Mario Party 10 Review: Party Crasher

Nothing destroys friendships quite like Mario Party. Having an outstanding lead and having it taken away in an instant is both equal parts frustrating and hilarious within a group. The series has always strived on these group interactions and Mario Party 10 is no different. If you’re playing with friends you enjoy, you’re going to have a great time. This time around, however, new game modes may not keep many players partying for too long.

The standard Mario Party mode from Mario Party 9 returns with new maps and minigames.
Players travel across the map in a single vehicle instead of separately on the board, collecting mini-stars and reaching the superstar at the end. This makes games move faster than the turn based gameplay from older entries. Maps are designed in a more linear fashion, so players don’t have to put much thought before each roll. Games still rely mostly on luck, giving players little room for technique. The main mode gives players the party game they have come to expect from the series, but with only five maps to choose from, the fun can only last for so long.

Bowser Party offers players a chance to play as Bowser and cause chaos for partygoers. One player uses the GamePad to control Bowser and up to four players on Wiimotes as Mario and friends. The team, together in a vehicle, tries to outrun Bowser and make it to the end of the board. Bowser, however, tries to catch up by using multiple dice. If Bowser reaches the players, he gets a chance to knock out their hearts during a minigame. The team must survive until the end of the board before Bowser eliminates each player.

The asymmetric playstyle offers an interesting take on the traditional gameplay, mixing things up at times to keep everyone on their toes. Bowser can receive random bonuses throughout the match to turn the tide to his favor very quickly, while the players can only hope to land on a lucky space. If Bowser manages to eliminate a player, the team is left with less dice to roll giving little room to escape Bowser’s wrath. Eliminated players can still help by providing special dice blocks for their team. Giving players grieve as Bowser is fun, but feels underwhelming. There are only three boards to play on as well as a handful of Bowser minigames, so the experience can get repetitive all too quickly.

Amiibo Party gives players the chance to use their Amiibos as pieces on a game board. You need an Amiibo to access the mode, and it’s the most implemented use of the Amiibos yet.
The mode offers smaller boards and plays using classic gameplay – roll dice, collect coins to buy stars, and play minigames after each turn. To roll a dice, a player must use their Amiibo to touch the gamepad, meaning each player will have to hold their own Amiibo to roll, a Wiimote for minigames, and surround a single GamePad. It’s annoying and becomes especially frustrating when everyone has to jump between the three inputs. I liked the attempt to bring classic gameplay to Mario Party 10, but its clunky design makes it the weakest to play.

Along with the three modes, players can also enjoy additional games too large to be featured as minigames. Badminton Bash lets players play a round of badminton and Jewel Drop is a physic-based match four game where two players compete with one another. The games can be enjoyable for a bit, but are no more than distractions from the main game.

Mario Party 10 offers new modes with the same fun. However, without friends to play with, the experience is incredibly dull. Matches go by so quickly it’s hard for a group to fully enjoy their time on each board. Completing each board takes about 30 minutes so a full playthrough with friends will go by just as quickly as it started. After a few rounds of Bowser Party, there wasn’t much incentive to stay with the game. Since the Wii U has a stronger line-up of multiplayer games such as Super Smash Bros Wii U or Mario Kart 8; there is little reason to stay with this title for too long. Mario Party 10 may welcome new ideas to the franchise, but doesn’t retain the same charm as previous entries in the series.