Mario Party 9 was recently released to mediocre reviews, despite receiving an minor overhaul from relative newcomers Nd Cube Co. While the series has seen its highs and lows, a core fanbase drives Nintendo to continue publishing the strangely addictive multiplayer game. But, even the die hard fans have their complaints. We also have solutions. The Mario Party franchise has grown stale over the years, even with the Wii’s more interactive control interface. A lot could be done to fix this broken series, even if it means changing everything we know about Mario Party.
Here are the top ten things we want to see in the yet-to-be announced Mario Party 10:
9) Make the game boards for Party Mode relevant!
All of them. Mario Party has released some great boards that really changed the strategy for the players throughout their nine-title run. Snowflake Lake in Mario Party 6 was a brand new take on how boards were managed and it felt great. Stealing stars from players was a refreshing choice for the already innovative title (Day & Night was the best thing that ever happened to Mario Party), and we’ve been waiting for boards like it ever since. Occasionally Nintendo has shown us that they care about the boards – Mario Party 8‘s Shy Guy’s Perplex Express – but if they put that love into each and every board it would truly be something special.
- What we’d love to see: Mario Galaxy board. Paper Mario board. 8-bit board.
8) Cut the luck-based minigames
Nothing makes a gang of partiers groan like a damn luck-based minigame. Sure, make instances on the board based on luck, but taking three minutes for players to watch a luck-based game unfold is a true party killer. There is enough time wasted waiting for your friends to take their turn (or…ugh…the NPC player) that the last thing this slow-paced game needs is more waiting time. When I own my 12-year-old sister in a round of Mario Party, I don’t want her to call shenanigans on me because I won from a luck game.
- What we’d love to see: If luck games must be kept, then introduce gambling mechanics to bring some sort of fun to these dull games.
7) Less waiting around during Party Mode
As we’ve touched on throughout, there is a lot of sitting around with Mario Party. When I go to a buddy’s rager, you know how much I sit around? I don’t. I’m shotgunning beers and climbing trees and stuff. I don’t go to parties to sit around waiting for something to happen. And that’s a big complaint in the Party Mode of Mario Party. If a group of friends are going to sit around playing 50 turns, the game needs to be livened up to a whole new level. This one complaint has led most of my party friends to dive into the Mini-Game Mode and stop wasting all their time waiting on Josh to tap the A button once he gets out of the bathroom.
- What we’d love to see: Something for players to do while waiting for their friend’s turn. Skip NPC turns completely.
6) We want more, bring on the DLC
Mario Party is a bundle of joy for the first 10 or so playthroughs, but after that the game becomes stagnant. “Oh, Lava or Leave ‘Em again, no point in trying because Eddie is the best at that one.” For the right price, gamers would totally pay for another 40 minigames a month or so after the original release date. Nintendo could even bring in new boards, new characters, anything they’d like. This will bring longevity to their titles and would hopefully force them to bring more innovation to the table with their next full entry.
- What we’d love to see: Downloadable Nintendo franchise characters. Themed minigame bundle packs. More time with each game.
5) Revisit old games/ boards
I’ve been screaming this one since Mario Party 5, but we want to replay all those fondly remembered boards and minigames remastered in glorious HD. Even with the supposed lack of technology coming with the Wii U, there should be more than enough room per disc to supply at least a handful of the classic Party Mode boards and a plethora of the minigames we’ve come to know and love. Much like Nintendo has done with the recent Mario Kart games, old ideas could be inserted into the new game to bring nostalgia to older players and show some of the series’ highlights to younger players. The fact that this hasn’t been done yet is a bit of a surprise, but could be a highlight for the next entry in the classic series.
- What we’d love to see: All the minigames from Mario Party 1. The Day & Night feature from Mario Party 6. Nothing from Mario Party 4.
4) Use today’s technology to your advantage
To say that Mario Party 8 & 9 have let down their fanbase is an understatement. With more technology at our fingertips and the most innovative gaming console known to man in our living rooms, these last two entries have yet to fully use what’s been given. Much like Skyward Sword took full use of the Wii’s technology (some argue for the first time), Mario Party is a game just waiting for the fun of Nintendo’s unique take on gaming to be utilized. Shaking the controller faster than your opponents was a good start and the point-and-click games are crazy fun, but there must be more. The developers at Nd Cube Co. get paid a lot of money to think about how to surprise us with new, innovative play mechanics, and we’re still waiting to see the fruits or their labor. We’re not quite sure what’s going to come with the Wii U later this year, but if the Wii was any indication then it’s going to be a special console for sure.
- What we’d love to see: We have no idea – that’s why we’re not getting paid by Nintendo.
3) A deeper single-player mode
By deeper we mean deep at all. The single-player mode in these games has always been lackluster at best, which makes sense – this is a party after all. But it would be great if someone could sit down by him- or herself and have fun with Mario Party 10. Sure, with online technology, a gamer is never truly alone anymore, but sometimes you just want to sit at home, munch some Doritos, and escape the world. Creating a Party Mode/Mario RPG hybrid could be a great way to add bonus content to those precious little discs. Keep it simple, but give gamers something to do while their friends are out living real lives and making “grown-up money.” Anything would be better than what we have now, and the solution is to step back from a full-on solo Party Mode and create something completely new.
- What we’d love to see: Solo leveling up, then take your character online. A fun story a la any DS Mario title. A testing ground for Nintendo’s newer single-player ideas.
2) Online play is an absolute must
It’s 2012 and online gaming is a thing of the present. Gamers have been playing online for years now and it’s time Nintendo stepped up to the plate. There is no reason three buddies playing Mario Party 10 should have to suffer through an NPC Birdo taking her sweet-ass time deciding who to steal stars from. And even on the hardest difficultie levels, there is no way that NPC Waluigi is going to even compete with you and your friends in a four-hour Party Mode grind. Bring Mario Party into this decade and let’s have some drop-in online multiplayer games, already! Keep the headsets out of it and let’s see how well your friends do against an eight-year-old Korean kid who plays Mario Party 10 all damn day.
- What we’d love to see: Mario Party high scores.
1) Focus on Mini-Game Mode
Sure, the game is called Mario Party and the board game is dubbed Party Mode, but does that make it the best part of the game? Absolutely not. As you’ve seen, we have a lot of complaints about Party Mode, and that’s because it’s just not the most fun you can have in this game. Mini-Game Mode is the crowd-pleaser: it gives the immediate satisfaction of owning your friends in minigames, it’s a fast-paced attention-grabber, and it leads to the most angered rivalries. Nintendo needs to find a way to make Mini-Game Mode last an hour, keeping the intensity for the whole “party.” Players will come out dripping with sweat, raspy-voiced, and beaming with smiles.
- What we’d love to see: Non-stop action – even between minigames. The death of the Party Mode board as we know it.
There it is. We’ve got some honorable mentions but we’ll save those for another day. What are you looking forward to in Mario Party 10? Are you even looking at all? Let us know below.
I dissagree,I think they should keep luck minigames because it adds a exciting twist to the game.
perhaps if they add a sub genre for whether or not to have luck minigames or to just make it all luck minigames. personal comment, I don’t like luck minigames at all in duel mode as your wages hang in the balance of propability, so you could end up losing a star over the fact that the minigame picked the other guy instead of you.
that “exciting twist” ends in the computers favor about 90% of the time. IT NEEDS TO GO.
or at least dont have the ENITRE game being luck based. it used to be heavily skill based all around
that “exciting twist” ends in the computers favor about 90% of the time. IT NEEDS TO GO.
or at least dont have the ENITRE game being luck based. it used to be heavily skill based all around
I think there should be more playable characters in the actual party mode itself.
I don’t think luck based mini games should be cut. They make it more balanced when new players come into the fray and seem fitting for Battle minigames a lot. It’s hard to get people to play a game they’ve never played before with you because you play it all the time and they know you will destroy them.
if someone is worried about being owned, they can always receive a good handicap. personally, I think luck mini games makes it difficult to know the obvious mini game master and it would ruin the point of being skilled at mini games. I cannot say this for the majority of gamers even if they agreed with me.
This is an extremely biased review, the only thing I agreed with was to cut the luck based mini games. Party mode is the thing that needs to be focused on. And I gaged Omar the thought of adding dlc to a mario game, especially Mario party. There is also no way to stop the waiting around for someone to go on their turn.(Its not their fault if they have to go to the bathroom).
Probably the worst thing said on here was to revive old game boards, the whole point is to come up with new ones. But what do I know, I should have saw this all coming when I realized this person like the aspects of party 6(the worst one yet).
At the thought of
you missed make a board
That is actually a good thought
stfu about mario party 4! it was a great game and you think mario party 9 is any better than it? but anyway all those things are good
why do they have 4player
ukjkkk
…Mario Party 9 actually received above-average reviews…longest in a long time, and it included new features such as boss battles, the party all driving in the same vehicle (So players 1-4 all had to stay and see what was happening as they could be switched into the lead role at any time). As well, you don’t have to play ANY NPC during party mode if you dont’ want to, it can be 100% human players, even if you only have two. Come on, do your research before you start posting all this information.
I’m still holding out for the ability for players to make their own custom boards in this one — similar to that in Smash Brothers with players able to create their own stages.
This sucks. I don’t really agree with anything you said, except for bringing back old mini-games and boards. Maybe just 1 or 2 a game.
Wifi would be sweet. Toadsworth needs to be playable, goddamnit.
I really like these ideas!
I liked Mario Party 6 and 8 just fine; day and night is fun but it’s not something I want in every single game. I’d love to see see a Master Edition of Mario Party, with a bunch of old boards remastered, plus a bunch of new boards based on old mechanics (like a few new boards that you play in Day and Night mode, for example). How about switchable gameplay like Smash Bros Brawl, where you can use a Wiimote or GameCube controll, ‘cept in MP for Wii U it’d be Wiimote or Classic Controller.
Eliminate the party boards?? Is this guy mad?? Seriously, that’s what makes the game: battling eachother on the board! It’s where the most strategy comes into place. The minigames should be action skill, and the board strategy skill.
Eliminate the luck based games? Well, maybe not eliminate luck entirely, but yes any game that is pure dumb luck should be axed. I don’t mind luck coming into play, but when you eliminate the need for any skill whatsoever it takes out all the fun. The game might as well spin a wheel to see who wins the coins.
And that’s something else: BRING BACK THE COINS! I like having money to spend on items/orbs/candy/dice blocks/hire-a-goon (or boo). Mario Party 9 wrecked that.
I think MP9 also wrecked the length of the game. Sometimes you just want a quickie, but sometimes you want an all-day grind to see how many stars you can buy or steal. I wouldn’t mind there being a mix of boards; maybe have a fixed-length mode where you travel the board and you’re done, and a normal mode where you loop the board and pick how many turns it takes. Also, could we have the option to switch settings mid-game? Change characters, add or remove remaining rounds, turn bonus stars on or off that kind of thing.
Maybe I’m the only one who thinks so, but online play is not the be-all and end-all of what makes a game worthwhile. That’s probably a very unpopular opinion, but I like being in the room with the people I’m battling, and I friggin hate rage quitters and people with slow connections. Don’t get me started on Nintendo’s method of picking who has the same skill as someone else. I tried that with Mario Kart and found I was always put against some people with no skill and others who would destroy me — all in the same race. Should Mario Party have an online option? Sure, why not. But don’t make it mandatory to play online for any reason — such as to unlock anything.
One thing I really liked from Mario Party 6 was the orbs, and being able to place them as traps on the board. If that idea is brought back, maybe have some hybrid candy/orbs. Like springo — you can bounce to another person on the board. Very handy when you WANT to use it, how about if you place it on the board and if someone lands on it or passes by they get sprung to someone else’s spot? Then you can use your candy/orbs to either help yourself or hurt others. Like I said, I really like the strategy portion that playing on the board brings.
Mario Party 9 did one thing right, though: you don’t HAVE to have 4 players! The computer players are just stupid sometimes, and when you have less than 4 people playing it can be really annoying, especially when you play tag teams and one unlucky person gets stuck with the computer. So keep the option to play with fewer than 4 players (maybe have some boards that require 4 players in order to fully utilize it, that way you encourage people to play in full groups).
Captains? NO. ‘Nuff said. The “drive a car and battle your friends” idea has been done before. You know where? MARIO KART. If I want to drive a car as a Mario character and fight my friends I have another outlet to do that in, I don’t need that mechanic forced onto me in what is essentially a board game. What other board game in real life works like that?? Nintendo has really lost sight of what Mario Party is supposed to be. What if Mario Kart had something like a white or orange turtle shell, something that if you hit an opponent the whole game gets put on hold while the two karters played a minigame, and whoever won got a speed boost and the loser gets knocked off course. Don’t you think that would ruin the racing experience, to have the game halted every time someone got one of those? Yeah Nintendo, it doesn’t work the other way around either. Cut it out, seriously.
I think Mario Party 8 was a great game, maybe not quite as good as previous Mario Party games (I only like 3 of the 6 boards, I only play the other 3 when introducing a newcomer to the game). But me and my MP buddies all agree, Mario Party 9 is not a Mario Party game. We call it “Mario Get Together”. It’s gone too far in trying to make the game “fair”, where more skilled players have less chance of beating unskilled players. That’s why I don’t even bother with new Mario Kart games, they’re doing the exact same thing. Super Mario Kart was fun because the more skilled I got, the better I did in the game. But Mario Kart for Wii totally ruined it for me. One time I’ll play against the computer and whoop his butt; I’ll play the same track on the same settings and finish dead last. Skill should be rewarded. Nobody feels special when they win through pure luck.
four words: MAKE DK PLAYABLE AGAIN!!!
my opinion: 1. let us determine whether or not luck minigames appear and how often. maybe let us decide which minigames exactly appear.
2a. get rid of the duel routlet and bring back predetermined wages.
2b. enable the ability to stake multiple stars in duels.
3. add a difficulty adjustment for board strategy to CPUs.
4a. if there is going to be something like day and night, let us determine how long each session lasts. if a special event happens after a certain number of turns (eg. bowser event mp7), let us determine how often they appear.
4b. better still, let us decide whether or not either of these events apply to the session you are playing.
5. let us play an unlimited mode and worry about determining a last turn while playing it.
change in 2a. toggle whether the duel winnings come from predetermined stakes, or a dice block, or a routlet.
I agree with a lot of the points… Further to someone else’s comment, BRING BACK THE COINS! I liked the strategy involved in trying to get to the right place on the board to buy your star! I also agree with being able to choose whether or not to include luck mini games. Don’t like many of the boards, they need an overhaul. And I hate traveling in a car together and not playing a game at the end of each (of everyone’s) turn.
Does anyone remember the one player game (I think it was in MP1, but I could be wrong) where your character rode the roller coaster and had to win at each mini game against the computer players? That was a great solo adventure! It was hard enough and long enough and took some real effort to complete.