
Nintendo's big release this week is Mario Party Superstars and it's a bit of a throwback to past generations. It features 100 classic minigames from the GameCube and Nintendo 64 generations, but is it actually worth forking out for?
The reviews for this latest release are now live, along with our own. As usual, we've rounded up a mixture of quotes and scores from various other outlets to give you an idea of what you can expect.
And if you haven't already, be sure to check out our own review from the very lovely Alex Olney:
So, what did other critics have to say?
IGN gave the game 8/10 - also noting how it's the best the series has been in a long time:
"Mario Party Superstars is an amalgamation of some of the best boards, minigames, mechanics, and quality of life improvements from the whole series, resulting in the best Mario Party has been in a very long time."
Game Informer said it was a "delightful stroll down memory lane", awarding it 8/10:
"Mario Party Superstars is either a delightful stroll down memory lane or a great way to experience these games for the first time. No matter your history, it's a worthwhile celebration of the Mario Party franchise."
GameSpot still prefers Super Mario Party, and gave this latest entry one of the lowest scores - 6/10:
"Mario Party Superstars certainly provides the highs that the series is capable of, but unless you're restricted to playing on the Switch Lite or itching to play with a Pro Controller, there's a better version of this game available for you and your loved ones to play in Super Mario Party."
Wccftech says it's still as fun as you might remember, giving it an 8/10:
"Mario Party Superstars offers a selection of completely revamped boards from the earliest days of the franchise. It might not offer much new, or change much, but it looks and feels as wild as fun as you remember."
And fellow Nintendo website, Nintendo Insider, awarded it a 9/10 - again, mentioning how it's the "best party" Mario has thrown in some time thanks to its "more traditional" take:
"Mario Party Superstars dips back into the series twenty-plus year history to deliver an entry that’s huge amounts of fun and sure to please long-time fans hungry for a more traditional Mario Party experience. Not only a warm nostalgic trip but the best party Mario has thrown in some time."
Mario Party Superstars is out today on the Nintendo Switch and is available in physical and digital form from the Switch eShop. Will you be checking out Mario's latest party? Comment down below.
Comments 56
If you look at Gamespot's review it's an absolute joke. They literally said that not having motion controls was a negative.
"Get ready to party like it's 1999"
My thought....
https://youtu.be/hmRr3MqwNlY
As someone who have never played Mario Party 1 + 2 + 3 from N64, i think Mario Party Superstars is like better replacement of Mario Party games on N64 since they look outdated in my opinion.
It’s very interesting we got a Mario Party game like this. Judging on the reception of this overall, I feel like NDCube is going to try to stick with making Mario Party consistent. As much as I like Partner Party, the Table Minigames and the Rowing Mode in Super, I think the general consensus is to focus strictly on what made Mario Party popular and there’s no use to variate, since it just leads to alot of discomfort for fans. Maybe leave those extra ideas to something like a Wii Party successor if they ever get the chance.
@RandomGamesAndStuff tbf, motion controls in Mario party games are actually pretty good since the mini games can be tailored to specifically the motion control.
@RandomGamesAndStuff Hah! Don't they normally complain that games HAVE motion controls?
@Snow-Dust I understand why motion controls have historically been a part of Mario Party since 8, in Super they were mostly fun, but specifically critiquing a game for NOT having them? That's dumb.
Didn't GameSpot also give Tropical Freeze a 6/10?
People love to hate on IGN, but their review scores are more fair than this. At least with the "too much water" meme, that game was almost an 8/10.
I'll stick to the Mario Party Trilogy on my original N64 with my Nintendo Offline Service +Expansion Pak.😜
Glad others get to enjoy some of the best in the series though.
@Not_Soos Giving games ratings is really hard, and some people are just really bad at it
Wouldn't purchase this if it got 10/10 across the board. Same reason I won't get Street Fighter, joycons are far too fragile!
I think my only real disappointment is the lack of the character-specific dice blocks from Super. I absolutely loved that extra layer of strategy.
@RandomGamesAndStuff He also implies the cons listed are problems his CHILDREN had with the game. Professional Game Journalist right here folks.
@Kyloctopus I agree with not deviating TOO MUCH, a little bit is good as long as it is optional. I would love some new optional content. I played the Tennis and Car game in Mario Party 5 so much in my childhood. It made me so happy.
But if I could pick between the best content in the Party Mode itself, or the extra content, I would definitely pick the Party Mode.
Would also like new mechanics that were fun. Like the day/night system in 6. I wish some boards had that. Hell no to cars though.
@andyg1412 Actually, part of the appeal of this game is that you can play it with any controller, including a Pro controller. Also works with Switch Lite.
The GameSpot review was pretty absurd.
@Nin10dood Back in 2010 my roommate, her bf and I played Mario Party 3 to death. Whichever friend was over was the 4th player and they had to fear us other three. We were tracking our wins on a scoreboard on the wall!
@arekdougy
Haha, that's awesome.
Great couch multiplayer game.
One of the best.
@RandomGamesAndStuff and they would be right! Motion controls add unparalleled variety to mini games compared to what can be done with a few buttons and a stick. How many mini games end up just being mash a to win? Motion controls can change up this exact scenario in so many ways such as shaking a soda can or cranking a flag pole in mario party 8.
You people are aware that 6/10 is not a bad score, right? Regardless of how you feel about the finer points of GameSpot's review, a game being just fine, and not great, is okay.
Won’t somebody think of the joycon drift!?
@iambobthebush That sounds like an entirely legitimate critique though? It's fine as adults to enjoy these games but they are for children first and foremost, and if kids struggle that's a genuine mark against the game and actually a point of diligence to check as part of a consumer review.
I can see what will happen with the copy I got my oldest nephew—he'll like it well enough, but if his sibling, who is more shy of button-based titles can't get on with it, it will be inferior to SMP by default.
I might be in the minority, but I much preferred the ridiculously unfair Mario Party experience, where someone might land on a Bowser space and the leaderboard is reversed. Or you're just about to land on the star space, and your coins get stolen. These are the things that made Mario Party fun - I don't want a fair competitive experience
@Ninetaled “How many mini games end up just being mash a to win?”
You raise a mash to win… I raise you a waggle to win.
So, no, bad logic
@kupocake "It's fine as adults to enjoy these games but they are for children first and foremost"
Wrong. Nintendo themselves have said multiple times their games are designed for all ages, not children first and Nintendo know their own games best. This one in particular has had a big marketing push towards adults who remember the originals.
And no, it's not a legitimate reason to mark it down because an individual child happens to prefers motion control to button control. The Gamespot review is silly. It's meant to be him reviewing the game, not his child who prefers Super Mario Party.
As an adult it's a plus point for me if the game has a less childish and overly simplified control scheme. I didn't like how Mario Party was turning into Wii Sports.
My main problem is with the "reviews" for the game, specifically with the online. By now I'm basically used to NLife's single sentence referring to online options in their reviews, but It's just not good enough.
Especially considering Nintendo's woeful online track record, review sites like this one need to be a bit more thorough, in my opinion.
For example, having read the NLife review, does anyone know:
Is there any voice chat?
How many players can play across how many consoles? (Super Mario party players may know why I ask)
What happens if one random player quits? Are they seamlessly replaced with an AI?
All basic questions. So many more need answering before we have a complete picture of this game. Love this site and hate to complain, but this isn't the first time your reviews have been horrendously inadequate when it comes to online.
I still feel like there is some Nintendo pandering going on here. I would love to get this for my kids but even they got bored of the lack of boards in Super and 1 of them they flat out didnt like taking the count down by 1. I will get it at some point but as my daughter has just got in to smash bros i will hold out as long as possible i think or at least until she spots it and begs me to buy it 😂
@Clyde_Radcliffe It's ok to love the child's game hun.
@kupocake Okay, you know better who their games are aimed at than Nintendo then. 🤔
Seems to be a consensus of : its what you wanted! Good to hear!! ❤️
I think the GameSpot criticisms are fair points, a purely nostalgic offering that will likely be lost on some folks. I get more insight from outlier reviews than I do from a bunch of 30-something’s all saying “now THIS is Mario Party!”
@kupocake how so? What happened to challenging kids? Everything is far too damn easy and simplified these days, also Nintendo itself doesn't claim to make games for kids but for everyone..Mario Party is for adults as much as it is for kids...motion controls were non existent for decades..kids did fine
@Clyde_Radcliffe it’s not hard to see Mario Party main demographic are children.
@fafonio it was a one to one comparison, how is that bad logic? You can have mini games to mash to win and other to waggle to win which adds more variety to minigames instead of just two mash a to win mini games. You can't have that without motion controls.
@thiz you literally stopped to post the above message.
@ParadoxFawkes first of all...you sound really old. Also, games are back to being extremely difficult. It even has its own genre. Not sure if you game bro.
It's a game for everyone, however this is a celebration of all the older titles which will attract more adults who played those games as kids than kids today.
I plan on getting this at some point. I just wish you could play in handheld mode.
Removed - flaming/arguing
@kupocake I disagree, I'd be fine with the author consulting his kids on if they liked it or not, and then adding an addendum like "Kids might not like this" but the fact of the matter is that the only complaints he had were ones his children had, which isn't very professional when it's your job as an adult to review, I'm going to Gamespot to hear an objective review, not a 12-year-old's biased opinion.
@ParadoxFawkes you are the one arguing about games on the internet. How embarrassing.
@Aurumonado Ah yes, the pick DK or Bowser strategy to constantly roll 10s.
Is there a story mode in it I want to know how much single player content there is
@luke88 I was wondering about these questions too. Also wondering how easy it is to set up games with your friends and how it works to then pause and quit the game to return later?
@neogyo yeah that would be great to know
I already bought the physical today.
I still had Mario Party 10 on Wii U in backlog...
The only 2 MP games i ever bought.
Well ive managed to get my wife (who doesnt play games) and my 17yr old lad(whose constantly glued to his PC) to join me and my daughter for a game. Thats worth the £40 price tag on its own in my oppinion.
you can no longer drive in teams?
Averaging about 79% at the moment?
I caved and bought it anyway, should come in today....
That thumbnail is just a render fiesta.
Honestly, this game is superrr fun and the mini games are class...graphics look amazing and a real laugh playing online...if you're hesitating my advice is take the plunge!!
@Oish
I fully agree with that.
If a night of Mario party with three friends doesn’t end in a near fistfight, the game has failed to live up to the history of the franchise.
The charm of Mario party to me is that it really pushes the limits of friendships because of how unfair the game is at its core. The game screws you and everyone else. That’s the best thing about it. And I’m not being sarcastic at all.
I’ve got Superstar and while I haven’t played it with my friends yet, it gives me vibes of the old N64 game. So hopefully we will all be beating each other up soon.
Gamespot's review was pretty bad to read.
A lot of these reviews aren't really great aren't offering me the info people need to make an informed decision to purchase games.
What control options does it have, online breakdown, mechanics. Some stuff is covered albeit glossed over in parts.
Can someone tell me how different this Mario Party game is from the 3DS title called “The 100”? Is it the same games?
@Magrane The two are pretty different in practice. The only similarity the two have is that they both have 100 minigames from Mario Party 1-10, albeit they have different ones from each other.
Mario Party: The Top 100 is a collection of 100 minigames from throughout the series, Mario Party 1 through Mario Party 10. It's a decent selection overall, and has most of the all time classic minigames. You can play these minigames in a free play mode(you get to play any minigame you want), a minigame island mode(just tells you what order to play them in), and a mode called Minigame Match, where you move across an extremely watered down board that looks like it's from Mario Party Star Rush, released a year earlier. All of these minigames can only be played against CPU's or with friends if the two of you both have the game and are in the same room. No online functionality.
Mario Party Superstars is more in depth. They remade 5 boards from Mario Parties 1-3. 2 boards from Mario Party 1 & 2, and 1 from Mario Party 3. These are beloved boards by many, and they pay homage to classic Mario Party in style. They have a different selection of 100 minigames from across the series. Some minigames are in both titles, but they only share about half of them, with the other half being picked sperate from one another.
You can play in a classic Mario Party format, on the same screen if you have several controllers, or with local play like the 3DS. There is also full online support, with friends or with random people. You can also play these with COMS. You can customize the board rules a fair amount, or you can play Free Play for the minigames, as well as variety of other ways to play Minigames.
Hope this helped!
@RandomGamesAndStuff Wow yes thank you!
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