For fans of the traditional Mario Party experience, the post-Gamecube years must have been a difficult. The two Wii entries never reached the same level of popularity as their predecessors, and especially once the "everyone moves at once" mechanic was introduced in MP9, it seemed like all hope was lost for a pure, back-to-basics Mario Party. That is, until 2018, when Super Mario Party was touted as a return to form for the party game series. And while financially successful, it wasn't the game most players were looking for; it had the lowest amount of boards yet for a console release, and generally lacked a lot of depth. Only 3 years later though, many a nostalgic fan rejoiced; Mario Party Superstars was announced, the first "remaster" of previous Mario Party games.
In truth, this is all it seemed fans ever really wanted. It was content from older games in the series-mostly borrowing from the N64 era-brought to the Nintendo Switch with greatly upgraded graphics, sounds, and QOL features. There were 5 boards in total and 100 minigames, all of which are remastered versions from previous entries, and it's hard to say they aren't fun to play here. Each board is well designed, visually pleasing, and updated with new events, and the minigame collection is probably one of the best the series has to offer. For both new and old fans, this is the best Mario Party experience on the Switch; it polishes off older games without making it feel completely nostalgia driven. There's a fair bit of extra quality of life changes too that go along with it, including the option to select a shorter game length and specific types of minigames. Even online features have been added, which while admittedly doesn't capture the same feeling of chaotic fun that local multiplayer does, is still a lovely option to have for those with long distance friends.
All this sounds good, and it is, in a way. Mario Party Superstars is exactly what it claims to be-a remastered compilation of retro MP titles-and nothing extra. But that's exactly it; there's nary a single piece of original content in this game. That doesn't mean the game is automatically bad; plenty of remasters or remakes follow the same trend and end up being the best way to experience those titles. But usually, remasters will go out of their way to hold as much content as possible, while Superstars total of 5 boards is less than each of the 3 N64 games it borrowed them from. Perhaps more critically, though, is that there's no real single player option here; another omission from the N64 originals. And while the single player option of Mario Party has never been its main appeal, its exclusion is still a bit puzzling for those who enjoy the minigames more than the board game. It's understandable that Nintendo would want to release a Mario Party game that catered to the nostalgia of its previous players, but seeing as it's unlikely for Superstars to get any additional content (especially at this stage), it's not unreasonable that some original content should have been expected from this full-price party game.
Mario Party Superstars is still about as fun as most of the best Mario Party's are, and especially if you're a fan of the initial entries in the series, there's a lot to enjoy in this compilation. But it's a shame that there's nothing here that allows Superstars to stand on its own outside of its graphics and admittedly welcome QOL improvements. If you like Mario Party, you're sure to like this one just as much, but the precedent Nintendo sets with titles like this feels a bit duplicitous. With any luck, Nintendo will capitalize on this game's design strengths, combine them with some fresh ideas, and finally release a Mario Party 11 strong enough, and with enough personality, to stand among the better entries in the series, without needing to rely on them so much.
In truth, this is all it seemed fans ever really wanted. It was content from older games in the series-mostly borrowing from the N64 era-brought to the Nintendo Switch with greatly upgraded graphics, sounds, and QOL features. There were 5 boards in total and 100 minigames, all of which are remastered versions from previous entries, and it's hard to say they aren't fun to play here. Each board is well designed, visually pleasing, and updated with new events, and the minigame collection is probably one of the best the series has to offer. For both new and old fans, this is the best Mario Party experience on the Switch; it polishes off older games without making it feel completely nostalgia driven. There's a fair bit of extra quality of life changes too that go along with it, including the option to select a shorter game length and specific types of minigames. Even online features have been added, which while admittedly doesn't capture the same feeling of chaotic fun that local multiplayer does, is still a lovely option to have for those with long distance friends.
All this sounds good, and it is, in a way. Mario Party Superstars is exactly what it claims to be-a remastered compilation of retro MP titles-and nothing extra. But that's exactly it; there's nary a single piece of original content in this game. That doesn't mean the game is automatically bad; plenty of remasters or remakes follow the same trend and end up being the best way to experience those titles. But usually, remasters will go out of their way to hold as much content as possible, while Superstars total of 5 boards is less than each of the 3 N64 games it borrowed them from. Perhaps more critically, though, is that there's no real single player option here; another omission from the N64 originals. And while the single player option of Mario Party has never been its main appeal, its exclusion is still a bit puzzling for those who enjoy the minigames more than the board game. It's understandable that Nintendo would want to release a Mario Party game that catered to the nostalgia of its previous players, but seeing as it's unlikely for Superstars to get any additional content (especially at this stage), it's not unreasonable that some original content should have been expected from this full-price party game.
Mario Party Superstars is still about as fun as most of the best Mario Party's are, and especially if you're a fan of the initial entries in the series, there's a lot to enjoy in this compilation. But it's a shame that there's nothing here that allows Superstars to stand on its own outside of its graphics and admittedly welcome QOL improvements. If you like Mario Party, you're sure to like this one just as much, but the precedent Nintendo sets with titles like this feels a bit duplicitous. With any luck, Nintendo will capitalize on this game's design strengths, combine them with some fresh ideas, and finally release a Mario Party 11 strong enough, and with enough personality, to stand among the better entries in the series, without needing to rely on them so much.