Since I didn’t play MP Star Rush and MP: The Top 100 I was really excited to get this game. The first trailer already looked promising, Since I didn’t play MP Star Rush and MP: The Top 100 I was really excited to get this game. The first trailer already looked promising, because the system of the older games returned.



Though I like the idea of having this small hub area, where you can choose which game mode you want to play, it feels a bit empty. But I’m a big fan of hub areas, which evolve through progression. It is a nice touch, that the more crystals you collect, the day goes by and the music gets more intense. There are more than enough playable characters and it’s nice to have bowser’s minions also included.



Except for some new mechanics, you can say that the mario party mode is the one from the older games. But there are still some things, which bother me. Overall this mode was pretty cool and fun to play, but like many people already mentioned, 4 boards are a bit too few and the board themselves are too small. With some good luck and some partners you can almost run through the whole board in one turn. I don’t have a problem with the individual dice every character has, but they aren’t really balanced. The partners are in my opinion a bit too powerful, since you get a 1-2 added to your count for every partner in your team. Another problem I have with this mode is the amount of coins you get during a party. Even if you lose a 2v2 minigame you still get 2 coins. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the stars only cost 10 coins. So you almost have no chance of missing a star, because of the huge amount of coins you are given. Not even the shop is more expensive. You can get a golden pipe, which brings you directly in front of the star, for 10 coins only. Also, the lucky and unlucky fields seem to be a bit useless, since the events that can happen aren’t that fascinating. The chance of landing on an unlucky field already is pretty low and the chance of losing a star there is even lower. Otherwise the boards are well made. Every board has its unique theme and special events, where you can get coins or stars. For the most time the soundtrack is also pretty good.



The rafting mode is pretty cool, but they could have added some more minigames, because they get repetitive after playing some rounds.



The partner party uses the mechanic of star rush, which isn’t necessarily bad. The concept is fun, but, like in the normal mario party, it’s almost impossible to land on an unlucky field, because you can easily land on an item or lucky field almost every time.



Sadly, the online mode was a big disappointment. Instead of playing a normal mario party you can only play a total amount of ten minigames and that’s it.



The minigames were overall enjoyable. 80 minigames is an acceptable amount in my opinion, even if there could have been some more rafting minigames. The minigames, which uses the HD Rumble, work almost perfectly and are really cool.



To conclude, this game isn't perfect, but it’s one step closer to the right direction. It’s definitely better than MP 9 and MP 10, that’s for sure. … Expand