Super Mario Party Jamboree

What a pleasant surprise this game is. After so many entries under the Mario Party IP, after a bunch of compilations, reworks, and not-so-inspired gimmicks to try and refresh the formula, I wasn't expecting such a complete, diverse, fun instalment. So much so that, jokes about the silly name aside, Super Mario Party Jamboree could very well be the series' best entry so far.

If you want more, you get more. If you want better, you get better. If you want new, you also get new. And most importantly for old fans: if you want authentic, you do get the authentic Mario Party experience.

For those unfamiliar, if there's any, this would be the the twelfth "main entry", if we leave compilations and handheld versions aside. It always consisted of a mini game collection structured around game boards, so that four players could compete to grab the Super Star. This naturally involved a handful of luck and randomisation, a pinch of annoying unfairness, and lots of hilarious situations built around the Mario universe and its characters, soon defining the whole party game genre.

What we get with Jamboree are no less than seven boards (two of them beautiful remakes of Nintendo 64 originals), more than a hundred mini games including all variants imaginable, more characters and items than ever, and what impressed me the most: a whole lot of additional ways to play.

The core experience is there, and it's well-balanced by default. If you play by the Party Rules, the game is as crazy and unfair as you remember it, while keeping an interesting balance to the chaos. Pretty much anybody can win and you're all there for the fun and the laughs, but skill within mini games and strategy with dice and items on the board can still make a difference. Sometimes. But soon enough you also unlock the heaven-sent Pro Rules, which work the opposite: there's a bit of luck into what otherwise becomes much more competitive, tactical, and masterful.

With the tweakable ruleset, Mario Party gets as hardcore as it can get, and those who have been playing for more than a decade will surely bet their pizza in the more serious mode, meaning a touch of added excitement. But as I said even the default Party Mode got balanced. I know my good friend Alex from Gamereactor UK will miss character-tied special dice from the previous game, but in the longer run I appreciated how the expanded roster is more about the size of the characters (too big or too tiny can be both better or worse depending on the mini-game at hand) and, well, their own character precisely. Else they behave the same, but then how you use items, the path you take, and the Jamboree Buddies tip the balance.

During my time with the game I saw quite a lot of strategic possibilities within every player's reach. Trying to land on an event space, paying the Boo a visit to steal from a rival, setting traps, teleporting elsewhere, moving the Star itself... So it never is about rushing to the next Star spot.

The Jamboree Buddies are the biggest game changer here, but that doesn't mean they're too unbalanced in their concept. They're given more prominency on their own instead of just walking along with you for special powers, as they now have a dedicated, longer mini game that will decide who keeps them first. The player arriving at their space gets some advantage in getting an ally, but then the buddies can be "stolen" by overtaking an accompanied player on the board. More like temporary events, their appearances (think two per 10-12 rounds) make players think differently once again, as other than their own special ability, they allow to buy twice, both on shops... or even Stars.

With this varied, competitive experience on the table, I also have to admire the board design. They're not just a really nice number, but also pretty different in looks and mechanics. Perhaps the Roll 'Em Raceway was the least good in those two regards despite its Mario Kart vibes, but I absolutely loved Rainbow Galleria (yes, Gamereactor Sweden's Jonas, you were right) and the modern version of N64 Mario Party 2's Western Land. You'll have to unlock some of them, and I won't tell you how just yet or here, but think that it's a natural part of the process.

What else? A whole lot, really. There are non-board mini game modes at the Minigame Bay for you to enjoy in every possible way, including daily challenges or longer activities (that 8-bit Mario Arkanoid rendition together with Waluigi's Pinball deserve their own standalone game). There are extremely well-thought online modes (there's clearly been some good R&D into these, finally) and overall integration that encourage you to play besides just the Mario Party mode online, all with crazy good ideas and scoreboards. There are specific motion-controlled modes for all tastes, from rhythm cooking, to more accurate tilt puzzles or my least favourite, a winged tribute to Pilotwings and Wii Sports Resort. There are achievements, decoration side activities and many things catching your eye and your attention, and giving a sense of progression, without being overwhelming.

And yes, it's the very first Mario Party I've also enjoyed playing alone. In a more relaxed experience, the Party-Planner Trek lets you walk around the empty boards as if you were helping to ready them, completing tasks and errands in a more adventure-like approach. It's a bit shallow of course, but I also saw it as a welcomed single player addition coming from the hectic mini-game galore.

So all in all, given the content and the ideas, and the customisation possibilities, I think this game makes 2018's quite enjoyable Super Mario Party pale in comparison, which again is not what I was expecting. It's just much more comprehensive, better-rounded, more complete as a party game. I also want to mention how much has the interface improved, which is a must with so many things going on. It's clearer and smoother, and a timeline at the bottom of the screen keeps you up to date on what comes next (unless your friends are messing around with the reaction emojis, which they of course will). This, together with kind and to-the-point instructions, also make it the most accessible game for both veterans and newcomers.

I'm not in my early twenties anymore (more like double) and I don't enjoy, or manage to arrange local multiplayer sessions like I did with Mario Party 4 on the Gamecube together with a few colleagues from high school and uni. But in all these years, this has been the game that brought me closer to that joy, just now wrapped with modern features and expanded with smart ideas. Jamboree!