Super Mario Party Jamboree is the biggest entry in the series yet | Hands-on preview
Super Mario Party Jamboree aims to successfully round off a trio of Nintendo Switch instalments, with the bonkers, occasionally very cruel, but always entertaining franchise now entering its 26th year, and thirteenth entry overall.
I got to experience a nice chunk of what the game has to offer, which is undoubtedly the biggest game in the series so far. In addition to the return of all characters from Mario Party Superstars and most from Super Mario Party (excluding Diddy Kong, Hammer Bro, Dry Bones, and Pom Pom), this game marks the first playable appearance in the series of Toad and Toadette since Mario Party: Star Rush and Spike since Mario Party 10. There are also two brand-new-to-the-series debutants in Ninji, and Pauline, better known as the damsel-in-distress from the O.G Donkey Kong arcade game.
There are over 110 minigames, and a combination of seven new and returning boards to play on. As well as this, Jamboree has a combination of motion and standard controls, unlike the two Switch predecessors which chose one or the other, respectively. It is worth noting that the motion controlled minigames are not available in the online modes, but the trade-off here is that the game can still be played online pretty much in its entirety on a Switch Lite.
There are more items in play on the standard board game mode than ever before, including new stuff like the Warp Box which enables the player to transport directly to an item shop and a golden Double Dice that gives you a bunch of coins equal to whichever number you roll.
We got to play through one of the new boards, which is based around loveable Wiggler, who is literally part of the board itself and can be physically moved around when players hit certain squares, changing the length and direction players have to travel. As always this is a mode that comes alive with real human players sat alongside each other, and has the requisite amount of fun, spite, and randomness to make it an ideal family entertainment. The minigames are diverse and a blend of old and new, with the motion controls working well for activities such as hammering nails into a plank.
We then went on to try out some different modes, including the Daily Challenge mode which incorporated themed 1vs3 and 2vs2 action and minigames that involved a degree of co-operation, or in some cases a feeling that if you were the solo player you were either at an advantage (steering a ginormous Bullet Bill in order to wipe out the other three), or a disadvantage (a rhythm action style cookie cutter based game which was a nightmare to do alone). One of the minigame offerings in this portion involved jumping around between moving platforms to collect tokens, in direct competition with your opponents, and felt more than a little bit Fall Guys in its execution with a real sense of competition and, again, that soupçon of spite. I liked the way the games selected kept with a given theme, with the food-based selection seeing lots of beautifully rendered grub on offer.
Koopathon is the big new mode that looks set to attract a lot of attention, as it is online and can be enjoyed by up to 20 players. It involves a huge race amongst the players that is displayed a bit like the map on an old Mario Kart game. There are then coin-guzzling minigames with the aim to come in first place by being the greediest gold-snaffler of them all. During this excellently named mode we played such delights as an F-Zero style race with acceleration and quick manoeuvres across lanes being key to success, and another precarious game involving running backwards and forwards into-and-out-of the screen to hoover up coins whilst avoiding sinking in quicksand and being taken out by reams of rolling spiked cabers.
The final mode we got to experience was the excellent Bowser Kaboom Squad. This frantic multiplayer event has the ultimate aim of shooting Bowser, presumably resulting in his demise, with bombs out of a huge cannon. It sees participants running round a map which contains a rampaging Bowser, combining to smash open crates that contain the bombs required to pummel the reptilian overlord. It is terrific fun and has a real sense of chaos and hilarity.
Super Mario Party Jamboree is undoubtedly the biggest and most diverse entry in the Mario Party universe yet, and it felt that we only dipped a toe into what it has to offer with what was experienced so far. The new courses and boards look brimming with life and surprises and I cannot wait to see what they contain. Everything is rendered with the same sense of Nintendo charm you would expect, full of colour and life. At one point I wanted to reach into the screen and scoop my hand into a delicious looking cream cake. If that isn’t a recommendation enough for you, then I don’t know what is.
Super Mario Party Jamboree is coming to Nintendo Switch on October 17th.
