It was (almost) Christmas 1998 when, in the Rising Sun, a game was released that would change the current retrogaming, ladies and gentlemen welcome to the party with the first Mario Party
We are in 1998 and, on that great console that bore the name of Nintendo 64, there was no shortage of great titles that have raised entire generations of gamers. Just think of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Banjo – Kazooie, Pokémon Stadium, F – Zero X, Hey You, Pikachu! and many others.
Among all these games, however, it was decided to add one that contained within it all the wonder, the landscapes, the music, the secondary characters, the villains of the great sagas that appeared on Nintendo 64 starring our favorites ever. Think of that, only a year earlier with the debut of Super Smash Bros., a game was born where you can see some of our favorite characters play and clash together. But we talked too much, let’s roll the dice and take a spin on the board (in retrogaming) of the first Mario Party.
Revolutionizing the Game of the Goose
Surely all of you have played, at least once in your life, the famous and infamous Game of the Goose armed with pawns and a handful of dadi. Most likely even the leaders of the well-known house in Kyoto and of Hudson Soft which became famous for its creation, before its absorption by the Konami, from the series of Star Soldier, of the character of Bomberman and also of the PC Engine (better known as TurboGrafx-16) together with the NEC.
This title was therefore the kickoff for party games as we know them today, and greatly animated the evenings among friends of the time. Obviously some insult has flown and, most likely, it has also come to blows, but, hey, these are the “risks of the trade”For a game that, of the goose, has become much more similar to Don’t be angry. But let’s go ahead with some order.
Story and (mini) game modes – Retrogaming: Mario Party
It’s another quiet day in Kingdom of Mushrooms and our heroes stand discussing in a circle who should be the “Super Star” and what its main characteristics are. Chat that chat, the good will think about it Toad to clarify the Hamletic doubt by proposing a series of challenges whose winner will undoubtedly be the “Super Star”. How? Well, in a series of worlds that take up the adventures and domains of the Nintendo 64 therefore here is a nice Warp Tube to start the first journey of the cheerful brigade towards different mini games and clashes seasoned with the right amount of humor and competitiveness.
You will then find yourself in a sort of jungle-like, complete with a placid river that flows in the middle, where there is a small town. From here you can leave directly for the adventure through another Warp Tube or, through some sort of huts, access the options of game, to the Bank, al shop ed all’isola and to home specially made for launch directly into the mini games that characterize the various levels of the story mode. In the story mode the winner will be whoever has obtained the most Stars while the real “Super Star” will be given to whoever will earn 100, will always be the cute Toad who will also take on the role of the guide on duty as well as “grand master of ceremonies” if we want to define him that way.
By choosing in total four player characters, out of the six available, we will therefore leave for a series of mini challenges on a board that recalls that of the aforementioned Game of the Goose, but in a decidedly more “Nintendian” sauce. In fact, they will clash on grounds inspired by one of Mario’s Castles, the Donkey Kong Jungle, the Princess Peach Birthday Cake, all’Yoshi Island, to the Cannon of Wario and also to the Luigi’s Engine Room. Here it will therefore be a question of advancing through the boxes with the dice, choosing the best path, winning the different mini games and accumulating as many tokens and Stars as possible. Ah, of course at the time The Internet was just in its infancy and therefore a maximum of four could play connecting as many controllers to the console.
After selecting your character, the opponents, the difficulty settings (easy, medium and difficult applicable both individually and on all) and the number of turns (20, 35 or 50), Toad he will give everyone 10 tokens in their pockets to go and then let the players themselves “slaughter” each other. Before we go any further, though, here’s a piccolo post written. A Super Star is worth 20 tokens, but know that to get it you can also steal it from other opponents through the tricks of King Boo or wait for the eternal Bowser to combine one of his own hindering, more or less, everyone.
Playable (and non-playable) characters – Retrogaming: Mario Party
As mentioned a few lines ago, given the limitations techniques due to the machine itself as well as to the years, the playable characters weren’t many, but they were still more than enough for a certain type of game session. They are therefore the following:
- Mario
- Luigi
- Peach
- Yoshi
- Donkey Kong
- Wario
To “season” everything there will then be the ones already mentioned Toad (the grand master of ceremonies on duty), Koopa Troopa (the guide who will warn of the times and even make predictions on the winners), Re Boo (perfect for stealing stars and / or tokens) e Bowser (the villain of all time certainly could not miss). In addition to these, on the board it will be possible to review well-known characters who have characterized the “Mariesque adventures” since the beginning, such as the Goomba, the Piranha plants, i Womp, the Bob – Ombe and so on. In short, we will all find ourselves together, but do not worry because the following chapters will bring more and more games, scenarios, but above all characters!
The legacy of, mini, game and reception – Retrogaming: Mario Party
The title in question therefore came diretto da Kenji Kikuchi who will then be the same person who will also take care of the many other chapters of the successful series that have revolutionized the party game sector, also inspiring similar titles, coming from other consoles, such as for example Crash Bash for the first PlayStation.
The first three chapters were therefore published on Nintendo 64 and then, from there, it would pass as usual to subsequent consoles including pocket-sized ones such as Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo 3DS. Of course, each of these “transits” from one game machine to another would have seen the influence of the major titles for this one. To understand us better, when the series landed on GameCube, it was very obvious to notice references and quotes from Super Mario Sunshine and Mario Kart: Double Dash !! The reception was relatively good but it was not without criticism.
First of all there is the question itself of the analog stick of the Nintendone. This in fact was often used with the palms of the hands to be better controlled and rotated faster, sometimes the only strategy for some mini challenges, but it caused injuries or blisters to the hands or come off. Another negative point are low ratings on Game Informer which gave a serious insufficiency to the first (2.5 your 10) and an almost recoverable insufficiency al according to (5.25 your 10) chapter of the saga. Well, in any case i have thought of it fan to demonstrate the full validity of the title (including the “warian version”).
How about another round?
Nowadays, retro gaming enthusiasts can recover an almost infinite series of the different Mario Party chapters finding each of these in most portable consoles and not signed by Nintendo. And the great thing is, at the end of October 2021, the saga has been enriched with a new chapter, the seventeenth to be precise, from the title Superstars (here the review) which has already exalted gamers on Nintendo Switch. In this regard, have you already tried it?
However, after more than twenty years, the first chapter undoubtedly shows the side especially from a technical point of view that goes to mix with a certain “slowness” that could make some game sessions rather unnerving. But, hey, anyway let’s remember that it was only the debut and it was 1998! Our advice? To understand how we got to the latest versions of the game today, try this gem from the past.
In conclusion if you want to recover other titles of the Big N, and not only, at the best price ever, then we advise you to click here, while, to be always updated on the great world of video games yesterday and today, we are waiting for you on TechGameWorld.com!