Who has never had a good evening of giggles in front of a good old Mario Party? Whether you started on Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii… The Japanese firm wants you to relive these epic moments with Mario Party Superstars. But this new opus, which is not particularly new, feels more reheated than Proust's madeleine...
So here we are back in the Mushroom Kingdom, on the attack of a hundred mini-games, coming from the different opuses of the series published until then. In all, seventeen episodes have been released, since the first in 1999 on Nintendo 64. Each console has had its own component, and some have even had several (such as the Gamecube which has four Mario Party). That makes them mini-games, and above all a choice to keep only the best.
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View PriceRead ConclusionMario Party Superstars
- The pleasure of finding iconic mini-games in current graphics
- Freedom of choice in the mountain with mini-games
- The online mode that allows you to play even when you are alone in your living room
- The game lacks a real co-op mode like in Super Mario Party
- The squares of the board mode are not varied enough
- Overall unsurprising
Mario Party Superstars has been tested on Nintendo Switch using a code provided by the publisher. It is sold for €49,99.
Over a hundred mini-games
This “best of” opus therefore offers a dedicated section, called the mini-game mountain. Seven modes are offered here, so you can discover the mini-games in the way that suits you best. In this, the free play mode, although very classic, is welcome since it allows you to launch any mini-game, according to the sensibilities and desires of each. On the other hand, it is impossible to classify them according to their original console, so you will have to browse to find your favorites.
The game offers a system of stickers, emotes made in Mario, allowing you to react in real time. There is also a duo mode where four players form two teams and compete in events designed for this configuration, or the coin fight, where players accumulate coins thanks to their victories and the “richest” wins. at the end.
The bad surprise is the three-way challenge. Three players (not one more, not one less) can team up to take on the computer. The mini-games being designed so that the role of the computer is normally held by a real player, this mode quickly loses its interest: the computer is sometimes too stupid, sometimes completely cheat.
But above all, with for example Super Mario Party released in 2018 on Switch, we saw that the license could offer us beautiful cooperative modes. In this part, all the players were gathered on a raft and had to row in time to try to complete a circuit. Mini-games placed here and there could bring bonuses. It was funny, well thought out, and light years away from the threesome challenge.
Speaking of this co-op mode, moreover, it gave pride of place to the sensitivity of the joy-cons since it was the movement of the joystick that allowed players to row. In general, Mario Parties have often been an opportunity to exploit the technological innovations of consoles. It is very visible for example in this advertisement for the eighth opus. This is an opportunity to add fun and innovative mechanics. Super Mario Party also offered a very nice selection of rhythm games, based on the movement of joy-cons. Here, the goal is not to appreciate the performance of the switch, but rather to afford a moment of nostalgia. In fact, the most innovative mini-games have been set aside, and the selection is therefore not overwhelming.
Nintendo 64 boards look better than ever
So much for the mini-game mountain. But what interests us most, we're not going to lie to each other, is the board game part. Five boards are offered here, all from the Nintendo 64. For those who played there at the time, it's a pleasure to find these iconic boards, with today's graphics. The Land of Horror and Space Station boards in particular look really good graphically. The first city also reserves its share of surprises thanks to a day-night cycle, and events that are triggered according to the moon and the sun.
For the rest, we are in the classic spirit of Mario Party board games: the four players evolve on the board and are fooled by a feature which allows them to exchange all their stars with a competitor, or which offers a star to whoever has the “most chance” of winning. It's unfair, it creates fights, and that's what's funny about this license. Note the happiness of NOT finding the board game mode like Mario Party 9, on Wii, where all the players moved forward at the same time in the same vehicle. It was really bad. No one misses it.
Overall, advancing on these sets is a pleasure: we really benefit from the graphics of the Switch, and the stickers, even locally, bring a very fun side. On the other hand, the first plateau lacks surprises. We quickly saw all the different boxes and possible events, and the last turns become a bit redundant. Overall, the shortest games are the best: when fifteen rounds are set, the session quickly ends up being long.
The game also offers a store allowing us to buy music and new stickers to communicate online. It is also possible to obtain encyclopedia pages, relating to the playable characters, the boards, certain tips... to stay in this nostalgic atmosphere that the game cultivates. A feature that will appeal to the most complete players, but which remains light in terms of text. We would have liked to learn real anecdotes about the characters (does Birdo have a huge mouth or a single huge nostril? The Spaniards want to know).
You no longer need friends to play Mario Party!
Note for this opus the establishment of an online mode, which will save the most introverted Mario Party fans: having a group of friends in your living room is no longer mandatory, here you can play with anyone in the world, even randomly. This is obviously the highly anticipated feature of this new Mario Party. Almost all the game is playable online, and it is even possible to play with strangers, in order to find competitors at any time. You can therefore face real players in the board game mode, but also on the mountain in the mini-games, even if you are alone on your sofa!
It is of course with the online board game that the stickers take on their full meaning. The absence of a chat tool protects us from malicious players, and the stickers still allow communication. When one is chosen, it is accompanied by a cry from the character in question, which allows, for example, to urge a player to hurry up a bit, with a good old roar from Bowser. If that doesn't work! If the stickers at your disposal are not enough for you, you can even buy others, which will correspond more to the emotions you want to express, in Toad's shop. Stickers may seem trivial, but they're a great way to add atmosphere to online games.
JVFR
Mario Party Superstars, the opinion of JVFR
Mario Party Superstars is the second title in the series to be released on Nintendo Switch, and if you're looking for the best… stick to Super Mario Party! This album was of course not perfect, but full of fun new ideas that allowed entertainment in various ways.
This new game still has the advantage of flirting with nostalgics: if you've been playing Mario Party for a long time, you'll be happy to find mini-games that have marked you and made you laugh in previous games. The addition of online mode, too, is life-saving. Mario Party mini-games are often very nice, and it's a shame to have to wait for friends to be available to play them. And we must admit that even if we don't know them, we prefer to play against real players rather than against the computer. In addition, being able to play against strangers, without confining oneself to the list of friends, offers the assurance of always being able to find opponents.
The online mode is definitely what saves Mario Party Superstars. The rest of the game is much more secondary, and ultimately does not offer much more than previous games.
Mario Party superstars
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As a compendium of some of the best mini-games in the series, Mario Party Superstars promises hours of fun, more on the "free play" side, for a real Proust madeleine effect. The online mode is really the most interesting addition to this opus: no need to invite friends over to have hours of laughter on Mario Party! For the rest, the game is far from essential and we prefer its predecessor Super Mario Party, with its excellent raft mode.Most
- The pleasure of finding iconic mini-games in current graphics
- Freedom of choice in the mountain with mini-games
- The online mode that allows you to play even when you are alone in your living room
The lessers
- The game lacks a real co-op mode like in Super Mario Party
- The squares of the board mode are not varied enough
- Overall unsurprising
