Mario Party N64 Controller
Image: Nintendo Life

Both Mario Party and Mario Party 2 have rolled their way onto the Switch today thanks to the NSO Expansion Pack, bringing with them waves of party co-op nostalgia (and/or rivalry).

Aside from the minigames, music and those creepy character designs, for many of us one of the biggest memories of the original N64 title is the pain caused by rotating the Control Stick with the palm of your hand - hey, that boat isn't going to paddle itself. Fortunately, Nintendo has issued a warning which precedes the original Mario Party this time round, reminding us to rotate the control stick using our thumb, not our palm.

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When loading up the title from the NSO Nintendo 64 Library, the following message now appears on screen:

CAUTION: Some individuals may experience skin irritation and/or damage the Control Stick if they rotate it with the palm of their hand. Nintendo recommends the Control Stick be rotated with the thumb only.

Mario Party NSO Warning
Image: Nintendo Life

Now, a warning such as this may seem obvious to those out there who are coming to the game for the first time. Sure, if the controls are hurting your hands why not just use them like they are intended to be used? But you weren't there, man. You weren't there.

For many of us, using our palms was the only way to get a heads up in minigames such as 'Paddle Battle,' 'Cast Aways' and 'Tug O' War'. It may have hurt, but what's a game of Mario Party without a little pain (physical and emotional)? The Joy-Cons' Control Sticks sure are more comfortable than those barbed wire-encrusted ends on the N64, but with drifting and other worries on our minds today, we'd say that the new warning is probably for the best.

This message follows a similar one that appears at the start of Mario Party Superstars, warning people not to cause themselves a mischief while playing two of the classic stick rotators.

Back in the hazy days of the 1990s when Mario Party was first released, Nintendo offered out gaming gloves to all those who had been injured by excessive Control Stick rotation. Today's pre-game warning seems to be a slightly more cost-effective method on the Big N's part, we'd say.

Here's hoping that nobody gets hurt this time around; although in the heat of a Mario Party battle, we doubt that will be possible.

What are your memories of Mario Party? Roll to move down into the comments and let us know!