansion pack for the game Mario Party Superstars. The package includes three additional boards, one from Mario Party 3 and two from Mario Party 4, it also includes ten additional characters.

How many maps did Mario Party 2 have? ›

The gameplay is presented in the form of a traditional board game, and includes five themed game board maps. A sixth board map becomes available later in the game. Mario Party 2 includes multiplayer compatibility; each game on a board map consists of four players, including at least one human player and up to four.

Is there a strategy to Mario Party? ›

Use your Control Stick to go left and right to avoid those obstacles. I recommend skipping the coins and just being really fast with the button-pressing; if you're losing badly, then just give up on winning and collect a couple of coins and lose. I can't say much more than work on pressing the A button quickly.

Can you play an 8 person Mario Party? ›

In Local Play and Online Play with Friends, up to 3 players can play on each system. In a Global Game (Online Play with random players around the world), only 1 player can play on each system.

Can Mario Party be played alone? ›

A party for everyone! Whether playing solo or with friends, there's a mode for every party. Take turns rolling dice and racing across the game board in the 4-player Mario Party mode, or team up for Partner Party. Journey down a path of 80 minigame challenges in the single-player Challenge Road mode.

Can you play Mario Party with strangers? ›

If you want to play online with strangers, you will still need to enter Super Mario Party in the same way - one player, one system. There is no option to play online with a local friend, sadly.

Is Mario Party Jamboree Joy Con only? ›

"Motion-controlled minigames require a Joy-Con controller and are not available when playing online. Motion-controlled minigames are not compatible with Nintendo Switch Lite or Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, but button-controlled minigames can still be played when using these consoles/ accessories."

How many boards are there in Mario Party Jamboree? ›

From running through merry-go-rounds to motion-control* minigolf, there are seven boards and over 110 minigames to play! Go with the flow in Goomba Lagoon, search the mall for stars in Rainbow Galleria, or revisit the classics of Western Land and Mario's Rainbow Castle.

What does DLC stand for in Mario? ›

Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher.

Is Mario Party 3 rare? ›

Of all Nintendo classics on the N64, Mario Party 3 is one of the most expensive and rare due to a smaller print run and an inconvenient release date.

What is the 2024 Mario Party game? ›

Super Mario Party Jamboree, where you're invited to join Mario and friends for the biggest Mario Party yet on an enormous island resort, launching October 17, 2024.

Why was there never a Mario 64 2? ›

Super Mario 64 2 (also called SM64 2) was a planned sequel of the 1996 Nintendo 64 game Super Mario 64 set for release in 1999 (or possibly 2000). It was to be sold for the Nintendo 64DD. However, since the N64DD failed in the market and never made it overseas, it was never released anywhere else other than Japan.

Is Mario Party luck or skill? ›

Mario could not have enough coins by the time he gets to the Star, whether he's shorthanded upon arrival or his fellow partiers attack him, there's no way of knowing what could go wrong. When you think about it, pretty much every Mario Party game is overwhelmingly based on luck.

How do you finish Mario Party? ›

To “beat” Super Mario Party and view the final cutscene, you have to collect five gems. You gain a gem each time you beat one of the five main game modes.

What is the goal of Mario Party? ›

The goal of Mario Party is to collect the most stars within the allotted amount of turns. Stars must be purchased from Toad with coins, which can be earned through a selection from one of 50 mini-games that is played once at the end of each turn.

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