The very first one, back in 1998, when I was only 10 years old, this game was pretty much the first 3D based board multiplayer game on the Nintendo 64 featuring Mario characters where you would be able to play dice on several kinds of different boards.
As would be the objective of each entry, in order to win the game, you would have to collect the most stars out of everyone in order to become the super star and be number one. To get these, you would have to collect enough coins, which can be found on the boards themselves, or during mini games.
It would be the mini games that would give Mario Party and the franchise it's most recognizable feature. From free for all to 2v2 and 1v3 kinds of games, any kind of mini game could popup, but the controls would remain easy and simple to perform.
This is my most memorable entry, Mario Party 2 features a bit more characters, boards and mini games to keep you occupied. This time, more stereotypical themes are playing, and arguably, it had the most fun mini games out of the ones I have played and which are featured in this blog post.
So yes, that also means I have never played Mario Party 3, 6 and 9, but I did play portions of 4, 5 and 8 during parties or over at friends. So my opinion won't matter that much objectively, but I do have some fine memories.
Back towards Mario Party 2, I pretty much remember teenage memories of me and my friends screaming in agony over winning the next mini game and having enough luck to get the next star, because sooner or later, people would realize that Mario Party as a whole is more about having luck than having skill.
Taking a "break" from subsequent releases, I decided that at the seventh installment, I wanted to return. Mario Party 7 is the last entry on the Nintendo Gamecube, and it's the second one that utilizes the microphone for a few mini games.
It would also be the last traditional entry in the sense that you would still be able to move individually as a playable character here, before the dreadful big car would be used in later releases.
The mini games at part 7 are modest and average at best, with a few of them sticking out, the same goes for the boards and the music itself. Still, you cannot go wrong with it really.
The most recent addition is Super Mario Party, the first one available on the Nintendo Switch where the Joy Cons are used to play all kinds of creative mini games. Nintendo has also finally listened towards fans as the big car is ditched, and characters are able to move on their own again.
Although shamefully, the online feature regarding multiplayer, which is a first for the series, is lackluster because it does not include the whole experience like offline multiplayer or singleplayer does.
I have played it a very few time with some friends, as these games are best played in multiplayer. It's another average title, but I was happy to return to it once more. Considering the release dates of 1998, 1999, 2005 and 2018 for these 4, the franchise has been around for quite a while now!
As a bonus feature, during my Super Smash Bros. Melee tournaments, sometimes we would afterwards also play Mario Party Blood, a special mode where if you would end as the fourth and last place, you would had to consume the Spoon of Nasty, where the 3 others would be free to mix and combine any kind of food onto it, resulting in nasty results!
Sometimes we would also include a drinking mini game feature where all of the losers would had to drink a shot of strong alcohol per mini game. I vaguely and barely remember a few of these drunken evenings and nights, but boy were the emotions and the fun running high!
Mario Party is all about having fun with friends!
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