Mario Party 2

"Not quite as good as the original, but still a great game!"

I went out and bought Mario Party 2 as soon as I could, because I simply loved the original. And, well... it's a great game; but it's not what the original was. Want to know why? Read on...

Graphics: 9/10

Well, the graphics are a big improvement on Mario Party 1 - let's get that out of the way now. Everything just looks generally better - Mario Land, the Adventure Boards, everything. But the Mini-Games is where the biggest improvement is made - every Mini-Game is much better-looking now, including the returning ones. Not once have I gone ''eww, that's ugly,'' when considering the Mini-Games and stuff like that. The only thing that could have been improved, but wasn't, are the characters - damn, they're ugly. The Mario in Mario 64 looks better than the one in Mario Party 2 (and 1). And this goes the same for every character, especially Peach - just really unfortunate-looking. But everything else is spick and span. Good job, Nintendo!

Music and Sound: 6/10

What a disappointment. This is Mario Party 2's bad point. Mario Party 1's music simply kicked ass - it was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda of Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and Chrono Cross fame. There's no arguing that - Mario Party 1's music is some of the N64's best. But Mario Party 2's is an entirely different story. This music's only a little better than Zelda's (which I stupidly overrated in my review). It's just not memorable or catchy like MP1's was, and it's just not all there. It is partly composed by Mitsuda, and I can tell - there are 4 tracks which really stand out, and probably a couple more (Pirate Land, Space Land, Boswer Land, and Rules Land), and I can tell that those are his works - he's my favorite composer. All the other tracks are really just average or sad - they were done by other people who obviously are nowhere near Mitsuda's level. Especially Mystery Land's music - UGH. In any case the music's just not as good as MP1's, but it's still passable - the keyboards used for MP2 are still top-notch when it comes to N64. In the realm of sound effects, we have the exact same stuff as MP1 - there are only a few additions. Everything else (and I mean everything!) is stripped straight from MP1, which is not a bad thing, but the fact they didn't improve/change the voices is disappointing. MP2's sounds, basically, are the same as MP1's, but with a couple additions. All in all, MP2 sounds good, but it's a little disappointing.

Story: N/A

MP2's story is about as good as MP1's story was - not interesting at all, but that's all right, because Mario Party isn't about stories. Anyway, this time around, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Wario, and DK make a new theme park called ''Mario Land.'' But problems arise when Wario argues that they all put equal work into it, and he himself claims it should be called ''Wario Land.'' Then everyone gets pissed off at each other, and finally, Peach, the mediator, proposes a truce - that it be called ''Peach Land.'' You get the idea. Everyone starts fighting again. Meanwhile, good ol' Bowser takes over Mario Land and starts making a nuisance of himself, as usual. None of the heroes seem to notice until Toad (yo-ho!) tells them that the one who defeats Bowser will be named the Super Star (once again) and get Mario Land named after him or herself. But can the team beat Bowser...? ::dramatic music plays:: (Of course they can.)

Controls: 8/10

The controls are as good as they need to be; nothing more. There are no problems with the controls in the map screens or Adventure Boards; however, there are some problems with Mini-Game controls, and they're annoying enough to be noticeable. Some of the ''action-packed'' many games in which you're actually trying to bash your opponents into or off of something, like in Lava Tile Isle or Bumper Balls, have some sluggish controls (unlike in MP1), and make you feel like you're not all there. You're not entirely in control of your actions since the controls are sluggish (somewhat), so it cuts down on the excitement somewhat. But the control in every other Mini-Game is top-notch. The action Mini-Games are where the only control problems are present.

Fun Factor: 8/10

Mario Party is as fun as ever - well, pretty much. Overall, I don't think it's entirely as fun as MP1, but that may be because I played MP1 to DEATH and MP2 wasn't as new as I'd have liked it to be. MP2 introduces a lot of additions that I simply love - the Battle Spaces, where each player puts Coins in the pot and whoever wins the special Battle Mini-Game wins it all; the Item Stores, where you can buy Items for use during game play; the Item Spaces, where you can play Item Mini-Games to win Items; the Koopa Bank, where you deposit 5 Coins each time you pass but win the bank's reserves if you land on the Bank Space, and the fact that you NEVER lose Coins for losing in a Mini-Game - you either win some for winning or win none at all. Very helpful for buying Mini-Games. I like how easy it is to get a lot of Coins in your Coin Box in MP2 compared to MP1, as well - it lets you buy those Mini-Games a lot faster. Also, I love all three Modes in Mini-Game Stadium - they're all very fun. Additionally, the 1-Player Mini-Game Coaster is very cool, but not what MP1's Mini-Game Island was. Mini-Game Coaster is a lot harder and a lot cheaper than its MP1 counterpart was, but it's still fun. And, most importantly, most all the Mini-Games are fun, and some of the best ones from MP1 have returned, like Bumper Balls and Hexagon Heat. Now, my complaints - I don't like the removal of the 1-Player Mini-Game Spaces. Those were cool and were nice for some extra Coins. I also don't like the removal of the Item Shop - using your hard-earned Coins to buy PERMANENT Items that could actually help you and add fun to the game over a long period of time was very cool, and it's too bad they removed that from MP2 (the only Items you can buy are single-use ones during the game). Also, I dislike the relative lack of Game Boards compared to MP1 - MP2 has 6 of them: Pirate Land, Western Land, Space Land, Mystery Land, Horror Land, and Bowser Land, while MP1 had 8 of them; one for each character, a Bowser one, and a really secret final one (Eternal Star). Lastly, I don't like the lack of secrets and extras in MP2 - there just isn't enough to keep you playing with the lack of Game Boards to unlock, and JUST Mimi-Game Coaster secrets to unlock, which aren't that many anyway. Still, though, with friends, Mario Party 2 is hella fun.

Overall: 7/10

Mario Party 2 is a nice, well-done game, but it could have been improved on a lot and I don't think it was what a lot of MP1 fans expected it would be. The removal of the permanent Items, and the host of secrets that MP1 had really hindered this game's replayability. It's more important than ever that you have a friend or two to play MP2 with on a consistent basis, because it's not as fun alone as MP1 was. It's a doable thing by yourself, but if you NEVER have anyone to play video games with, this may be a rent, not a buy. Your call. All in all, a worthy sequel to Mario Party 1, but not all that its predecessor was.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/03/00, Updated 02/03/00