Mario Party Superstars

Genre: Party Game / Minigame Collection

Players: 1-4 Competitive / Team Competitive (Local, Online)

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Review:

Mario Party Superstars, released on Nintendo Switch in 2021, is the second Mario Party on Nintendo Switch, but in many ways it is following in the footsteps of the last Nintendo 3DS game in the franchise, Mario Party: The Top 100. Like The Top 100, Superstars is a game focused on revisiting the past of the series, bringing back both game boards and minigames from prior entries in the series.

Specifically, Mario Party Superstars includes lovingly recreated versions of Yoshi’s Tropical Island and Peach’s Birthday Cake from the first game in the series, Space Land and Horror Land from Mario Party 2, and Woody Woods from Mario Party 3. In addition, as with The Top 100, the minigames featured here span across the first ten numbered Mario Party games, with many of the same minigames featured in both of these nostalgic throwback games (though a good number are different here).

The minigames here are generally pretty good, though there are definitely some stinkers that made it into the mix – I don’t think anyone was asking for button-mashing minigames like Pokey Pummel to make a return. What’s more, this game shares the same main problem that The Top 100 had – because its minigames were all designed for other platforms, there’s nothing here that makes especially good use of the Nintendo Switch’s unique features.

That’s not the only negative quality this game shares with The Top 100, either. As with that game, this game is overall pretty bland, and while some may appreciate it for being relatively straightforward, it still lacks a lot of the gameplay modes and features introduced in prior games, like the Partner Party game mode from Super Mario Party, nor does it have anything particularly compelling for solo players to do.

At the very least, this game does offer online play, and for the most part this seemed to work pretty well, though when I tried it I wasn’t always able to fill an entire lobby. Still, those online players that did join me seemed to play smoothly and without any lag that I noticed.

There is one other area where Mario Party Superstars excels, and that is the presentation. This game is gorgeous on the Nintendo Switch, with great-looking Water, beautiful lighting, colorful and well-rendered characters and backgrounds, and solid animations. In particular I thought the texture work in some areas was truly superb – Peach’s Birthday Cake looked absolutely mouth-watering. The sound was… well, typically cheerful standard Mario fare. Nothing memorable, but it fit the game well enough.

All told, Mario Party Superstars is a throwback that channels both the good and bad parts of that word. On the one hand, this game does a great job of creating beautiful modern versions of classic boards and games, and allowing you to play them online. On the other hand, it’s straightforward, uninspired, and lacking a good number of more modern features the series has added over the years. If you’re looking for a Mario Party game that looks new but feels purely old-school, this game may suit your tastes. But if you want a Mario Party game that plays like a modern Mario Party, you’re probably better off sticking with Super Mario Party.

tl;dr – Mario Party Superstars is a Party game that revisits past boards and minigames from throughout the franchise, with modernized visuals and online play. It’s a pretty game, and the minigames here are mostly quite fun, but this game overall feels largely uninspired and lacks features added to the series over the years. If you’re looking for a retro-style Mario Party game, this is definitely that – both the good and the bad.

Grade: C+

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