Mario Party 10

Genre: Party Game / Minigame Collection

Players: 1-5 Competitive / Team Competitive (Local), 1-8 Competitive (Local Tournament)

.

Review:

Mario Party 10, released on Wii U in 2015, is of course the tenth numerical entry in Nintendo’s Party Game series (though it’s actually the 13th or 14th if we include handheld and eReader games). This game brings back the unpopular “everyone moves together” car mechanic of the previous game in the series, but also adds some other new mechanics – namely, this game places a special focus on Bowser.

Mario Party 10’s gameplay is segmented into various game modes, with each offering something different.

The Mario Party mode is the traditional gameplay mode that players will likely be most familiar with. This mode mostly plays well, with minigames having players each using a Wii remote, often held sideways and used as a traditional controller, but on occasion used for motion-sensing minigames. I found the minigames in this mode to play well enough, though it did seem like they were spread too thin, taking quite a while to actually get to them.

Perhaps more interesting is Bowser Party, which focuses on minigames where four characters are trying to survive various minigames that have them being targeted by Bowser. Interestingly, a fifth player can take the role of Bowser in these games, making for a delightful asymmetrical experience using the Wii U gamepad. I would say this is a highlight of the game, and plenty of fun.

There’s also Amiibo Party mode, which lets players tap a Mario series Amiibo to unlock a small game board based on that character. Unfortunately, these boards are small and inconsequential, and the need to repeatedly tap the Amiibo to play this mode really hampers the enjoyment. You’re better off focusing your attention elsewhere in the game.

The final mode with gameplay to offer players is Bonus Mode, which includes a variety of additional content. Badminton Bash is an extremely simple but fun take on Badminton, Jewel Drop is a surprisingly original and fun Match-4 Puzzle game, Bowser Jr. Challenges offer some extremely simple games that have you attempting to beat Bowser Jr., Minigame Tournament allows you to set up tournaments for up to 8 players (four at a time), and Bowser Challenge allows you to jump straight into a series of minigames from the Bowser Party mode that have you playing as Bowser.

Unfortunately, the Bonus Mode contents are a mixed bag due to how limited the multiplayer features are here. Jewel Drop only supports 2 players, and both Bowser Jr. Challenges and Bowser Challenge are single-player only.

The presentation, as per usual with modern Mario-themed games, is fantastic. There’s good 3D character models and interesting 3D worlds for them to move around in, plenty of great animation, and expressive character designs. The music is cheerful typical Mario far – nothing memorable, but sufficient for the sort of Party Game atmosphere this is going for. And the character voices are decent, and there are even some nice sound effects here and there (such as the way voices are distorted in the game’s underwater game board).

Overall, Mario Party 10 shines as one of the better games in the series. There’s a wide variety of stuff to do, the Bowser Party mode offers great asymmetrical play, and some of the minigames in Bonus Mode are pretty fun in their own right. The biggest complaints I have here are that the pacing in Mario Party mode is too slow, the lack of multiplayer support in some Bonus Mode games is disappointing, and the Amiibo Party mode is not worth bothering with. However, if you’re craving a great multiplayer experience, Mario Party 10 is well worth getting if you have a Wii U.

tl;dr – Mario Party 10 is the requisite Wii U installment in Nintendo’s long-running Party Game franchise, and while it’s somewhat uneven, the parts of it that are good are very good. In particular, Bowser Party mode offers some great asymmetrical gameplay, and some of the Bonus Mode games are excellent. Skip the Amiibo Party mode though. Overall, this is a superb entry in the series.

Grade: B+

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Andy Miller, Exlene, Johannes, u/RamboFox, Ilya Zverev, Connor Armstrong, Eli Goodman, K.H. Kristoffer Wulff, and Stov. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}