We at Checkpoint Gaming were thrilled to be invited to Nintendo HQ in Melbourne to take a look at the upcoming Super Mario Party Jamboree. While the last game, Mario Party Superstars, was a return to series roots, Jamboree aims to take it in a new direction — specifically, an increased focus on solo and online play. The new modes we got to check out are promising and surprisingly strategic. But the main event is the tried and true Party Mode. With 5 new boards, 2 returning boards, and 110 minigames, Super Mario Jamboree looks to be a polished experience with something for everyone.
Don’t Wake Wiggler, Unless…
We got to play a few rounds on one of the new boards – Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party. The central mechanic involves the titular giant worm – he’s asleep in a circular pit in the centre of the board, covering half its circumference. You can walk across Wiggler’s body as a handy shortcut, but the fun comes if someone lands on a Bell event; ringing it wakes Wiggler, causing him to walk to the other side of the pit and fall asleep again. This eliminates the previous shortcut and creates a whole new one, which could mess up your plans if you were on top of him when he awoke. I was surprised to find bells also available for purchase in shops, that you could ring on your turn. Your control over the board is less random than in previous games, but that classic Mario Party chaos emerges in new ways, such as in how allies are handled.
While previously you received a permanent ally by stepping on an ally space, they worked differently in the demo we got to play. In our game, Yoshi randomly appeared on a specific part of the board. Being closest to him, I passed by him hoping to nab him. Instead, it triggered a competitive 4-player minigame, with Yoshi going to the winner. The minigame was more involved than most Mario Party minigames I’ve seen, a platforming race to the top of a mountain, almost like a Fall Guys level (with less instadeath). I got a slight advantage for finding Yoshi, in this case, an early speed boost, which I managed to exploit straight to the finish line. I appreciate that anyone has a chance to win an ally, I’m curious to see how that’ll affect game balancing.
Once you get an ally, the way they work differs significantly from previous games; in our case, Yoshi began a Jamboree. This means he will disappear after 3 turns, but he’ll steal coins from whoever I pass until then. Our demo sadly ended right after I got Yoshi, so I didn’t get to see the Jamboree in action, or if he lets you spin an extra dice as usual, but the fact that there’s immediately a greater degree of strategy and competition to allies make them far more exciting to play with. And since teaming up with these allies is literally the name of the game, I assume they’ll all have wildly different abilities that change the way you play.
When you choose a board to play, you can choose to play it in Classic Mode, or the brand-new Pro Mode. We weren’t able to see Pro Mode in action, but it allows you to tweak the rules in your favour to make the experience harder or slower – great for experts or small kids.
Mario LAN Party
Super Mario Party Jamboree’s other modes seem geared towards online play, including daily missions. In the demo we played, we got to see three daily missions, each mission requiring you to complete three 4-player minigames with folks online. You need a Nintendo Online subscription to play with actual people, but there is an option to play with CPUs, which was what we did during our entire preview. Each mission was themed: the first was about food, featuring a minigame involving cutting meat perfectly in half, one involving selecting the right cookie cutters and quickly as possible, and another where you need to run away from giant sandwiches falling from the sky. The second mission featured slower-paced, strategic minigames. There’s a promise of each daily mission remixing the 110 minigames into silly 3-game themes, and I’m looking forward to what they might be.
Much like free-to-play games, daily missions in Super Mario Party Jamboree seem to be a great way to get a quick Mario Party fix without launching a full 90+ minute session. Finishing all three missions gave me Party Points to use in the rest of the experience. We weren’t allowed to use Party Points, or even know what they did, but they presumably let you purchase things that affect the main game. Two characters were locked in the preview we played – Mario Party newcomers Pauline and Ninji – so perhaps Party Points are how you unlock them, but it’s hard to know at this stage.
“Teaming up with allies is literally the name of the game.”
Run Koopa Run
The Koopathlon is another major online mode new to Super Mario Party Jamboree. It’s a 20-person, multi-lap race across a bespoke map, where you will frequently be tested by 1-player minigames to dictate how fast or slow you go depending on your performance. It’s exhilarating seeing your place on the list go up and down throughout the game, especially as the minigames get more complex each time you repeat them.
Bowser By Daylight
Another major mode we were introduced to is Bowser Kaboom Squad. A large Imposter Bowser is wandering around a small but detailed map, hunting down the eight players. Players have to run around collecting bombs and bring them to a cannon in the corner of the map. Once 20 bombs have been deposited, the cannon will automatically shoot Bowser, taking out a chunk of his health. With the rules we played, we had 5 timed rounds to take down Bowser, between each of which we played 8-player minigames. Since we were all playing for the same team, these minigames were cooperative, such as making sure all of us hit the right icon on a slot machine.
The better we all collectively did in the minigame, the more rewards we got at the end. The rewards in question are a variety of powerups. We each get to pick which powerup we start the next round with. I went for the speed boost squares that I could drop whenever I wanted, which gave a temporary boost to help with a bomb run, or to run away from Bowser. Powerups placed on the map remain throughout future rounds, but you lose anything you’re still holding, so you’re encouraged to be impulsive.
The slice we got to play of Super Mario Party Jamboree gave a great impression. We’ll see how the game performs once it launches on October 17 for the Switch.
About the Author
Pedro Cooray
he/him
Pedro would like to apologise in advance for talking about Final Fantasy XIII-2 during a totally unrelated conversation. He really can't help himself.
