Mario Party Advance

"Not quite what I'd imagined, but still good fun"

Introduction

I have all of the Mario Party Games except for Mario Party 3, and was interested to see how this one compared. In a way I'm relieved that the store I bought it from is 50 miles from where I live, meaning I'm unlikely to actually go back there.

It's different from the normal Mario Parties in a big way, for various reasons. I was a little apprehensive, what with the failures of many other game series to make a good game on the Gameboy Advance - the most obvious example being the rather lacklustre Banjo Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge.

Gameplay - 7/10

The one big annoyance I have with the Gameplay is that, like many Gameboy Advance games, there are a number of modes that a sad loner like myself cannot play due to the need to have two or more players. The game actually boasts a mode where anywhere between two and one hundred players can play at once, all using the same Gameboy Advance. One hundred players sounds impressive, but I would rather like to know under what circumstances you would ever find yourself in a room with 100 people, who all want to play (I can just imagine someone shouting: "Now, let's play Mario Party Advance. If you can form an orderly queue here. I'm afraid places are limited to 100...")

The main game mode is actually quite fun. Rather than being the usual format (go after stars, buy stars, etc.), the single player mode looks something like Super Mario World - turned into a board game. You start with five mushrooms, losing one each time you throw the dice, and keep going until you run out. You can gain extra mushrooms by playing minigames and winning, or you can lose them if you're not careful. You play as four characters - Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi. No sign of Wario, Waluigi or any of the other usual characters.

The main object is to travel to various locations and perform missions for various characters. Some missions are quick and easy - often TOO easy for my liking (very simple multiple choice questions that I could have answered when I was eight years old, for example), and challengers who don't put up too much effort, but others are actually satisfyingly tricky - for example, racing a fish and letting him win - without letting him suspect that you're doing it on purpose (easier said than done), and a number of tasks where you actually have to move to various locations.

Bowser and his minions make an appearance, this time hosting various games whenever you beat a certain number of missions, which can be accessed from the centre of the board.

Your "rewards" for beating the missions are most often "Gaddgets". When I first saw this written in the contents page, I thought: "Gee, try proof reading next time", before realising that this was actually spelled this way on purpose (after Professor E. Gadd, a character who everyone seems to love except me). The items are interesting, but a lot of them won't sustain your interest for too long, and more often than not seem childish ( a device that allows you to count sheep, which - bizarrely enough - is one of Bowser's favourites).

As with other Mario Party games, the likeability of the mini games varies widely, with some that have a lot of challenge, to others that are ridiculously easy. One game that falls into the latter category has a goal to get to the top by bouncing on clouds, within the time limit of 60 seconds. I beat this game in less than 10 seconds on my first attempt. There also seem to be a few of the now obligatory revoltingly childish games - for example, one of the games has you creating fluffy toy bunnies on a converyor belt; hardly something the average Mario gamer wants to play. Other games are more successful, though; I myself am addicted to one game where you have to operate an elevator and take various characters to the correct floors.

There are also various other mini game options, which must be unlocked, including a Bowser challenge, by meeting various conditions.

The other main form of gameplay is the "Bonus Board". This must be a first for just about any gaming system, as the board comes not loaded into the cartridge, but folded up inside the game case, along with cut out characters and a cut out star. Takes me back to when I used to try to make board games based on my favourite video games. For the first time, frustrated players can now actually chuck their characters across the board, instead of simply pulling the plug out of the Gamecube/Nintendo 64 and storming out of the room.

The bonus board isn't really a lot of fun at all unless you actually have four players, otherwise you might get bored a bit quick. The Gameboy Advance is used here for throwing a dice, using Gaddgets for various games and selecting a box to see if the star is inside - in which case you win.

The games involving the Gaddgets are instesting to say the least, as many require the players to crowd around the GBA, pressing buttons at the same time.

The only real problem I had with this board was that the playing pieces don't stay upright easily, and I had to place items in all four corners just to keep the thing flat - or as flat as I could get it.

Overall, gameplay is fair; not great - but certainly not bad.

Story - 6.5/10

The main reason I gave the "story" a 6.5/10 was because the events are actually quite amusing at times. Various characters show up, including "Shroomlock", the detective, and a toad who is a Fox Mulder wannabe (despite the fact that he runs away from ghosts. Your character has to go around Party Land, collecting Gaddgets by beating various tasks, and Bowser hinders you.

Bowser doesn't seem quite as evil, and at some points comes dangerously close to being the wimp he became at the end of the Mario Party 5 story. At one point, he seemed to be thanking Mario for his help and saying: "Take this; you've earned it".

Graphics - 8/10

For the Gameboy Advance, the graphics are pretty good, despite the fact that a lot of the time the characters look absoultely tiny. They're not a patch on the regular Mario Parties, but on the GBA, what do you expect? The graphics in a lot of the games are reminiscent of classic Mario games, along with some of the gameplay.

Sound - 9/10

The music in this game, and the character voices, are all good. The tunes played during the minigames are very catchy. Some of the tunes are remixes of other Mario tunes, including the classic Mario Bros theme and some of the Mario Party 6 music. However, it's such good music that you quickly forget this.

Play Time/Replay Value - 4/10

The only downfall of this game is that, like many Gameboy Advance games, you are likely to play through this game very fast. I got it yesterday and haven't played very long and I've already beaten almost half of the missions. The good news is most of is is very addictive, and you won't be able to put it down.

Final Verdict

It depends on how much you like Mario Parties whether you choose to buy or rent it, and renting might be a good idea if you don't want to pay too much for the game (and this is ideal if you want to get through the game quickly). The game may look childish, but it's definitely worth a look. You may be surprised.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/28/05