"Let's all still party like its 1999!"

Another year; another annual Mario Party is upon us. As we all know, Mario is Nintendo's Mr. everything. Besides having to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser, Mario has also shown the ability to party, race, be an RPG master, and also become an All Mushroom Kingdom star athlete. The Mario Party series has become an instant hit since the N64 days. I have played all of the games except for the first one (was never able to find it). Anyway, the Gamecube got its first Mario Party in October 2002. Yes the graphics have gotten a serious upgrade from the N64 games, but in all, Mario Party 4 was the same old great fun that we had with N64 Mario Party games. Now only three short years later, three more Mario Party games have arrived; Mario Party 5, 6, and 7. While it's basically very similar to Mario Party 4, Mario Party 7 still offers a terrific game for you to play.

The basic premise for all of the Mario Party games follows a very simple pattern. You pick the character that you want (Mario is my favorite), and then you pick which board you want to try. These boards are all different but they all have the same premise. Instead of trying to reach the end like with a game like Candy Land, you instead collect stars and coins. The coins are used to buy the stars for 20 coins each. The stars are what truly matters if you want to win the game. At the end of the game, which can range from 10-50 turns, whoever has the most stars wins. Four players are always on each board, and the computer controlled A.I. characters can be adjusted to fit your comfort level. Beware, easy mode computer characters are pathetic and don't offer any challenge at all.

In this Mario Party however, these rules don't apply at all times. Each game board has a different set of rules in order to win. In the Grand Canal, the first person to win two stars wins. In Pagoda Park, you need to climb the mountain to get a star for the price of 10-40 coins. In Pyramid Park, you must use Chain Chomps to steal stars. Other boards have unique rules as well, such as fixing windmills in Windmillville, or opening a chest to find either a star or a Bob-omb in Neon Heights. Finally, Bowser has his own board where after you find a star, you go and challenge Bowser in the middle arena. In addition, at the end of every five turns, Bowser will do something to change the course of the game. This is called Bowser time.

But how do you get the coins to buy the stars? Well, first of all every time you roll the dice block at the beginning of each turn you move forward on the game board. If you land on a blue square you'll get 3 coins but landing on a red one will take 3 coins away. You can also land on other game spots which can effect what happens on the game board at that moment such as moving you back to the starting point or swapping your coins with someone else. That's it! Pretty boring huh? Well, the true enjoyment to this game comes in the form of minigames. After every turn (or sometimes in the middle), all of the characters will take part in a minigame. These minigames can be a 1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 2, or 1 vs. 3 minigame. Landing on different colored spots on the game board will determine which you'll play. These games are very simple. Sometimes you'll have to push the A button to accomplish your goal, or you'll have to do something else. One game involves driving little go-carts around a track. Another game has you trying to match up pictures from the example photo. In addition, there are many Donkey Kong and Bowser minigames included in Mario Party 7 than in years past. These games are a bit more difficult and the results are totally different. While Donkey Kong will give you coins or a star, Bowser will take your coins or stars away.

As I mentioned before, the graphics are so much better than they were on the N64. Gone are the blurry character and background designs. Each character now has very nice detail, plus the backgrounds are very colorful. Think Super Mario Sunshine graphics. The music is your same goofy Mario Party style music heard from the N64 Mario Party games. In all, the graphics and sound are basically the same as the other Gamecube Mario Party games, but this year everything looks a lot more cleaner and sounds better.

Of course this game has tons of replay value. There are 86 minigames to play threw this time. With that many games the fun never stops. Also playing with a friend is the best way to go. The story of this year's Mario Party is pretty basic all around. Mario and his friends need a little vacation. Of course Bowser wasn't invited to come along, so he decides to try and ruin their fun. In addition, the microphone that debuted in Mario Party 6 has returned, which is used to control a handful of voice-activated minigames.

In all, Mario Party 7 symbolizes exactly what a Mario Party game is all about. Nothing but pure fun. Mario Party 7 is a clear upgrade from the N64 days, plus it's a blast to play. That should be enough incentive to buy this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/06