In this series of articles we'll write about one Mario game every day for 30 days, each representing a different year as part of our Super Mario 30th Anniversary celebrations.
We'll admit it, we're cheating a little with this entry. All entries in this series of articles have - until now - taken their release dates from the North American arrivals, but this time around we're using the Japanese release date. Why? Well, 1998 was pretty quiet on the Mario front, and we think this mini-game collection should be acknowledged.
Since its arcade and then 8-bit days Nintendo had been focused on gaming as a primarily fun pastime, but the concept of a mini-game collection was rather fresh when Mario Party arrived on the Nintendo 64. For better or worse, depending on your perspective, this title set in motion an expansion of 'casual' games on Nintendo hardware, even if this first entry came at a time when that term wasn't even commonly used.
Though playable in single player, this original - like all of its sequels - is best enjoyed in a room full of other gamers. It's therefore a reminder that the N64 wasn't just a revelation in its graphics and controller, but also in its multiplayer capabilities. It made four player gaming a relatively common affair, in the process helping to shape the idea of actually playing games with a group of friends. This was a neat idea at the time.
As the first of this franchise, Mario Party also represented the beginning of a long-term partnership with the now-defunct Hudson Soft, a studio which would go on to produce eight mainline home console entries in the franchise. The company clearly mastered the art of mini-games, earning plenty of work from Nintendo in the process.
So, what about the game itself? It had a modest cast to choose from, admittedly, but introduced what would become familiar board game rules for the series - try to beat other players by picking up stars, jumping into one of dozens of mini-games when necessary. Though always in competition with rivals - and this was before all players travelled together around the board - some mini-games necessitated co-op.
Of course, the original Mario Party is well known for the fact that it landed Nintendo in a little trouble - a fairly humorous issue with the passing of time. The N64 controller's analogue stick was rather hard under the hand, a far cry from modern efforts with a softer feel, and some game design unwittingly caused problems. The first game was heavy on mini-games that necessitated rotating the stick as quickly as possible, with some players attempting to achieve faster speed by using the palm of their hand.
As a result there were a small number of complaints about hand injuries, no doubt from over-zealous players. Official complaints in the US famously required Nintendo to issue gloves to those affected, a peculiar bit of damage control. It could have potentially cost millions of dollars if everyone with the game had claimed this 'compensation', but in reality the number of claimants would have been low.
Subsequent entries scaled back on joystick rotation, though in the Wii era waggling took its place. In addition Hudson Soft stopped producing the games after Mario Party 8, but the fact we've just recently had Mario Party 10 on the Wii U is a testament to the franchises' enduring popularity.
Comments 22
Mario Party, the game that broke your controller... still fun though.
BUT IT'S-A ME, MARIO!!!
There's nothing sadder than playing Mario Party alone.
Ah, yes. Mario Party. One of the video game series that defined my childhood, starting from a Blockbuster rental that my sister brought over that one day. I can understand why it won't come to VC, but I'd still much prefer this over Mario Party 2. Mini Game Island was a fun mode for its time, but nowadays it's just a near-redundant trial of minigames with objectives to follow to earn tacked-on extra lives.
Mario Party 1 ain't my favorite, though. That would be 3.
3 for me, as well.
Best Mario Party. Come on Nintendo, I want to play it again.
Mario Party 3 is probably my favourite out of the bunch. I finished Story mode with all the characters c:
Mario Party Advance is the worst game in the series.
I know Mario Party is tantamount to a four-letter-word to some, but I have to admit when the first game came out, it really was a killer app for my N64 system. Almost every week we wound up renting the first game and playing it nearly non-stop all weekend, finally getting our own copies of Mario Party 2 (still my favorite in the series, I wish they'd bring back themed costumes) and 3 (which due to it's rarity I wish my parent's hadn't sold it from under me)
As for the famed 'blistered palms', we learned very quickly, like 2 mini-games in, to keep an old sock by our sides at all times to serve as our 'glove'. Worked very well for the time.
I'd rank the Mario Party games I've had as follows: 2, 4, 7, 9, 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, Advance. Never played DS, Island Tour, 10, or e.
I had this! Well still have this actually, my mate got the palm blister! Such a fun game at the time
This was the first game I ever played I still have it
I still play the DS version now and again...
The only game in the series I've played is MP: Island Tour on 3DS. It's an absolute blast to play with a few friends. I love it. It didn't get very good reviews though.
Mario Party 9 and 10 are 2 of my all time fave games. I didn't really like Hudson doing them.
The last ones have been so much more fun and mario oriented for me and my friends.
That weird top hat presenter in mp8 was just weird ☺
I didnt ever care about my battle scars haha. I wore my blisters with pride ! Still my favorite Mario Party out of the first 3 on 64. The later ones on the cube were pretty fun too. They started losing me once they put it on the wii and wii u... Those games arent fun or anything like the past. The boards alone need help though i can say on wii the levels were way more fun than their latest attempt.
They should just make an all star party where they take all the things liked from the previous entries and just make them HD & Online with chat, atleast for friends. Man id have a field day there, probably couldnt pull me off that game if you tired !
Loved the 3 on N64, loved the 4 on Gamecube and loved part 8 on Wii. Yup, after Hudson Soft stopped making them, they seemed to turn to that one car vehicle game, and didn't have as much charm as the others. These were fun titles to play with family and friends, even fun to play on your own, but definitely better with family. My wife and I still play these, and my kids are coming close to the ages to begin too!
Here we are 10 games later. We've come a long way from the original Mario Party game that was actually fun to play with friends to the current Mario Party 10 that is almost not a game. Actually, Mario Party 10 is the only Wii U retail title that I own that I would trade in @ Gamestop.....if it weren't for the fact that my youngest old son loves it.
Shoot I loved this one. I've enjoyed them all actually except the GBA one was a bit odd. This game is where I really started picking up Yoshi as my favorite all time character more than anything else too.
Still the best Mario Party. Sadly, it may never get a VC re-release, because of the rotating-the-stick issue. Which, actually, is one of the reasons why MP1 is more fun than all the others.
However, I'm hoping that on the Wii U, MP3 finally gets the VC release it didn't get on the Wii, because I played it only briefly back in the old days.
Mario Party; breaking controllers and friendships since '98
MP10 is the nail in the coffin for me on this series. It was easily one of my favorites since the original but it's just not working for me anymore. Even Island Tour was much more appealing than 10. Which saddens me. Maybe it'll make it's way back around and be fun again someday.
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