Game review 23 October 2024, 00:46

author: Giancarlo Saldana

Super Mario Party Jamboree Review: Party Favored

The third Mario Party game on Switch, Jamboree wants to be the next one you pick up. With a plethora of content and some robust features, getting it is a no-brainer.

The review is based on the Switch version.

Mario Party has always been that series that brings players together but can also easy destroy friendships with one roll of the dice. Each entry in the series has also given us more nefarious ways to destroy those friendships with new crafty items, game boards that offer some dastardly tricks, and mini-games that seem simple but are deceptively difficult to master. Since the Nintendo 64, Mario Party has come out on every Nintendo console, and now the Switch gets its third entry making it another great game to test your friendships.

While Super Mario Party gave us new gameplay ideas to consider, Mario Party Superstars took a step back and brought back more traditional game boards and even some classic ones to boot. Both were good in their own way and offered us a plethora of new mini-games, but fans will be thrilled to know that Mario Party Jamboree takes everything that worked for both of those games and gives us one that feels refined, traditional, and yet fresh at the same time. It’s the kind of Mario Party you want to invite your friends over for because there are even more memorable ways to win now, too.

This Party is Popping

Jamboree is your quintessential Mario Party that touts itself as having the most mini-games and game boards out of any game by far. And while more isn’t always better, the sheer number of content really does make it feel like the definitive version of the kind of game you want to play.

At its core, the main party mode goal is what you would expect it to be: collect as many stars as possible before the last turn and come out on top. Getting there involves rolling dice to move around the board and playing a mini-game at the end of each turn for coins to afford them all. Each board has a unique theme and difficulty such as the simple Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party that features a sleeping Wiggler that can change the path you can take depending on whether he wakes up from his nap or not. This map is great for beginners as it’s straightforward and doesn’t feature too many surprises, but its unique event spaces such as gathering honey for coins or getting attacked by a piranha plant make it a charming experience for everyone. Goomba Lagoon amps up the difficulty and features spaces that become inaccessible during high tide every few turns and a volcano that can either erupt in your favor or not.These extra hurdles force you to think about ways to outmaneuver your opponents such as using special items to “turn the tide” on your enemies such as the warp pipe to get out of sticky situations.

You also have Roll ‘Em Raceway that takes place on a race track and has you racing around a multi-lane board at high speed (dice rolls) to get to the star. My favorite, Rainbow Galleria, lets you play in a giant mall where you get a flash sale every five turns letting you get some cool items at discount prices. Its intricate multi-level design makes you forget you’re just running around in circles sometimes looking for the next star position. Then you have the two throwback boards that let you revisit Western Land and Mario’s Rainbow Castle but come complete with modern updates that make them fit right into Jamboree’s overall aesthetic. Classic touches like the unlucky “zstar” that Bowser forces you to buy if you visit him or the Skeleton Key that is used to open gates to shortcuts make a return offering some nostalgia for those who played the originals. I won’t spoil the last board for you, but let’s just say it’s definitely worth the effort to unlock. No game of Mario Party is the same, after all, and with seven boards to choose from, each offering their own unique designs and gimmicks, Jamboree feels quite robust.

New Features Spice Things Up

On top of the new boards, Jamboree also features a new feature called Jamboree Buddies that plop a special character onto the board for you to meet to hopefully make them your partner for a few turns. An extra buddy means double the stars, double the events, but also double the punishment if you land on the wrong space so it’s great when you want to double up on stars or cause some mischief. However, instead of automatically acquiring them when you reach their space, everyone has to do a mini-game to claim them. These games are unique to each buddy and are longer than the typical mini-game, but after all that hard work, you still may run the risk of losing your hard-earned buddy if someone simply runs past you. The issue with the buddy system is that it can lead to massive power plays in a single turn due to their unique abilities. You can use them strategically to maximize the number of coins and stars you get in a turn but even if you worked hard for them in a mini-game, someone can simply catch up to you, steal them, and throw a wrench in your plans.

Party mode also lets you unlock more advanced settings that remove some of the luck-based features of a board to give players a more “fair” experience. While it’s great to land on a chance space and steal someone’s stars in the last turn or randomly find a hidden star and automatically get to first place, you can turn these settings off if you want. Luck isn’t completely thrown out as you are still relying on the roll of a dice, after all, but it streamlines what everyone experiences so you know what the bonus star will be at the end, what Bowser will steal from you if you land on his space, or what items sell out over time so people aren’t hoarding golden warp pipes all the time. While you don’t have full control over all settings in a game, it’s definitely a nice start.

Lots of Content to Keep You Busy

Besides the main party boards, the game also includes some lighthearted multiplayer modes such as Rhythm Kitchen which feels straight out of Rhythm Heavenand lets you and other players compete in rhythm-based motion mini-games in a row where timing is key. You also have a more relaxing yet limited puzzle mode in the form of Toad’s Item Factory which lets you and your friends collaborate in moving platforms and other doodads to guide a ball to the goal. The third mode is probably the weakest and less varied of the three and lets you and your friend flap your arms (while holding a joy-con on each one) to give rides to various characters in Paratroopa Flight School. These modes are great ways to pass the time but they are only offer short bursts of fun despite having so much potential for being their own standalone games. I’m looking at you, Toad.

Mario Party games are best played with other people in the same room, but Jamboree has you covered if you don’t have anyone nearby to play with via its online modes. The main party mode can be played online, but Koopathlon also lets you race against 19 other players in quick mini-games where the object is to gather as many coins as possible as each coin you acquire represents a space you can move to in giant race. The first player to reach the finish line in a few laps wins and the sheer number of players all fighting it out for first makes it feel hectic and fun. Bowser Kaboom Squad, on the other hand, is a cooperative mode where you are working with other players to gather bombs to launch at a giant Bowser in a set number of rounds. It’s fun for a bit, but doesn’t compare to the energy that Koopathlon brings to the table. It’s a shame you can’t play these modes offline with others as they provide some bold new additions to the regular Mario Party formula.

Final Thoughts

The game also rewards you for nearly everything you do in the form of achievements you can unlock that open up things for you to collect and purchase such as music, stickers, and new expressions or taunts you can pull off during games. One other single-player mode is great for getting your bearings as it lets you explore each of the game’s boards and complete tasks for its various characters. This Party Planner Trek is a more lukewarm experience, but it rewards you with decorations you can customize your plaza with and features some fun boss battles to get through. It’s not its strongest mode, but it offers plenty of rewards and achievements to keep you busy when not you are not “partying” it up.

Mario Party Jamboree is one of the strongest titles the series has seen in a long time simply because it brings back everything that has made its best-selling games successful and offers you enough new modes, features, and content to keep it feeling fresh and exciting. The past few entries in the series seem to have been regurgitating the same old concepts and some titles even changed things up too much that made the series lose touch with its identity.

Thankfully, this is one Mario Party you can get excited for again. Newcomers will enjoy the level of hilarity that will ensue in each game board whereas longtime fans will appreciate how familiar yet new it all feels. The true success of these games is how often you will be coming back to it, and considering Jamboree has so many boards, new and remastered mini-games, and several modes to distract yourself in means you will be spending hours in the game. Bring it out when you have friends over, and you are guaranteed a good time.