Super Mario Party Jamboree Review

Super Mario Party Jamboree

Release: October 17, 2024
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Switch Reviews
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There are not a ton of Nintendo Switch titles that everyone in my family loves to play together, but Mario Party has always been the franchise that does. With so many great and fun games to play, an evening of Mario Party is a ,pretty big deal in the Roffel household. It’s a call for pizza and snacks, drinks, and more! While I still give the torch to the Nintendo 64, the Nintendo Switch is almost as good as it gets for Mario Party fans, with Super Mario Party Jamboree being the third instalment on the console. But with the Nintendo Switch life cycle ending, is a third Mario Party ultimately too much Mario Party for one console? Let’s take a look!

Mario Party Jamboree is melding Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars together to create a package that is going to appeal to most longtime Mario Party fans. Super Mario Party focused heavily on motion control minigames, bringing back looping boards and more traditional Mario Party gameplay but mixing in the joys of the Joy Con. Mario Party Superstar, on the other hand, took Mario Party back to its roots, removing motion control games, giving players old boards, and a more traditional Mario Party experience.

It is the best of both worlds with Mario Party Jamboree, a mixture of new board ideas and classic boards, motion control games and standard controller only options. But most of all, Mario Party Jamboree provides players with an immense amount of choice, choices that probably should have existed long ago in the franchise but are welcome additions to this latest entry. If you are like me and hate motion controlled games, you can now opt to turn those off. Wish you could vote on games ala Mario Kart instead of playing whatever random game gets selected? That’s an option too. Mario Party Jamboree puts so much of how the experience is going to play in the hands of the most important people – those playing the game. And while none of this is ground breaking, it’s a welcome change that makes each round of Mario Party just a tad more enjoyable.

Providing players with choice extends past simple menu settings as well, and while I don’t think all the modes are something I enjoy, I’m still glad they exist for the sole purpose of providing players with choice. There is a traditional Mario Party where you play a game of a set number of turns, collect coins and stars, and try to be the ultimate Super Star at the end. These are played across a number of brand new boards that are all wildly different. I personally am really fond of the two returning boards, Western Land from Mario Party 2 and Mario’s Rainbow Castle from the original Mario Party. While the layout of these old courses remain relatively the same, there have been great improvements and slight tweaks that make these boards better than ever.

There are a host of new boards as well, which I’ll briefly go over with a few opinions!

Roll ‘em Raceway – In this level, players are strapped into karts and are racing around the board. It’s a relatively boring layout in my opinion, with one giant loop intersected by two cross over points. It’s a unique idea that really shines in another game mode. I really love the Turbo Dice (move with 4 dice, but don’t stop for anything, including stars) and Mushroom Tickets (gives you a 5-space boost 2-4 times).

Mega Wigglers Tree Party – This is a really fun level that can get frustrating for younger players fast. The new Wiggler Bell item lets you move Wiggler, altering the layout of the game board. I really like the forest feel of this board, and it’s one of the easier ones to wrap your head around. If you plan to play a 10-Turn game, this is probably your best board option!

Rainbow Galleria – First and foremost, to get the most of Rainbow Galleria, a three story shopping mall, you likely want to play a game that is a minimum of 15 turns, and even then we recommend 20 or more. There is a lot going on here, including an elevator that brings you between Floors 1 and 3 (skipping 2), a stamp collection that can earn you 50 coins put on my the Koopa’s, and flash sales every 5 turns that makes items, and stars, half price. There is also a really cool item that forces players to spend double on stars and items! This is probably my favourite of the new boards, but it is one that requires a longer game to really explore the entirety of the mall!

Goomba Lagoon – Goomba Lagoon is a lot of fun, and the changing tides not only changes up the layout of the board, but can also trap you on tiny little islands with no escape until the tide changes again. Getting stuck on the tiny little islands and going in circles is really terrible, and ruined more than a few close games. That being said, there is something very strategic about making sure you are in a good spot on the island when the tide comes in, which is probably why this is one of the harder levels in this entry!

King Bowser’s Keep – This might be the most punishing of levels. If you love interacting with Bowser spaces, this might be the level for you. Imposter Bowser oversees everything that happens here – just watch out for those moving and changing paths! I was hoping to enjoy this level more than I did, but i do think it could be the favourite for many individuals!

Aside from all the levels – 7 in total – Mario Party Jamboree is providing a huge choice in characters. There are so many to choose from, and it’s likely that almost everyone is going to find a favourite here. Honestly, I’m still unsure why Mario Party and Mario Kart don’t have massive rosters of characters – even bigger than they are – but there are still 20 to choose from, two of which you can unlock through a brand new achievement system. This system isn’t mind blowing, but it’s fun to get them and to learn and figure out different things as you play.

There are a number of new modes to sink your teeth into as well, providing both online and offline fun. Of course there is a mode where you can just dive into the games 100+ mini games, but it’s the new ideas that Nintendo brought to the table here that has me excited!

The disappointment with the first two modes I’m going to talk about is you can only play them single-player offline, which is understandable, yet still a bit disappointing.

Koopathalon – Time to play minigames with up to you 19 other players and see how is the best of the best. In Koopathalon, you will earn points based on how you finish within each minigame, and those points will propel you around the racetrack. I had so much fun playing this mode, and can see it being one of the most played online modes when this game is available to the public. It’s top notch fun, and a fantastic addition to the Mario Party franchise!

Bowser Kaboom Squad – This is a great addition to Mario Party as well, but I think my enthusiasm for this mode will die out pretty quick. In Kaboom Squad, a group of players work together to take down imposter Bowser by collecting bombs and bringing them to a central cannon. There are items that can be won during minigames to help your team or hinder Bowser, but they aren’t nearly as impactful as I would have thought. If you get teamed up with a bad group online, I could see this not being a ton of fun! With the right group, however, you’ll be working towards that perfect 5-Star completion goal!

Rhythm Kitchen and Paratroopa Flight School – I’m looping two game modes together here because I think neither of them really hit for me. Up front, I am NOT a fan of motion controlled Mario Party games, so I knew before even starting that these were not going to be for me. My kids, however, had a grand time playing these modes, and I think that is probably why they were created. These are great for younger Mario Party playing fans – they just were not for me!

Toad’s Item Factory – This is the mode I wanted so much more from. With 30 levels to complete, players will work together pushing buttons, pulling levers, and more to work out each of the various puzzles. These are a TON of fun with 4-players – and sometimes frustrating – but when we completed this game mode, we just wanted more. I know in the previous paragraph I said I didn’t like motion controlled games – well, I am here for this one, and again, wanted so much more!

There is also a brand new single player experience for players to enjoy. While this feels more like a deep-dive tutorial into each of the new 5 boards, it’s still a great way to build out the Mario Party experience with a brand new mode. And that extends to brand new idea that Nintendo has really run with in this game – Jamboree Buddies! Jamboree Buddies will appear on the board throughout your game, and will provide you various benefits if you can “win” them. Each buddy has their own mini game, or set of mini games, to play, and whomever has the most points earns the right to have the Jamboree Buddy for a few turns. Having a buddy is great, as it allows you to do everything twice! Land on a blue space? Get 3 coins twice! Negative side effect, however, is that if you land on a red space you will lose 3 coins, twice! That said, Jamboree Buddies not only let you do spaces twice – and yes, this includes purchasing two stars at one stop, or earning 2 bonuses – but they provide a benefit as well. That could be coins before you roll, extra spaces added to your roll, or even making it more likely you will roll larger numbers. These are a GREAT addition to the franchise, and made for some great strategic decisions!

Mario Party Jamboree is probably the pinnacle of the franchise in my opinion, but we are at the point where I wish Nintendo would go the route of DLC expansions ala Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as opposed to brand new games in the series. I’d love DLC that brought us the boards and minigames from past experiences. All of that aside, Jamboree is a fantastic experience, and my go-to for an evening of Mario Party. The game looks fantastic. The game sounds fantastic. The game runs fantastic. It is easily the best entry of the series on Nintendo Switch, and might just be the best entry ever.