Could this be the biggest Mario Party yet?
Get ready for the biggest party yet in Super Mario Party Jamboree for Nintendo Switch. From running through merry-go-rounds to motion-control minigolf, this jamboree is jam-packed with over 110 minigames – the most of any Mario Party game to date! With seven boards in all, you can go with the flow in Goomba Lagoon, search for stars in Rainbow Galleria, revisit the classics of Western Land and Mario’s Rainbow Castle from past titles and more. Race across the party board in Koopathlon, a series-first 20-player online competition to see who can rack up the highest scores in minigames like the fast-paced Lane Change. The higher your score in each round, the faster you’ll get to the goal. Koopathlon is just one of a slew of additional modes – there’s something for every kind of Mario Party player to enjoy!
Super Mario Party Jamboree feels like the ultimate version of the series. I’ve been a fan since the original N64 outing but always felt that the next game would always be superior. It hasn’t always been the case, but maybe this is the one that makes me wonder what could they do next?
It retains the motion controls from the Super Mario Party game as to be expected and work really well for the mini-games. there’s a good variety of old and new here, the same can be said for the boards which has old ones like Mario’s Rainbow Castle and new ones like Roll ‘em Raceway. The Jamboree subtitle makes sense as certain characters will be dropped into the board and whoever wins them through a gruelling mini-game will be able to use their bonus skill and earn double stars/items or even do a double steal if you are cruel enough.
There are new items as well, such as traps which can steal either coins or stars and you can place them in front or behind you. Chance Time returns and can be cruel as ever, as I found out to my horror in my opening game on my penultimate turn…(I’m not mad, I’m not mad….), while otherwise it’s business as usual.
That said, they’ve added a lot more than I expected here. There are pro rules you can set alongside being able to play with 20 players online in Koopathalon. A rhythm based cooking mode in Rhythm Kitchen, Toad’s Item Factory which up to 4 players work together to manipulate machinery and get items where they need to go and Paratrooper Flight School which lets 2 players use 2 joy cons each to fly like a paratrooper across mini-games. Finally, there’s Bowser Kaboom Squad in which up to 8 players online work together to find bombs to throw at Imposter Bowser alongside mini-games.
And then there’s plenty to unlock such as new reaction stickers, new boards and so on. So there’s plenty to get your teeth stuck into here. If I had one criticism, it’s that it takes too long to start a game and I feel like the process could be sped up a bit. I don’t remember 15 turns having an estimate of nearly 2 hours before. But 10 turns just never feels enough for me, it feels like it’s just starting at that point.
Other than this small critique, I can’t fault the game on its performance. The framerate is steady throughout with no drops, the game still has that classic Mario Party look and it does it well. Sound effects are what you would expect from a Mario title and the soundtrack has some classic and new tunes, both of which are nicely done.
The Verdict
Super Mario Party Jamboree is the ultimate Mario Party. It has the most mini-games ever, it has tons of modes and plenty of rule customisation. The boards are nicely designed and it’s still just as fun as it always has been. I honestly think it’s going to take something special to top what they’ve pulled off here. So get out and enjoy the Jamboree!