Mario Party 10 First Look — Party On With Bowser

For years, Nintendo produced a number of Mario Party titles with enough innovative touches to keep players of all ages coming back for more. From voice support on the GameCube to motion-sensitive controls on the Wii, the company managed to keep things fresh for solo players and friends hoping to enjoy the addictive mini-games.

With the forthcoming Mario Party 10 – the franchise debut for the Wii U – Nintendo wants to do something different. Along with the traditional gameplay and mini-games we’ve come to expect from the series, the company will now add some new modes that should have no trouble drawing in the dice rollers, along with full support for amiibo, with its own special mode to boot.

The game will feature three general modes of play.

Mario Party

This is the game we’ve come to expect over the years, where up to four players can move around a number of pre-set game boards based on the Mario universe and engage in mini-games in an effort to collect Stars. The one with the most Stars wins the match, so you can bet that many people will bring out their competitive sides.

Along with moving around the board and collecting rewards, obstacles will once again get in the way. For instance, those bothersome Whomps will make an appearance, blocking your path unless you trade something to remove it from the path, like a few stars or completing an objective. This keeps the flow of the game moving smoothly, and gives others the opportunity to catch up, should the roll of the dice not go in their favor.

Bowser Party

This mode introduces a new wrinkle to the Mario Party formula, with one player controlling big Bowser with the GamePad, while the other four players use Wii remotes or secondary controllers. Here, instead of competing for Stars, players will instead use hearts. The goal of the game is for the top player to make it to the end of the board without running out of these hearts, while Bowser’s main goal is to deplete players of their energy.

Bowser receives an individual dice for each player on the board, with more power than them, and can set up obstacles that get in their way. While some may see this as an unfair advantage, it’s a four versus one set-up that works relatively well – and provides players with a new perspective compared to the typical Mario Party rules.

Amiibo Party

Finally, there’s Amiibo Party, in which players can scan special figurines to play on small boards. The gameplay remains similar to Mario Party, with stars to collect and a number of mini-games, but the the amiibo figures generate the world.

For this, you can use previously purchased amiibo, but data you have saved from Super Smash Bros. will likely get deleted, since the files aren’t cross compatible with more than one game. Nintendo is aware of how hardcore some players are, so it introduced a number of new amiibo that are custom made for Mario Party, including Mario, Luigi, Peach and for the first time in the amiibo lineup, Toad – and yes, his figure works in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker as well.

A number of boards are based on previous entries in the Mario universe, including Yoshi Park from Mario Super Sluggers on the Wii, the Meringue Clouds from New Super Mario Bros. U and an underwater castle. Since Bowser dominates one of the main modes, his castle made the cut as well.

In addition, several characters join the fray, including returning favorites like Mario, Wario and Donkey Kong, as well as new faces like Rosalina and Bowser. More may get added via DLC in the months ahead (similar to Link in Mario Kart 8), but Nintendo hasn’t confirmed these yet.

As far as the games go, they vary by mode, as you can choose from a four-player free-for-all, a 2 vs. 2 team-based battle, a 1 vs. 3 “let’s gang up on this guy” mode and various others. Each one has its share of mini-games, ranging from placing puzzle pieces on a map with a virtual pump (think Tetris meets Dig-Dug) to letting loose with Bowser’s bad breath on awaiting enemies, using the GamePad to curve your fireballs. With over 70 different ones available, you’ll find plenty of variety.

While some people may think that Mario Party is just the same old thing, the tenth iteration of the franchise has some stuff that sets it apart, and its debut on the Wii U should be well received – especially with amiibo support. We’ll see how well the board game holds up when it hits stores and the eShop on March 20th.