#2026 i’ll lock in fr

[tojilvrs]

2025 is not my year actually

[wfagamerants]

This is a funny thing to discuss. I am obviously not saying we need a new one ASAP, with Jamboree still being so fresh and in fact, I still play it a lot.

What got me interested in writing about this is the Switch 2. With new Nintendo hardware on the horizon, it’s inevitable Mario Party will make the jump there and given the series’ more frequent release schedule, that could happen as early as 2026. 

Thinking about what the new system could mean for MP just gives me a desire to talk a bit more about one of my favorite game series. My affection for Jamboree has not gone down at all since launch, but I did notice some things I feel could be addressed in a future title.

In particular I prepared 10 personal points I think would be pretty darn neat to see addressed in a new game. These aren’t ordered in any way, just general talking points

Fewer, but more focused modes

This is moreso the culmination of several points I’ll get to talking about, but they can also be summed up under this umbrella.

Jamboree has a lot of modes and that’s not an issue by itself. I actually consider it NDCube’s most successful attempt at a variety pack type approach and even the Hudson era games had bonus modes.

Thing is, 4 months later it’s easy to tell I barely touch the Motion Islands much at all, with Party Mode, Koopathlon and Kaboom Squad as the default trio I keep going back to and Party Planner Trek as the charming single player campaign.

This isn’t to say the other modes are bad, even Paratroopa Flight School to me is inoffensive at worst, but for future games I’d be more than cool with focusing the resources on adding even more to the very replayable modes.

Ditch Motion Controls

I don’t mind motion controls and will say they work very well in this game. At the same time, they do feel tacked on, like something they felt they had to keep because Super had it. 

While I do enjoy Toad’s Item Factory and find Rhythm Kitchen to be a cute, if lacking in Sound Stage’s competitive aspect, follow-up to said mode, I find both to lack in replay value. Paratroopa’s Flight School even more so.  That mode really is just a big gimmick that has its appeal, but once the novelty wears off it just doesn’t have much to make you return to it, even with three modes on offer.

Where I start to have more issues with it is Party Mode. Motion Controls are merely an option, but playing without them does lock several mini-games away from play. This hurts because while Jamboree *does* have the most minigames in the series, they are many different types. 

34 of the 112 minigames are not present in Party mode and on top of that, between 5 Duel, Item and Boss minigames each and 10 Showdown minigames on top, that’s another 25 minigames that aren’t part of the regular Free for All, 2v2 and 1v3 rotation. Take out motion minigames from those categories and that’s another 12 minigames off that list, leaving 41 minigames as part of that rotation, which feels quite compromised.

I got used to the single joy con to access all the games, but this isn’t really a situation that should exist. Either go all in on that control scheme, abandon it or offer a button control alternative for Pro Controller players.

Even more customization

Superstars introduced a really cool thing by letting you choose what kind of Bonus Stars you want. Jamboree would add an entirely separate, additional ruleset, as well as the ability to vote for minigames, replacing the roulette. All those are great additions, but what started as a cautious toe tip can easily be turned into a cannonball.

In particular the return of old options such as 50 Turn games or being able to make every character a CPU. They are niche options, but there is a place for all of them. Additionally, the custom minigame pack from MP4, letting you choose what minigames can appear, that’s a no brainer that I am sincerely shocked is only in one game.

Besides that there is a lot they can do. A custom bonus star option where you choose a set of three from all available ones. A toggle to turn Hidden Blocks on and off. A similar toggle for Jamboree Buddies. Really, the sky's the limit.

Mario Party becoming more customizable just offers a lot of room to spice up the game, while also not leaving those who prefer the default way of doing things out, since they are merely options.

Minigame Modes like in the older titles

The minigame modes on offer in Jamboree are…passable. It gets the basics of the job done, but it’s hard to deny that they are very samey. They basically all just amount to win the most minigames or get the most points.

I miss modes like Decathlon, where it was about the speed you complete minigames in or Rocket Rascals, where you win minigames to gradually build a path to the rocket in the middle. Heck, even non-Party Mode minigames can offer potential for such an extra mode, as Bowser Challenge in 10 showed.

Modes like that offer their own rules and gimmicks, which give more of an incentive to replay the minigames outside the board context and are extremely fun on their own. What we have now is passable, but nothing beyond the bare minimum and lacking in long-term appeal.

Returning GameCube and onwards boards

I am a big fan of Mario Party going the Mario Kart route, with returning boards, on top of the new stuff. It’s a very valid way to boost the board count and thanks to the inherent mechanical differences of each game, they feel very fresh anyways.

The purely N64 focus though is something I can do without. The later games to me had a lot of the most interesting boards and frankly, it just feels like N64 bias to appeal to nostalgia. It didn’t land for me in Superstars and I am still not a fan, even as someone who started with 2, played all the games in order from there and got MP1 via a lucky flea market find between 4 and 5.

Even with that N64 focus, it also stands out how much 3 gets shafted and I’d gladly see that changed too. Both 1 and especially 2 have great boards I’d happily put on a favorites list, but 1 is the flawed first attempt and 2 is what truly got the basics down. 3 onwards is where the series could expand and do more elaborate and unique things with the boards, thanks to 1 and 2 providing the foundation and that’s why I would rather see more 3 onwards stuff come back.

More 6-8 and DS-type star gimmicks.

MP6 marked a turning point for the series that I always really enjoyed. On top of traditionally styled boards, there were also boards with completely new star gimmicks. 

Sometimes everyone already starts with stars and it’s all about stealing from each other.

Other times you try to reach the end of the board to get the star and then go back to the beginning to start the process over.

Yet again other times you brave a mansion, trying to figure out the randomly set up paths, to find the room the star is in.

And the list goes on.

Mechanics like that always felt like a natural extension of the MP gameplay and it goes a long way making each board even more distinct from the rest. Roll em’ Raceway already feels a lot like these kinds of boards, but I’d like to see them take it further again.

Bring back Bowser Party

I am a vocal MP10 enjoyer and I’ll say this: Bowser Party would make for a great returning side-mode.

In hindsight it very much feels like the precursor to Kaboom Squad and Coinathlon/Koopathlon and it’s not like boards created for side modes are anything new. Making it more explicitly a side-mode also makes the same kind of content amount that the OG Bowser Party had (three boards, ten minigames) more reasonable than if it was promoted as the main point of the game.

More than anything, I just think it’s a really fun mode and my preferred kind of playable Bowser.

Relatedly:

Bowser

I want the series to make up its mind about Bowser.

I firmly think it’s okay for him to not be playable in MP. The role he plays is just too irreplaceable and Kamek in Super really showed how lame attempts to replace him can be.

Jamboree does go for a compromise by introducing Imposter Bowser and I am fine with that, but even then they lock Bowser out of the Bowser centric bonus modes, Koopathlon and Kaboom Squad.

In general the fact we got two Bowsers running around is further proof how important Bowser playing his usual role is to this series and nobody does it better than him. He has the imposing appearance, the humorous, yet villainous personality, the dangerous hide-outs and minions for minigames and boards.

Sticking with the Imposter Bowser solution would be perfectly fine by me, I just want them to commit to it, if they do so and not lock Bowser arbitrarily out of some modes anyways.

Keep the roster big

It’s hard to say where the series will go in that area, but simply put, I want the character roster to stay in this kind of size area. Be a Super and Jamboree, not a Superstars.

Yeah, characters don’t affect the gameplay, in terms of who you play as, but I am also tired of pretending these games don’t sell more than ever before and by a significant amount at that.

There is a reason Pauline got an entire trailer dedicated to just announcing her. They knew people wanted her, people like having these characters on the roster, there is no reason to cheap out on that.

It’s flavor, but flavor matters a great deal, it’s why people will still pick their favorite character, instead of saying ‘’I don’t care, it won’t affect the gameplay’’. Nobody actually thinks like that and after Superstars and Strikers Battle League, I am done trying to find understanding for bad rosters.

And on behalf of my friend Mod Mamono: Keep Montgomery Mole.

He funny.

Take it easier with Lucky Spaces

Lucky Spaces are a contentious mechanic and I am of two mindsets about it.

On one hand I don’t inherently mind them, particularly in Jamboree, which has enough ways to spend or lose coins that the bonuses that come from these spaces feel like a deliberate part of the game’s economy.

At the same time there really are a lot of them and I feel they should be something more special than essentially a second flavor of Blue Space, that sometimes feels similarly common.

Thinking about it though, making them more uncommon could cause different problems, by giving those that manage to land on them too much of an advantage.

Hard to say what could be done, spaces this powerful do mean playing with fire when adjusting things, but I do feel SOME kind of tweaking would be good.

Those are my main sticking points.

I adore Jamboree. While I spend a lot of this post pointing out things I feel could be done differently, I would still happily call it my third favorite MP.

Frankly, it’s so good I would gladly wait a year or two longer than usual for the next one. I am just a big MP fanboy, so the inevitable prospect of a new one, with new hardware on the horizon, makes me muse what could be, since the future of the series is an exciting one.