I'm not even joking in the slightest.
Mario Party (in the generic sense) is the quintessential video game. It came out of nowhere and didn't ape anything, as far as I know, except looking at the true, closest sibling of video games: board games, and fashions itself to be what they wish they were - no need for tokens, dice, and facsimiles of what you're trying to approximate and gamify. Story, levels, progression - these things are nice and satisfying, but they're not innately qualities of this medium. Just give the players a clear, understandable goal, make it random enough so in a way anybody could be the underdog and win in a surprising upset, but also give them just enough power to play the long game and make strategic choices to influence the final outcome to give you that deeper satisfaction. That's a game. A true game.
It's marvellous. It's obvious.
Then, take that simplified strategy and layer on madcap challenges that are only really possible in this medium. In a truly authentic way, the ethos of Super Mario Bros. 3, the timeless king of the classics, always blowing your mind with what fresh mechanic was around the next corner, intelligently translated into the shell of this simple strategy game. It had never been done before and played on the strengths to create a whole genre. Did it get any credit for this? I'm not sure it did.
There was and still is a time when we dreaded the horrific "minigame". How could a designer waste their time crafting something of lesser depth, attempting to spin plates, confusing us with constant and changing control schemes. Why would they bother? It could only be mistaken priorities. But this variety is the crux of the whole thing and while maybe some games have failed at it, Mario Party has just enough focus and quality to pull it off. Everyone read Calvin and Hobbes and saw "Calvinball" and thought "wow, I wish I could play that"... and then can't see this is the closest we've ever come to an ideal. Mario Party is the ideal. You're playing a breezy board game but the next moment you're in the sky, hanging from an umbrella, comically opening and shutting it to stay your descent. The next moment, you're a manning a team of spotlights, and must coordinate to take down a swimmer who's against all odds. And then, you're balancing on balls trying to bump each other off into the lava below. Now, the game simply wants you to dance, but not when your opponent dances. Suddenly, you land on a space, and a giant squid tries to vacuum you up. A mole pops up, and asks you to play whack-a-mole. Now, it's night time, and the rules turn on their head.
It's creativity exemplified. It's a slice of everything a video game could be, but never will be. Genres that will never be satisfied, but it's all possible here. Even if it had sold nothing it would be no surprise it had 15+ sequels because the canvas is endless. In a way, it doesn't go far enough. I want to sing the sorry song and touch the opposite pole and find the bonus box. That's what a video game can do in ways nothing else can and Mario Party knew it.
And the real genius of it is really, truly, this is an opportunity for everyone to compete. Mario Kart is nice, but it took eight+ games before they could implement "auto-steering" and not have me completely utterly stomp most random people I play - now I'll just stomp them a little bit. I don't think Mario Party actually does totally nail it, maybe one of its failings is too many of the early minigames require a decent bit of dexterity, sometimes losing really does feel like losing. But the design is fully there, and there is room for iteration. By their innate qualities these games are "mini", quick, disposable, forgettable. Their results gone in the wind. New opportunity around the next corner, some random upset meaning someone got their brief satisfaction but it only really mattered a little in the end. It's just a game. It is a game. It's simultaneously quick and breezy but also lets you get invested in the long game.
Mario Party is just a game, but it nails that perfect medium of having a simple core with satisfying strategic depth. Incredibly easy to explain - win minigames, get money, move toward the star, and buy it. And yet, there's such room for satisfaction there. Some games in the series have lacked, but the best ones gave you a diverse set of "items" to use to influence your random fate. Yes, it is in the end, random, but that's also what makes it truly beautiful. It's this element of randomness that's necessary for everyone to play and have fun. And that's what Mario Party is famous for, and still is, the hilarious turnabouts that are sometimes unavoidable, but give everyone the chance to play underdog and get satisfaction because even when you lose, it's (almost) never just a steamroll - there was always the opportunity for everyone to win, so even a pro has to be on their toes when playing with casuals. Perfect balance isn't necessary and that's what lets the game be creatively free. You won't make an esport out of it, sometimes it won't always be perfectly tuned, but there's a reason these games are unforgettable classics. They're a party. They're for the whole party. It's not about whether you won or lost in the end. It really is about the game.
Admittedly, the newer Mario Partys have stumbled a bit, but the original ones threaded the needle, giving you the opportunity for skillful play in those minigames, the tools to make satisfying decisions, and work toward long-term strategic goals. Casual players may not realize it, but the way end-of-game bonus stars were fixed in the original Mario Party is what really gave these games their energy. You can make simple trade-offs for the long-term and have it pay off in the end and influence what at first seem to be random results, just by choosing to land on an event space or pad your coin count contrary to the single-minded goal. It's a shame these goals became a bit too random as the series went on, but this variation is also why we're lucky we got so many of these in such a short time. There's a level of randomness to satisfy everyone, in a way. These long-term goals are what gives it the opportunity, the exact amount of edge needed to satisfy a veteran player and still be approachable to everyone.
What the hell is the rest of the industry doing? All I want is more of this. We're all sitting here lamenting how Nintendo, the seemingly sole handler of the quality "video board game", just can't tap that spark anymore. How, after gracing us with literally 10+ routine entries of unrelenting, dreaded minigames and random chance, they surveyed the landscape and saw no one would even bother to riff on this with justice. I don't blame them even 1% for trying anything different because the core is totally ripe for it. I mean, that's Calvinball. It could be anything. But it feels like we missed a chance. We're slaves to the industry, we're gamer gamers, we want the mainline, the depth, the template. You can't even imagine what Mario Party you're missing because it comes from a place where the template doesn't matter. It's not Nintendo's fault the way these games were doesn't exist anymore. It simultaneously takes daunting creative decisions to make these games and yet it's all so obvious.
Mario Party is the game-iest of games in that it doesn't need graphics. It's all about the core. It's anti-aged. Yes, it might be in part some rose-tinted nostalgia, but in a way, as time stretches on, the original sharp, polygonal, crude puppets were exactly what this game needed. The bizarre, slightly off-character, exclamations, weird animations, dream-like scenario of it all. The original soundtrack from the composer of Chrono Trigger. All we get by remaking it for Nintendo Switch™️ with the power of our greatest technologies is somehow something lesser. It can be close, but never quite the same. What we had is impossible for Nintendo to rekindle, because we demand more than a template and yet only the template and there's just no way it will be the same. I don't doubt it can be done, but I'm not if sure the conditions are really right to squeeze out that secret sauce. Do people really get why these games are so good other than it being branded Mario? If anyone knows if any indie knock-offs are truly up to snuff, I need to know. I might just have to make it myself. I want to play this with the real party, the whole party, everyone at once. The game that anyone can play and compete and spectate and share that same enjoyment of winning. It can be done, and it can even be done even better.
Every day people say "when will GameCube games be re-released?" and absolutely never mention Mario Party. The fact we got strings of them for a single console somehow proves them simultaneously wildly popular, and yet entirely worthless. What value is there in iteration? Sometimes people say they struggle to make a top 10 of N64 games when we have three of the greatest games of all-time just sitting, ducks in a row, top of their genius and charm. It's actually incredibly lucky we got so many of them to twist and prod that golden formula, as if the developers knew their time with it was limited, that no one else would make this, that one day no one would do it again.
Are we too simple for Mario Party? We play it, and just don't see it. We don't appreciate what we have. It's just some game. There's nothing there to celebrate. If a game has nothing to say, it has no meaning. Unless it drills to the purity of simplicity, if you're a Tetris, gameplay doesn't really matter. Unless your game has the addictive, independent depth to allow practice and progression, it's disposable. What value does Mario Party have? Truly utilizing the medium in a way that lets everyone play and win and be satisfied while offering an infinite creative space for whatever could be around the next corner?
Seems like it's worth an award to me. A true game of the year. An ageless game for everyone and all time. Kudos to the smart designers and legendary devs. Beyond Mario, you made an impression, and you keep making impressions. We'll play it forever.
Mario Party (in the generic sense) is the quintessential video game. It came out of nowhere and didn't ape anything, as far as I know, except looking at the true, closest sibling of video games: board games, and fashions itself to be what they wish they were - no need for tokens, dice, and facsimiles of what you're trying to approximate and gamify. Story, levels, progression - these things are nice and satisfying, but they're not innately qualities of this medium. Just give the players a clear, understandable goal, make it random enough so in a way anybody could be the underdog and win in a surprising upset, but also give them just enough power to play the long game and make strategic choices to influence the final outcome to give you that deeper satisfaction. That's a game. A true game.
It's marvellous. It's obvious.
Then, take that simplified strategy and layer on madcap challenges that are only really possible in this medium. In a truly authentic way, the ethos of Super Mario Bros. 3, the timeless king of the classics, always blowing your mind with what fresh mechanic was around the next corner, intelligently translated into the shell of this simple strategy game. It had never been done before and played on the strengths to create a whole genre. Did it get any credit for this? I'm not sure it did.
There was and still is a time when we dreaded the horrific "minigame". How could a designer waste their time crafting something of lesser depth, attempting to spin plates, confusing us with constant and changing control schemes. Why would they bother? It could only be mistaken priorities. But this variety is the crux of the whole thing and while maybe some games have failed at it, Mario Party has just enough focus and quality to pull it off. Everyone read Calvin and Hobbes and saw "Calvinball" and thought "wow, I wish I could play that"... and then can't see this is the closest we've ever come to an ideal. Mario Party is the ideal. You're playing a breezy board game but the next moment you're in the sky, hanging from an umbrella, comically opening and shutting it to stay your descent. The next moment, you're a manning a team of spotlights, and must coordinate to take down a swimmer who's against all odds. And then, you're balancing on balls trying to bump each other off into the lava below. Now, the game simply wants you to dance, but not when your opponent dances. Suddenly, you land on a space, and a giant squid tries to vacuum you up. A mole pops up, and asks you to play whack-a-mole. Now, it's night time, and the rules turn on their head.
It's creativity exemplified. It's a slice of everything a video game could be, but never will be. Genres that will never be satisfied, but it's all possible here. Even if it had sold nothing it would be no surprise it had 15+ sequels because the canvas is endless. In a way, it doesn't go far enough. I want to sing the sorry song and touch the opposite pole and find the bonus box. That's what a video game can do in ways nothing else can and Mario Party knew it.
And the real genius of it is really, truly, this is an opportunity for everyone to compete. Mario Kart is nice, but it took eight+ games before they could implement "auto-steering" and not have me completely utterly stomp most random people I play - now I'll just stomp them a little bit. I don't think Mario Party actually does totally nail it, maybe one of its failings is too many of the early minigames require a decent bit of dexterity, sometimes losing really does feel like losing. But the design is fully there, and there is room for iteration. By their innate qualities these games are "mini", quick, disposable, forgettable. Their results gone in the wind. New opportunity around the next corner, some random upset meaning someone got their brief satisfaction but it only really mattered a little in the end. It's just a game. It is a game. It's simultaneously quick and breezy but also lets you get invested in the long game.
Mario Party is just a game, but it nails that perfect medium of having a simple core with satisfying strategic depth. Incredibly easy to explain - win minigames, get money, move toward the star, and buy it. And yet, there's such room for satisfaction there. Some games in the series have lacked, but the best ones gave you a diverse set of "items" to use to influence your random fate. Yes, it is in the end, random, but that's also what makes it truly beautiful. It's this element of randomness that's necessary for everyone to play and have fun. And that's what Mario Party is famous for, and still is, the hilarious turnabouts that are sometimes unavoidable, but give everyone the chance to play underdog and get satisfaction because even when you lose, it's (almost) never just a steamroll - there was always the opportunity for everyone to win, so even a pro has to be on their toes when playing with casuals. Perfect balance isn't necessary and that's what lets the game be creatively free. You won't make an esport out of it, sometimes it won't always be perfectly tuned, but there's a reason these games are unforgettable classics. They're a party. They're for the whole party. It's not about whether you won or lost in the end. It really is about the game.
Admittedly, the newer Mario Partys have stumbled a bit, but the original ones threaded the needle, giving you the opportunity for skillful play in those minigames, the tools to make satisfying decisions, and work toward long-term strategic goals. Casual players may not realize it, but the way end-of-game bonus stars were fixed in the original Mario Party is what really gave these games their energy. You can make simple trade-offs for the long-term and have it pay off in the end and influence what at first seem to be random results, just by choosing to land on an event space or pad your coin count contrary to the single-minded goal. It's a shame these goals became a bit too random as the series went on, but this variation is also why we're lucky we got so many of these in such a short time. There's a level of randomness to satisfy everyone, in a way. These long-term goals are what gives it the opportunity, the exact amount of edge needed to satisfy a veteran player and still be approachable to everyone.
What the hell is the rest of the industry doing? All I want is more of this. We're all sitting here lamenting how Nintendo, the seemingly sole handler of the quality "video board game", just can't tap that spark anymore. How, after gracing us with literally 10+ routine entries of unrelenting, dreaded minigames and random chance, they surveyed the landscape and saw no one would even bother to riff on this with justice. I don't blame them even 1% for trying anything different because the core is totally ripe for it. I mean, that's Calvinball. It could be anything. But it feels like we missed a chance. We're slaves to the industry, we're gamer gamers, we want the mainline, the depth, the template. You can't even imagine what Mario Party you're missing because it comes from a place where the template doesn't matter. It's not Nintendo's fault the way these games were doesn't exist anymore. It simultaneously takes daunting creative decisions to make these games and yet it's all so obvious.
Mario Party is the game-iest of games in that it doesn't need graphics. It's all about the core. It's anti-aged. Yes, it might be in part some rose-tinted nostalgia, but in a way, as time stretches on, the original sharp, polygonal, crude puppets were exactly what this game needed. The bizarre, slightly off-character, exclamations, weird animations, dream-like scenario of it all. The original soundtrack from the composer of Chrono Trigger. All we get by remaking it for Nintendo Switch™️ with the power of our greatest technologies is somehow something lesser. It can be close, but never quite the same. What we had is impossible for Nintendo to rekindle, because we demand more than a template and yet only the template and there's just no way it will be the same. I don't doubt it can be done, but I'm not if sure the conditions are really right to squeeze out that secret sauce. Do people really get why these games are so good other than it being branded Mario? If anyone knows if any indie knock-offs are truly up to snuff, I need to know. I might just have to make it myself. I want to play this with the real party, the whole party, everyone at once. The game that anyone can play and compete and spectate and share that same enjoyment of winning. It can be done, and it can even be done even better.
Every day people say "when will GameCube games be re-released?" and absolutely never mention Mario Party. The fact we got strings of them for a single console somehow proves them simultaneously wildly popular, and yet entirely worthless. What value is there in iteration? Sometimes people say they struggle to make a top 10 of N64 games when we have three of the greatest games of all-time just sitting, ducks in a row, top of their genius and charm. It's actually incredibly lucky we got so many of them to twist and prod that golden formula, as if the developers knew their time with it was limited, that no one else would make this, that one day no one would do it again.
Are we too simple for Mario Party? We play it, and just don't see it. We don't appreciate what we have. It's just some game. There's nothing there to celebrate. If a game has nothing to say, it has no meaning. Unless it drills to the purity of simplicity, if you're a Tetris, gameplay doesn't really matter. Unless your game has the addictive, independent depth to allow practice and progression, it's disposable. What value does Mario Party have? Truly utilizing the medium in a way that lets everyone play and win and be satisfied while offering an infinite creative space for whatever could be around the next corner?
Seems like it's worth an award to me. A true game of the year. An ageless game for everyone and all time. Kudos to the smart designers and legendary devs. Beyond Mario, you made an impression, and you keep making impressions. We'll play it forever.
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