I haven't played the bowser map yet, but based on playing the others, this is a really nice Mario Party game. The mini-games are not the highest quality, but there are plenty of fun ones, and the boards help make up for it (though some are too linear and lacking in unique mechanics). Easily prefer 5-7, but this game has its own value as one to play from time to time and mix up the rotation. Some of the gamecube mario party games have a problem with their mini-games where it boils down to button mashing, button inputs, or luck, rather than unique, trainable, gameplay mechanics. Despite being clunky, the dimension added by motion controls help alleviate monotony. That's why this isn't higher than a 6. Shame Mario Party 9 was so bad, because this was a great beta test to eventually make a really fun Wii Mario Party game. The worst part of the game is the declined quality. In many ways, the graphics somehow look worse than 6 and 7, and it was clearly rushed by Nintendo to have a flagship party game for their new console. The best part is probably the presentation, love the entire vibe of the game from the board theming, to the character roster, and the carnival setting.

For GCN/Wii MPs, 6 > 7 > 5 > 8 > 4 > 9