The test
Started in 1998 on Nintendo 64, the Mario Party formula has continued to be used since. With three episodes on N64, one on GBA, four on GameCube, one on DS, two on Wii, three on 3DS, one on Wii U and now two on Switch, Nintendo does not hesitate to squeeze the lemon to the last drop. Moreover, the boards and mini-game of this new episode, aptly titled “Superstars”, come from the previous sections. For originality we will come back, but in terms of efficiency, there is nothing to complain about!
Let’s start by briefly reminding those who live in a cave about the concept of Mario Party. It is a board game close to the game of the goose, where each player advances in turn after having thrown the dice. Some boxes earn money, others cost money, and still others trigger different special events. After everyone has played and a Global Round ends, a randomly drawn mini-game allows all players to compete against each other and earn extra coins. The money is used to buy stars, with the ultimate winner being whoever owns the most of these sparkling sesame seeds. So much for the main principles, which place Mario Party Superstars halfway between a traditional board game and a WarioWare. This new component has the particularity of paying homage to previous episodes, in particular the oldest released on Nintendo 64. The mini-games and the various platters therefore emerge from the past, but have naturally been brought up to date graphically. Whether it’s the boards themselves, the characters that move on them, or the mini-games displayed in real-time 3D, the visuals are always very clean.
The dynamic animations, the funny sound effects, and the interface which doubles the text by many icons also allow the youngest players to have as much fun as the adults. Accessibility is total, because even the mini-games are preceded by a full interactive screen. The latter not only specifies the rules of the upcoming event, but also allows it to be tested without any loading or pressure of any kind. Also good for the possibility of customizing each game before launching it (number of turns, bonus star phase, explanations, handicap, kind of mini-games) and the option to extend a game in progress if everyone wish. More anecdotally but relatively sympathetic, the game has a system of stickers, which each player can display on the screen when another participant in the hand.
THEY CAME, BUT NOT ALL OF THEY ARE THERE
As for the playable characters, which could be described as living pawns, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Harmonie, Donkey Kong and Birdo have responded. If Nintendo’s headliners are indeed there, we would still have appreciated being able to choose from a greater number of heroes. After all, Super Mario Party released three years ago offered double that. The number of trays, limited to five, also seems a little too low, especially for a “compilation” episode. On the other hand, we must admit that each of these playgrounds is damn pleasant and relatively unique, in terms of atmosphere and special events. The tropical island of Yoshi offers us a holiday climate and toll bridges to go from one part of the plateau to another. Much more futuristic, the Space Station occasionally disrupts player placement with its spaceships and Bowser radius. Dressed all in pink and custard, Peach’s Birthday Cake gives us the opportunity to plant coin or star-stealing piranha plants. The Woody Woods are home to a benevolent tree and its evil twin, as well as moles that keep disrupting the direction of traffic. Finally, the Land of Horror offers us a Halloween atmosphere and Whomps who change their behavior depending on whether it is day or night.
In all cases, Bowser boxes, events or Coup du fate, as well as special dice (tailor-made, handicapping, double, triple …), teleportation pipes to the star, and even whistles changing the location of the star, are there to enrich the strategies and provide many twists and turns. Just like in a Mario Kart, victory is never certain and one well-placed hit can be enough to change the game. Regarding the mini-games, however, there is no question of blaming Mario Party Superstars for any quantitative insufficiency because there are exactly one hundred. Even if there is necessarily something to eat and drink in all of this, the quality is generally there since they have been selected among the best that have seen the light of day for more than twenty years. The “Mountain with mini-games” section will also allow those in a hurry to try them directly, without having to trudge on any plateau. It should be noted that none of these mini-games uses motion gaming. For our part, we are fully happy because the recognition of movements is generally too imprecise to be really pleasant. The flip side is that Mario Party Superstars does not take advantage of the specifics of the Switch, whether it’s the Joy-Con or the touchscreen. But the flip side of the coin (are you still following?) Is that it is possible to play with a pro gamepad and that all connection options are available: offline on a single Switch, local multiplayer with several consoles, and play online with friends or strangers.
