Mario Party Superstars

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Mario Party Superstars
Mario Party Superstars cover art.jpg
Developer(s) NDcube
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Director(s) Takeru Sugimoto
Producer(s) Toshiaki Suzuki
Toyokazu Nonaka
Kenji Kikuchi
Atsushi Ikeda
Designer(s) Tsutomu Komiyama
Karin Kawakami
Ayumi Takimura
Programmer(s) Yuuki Konno
Takumi Namba
Artist(s) Susumu Kuribayashi
Keisuke Kasahara
Takamitsu Manabe
Saori Yamashita
Composer(s) Masayoshi Ishi
Toshiki Aida
Satoshi Okubo
Series Mario Party
Platform(s) Nintendo Switch
ReleaseOctober 29, 2021
Genre(s) Party
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Mario Party Superstars [lower-alpha 1] is a 2021 party video game developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the twelfth home console installment in the Mario Party series, and the second for the Nintendo Switch following Super Mario Party (2018). It was released on October 29, 2021. [1]

Contents

The game features five remade boards from the original Nintendo 64 trilogy and a total of 100 minigames curated from previous entries in the series, [2] similar to the Nintendo 3DS game Mario Party: The Top 100 (2017). Unlike Super Mario Party, Superstars can be played with button controls. [3] Upon release, Mario Party Superstars received mostly positive reviews from critics who praised the game for its homage to the series' history with its classic minigames and boards, as well as its online functionality.

Gameplay

Mario Party Superstars features gameplay similar to the first eight entries in the Mario Party series, without the vehicle mechanics from the previous two numbered console games. Four characters, played by either humans or AI, traverse one of five boards in the game, collecting coins and stars. The player with the most stars at the end of the game wins. Stars are bought for twenty coins from Toadette, though can also be obtained via other methods. During a turn, each player rolls a die, enabling them to move the result of the roll - one to ten. Additionally, items may be used to affect themselves or other players. Between every round of four players moving, a randomly selected minigame of 100 is played. All 100 minigames are taken from the previous entries in the series, 55 of which originate from the N64 trilogy.

"Mt. Minigames" is another mode, allowing players to freely play minigames without boards.

All playable characters from the first four entries return, while Birdo and Rosalina are added.

Release

Nintendo revealed the game during the Nintendo Direct at E3 2021 on June 15. [4] The presentation revealed and featured remakes of the boards "Peach's Birthday Cake" from Mario Party and "Space Land" from Mario Party 2 . [5] Polygon 's Ryan Gilliam noted that the boards included events not seen in the original versions; moreover, he commented that the game borrowed assets — such as the user interface — from its predecessor Super Mario Party . [6] The presentation also confirmed that Birdo will return as a playable character for the first time since Mario Party 9 (2012). The third game board announced was "Woody Woods" from Mario Party 3 , which was revealed on the game's official website. [7] During a Nintendo Direct broadcast on September 23, the final two boards were revealed, being "Yoshi's Tropical Island" from Mario Party and "Horror Land" from Mario Party 2. [8]

A few minigames from the original Mario Party which required players to rotate the analog stick as fast as they could make a return in Superstars; these minigames feature a warning not to rotate the analog stick with the palm of the hand. This was due to incidents where players sustained hand injuries from using the analog stick in this way. [9]

Reception

Mario Party Superstars has an average score of 80/100 based on 88 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [10]

Mitchell Saltzman of IGN gave a favorable review, stating: "Mario Party Superstars is an amalgamation of some of the best boards, minigames, mechanics, and quality of life improvements from the whole series, resulting in the best Mario Party has been in a very long time." [14]

It sold 163,256 physical copies within its first week of release in Japan, making it the bestselling retail game of the week in the country. [18] As of December 31, 2023, Mario Party Superstars had sold 12.31 million copies worldwide. [19]

Awards and accolades

YearAwardCategoryResultRef
2021 The Game Awards 2021 Best Family GameNominated [20]
2022 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Family Game of the Year Nominated [21]
18th British Academy Games Awards Family Game Nominated [22]
2022 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Video Game Nominated [23]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: マリオパーティ スーパースターズ, Hepburn: Mario Pāti Sūpāsutāzu

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References

  1. ↑ Mario Party Superstars Announced, Comes to Switch in October - E3 2021 - IGN, June 15, 2021, archived from the original on June 28, 2021, retrieved June 15, 2021
  2. ↑ Bonifacic, Igor (June 15, 2021). "'Mario Party Superstars' revives classic boards and games". Engadget. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  3. ↑ Clark, Mitchell (June 15, 2021). "The Switch is getting new Mario Party and WarioWare games". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  4. ↑ Clark, Mitchell (June 15, 2021). "The Switch is getting new Mario Party and WarioWare games". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ Mario Party Superstars - Nintendo Treehouse: Live | E3 2021, archived from the original on June 16, 2021, retrieved June 16, 2021
  6. ↑ Gilliam, Ryan (June 15, 2021). "Mario Party Superstars is a collection of past maps and minigames". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Characters & Boards". Mario Party Superstars. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  8. ↑ Bankhurst, Adam (September 23, 2021), Nintendo Direct September 2021: Everything Announced - IGN, archived from the original on September 27, 2021, retrieved September 24, 2021
  9. ↑ Yelenic, Jon (October 24, 2021). "Mario Party's hand-hurting Tug o'War minigame includes a safety warning in Mario Party Superstars". Gamepur. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Mario Party Superstars for Switch Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  11. ↑ Van Allen, Eric (October 29, 2021). "Review: Mario Party Superstars". Destructoid. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  12. ↑ Shea, Brian (October 28, 2021). "Mario Party Superstars Review - Reliable Party Tricks". Game Informer . Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  13. ↑ Ramsay, Randolph (October 28, 2021). "Mario Party Superstars Review - The Fault In Our Stars". GameSpot . Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  14. 1 2 Saltzman, Mitchell (October 28, 2021). "Mario Party Superstars Review". IGN . Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  15. ↑ Joffard, Jerome (October 28, 2021). "Test de Mario Party Superstars sur Switch par jeuxvideo.com". Jeuxvideo.com . Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  16. ↑ Olney, Alex (October 28, 2021). "Mario Party Superstars Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
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  18. ↑ Romano, Sal (November 4, 2021). "Famitsu Sales: 10/25/21 – 10/31/21 [Update]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  19. ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2024/240206_3e.pdf
  20. ↑ Ankers, Adele (November 16, 2021). "The Game Awards Nominations Announced". IGN . Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  21. ↑ Bankhurst, Adam (25 February 2022). "DICE Awards 2022 Winners: The Full List". IGN. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  22. ↑ Partis, Danielle (3 March 2022). "Returnal picks up eight nominations for BAFTA Games Awards 2022". GamesIndustry.biz . Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  23. ↑ Erik Pedersen (March 9, 2022). "Kids' Choice Awards Nominations Set; Miranda Cosgrove & Rob Gronkowski To Host Show". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
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