Mario Party 5

"A fun Mario Party game for fans of the series"

The Mario Party series is always criticized to be games little kids. Reviewers have said, "It will make grown men cry in mere minutes," or, "Nintendo needs to stop milking the cash cow." However, is this really true? Or are the reviewers being biased? Let's dive into the next Mario Party game, with features that have never been seen before!

Though most people walk into a Mario Party game knowing what to expect, this time around there is one of the largeest changes in the series. Though the board maps are usually considered to be nothing more than a chance to pray for a high number, there's a bit more to it now. As usual, you have to slink across a map, trying to reach the star. There are the usual spaces, and a few new ones, such as the DK Mini-Game space. What changes this aspect is that there are now capsule machines that allow the players to customize the board map. A machine will arbitrarily cough up a capsule once you pass it for no charge at all, and then you have to decide how to use it. If you use on yourself like an item, it will cost you a fair fee. However, if you toss it onto another space, it's free, and if anyone lands on the space, they are affected by it. The effects range from coin loss, free stars, to space switching, and much more. On the downside, you can only toss it in front of you, so if it is a negative effect... watch out!

The mini-games are usually the fun type we have come to expect from the Mario Party series. The Four-Player mini-games encourage chaos, evil techniques, and sometimes luck. This is what Mario Party is all about! The other sets of mini-games are the same ordeal, but the Duel mini-games are horrible. The Duel games are almost always luck, which is annoying, because Duel mini-games are the staple of Story Mode. In Story Mode, you must get all the coins from the Koopa Kids, to do this, you must beat them in Duel mini-games. Needless to say, Story Mode is a disappointment.

There is a new mode, Super Duel Mode, where you can build a machine for battle. Using points you collect as you play, you can buy parts for your vehicle and battle with it. As fun as this sounds, it is very generic. There are three new characters in our cast: Toad, Koopa Kid, and Boo. These characters are fine, but Donkey Kong was great, so didn't have to be removed. Another new feature, though little, is quite nifty. At the end of a session of play, it will show a graph of the coins and stars of the players. This is good for comparing results with your set of friends and foes.

This just would not be Mario Party without the bright and cartoon-style graphics. Luckily, Mario Party 5 delivers. The character models are done well and animate crisply. The environments also show effort, but are sometimes repeated too much for mini-games. It is understandable that the environments are recycled mini-game to mini-game, since much memory space would be eaten if they were all unique. It is also worth mentioning that the graphics were copied almost exactly from Mario Party 4.

The audio chunk of the Mario Party series has never been highly praised. The music is good, as it fits the bright graphics. The sound effects are not as impressive. There is a creepy chime that is made with the "Player Start!" message, and the winning jingle is very boring. There are good voice samples used, which is a good point.

Though Mario Party 5 is meant for parties, this game is oddly fun even when alone. Though Story Mode is awful, a solo gamer can have fun in Party Mode against the CPU menace. The downside is that the AI sometimes cheat, while in other cases seem to be in the middle of a hangover. For example, the AI cheats in a mini-game called "Wind Wavers," where you must hit the shoulder buttons rapidly. I have never defeated a normal foe in this mini-game. On the other hand, there are many mini-games I have never lost once at.
Though this game does not perfect the Mario Party series, it is a fun twist on the formula. Though online play could have allowed this game to live longer, this is still worth a buy. If your friends are willing to throw their pride aside and play a "kiddy" game, there is a good deal of fun in store.

8 Gameplay
Story Mode is simply flawed, but you cannot go wrong in Party Mode.

8 Graphics
The visuals are solid, but will not leave you in awe.

7 Sound
The music and voice samples are good, but other sound effects are few.

9 Lifespan
It may wear off as a one-player game eventually, but weeks and weeks can be spent in multiplayer.

Closing comment:
This is perhaps the best Mario Party yet! It is a must-have for any fan.

The Verdict: 8.1

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/07