Mario Party is one of the classic game titles, and for a good reason. It's simple, you can play with four players, and new players have no real barriers to entry. That makes it ideal for young children looking for a game to play with their friends, especially if they're looking to experience a game that allows them to mess with each other. Over the years, Mario Party has evolved and changed, but the basic concept has remained the same. Collect stars and coins, have the most at the end, and you win. In this article, I'm going to go through the best five games of all time.
5. Mario Party 7.
The last edition of the Gamecube Mario Party was a good one. It featured a cruise ship, and colorful and creative boards. Some of the minigames are good, but ultimately leave a bit to be desired. There's plenty of extra minigame features, and a really good solo mode featuring minigames on a raft. The main negative associated with this game is Bowser Time, which was by all accounts a terrible edition and would eventually be eliminated in all future games.
4. Mario Party 2.
The sequel to the original improved upon pretty much everything. Dice rolls, items, minigames, and boards improved dramatically. In addition, the minigames were unbelievable, and are still some of the best minigames in the Mario Party lore.
The only reason this game doesn't rank higher is because of its graphics, which don't hold up in today's world.
3. Mario Party 5.
My personal favorite in terms of minigames is 5, which features some of the more memorable 4 player games in the series, including Dinger Derby, Flower Shower, Hotel Goomba, and Leaf Leap. Mario Party 5 also features a mode called Minigame Wars, which is a ton of fun to play.
If the boards and orb system were better, this game would rank higher. Unfortunately, the cutscenes on the boards take forever and the orb system is a disaster. In the next edition, the orb system was improved significantly.
2. Mario Party 6.
This game helped out the orb system and made it far better. This time, you could place orbs on boards and pick them up without paying for them.
The addition of orb huts made the randomness of the previous gumball machine meaningless. And the boards had great graphics and were extremely creative and varied. The minigames in this game were really good as well, allowing Mario Party 6 to take the 2nd spot on this list.
1. Mario Party 4.
The best game in the series is the first one that was introduced on the Gamecube. The minigame pool might have been a bit limited, but pretty much every single one was excellent, and even Bowser's Bigger Blast was good for a laugh. The birthday format gave the game a story, and the additional items in this game, including the Sparky Sticker and Swap Card, added to the gameplay. Of course, this is just an opinion, but Mario Party 4 really does hold a special place as one of the best Mario games of all time.
