Mario has always been a lovable, carefree character who never holds a grudge against even his greatest adversaries. He’s always willing to go for a round of golf, play some tennis, race around the track, and party with friends and foes alike. The Mario Party series is what kicked off this trend of the cast of Mario getting together to compete in a board game-style competition. While it seemed like a strange departure when the first game came out for a series so focused on running and jumping to spin off into a turn-based game with dice rolling, it turned out to be one of the most successful diversions the Italian plumber ever made.
Dating back to the debut on the N64, Mario Party games have appeared on just about every Nintendo console released since. Some sequels are more similar to the original formula of traversing a map via dice rolls, collecting coins and items, playing minigames, and purchasing stars to determine the winner, while others only vaguely resemble that well-loved structure. In the over two decades since we were first invited to this crazy party with Mario and friends, there have been nearly 20 different Mario Party games released. While some are held in extremely high regard, there are more than a few that are seen as downright atrocious. Here’s how we broke down ranking all the best Mario Party games from best to worst.
Further reading
1.
The only game that could top even the most nostalgia-blind Mario Party fans who adore the N64 classics above all others is the one that combines the best of all of them into one new and modern package. After Super Mario Party came close to recapturing the feel of the traditional board game style that made the older games the hits they were, and Mario Party: The Top 100 bringing back the best minigames but without that element whatsoever, this title finally brings together the best ideas of those two games into one dream package.
This game should’ve happened years ago, but better late than never. Mario Party Superstars does what fans have been asking for for years and ditches all the weird board gimmicks, different dice types, and stinker minigames and looks back at all the great ones they’ve done and brings them forward onto the Switch. Boards from the original trilogy and games from the entire series are all brought back here, from across the entire franchise, but now with the benefit of much-improved controls, online play, and a great roster of Mario characters to play as. Whether you’re an old-school fan or new to the series, there’s no better way to experience the best Mario Party has to offer.
Read our full Mario Party Superstars review
2. Mario Party 2
Nintendo is a company that doesn’t like to do the same thing twice. This is a methodology that can result in some of the best games the company has produced, as well as some of the worst. In the case of Mario Party 2, they changed only the essentials from the rough draft that was the first game and created an all-time masterpiece. Despite less than a year of development time, this sequel somehow knew what problems the first game had, where it could expand, and what new features would be the most fun. Basically everything fans love about the series was introduced in this game.
Prior to Mario Party 2, there were no items, no duel or battle minigames, and less varied and dynamic boards. Plus, in a touch that is criminally locked to this one game, every character has a unique outfit to fit the theme of the board being played. Want to see cowboy Donkey Kong or pirate Yoshi? This is the only game to do it. Items added a bit of skill and planning to the game otherwise mostly being dictated by the roll of the die, and the minigame selection was not only large but also extremely creative. This is where many of the most iconic games came from, and there’s hardly a bad one in the batch.
