6/6 Thought of the Day: The Fate of Mario Party

So far, there have been 8 Mario Party games. The general consensus is that each game gets worse and worse. I kind of agree with that, but can't fully agree since I've only played the first 5 Mario Party games. From the first 5 games, I must say that I agree. The first Mario Party was a lot of fun, and as they continued, they felt repetitive and not as fun. The minigames weren't as original and some features were changed that I thought made the game worse. Don't get me wrong, they're still great games, but I just think that they have slowly been getting worse.

As for Mario Party 6, 7, and 8, from what I've heard, they too aren't that good. Mario Party 6 started the use of the microphone and I've heard mixed things about it, and just recently, Mario Party 8 was released. This game has received low scores from many gaming sites and from people that have bought the game. The reasons they state for the low score are that the game feels kind of boring, the graphics are of the gamecube, some of the minigames seem like the motion controls were added on at the last second, and other things like that. Will there be another Mario Party? Most likely. Will it use the Wii to its full potential? I don't know. But what exactly would make a Mario Party game as fun as the original?

If another Mario Party were to be made, it would be made for Wii, so in order to become a AAA title, it would have to use the Wii to its full potential. That means using better graphics than before and showing Wii's true graphical power. That means making minigames that are completely original and fun to use with the Wii Remote's motion sensing, and not feel tacked on. That means adding fun features to it, like a Duel Mode from the earlier Mario Party games. And lastly, the thing that would make Mario Party a sure hit: online play.

I mean, think about it. The best part about Mario Party games are their multiplayer aspects. They are a lot of fun to play with friends, but the challenge is being able to play with people. There are only so many people to play with nearby and so many times to play together. But if you were to be able to go online, that would be a whole different story. If you could match up against random players and/or players registered with friend codes (yea, I hate them, but Nintendo is giving up on them anytime soon), that would make the Mario Party experience amazing. It would bring the multiplayer aspect to another level and it would surely be a hit. If only Nintendo would do such a thing for Mario Party 9. We can only dream for now and hope that Nintendo has got the hint.