Mario Party 5

"This party is one you will not forget!"

Mario has thrown 5 parties in total so far, and this one is by far the best! Hosted by the 7 Star Spirits from Paper Mario it has tons of new and interesting mini-games, a new and interesting story mode and so much more.

Gameplay 10/10

As with any of the Mario Party game you hit the dice and move the number of spaces rolled. But now the game has a new Capsule system which has replaced the item shops, but with these capsules you can use them on yourself and pay a small amount of coins, or throw them on the board which anyone can land on and use.

There are plenty of new modes like Super-Duel mode where you build a machine to battle with or even Bonus games such as Card Party or Ice Hockey.

I've seen many people complain how Removing DK as a selectable player was a big mistake, but I think it was a nice touch since now he has his own space and type of mini-game. And on top of all that, they added three new characters(Toad, Boo, Koopa Kid) as selectable characters.

Story 8/10

In the previous Mario Party games the point of story mode was to collect more stars then everyone else to progress through this one-player mode, but in Mario Party 5 the point is to have your rivals(Red, Green, and Blue Koopa Kid) coins reduced to zero in order to save the Dream Depot, a land created by peoples dreams.

Graphics/Sounds 9/10

The Graphics in this game are the same as in the previous Mario Party and the sounds are much more crisp and pleasing to the ears. There may be no speech other than when you win a mini-game or get a star, but in my opinion, if they added speech to every character it would ruin the game.

Play Time/Replayability 10/10

Depending on what choices you make during your pre-party setup it could take you anywhere from 1-5 hours to complete one game. As for replayability, it's the best since you have so many mini-games to play that you never play the same exact game twice.

Final Recommendation

I would suggest buying this game if you love the series or if you have a bunch of friends who love a great time. Even if the previous statement doesn't apply to you, because the game has so much to offer that will keep you entertained for hours on end and will keep you coming back for more of the Mario Party Mayhem everyone has come to love.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/03