st240

GAMING FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

BOWZILLA!

One very cool new mode is Bowser Kaboom Squad. This involves up to eight players taking on a giant, kaiju-like Bowser impersonator stomping about a cityscape through several rounds, by playing minigames, and sourcing bombs from crates to hurl at this spiky impostor.

With all of that rescuing and sports participation, not to mention his regular tradie gig, it’s good to know that Mario still finds time to party. He’s at it again this month with Super Mario Party Jamboree , billed as the biggest Mario Party to date, so let’s take a look at some of what to expect from it, shall we? Words Amy Flower Mario Party? If you’re new to the party, welcome! To PARTY ANIMALS! • Super Mario Party Jamboree is out Oct 17

back in Super Mario Bros.2 , and Mario’s ex, the original Donkey Kong’s Pauline.

Lagoon, Rainbow Galleria, King Bowser’s Keep, Roll ’em Raceway, and Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party. Minigames We’ve been promised big, and how’s this? There’ll be at least 112 minigames to

summarise it quickly, where the Mario Party games shine is that they bring classic board game-like play, with all of the many advantages – and yes, sometimes disadvantages, especially if you get an unlucky roll – that being a video game can deliver, such as changing paths around for added fun. In the main competitive mode you play on a board with areas that you reach by rolling a dice and moving the same amount of spaces. Sounds familiar? Yep, classic board game! It can be great friend and family fun, and it’s easy to pick up, even by those who aren’t particularly video game savvy.

Multiplayer As well as classic four-player party action, a new mode – Koopathlon – will let 20 human players go at it online. If you played Mario Party: Star Rush on 3DS, then it’s reminiscent of that game’s Coinathlon mode, whereby Plus, great news if you don’t have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to let you play is that Super Mario Party Jamboree comes with a seven-day trial code. PARTY ON, MARIO! We first got to party with Mario and friends in Mario Party , which released in Australia back in 1999 on the Nintendo 64. It established the board game and minigame formula that has continued to this day. Two more Mario Party games hit the Nintendo 64, before a further four were released for the GameCube. After a quick break of two years, the series continued with two Wii iterations, then one on the Wii U. Including Super Mario Party Jamboree , we’ve now you race around a track playing a series of minigames in quick succession.

get busy with. These will include outings that use standard controls, while others will take advantage of the Switch’s motion abilities.

So far, the Mario Party series has given us more than 750 different minigames. DYK?

Who’s invited? All up, 21 characters are ready to play in Jamboree . These include those who haven’t missed a party yet in Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi, plus fairly regular guests Daisy, Toad, Toadette, Wario, and Waluigi.

Boards Get ready to take on seven different game boards in Jamboree . Past

Less frequent guests include Boo, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Koopa Troopa, and Rosalina, while Birdo, Bowser Jr., Goomba, Monty Mole, Shy Guy, and Spike are also back in favour. Receiving their first ever invites this time are Ninji, an enemy that first appeared

favourites Mario’s Rainbow Castle (from Mario Party ) and Western Land ( Mario Party 2 ) make a return in updated form, alongside five all-new settings, which are Goomba

The Mario Party franchise holds the record for the longest running minigame series ever. DYK?

had three outings on the Switch, while other portable versions over the years included one on Game Boy Advance, one for Nintendo DS, and three on 3DS.

14 OCTOBER 2024

jbhifi.com.au