Mario Party Advance

"Mario Party....for GBA? How will it do?"

Graphics (8.0)
Well, since its a GBA game, I will go by GBA Standards. The graphics aren't too glorious as Kingdom Hearts, but it does have a Mario Party style, so it evens out. There isn't much you can say, but overall, the graphics are just "pretty".

Sound (7.5)
Again, since its a GBA game, I'm not expecting glorious Star Wars Surround Sound music, so I don't really care about GBA music. It does sound playful, but sometimes it repeats a lot, and when music gets repetitive, it annoys the player to the point where the whole game becomes repetitive. So overall, its alright, nothing too good.

Gameplay (9.5)
Well, the whole point of the game is to get all the stars and destroy Bowser's evil plots. You get the stars by going around a huge game board with many different areas, completing tasks and finding minigames along the way. Once you complete certain tasks, like giving an item to a certain someone, you will get a star. The more stars you collect, the more "tunnels" open up to Bowser, where you get to have fun humiliating him. The main game can be completed in a short time, but only if you know what you're doing.The only hard part to this game are the number of turns you have, which are determined by the number of mushrooms you have. You do a mini-game every three mushrooms, or if you land on a special spot. Once you run out of mushrooms, you fail, and have to start all over from where you began. But once you get a star, you never lose it, so don't worry. There are 50 unlockable minigames, and there are a lot more when you play the main game. The mini-games are fun and rarely fustrating. There are also our characters which you can choose to play with from the beginning, which include Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi. Whoever you choose determines where you will start in the huge gameboard. The game is very fun, but will it last?

Replay Value (8.0)
Just let me ask you this question, did the console Mario Parties have huge replay value? It was only major fun when you play with other people, and the same applies here. There are some minigames which can be great fun when you play with others, and it applies here. With 50+ mini-games, many, MANY fun and pointless gadgets to play with, and beating mini-game records, it adds to a lot of playtime. Maybe around 15+ hours, it all depends on how you look at it, and how you play games.

Overall (8.0) {NOT A COMPLETE AVERAGE}
With normal GBA graphics and music, its an O.K. game. But with the cool and fun minigames, it adds a unique twist and flavor of the classic Mario Parties. This game can leave you playing just the minigames for hours, because it will leave you wanting to beat your records, and everyone else's too. This game gets very addicting, you just have to know what you are doing.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/05