Mario Party Superstars

Mario Party Superstars is the best of classic Mario Party in one package, and it's just as glorious as it's ever been.

“Mario Party Superstars is the best game in the series, bringing a better selection of minigames and fewer gameplay gimmicks.”

Mario Party Superstars is a love letter to the parties you remember attending 20 years ago. A disappointingly slim selection of boards takes the shine off things somewhat, but it’s hard to argue that this is the best Mario Party has been in over a decade. No new ideas absolutely feels like a missed opportunity, but by the same token we’d much prefer to have all these classic ideas intact rather than potentially tainting them with unwanted and unnecessary inclusions only added for the sake of being new. Grab a can of Tango and a fistful of 10p Freddos — you’re going to party like it’s 1999.

Mario Party Superstars is a blast from the past put into a very clean and modern package. It’ll definitely be more appealing to older generations of gamers who grew up before the early 2000s. The minigames and maps have aged well and showcase moments that truly defined the Mario Party franchise more than 20 years later.

Mario Party Superstars is a worthy compilation of all of the series’ greatest hits. It has a great selection of minigames with plenty of different ways to enjoy them. The core board game works well for the most part, albeit somewhat hampered by Nintendo’s online infrastructure and some imbalanced design decisions. Online itself is functional enough, but expect to experience lag and the occasional dropped player. Rounding out the whole experience are the various unlockables on offer; all of which enhance the player experience in some way and give fans reasons to keep playing beyond just enjoyin...

Nintendo has looked backwards to go forwards with Mario Party Superstars, reviving five classic boards from the Nintendo 64 era and 100 mini-games from Mario’s parties #1 through #10.

So while Mario Party Superstars doesn’t necessarily break massively new ground, it’s so good at replaying the classics that it will probably be my new go-to for Mario Party fun moving forward. It isn’t just the Nintendo 64 nostalgia talking here; this is a good collection of minigames, a smart board selection, a nice-looking game, and it’s got tons of settings, dials, and options to fiddle with for repeat play sessions. It might not be filled with new ideas, but Mario Party Superstars plays the hits, and plays them as well as it did the first time around.

Mario Party Superstars is a solid, if unambitious, compilation of the best the series has to offer.

All in all, Mario Party Superstars is a good remake of some incredibly fantastic classic games. It looks great and plays just like the Mario Party games of years past. Sadly, it falls short of being a must-have for all Switch owners outside of Mario Party fans thanks to its relatively small and stagnant roster and board selection. But in the end, the wonderful gameplay is the biggest redeeming factor that makes Mario Party Superstars an enjoyable experience.

Everyone has fond memories of the Mario Party games. They’re colorful, whimsical, timeless treasures that never fail to amaze and delight the whole family. Except when you get bumped to last place by a garbage dice roll, or one of your treacherous siblings, or the sinister RNG. Actually, most of those fond memories might be fabricated. Mario Party games are a layer cake of frustration, savage joy, and insidious evil. Mario Party Superstars is a greatest hits mix of maps from the first three games. It’s the perfect chance to catch up on your Mario Party history. Or maybe you just want to dredge...

Hey now, here's a Toad star.

It's obvious that these are meant to be bite-sized variants of various Mario Sports titles, and in that regard the game succeeds. Indeed, anyone looking for a menagerie of sporting options on the go will find this software to be a worthwhile venture. Still, every outing will inevitably draw comparisons to solo sports titles that came before them, and in that light they really don't stack up. Those looking for definitive Mario sport experiences are best to stick to dedicated games.