While Nintendo is king when it comes to gaming IPs, which other publishers truly dream of, as Sony itself noted recently, that doesn’t mean that all its IPs have been successes throughout their lives. There have been many IPs that were more “niche” in the early stages of their gaming lives before finally breaking out into the mainstream. Then, there were titles that started out hot and then cooled off when innovation started to falter. When it came to Nintendo’s mini-game franchise starring Mario & friends, that was one such franchise that fell. However, with Super Mario Party Jamboree, The Big N likely has a full-on trilogy of titles that resurrected the series in a big way.
If you recall, Nintendo had already released not one but two entries in the franchise on the Switch, and both of them were seen as big hits, selling many millions of units. When Super Mario Party Jamboree was announced at the June Nintendo Direct, gamers couldn’t believe they were getting a new one and that this one would likely be the biggest game in the entire series. Multiple websites, including VGC, recently got some hands-on time with the title, and the praises for it were numerous.
For example, they noted how the mini-games were divided between those that used the Joy-Con motion controls and those that used simple button commands. This is a true fusion of what the previous two games did, and it’ll likely please many gamers.
As for the boards, there are seven within the game, and the one they tried out featured a Wiggler, which you could prompt to go around the board and change the direction that certain people could go. With this, strategy once again becomes a key part of the title, as you’ll need to get around the board, win mini-games, and buy stars to ensure that you come out on top over your opponents.
A new twist for the title is that of the “ally character,” which will come onto the board, and if you are lucky enough to be paired with them, after winning a mini-game, you’ll find that your earnings double! Admittedly, the previews didn’t get to touch on all the modes, including the 20-person Koopathalon, which is easily the biggest player mode in series history, but the potential is all there for this to be something special.
Many have noted that Nintendo is trying to “go big” in its final months with the Switch before shifting to its next console, and this title might prove that point.
