Mario Party

"*Orders Cake and balloons for the party*"

Story
Everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom wants to be a SuperStar. So they get in a circle and start fighting. They were saying that with strength and courage they could be a SuperStar. But they still fight. Sometime later Toad broke up the fight and told them Bowser invaded the place, and whoever could beat him would be the real SuperStar.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are very good in this game. They are all colorful and easy to see. Mario and Luigi have been designed very well, and so have all the other characters. For the game boards, they have awesome backgrounds and design, and on Mini-Game Island, the graphics are awesome and you can almost notice what Mini-Game you're playing (ex: Ghost Guess will have a bunch of Boos surrounding the Mini-Game space). So overall, the graphics are great. What's really cool is that the title screen changes depending on who the last winner of a board was, and most of the title screen pictures look really cool.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay in the game can vary here and there. It is overall fun. You travel throughout the Boards in the game, trying to collect the most coins and Stars. You can pick between Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, or Donkey Kong. At the end of every turn on a board, you do a Mini Game. It is either 4 Player, 2 on 2, or 1 on 3. Once you go through all the turns Koopa Troopa gives out bonus stars, and after that there's the SuperStar of the board, and the loser.

Outside of doing Boards, you have Mini Game Island. You play all 50 Mini Games here, and you select your character and a partner for the 2 on 2 Mini Games. Outside of Mini Game Island, you have the Item Shop, which has Items you can buy for the Boards (like a Plus Block, and whenever you get one, you earn coins corresponding to the number you got on the block). And the Mini Game House, where you can buy Mini Games you've played at least once and play them anytime after that. You also have the Mushroom Bank, where you deposit/withdraw purchased items, and check how many Stars you've collected and how many coins you have.

But during Mini Games, controls can get very annoying. Some require you yo tap A or B as fast as you can, and some require you to spin the Control Stick really fast, and I've gotten a Blister twice from spinning the Control Sticks. They're easy to handle with on the Board, but easy to annoying in Mini Games.

So overall, the gameplay is quite fun. But if you are playing a Board by yourself, it gets boring. You can have up to 4 players, and the more human players there are, the more fun a Board will be. So invite a few friends over to play this game (or just play with your family), since the computer can be both boring and good.

Multiplayer: 10/10
This game is one of the best multiplayer games out there. With 4 people, 2 on 2 and 1 on 3 Mini Games can be really fun, and you can gang up on people, and get revenge on who you can.

Sound Effects: 9/10
The sound effects in this game are both awesome and funny. Peach and Luigi's voices are quite annoying however. Wario has a funny voice, and it's really funny when Mario goes ''OH NOOOO!'' All other sound effects are good, and so are the other character's voices. Also, in the Option House, you can here things like ''Good Evening'' in the background, which is a bit cool.

Music: 10/10
The music in this game rocks. I love the music of Rules Land, where you find about the game rules. The music of Yoshi's Tropical Island is nice, and Eternal Star has awesome music as well. World 9 of the Mini Game Island has awesome music, and Mini Game Stadium does as well. The title screen has great music, and all other Boards have great music as well. Overall this game has awesome music.

Replayability: 9/10
It's fun playing this game again! This game has almost no ending, but after you beat all the boards and all that, you could play the Boards at a harder skill level, pick a different character to go through the boards with, re-do Mini Game Island and try to beat with more lives remaining. There's a lot to do in this game. Like I said, it's really fun when you have 4 Human Players.

Rent or Buy?
Buy this game, you'll love it. It's such a fun game in all areas, and this is a very good game for you, your friends, and you're family. Also, if you have the money, get this and Mario Party 2, because Mario Party 2 was an awesome sequel as well.

Overall: 9/10
This game was a great start to the Mario Party Series. Great Graphics, a fun gameplay, awesome sound effects and music, and a fun replayability.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/04