Mario has been on countless adventures, alone or with his friends. After all those adventures, he also likes to relax with his friends and enemies. Playing soccer and tennis or going for a quick race are just some of his favorite things to do. He also used to play boardgames but rumor has it that he got bored of those, found them too slow. Lucky for him, the Toads reinvented the genre and made it faster than ever before, there’s no reason for Mario and his crew to stay away from Mario Party: Star Rush!
It’s always your turn
So, let’s address the elephant in the room, Mario Party games aren’t loved by many. There are a lot of complaints flying around over the internet and most of those revolve around the slow pacing or boring mini-games. Well, it might be good to know that Mario Party: Star Rush finally dares to innovate the franchise from within. It’s nothing as massive as ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ but these innovations certainly bring a fresh wind over the old franchise. The biggest and perhaps best change of them all is that they finally fixed the pacing! No longer will you have to wait on the computer or your friends to throw the dice, in Mario Party: Star Rush, it’s always your turn to roll!
So how did they do it? Simple, they made sure everybody throws the dice at the same time. This means you’ll see your dice in the center of the screen and see the other player’ dice on the top of your touchscreen. After you rolled the dice, you can select a path on the board. You’re no longer running in a specific order, you’re able to freely walk around on the board to collect coins or Super Mario friends. This happens is you play the main Toad Scramble mode where you’ll compete for the most stars.
Conquer those boards
Toad Scramble is considered as the main mode of the game since it’s closest to what you might expect from a Mario Party game. During Toad Scramble, you play as on out of four Toads (if you scan an Amiibo, you can play as that Amiibo from the start). Unlike other Mario Party games, a mini-game isn’t triggered automatically after each round. Instead, you’ll need to run around on the board, collecting as many coins as possible. Each ten coins give you an extra star at the end, the player with most stars wins. It feels like a combination of Mario Party and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival.
Finally some needed innovation
The best part about Toad Scramble are the boards themselves. They start off rather traditional without much room for exploration, but the more you play, the more you unlock. My personal favorites are the ghost boards filled with Boo ghosts and hidden items. Every map has certain special squares where you can score useful items or even more coins. You can activate certain mini-games by popping a balloon if you land on that square but aside of that, the boss battles shape the main mini-games during Toad Scramble.
Defeat the bosses
The bosses form the main attraction on the boards for sure since defeating them will give you one star or two stars if you’re fighting the final one. All bosses have a different type of mini-game and all of them feel great. Think about stealing acorns from a giant Goomba to flashing lights into the eyes of a giant Boo. The boss mini-games are thrilling and offer a lot of fun, especially when you’re playing the game with some of your friends.
Star Rush doesn’t support online multiplayer but to be honest, this would never really work in Mario Party. The best part of playing together is seeing your friends’ faces when you throw them off the edge or bump them into an enemy. The boss battles offer the perfect conditions to ruin some friendships and that’s not even an insult. The only trouble I had with the bosses is that they are often recycled, there aren’t that many bosses so you’ll face a lot of the same on different maps, which isn’t good for the variation of the game.
Mario and friends
Mario Party: Star Rush is another one of those Mario games where Toad claims the throne. It seems like our little mushroom guy is going for world domination and Star Rush is not different. The Mario cast is reduced to ‘friends’ that appear on the board, aiding your quest. Each Super Mario character has its own advantages, some will give you more chances of throwing a six for example. The best part about collecting a friend on the board is that you’ll be able to roll the dice twice, meaning you’ll be able to cross more spaces and collect more coins. But that’s not all, as any good friend would do, the friend characters also help you in mini-games, making sure you’re getting some extra point.
To keep things balanced and fair, the boards also features special squares, giving you items to steal from a friend of another player. This means that the Super Mario cast is in a constant circulation between the different players and everything can continue in a fair way. It’s great to have some balance in games like these but do keep in mind that luck still is a factor if you want to win the round.
More modes
Although Toad Scramble is considered as the main mode, the game does offer even more modes for your enjoyment, let’s take a look:
- Coinathlon: This mode happens on a track where players advance by collecting coins in several mini-games. You compete in mini-games over and over again and always need to gain as many coins as possible. The goal of the game is the end first after three laps around the map. This is a very addictive mode and can be played with up to four players
- Mario Shuffle: A two player mode that focusses on Amiibo. The goal is to get your Amiibo across the screen before your opponent is able to do so. Needless to say, you can block the movement of your enemy’ Amiibo by using several tricks. It’s not a very deep mode but it offers some fun for short sessions.
- Balloon Bash: This is another bigger mode where players run around on boards similar to the ones of Toad Scramble. In here, players will pop balloons, initiating mini-games where you’ll need to gain as many coins as possible. Also keep a close eye out for the special star balloons since those will give you an extra star without any trouble.
- Rythm Recital: Make some classic Mario music on your touchscreen. Up to four players can join the party, all with their own unique instrument.
- Challenge Tower: A solo challenge where you’ll need to reach the top of the tower, be careful however and take a good look at the LED screens to know if it’s safe to advance. Very thrilling to play!
- Boo’s Block Party: A match-3 style game where you spin blocks with numbers. Blocks disappear if you manage to match 3 of the same. An innovating take on the classic genre and definitely a fun distraction from the main modes.
Besides these modes you’ll also be able to visit the character museum to see the characters up close or play the mini-game mode to select the mini-game you would like to play.
Multiplayer
The last thing I would like to discuss is the multiplayer. You can use local multiplayer or download play. The difference between local and download play is that if you play the game in download play, you won’t be able to play Mario Shuffle, Music Recital and Boo’s Block Party. In order to counter this, Nintendo released an App in the Nintendo 3DS eShop called Mario Party: Star Rush – Party Guest. This app enables a player who doesn’t own the game to join every session of a player that does own a copy, without any restrictions. The app even saves personal settings and character progress so that it can be transferred if that player every buys the copy. It’s a great app and a nice gesture of Nintendo since Mario Party is most enjoyable if you play it with others.
Conclusion:
Mario Party: Star Rush is the best Mario Party game I’ve played in years. It finally dared to innovate and get rid of some of the most annoying features of the franchise. No longer will you have to wait for the others to throw the dice, it’s always your turn! To make the party even better, there are tons of great mini-games and game modes waiting to be discovered. The game is most enjoyable in multiplayer and the Party Guest app is the perfect excuse to bring together some of your friends. There’s no online multiplayer but that wouldn’t really work anyway. Get the party started!
