Mario and the gang party on for the sixth time in Mario Party 6. But is this installment of an increasingly-lackluster franchise really worth picking up if you already have previous editions of the game? The answer is a qualified “Yes.” Nintendo has added enough new twists to freshen up the mini games a bit and addresses the slow nature of the board game with a new strategy element that is very welcome.

If you’re any kind of Nintendo fan, you’re surely aware of the premise behind its hybrid board/video game: players move around a game board, triggering events and playing mini games to collect items and win the game. First appearing on the Nintendo 64 in 1999, Mario Party seemed to succeed best with younger gamers, while most older gamers (like myself) found the board game portion of the experience so deathly tedious it was about as entertaining as pounding nails through their privates. The mini-games were fun enough for everyone, as evidenced by the popularity of the Wario Ware games and their outrageous number of mini-games that wouldn’t bore a gerbil with ADD. But the board game was just something many could not get past.

This situation has remained much the same story on all of the previous three N64 installments and the two on the GameCube. With the sixth game, Nintendo has attempted to address the tedious nature of the board game and has succeeded – to a degree. Where previous incarnations of Mario Party’s board game have relied heavily on luck and the roll of the die, Mario Party 6 adds a strategic element with Orbs.

Orbs are collected on the main game board by passing over an Orb space or buying them with collected coins at an Orb Hut. Up to three can be carried at a time. The Orbs come in four varieties: self-use, thrown, roadblock and miscellaneous. Self-use Orbs take the form of such things as invulnerability and swapping places with other players. Thrown Orbs can be tossed up to five spaces away from the player and generally cause the targeted opponent to lose coins or Orbs. Roadblock Orbs cause coin loss and mobility impairment. Miscellaneous Orbs prevent coin theft by the Chain-Chomp and Boo characters. Using Orbs at strategically opportune moments adds a new and much-appreciated dimension to what has traditionally been the weakest part of the Mario Party games.

Also new for Mario Party 6 is the cycling of day and night screens. The theme of Mario Party 6 is a conflict between the spirits of day, Brighton, and night, Twila. Every three turns the board shifts from day to night and back again. When the time of day shifts, the board changes – perhaps opening a new path or blocking an old one. It is a small thing, but once again adds a little spice to the board game element.

Of course the star of the Mario Party games is the plethora of mini-games that offer the greatest player interaction. While many of MP6’s mini games are just retreads of past ones, Nintendo gives us a new twist with a microphone controller (which plugs into the ‘B’ memory card slot) that lets players control a select group of mini games with their voice. The mic interface is a trifle limited in what commands are recognized, but what it does recognize is pretty solid for controlling the simple action. For players who don’t want to fool with the mic, the mini-games utilizing it can be disabled during the game.

In addition to the main star-collecting party mode, MP6 also offers a solo mode to collect mini-games, a mic mode that allows players to practice the mic mini-games and participate in a quiz game called Speak Up, and a mini-game mode that allows players to practice the mini-games they have collected.

In the graphics and audio departments the Mario Party games seem to have stagnated. Hudson may want to quit just thinking up new mini-games and actually update the engine these games are built on to bring them up to the quality of their contemporaries. Fortunately the controls still work very well and, as with any game, much can be forgiven in presentation if it plays well.

Mario Party 6 is a step in the right direction. It makes the generally boring board portion of the game more interesting with the addition of the strategic Orbs and the day and night shifts. It does not completely solve the past games’ problems, but I’ll take what I can get. The mini-games continue to be fun, while the addition of the mic controller brings in a new and interesting element. Out of all the Mario Party games since the original, Mario Party 6 shows the most evolution of the franchise. If you like the Mario Party games it is definitely worth adding to you collection. For those that have shied away since the original game, it might be time to give the series another look with Mario Party 6.



© 2005 GameShark.com