Nintendo 64x64

6/64

1999

Mario Party

"Aside from being the first release in Nintendo's long-running party game series, Mario Party's biggest claim to fame is its stick-spinning mini-games, which left many eager players with blisters on their palms. The series may have come a long way since 1999, but this title nevertheless features a diverse range of timeless mini-games and every aspect exudes charm -- except for its cheating CPU opponents."

7/10 - Martin Watts 64

#nintendo64x64

User Reviews (11)

"Ah, the stick-spinning minigames, I miss those (not). Being the first title in the series this was also the one I played first. Combining dice board game and minigames was a fun idea. Nowadays there's just too many MP-games. While some of the later games were better, original is still fun to play today. Maybe that's because MP-games are so similiar to each other."

7/10 - Luffymcduck 64

"A favourite among my family as I was growing up. I loved the boards, simple games, and inevitable fall-outs along the way. Sure there were some less than exciting mini games but there were also some really great ones (I have most fond memories of the ball dodgem and flag raising ones). A boring experience on your own, but so much fun in multiplayer."

8/10 - dinosauryoshi 64

"When this came out, boy it was a novelty, playing a board game with Mario... crazy! The first Mario Party was fun with friends and family, as most Mario Party are, but don't play it alone. Ever. The concept of minigames felt relatively new for us young players at the time. In my case, the sticks of my controllers suffered more than my hands."

8/10 - Twilight_Crow 64

"No game resulted in more broken controllers, mangled thumbs and temporarily destroyed friendships than this cart. Despite all of that, this was probably one of the best entries in the series. The legacy of this game lives on in the number of sequels and clones that have been produced after it. After all these years, I think it still can stand up against them."

8/10 - Darknyht 64

"Mario Party was the type of game that the system with four controller ports needed. You could put 4 people in front of it with little to no instructions, required very little gaming skill, and was a nostalgia filled fun time. Even with the fun though, the games seemed to drag on a bit long, and the game seems intent on wearing out controllers."

6/10 - TRON 64

"A fun game that started the whole Mario Party craze, although 2 and 3 are better than 1. While this game can still be fun today, losing coins for losing mini-games was not great, the rotating stick mini-games was also not great, and the graphics aren't the best for N64 standards. The game does shine when you have 4 people together having a blast."

8/10 - 64

"The trendsetter that started the party of eclectic fun mini-games. Besides being the first, it also holds the distinction of being the most sadistic; players had more opportunities to steal coins from other players or get involved in real-world lawsuits over torn up hands. Besides these differences, Mario Party is a victim of not offering as much as future games in the milked series."

7/10 - VGScrapbook 64

"Playing it again today may not be healthy for the hands but for a time this game was king of the living room in my house. In a way I hope to play it again through the Virtual Console with alterations to some controls in certain minigames, of course. It's the only one of the series that penalized for losing but that built character!"

8/10 - FJOJR 64

"Mario Party plus three friends equals blistered palms and tons of fun. For all the shortcomings of the series, the original party was a breath of fresh air. With a minigame island and several different boards to choose from, the game has a plethora of content to satisfy that board game itch. Unfortunately no virtual console release means that few today will experience it."

9/10 - Samuel-Flutter 64

"Mario Party. Back in the day I bought it just because the box looked appealing to me (yeah, I was like that back then). To be honest, a digital board-game shouldn't work. But it worked! Even playing alone was lots of fun, thanks to all the cool and clever mini-games. The sequel did add capsules, but besides that I like this first one better!"

7/10 - Henmii 64

"How to start off but say how the world would never be the same without this little gem of a game. One of the earliest staples to kick off the party game genre, the clones this game spawned are still seen to this day. Some really fun, and not so fun (blisters) mini games, with some nice boards make this entry one to remember."

8/10 - Lunapplebloom 64

Comments 14

mystman12

I've never played the original Mario Party, but I recently got a copy of Mario Party 3, and I love it! One of the best multiplayer games ever IMO.

Lunapplebloom

Mario Party! Now we're talking. I never really played any of the other games up for review so far besides Mario 64. Even though I had a 64, my scope of gaming was rather limited compared to today.

Glad I can finally participate in another.

Samuel-Flutter

@mystman12 Funnily enough, when the original Mario Party was released, I distinctly remember walking into Toys-R-Us and seeing it mislabeled as Mario Party 3. (Apparently one associate saw the dice and assumed it was a sequel. I laughed, and thought that there wouldn't be three Mario Parties for a long time. Now it's 15 yearsish later, and we have ten.

VGScrapbook

@Samuel-Flutter That's a funny story. I was actually thrown off for a second by the 3 in the dice when I saw this box art just now for the first time in a long time.

NintendoLife, here's another cry for having this feature linked somewhere on the front page. It's a shame for such a brilliantly designed feature to be forgotten so quickly. Just compare the participation when it was linked during the first two games.

Uncle_Franklin

Seriously Nintendo Life, what are you doing? Does anybody even run this site any more?

Put this feature on the home page.

Lunapplebloom

I know you guys linked this in your last feature with the N64, but I think another link featuring this somewhere prominently on the front page would be good as well.

BJQ1972

Did anybody get a free glove from Nintendo to prevent the inevitable blisters?

FantasiaWHT

I never blistered, but I did break controllers.

FJOJR

As far as the best in the series I believe that 4 struck the best balance though 2 really was a step above the original while 3 was just 2 but bigger. 7 was a good entry especially for the experimental 8-player minigames. The mic games in 6 & 7 were more trouble than they were worth. 8 was just horrendous, probably the worst of the series, lazy ideas, lack of widescreen, lack of 60 fps, maybe it was a huge sign of the fall of Hudson. Have not tried 9, DS, Advance, e, or Island Tour but I'm looking forward to 10.

Beau_Skunk

I liked some things about the first better then the later sequels, so I kinda hope some day they can rerelease it, if they edit the "spin control stick" minigame controls, and change them to a different control scheme, and maybe balance the difficulty for the mini-game island a bit.
Still, regardless of that MP1 is probably one of my favorite MP games. Especially the soundtrack which seemed more "Mario" to me, then later MP games. I also loved how the main menu was a mushroom village giving it a bit of an RPG-like vibe. I also liked the unlockable events in the game like what happens when you get 100 stars.

Neferupitou

Oh man a have some very sweet memories with this one here...oh the days.

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