Mario Party - Classic E-Board Game
Getting together to play games is as basic as games themselves. Until the computer that was the only was to play games! Now a day it’s all too common for people to become engrossed in the single player game and never join in with their friends. It’s a true shame but there were some specialty games designed to FORCE people together, and one of these in particular was a real ground breaker.
There were other board games on the classic consoles, like monopoly. This game was fun but obviously nothing ground breaking. In my opinion it wasn’t until the Nintendo 64 that a truly revolutionary game of this genre came along. This game had a series of ingenious mini-games which kept the game play fresh and unique while simultaneously connecting to the core board game feel. Each mini-game you see had its own category, like trivial pursuit except a lot more fun. What game was this you ask?
Mario Party of course! The party was a giant at the time and its game play was so addictive it even spawned several new stories about the dangers of gaming. It’s rumored this game prompted specifics warnings about repetitive stress injuries due to increased reports from doctor’s offices that this game was to blame for stress of the hands and arm parts. It sounds crazy but it’s not as unusual as it sounds. This actually had happened and unfortunately even worse, there are reports of deaths from deep vein thrombosis from sitting too long playing games such as this so it is important to be careful. This game is addictive…
In addition to being highly addictive the game does have a very big plus side. It has been known to bring families together! Okay, maybe not, but it does make the gamer more social than normal and that’s a good thing, right? It’s a ton of fun to play and I think has over a hundred mini-games – not a lot of game can boast that range of different games in just ones cartridge.
The digital board game experience
One of many Mario Party mini-games
In Mario Party you can play with computer opponents or only human players. You go around the game board in a very normal fashion but each spot has a special type of game associated with it. Sometimes you play by yourself and sometimes it’s a group affair. These mini games are a mix which makes it truly fun. Sometimes it’s a button mash affair and sometimes it’s much more strategic. This game has spawned several imitations and more than 3 versions of itself. In my opinion it’s the classic epitome of social gaming and deserves a special play in the N64 collector’s chest.