'11111'

So out of nowhere, Super Mario Party g??ot a n?ew update on Switch that allowed online play. The catch? It was through private parties and friend l?ist c?onnections only.

You see, Nintendo is a little new to this whole online thing. No worries though, the community came up with a solution that works out a lot like the faux lobbies for Pokemon Let's Go. Discovered via Caolan114 on Reddit, the simple solution is to go to the private online play option in-game, then enter "11111." After that, mash A, and y??ou'll eventually come across "matchmaking" parties.

It's basically a community-farmed solution to allow a jury-rigged matchmaking lobby that everyone agreed upon ahead of time. The more the method is shared and proliferated, the longer that Super Mario Party can live online.

It's kind of a weird thing that requires people to get on board early to spark a wildfire, otherwise it'll die out when people get frustrated that there's no one to play with. So for this possibly brief moment in the game's lifecycle, join in on the fun and play Mario Party online!

Despite the community's efforts, it's crazy to think Nintendo is so far behin??d with stuff like this, even in the era o?f paid online services.

Mario Party boards with randoms [Reddit]

The post Here’s how to play Super Mario Party online with randoms, with makeshift matchmaking appeared first on Destructoid.

Mama mia

Super Mario Party came out in 2018.

Did you forget about it? Because Nintendo did! Despite being perfect for DLC it kind of just....existed, and managed to muster up the sixth overall best-selling Switch software spot with 13.82 million units sold. It's a feat! And now Nintendo is fin??ally getting back to caring about it.

As of this morning, Nintendo has updated the game to version 1.1.0, which adds a heap of online play options. Now you can play online in either Mario Party, Partner Party, or Minigame mode, with options to play with friends directly, or create a private game that must be accesse??d via passwords.

Nintendo notes that if two players are playing on their own systems, they can't play with two people using a third system. But, you can pla?y two people per system and play between three and ?four players.

Sadly, there's another ?limitation, as ??the following minigames aren't playable online:

• Strike It Rich
• Time to Shine
• Take a Stab
• All-Star Swingers
• Rhythm and Bruise
• Pep Rally
• Wiped Out
• Fiddler on the Hoof
• Clearing the Table
• Baton and On

It's Nintendo, so there was always going to be provisos, but at least it got an update!

Ver. 1.1.0 (Released April 27, 2021) [Nintendo]

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YAHOO!

Are you looking to grab a Switch solely for Super Mario Party? This new bundle will get you and three friends going without fuss. Nintendo of America has unveiled a new Super Mario Party Joy-Con bundle just in time for Thanksgiving.

Going for $99.99, the bundle will include a physical copy of the game alongside a pair of Neon Green and Neon Yellow Joy-Con for you to jump straight into four player action. The bundle will be available ??at retailers starting November 16. This doesn't seem to be retailer? exclusive, either, so hooray!

Nintendo of America [Twitter]

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Haha

Super Mario Party isn't a huge leap forward for the franchise but it's a welcome shift. For a long while the series was a shadow of its former self, and for the first time in years there's promise??. Nintendo is leaning into that resurgence with some new My Nintendo goodies.

If you're up for it, you can print some party hats (Luigi, Mario, Bowser, Peach and a logo), a dice block, or grab a wallpaper. The former two are arts and crafts projects that you can nab the designs for (the dice is free, the party hats are 30 Platinum Points) and the latter goes for 50 Platinum Points. If you're low on Points you can "Find Toadette" for a handful.

If you're interested (or bored at work) there's a bunch of other micro activities regarding Super Mario Party on the Play Nintendo site.

Celebrate the launch of Super Mario Party with fun act?ivities and rewards [My Nintendo]

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It's a me, an up and down franchise

Everyone has a "fond" memory of Mario Party, even if you stopped playing it nearly two decades ago (yep, this series is celebrating its 20th birthday in December!). Whether it's a thrown controller that freezes the game on the very last round (it happened to me) or a huge argument over someone sabotaging a team minigame to get ahead (also happened): Mario Party has tested friendships year in and year out.

For the first time on Switch, Super Mario Party is poised to begin the process anew.

Super Mario Party (Switch)
Developer: Nd Cube
Publisher: Nintendo
MSRP: $59.99
Released: October 5, 2018

Let's get this out of the way first: you might not like your control options here. The Pro Controller and portable mode (picking up the Switch and playing on the go with the system in your hands) are right out. You are required, no ifs ands or buts, to play Super with a single Joy-Con per player. Note that this scheme does work in both TV and tabletop mode, where you're? essentially using the Switch as a tiny screen (thus technically allowing the game t??o be portable through tabletop mode).

It's a sticky wicket, a specter that loomed over Super Mario Party before I could even press start. This whole conversation funnels into the entire crux of what makes Mario Party tick: minigames. Yes there are some 1-2 Switch-esque affairs that require you to stand up and "pose for the camera." And yes, just as I was for the inaugural Wii game, I'm kind of over it. Moving on to new control schemes is only natural, especially for a series as experimental and weird as Mario Party, but I'm the kind of person who prefers those old school tactile-centric minigames that pay homage to previous entries in the Mario series.

The vast majority of them are more traditional in nature, but the few motion-enabled ones ensured that the Pro Controller and its ilk could never be truly supported. If I sound passionate about control options it's because I am! Nintendo has come a long way from forced waggle: now we have the power to use multiple setups, including a Joy-Con grip, Pro Controller, and any number of third party options. It's one of the Switch's biggest strengths and I hate to see it hamstrung here. I see no reason why nearly every Super Mario Party mode couldn't have supported a Pro Controller -- ?it has gyro functionali??ty after all.

So with all of that hubbub out in the open, the minigames consist of an actually good selection this time around, and after the annoyance of not being able to use a Pro Controller melted away I got used to the single Joy-Con even with my gargantuan hands. There's 80 new games, full stop: actual new games. You can check them all out here openly on Nintendo's official website to see and judge for yourself. Now there are a few revisions that might not feel brand spanking new. Precision Gardening is basically the Balloon Burst pump minigame that’s been in since the start. There's a successor to Hot Rope Jump: that sort of thing.

It's even easier to acclimate to the old school board game style of play that returns to the mainline series in Super Mario Party. The car, a cursed past mechanic that forced everyone to move along a game board in unison, is gone: I repeat, the car is gone! In its stead is the character dice block concept, and I love it. It's a great compromise between the fully luck-based 1-6 rolling of the past and the constant requests to inject more strategy into Mario Party.

Char??acters all have their own unique dice block they can roll in addition to a D6. Koopa Troopa has a low number spread for his, but has the potential to roll a 10. ??Mario, always the middle of the road hero, has a respectable dice that has a greater chance of rolling a three. Villains like Waluigi have dice sides that can subtract coins. This not only influences who you pick as certain cast members might play into your own personal style, but it also completely changes how you approach some situations ("I need a three, do I roll a regular dice with a 50% chance or try another one with higher odds?"). It sounds hyperbolic but the different dice blocks are one of the biggest innovations in the history of the series.

The four boards don't match that innovation. Hudson and Nd Cube have proven that they're capable of great boards. The Monopoly undertones of Koopa's Tycoon Town from Mario Party 8 (which wasn't that long ago) were incredible. Most of t??he ideas have been done before and there's nothing particularly new with the core mode. Boards are also fairly limited in scale and scope so everyone is mostly doing the same thing. Maybe you'll like that corralled feel compared to the experience of some of the larger maps of series past where you don't come in contact often.

The core board game mode isn't all that's on offer though and I actually found the normally superfluous extras to be the strongest glue that holds Super Mario Party together. Partner Party is a strict 2v2 mode where teams square off against one another with the power to freely move around boards. Not only are double dice rolled here to mo??ve things along, but you can also sport different tactics, corner game-winning Stars as a collective, or box out the enemy team by stomping them to steal th??eir coins. Approaching boards here is very different as you have more freedom.

There's also a Rhythm Heaven style mode that lasts 10 minutes, which is great for moments when you only have a limited amount of time to play. It's fantastic, and although it only has three variations (and a handful of different games) I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was with competitive friends. The first real full co-op mode, which places a group of four into a raft together is a hoot: and will take you any??where from one to 15 minutes to complete depending on how well you do. Its key draw is that there are multiple routes to take, enticing groups to play it multiple times over and get the best clear time. It's a relaxing gametype that really plays up the cute "high five" mechanic (swinging the Joy-Con in unison): even if it does suffer from a very low co-op only minigame pool.

There's also "Toad's Rec Room," that allows for multiple forms of Switch positioning, including stacking two consoles together. Three minigames have the option for dual consoles, and one requires it: I was not able to test the latter one out for this review. Given that Rec Room only supports four games it's more of a tech demo for a future WarioWare title than anything else. If you want the classic "just the minigames please" gametype is back along with a challenge mode with constant minigame play. Finally, and I know people are going?? to be pissed about this, but online mode is restricted to "just the minigames." Full online play is something folks have wanted for a while, especially if they can't gather up enough friends to justify the cost of entry, but they're going to have to wait even longer.

I have a lot of quibbles with Super Mario Party that could have drowned it, but the extras pull it up above water. 80 new minigames, mo??st of which aren't busts, is a feat. Having a team-based mode where you can move around freely and going back to basics with the core board game (goodbye car, hopefully see you never!) was a good move. Restricting play options and easing up on the amount of boards available? Not so much.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Super Mario Party appeared first on Destructoid.

More games need cube-frying elements

When you go to any video game show, as many of you probably know, there can be an insane wait for the newer, more popular titles. I literally see eager fans queue up for two hours to play the latest Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty. When a demo runs 20 minutes, and there's? only say, 15 setups, and there's a queue of hundreds, you do the math.

Fortunately, at this weekend's EGX show in Birmingham, the wait for Nintendo's upcoming Super Mario Party wasn't an effort at a??ll, that's the bonus of having four people to a single setup. Couple that with the opportunity to DESTROY STRANGERS AT VIDEO GAMES, and it's fast-paced good times for all.

Frankly, it's a good job I was teamed up with three other excited fans to play Super Mario Party, as it'll likely be the only chance I get to play the game, having no friends in the real world (not even that bob-cut girl from the original Nintendo Switch commercials). Nevertheless, me and three other dudes snatched up a single Joy-Con each to engage with The Big N's next? social-game extravaganza.

As explained to me by a red-shirted rep, Super Mario Party allows players to battle it out in a selection of some 80 mini-games, all of which appear to be incredibly simple to understand, but fiendish to play, not unlike the games in sister series WarioWare. Me and my ne?w friends were told to play the "Mario-thon" mode, which eschews the board game element of the classic Mario Party experience, and focuses just on the mini-games.

Players can choose from a selection of classic Super Mario characters (No sign of world-breaking phenomenon, Bowsette) and fight it out in a grand prix of short-and-silly activities, with a score system deciding the ultimate victor. Each game runs a couple of minutes at best, keeping the action fast and furious. Each new game is also ??preceded by a very simple tutorial, that gives everyone an opportunity to test out the controls in a small insert demo window. This neat feature means players old and new will all get a heads-up on the ensuing chaos.

All five of the games in my run raised smiles. I handily won a downhill barrel-running race by immediately turning it into Road Rash, but things then went figuratively downhill for me in the following four games, which involved dodging a bunch of charging turtles, outrunning an army of boxing glove-sporting ghosts, pedaling a tiny tricycle about ten yards and, best of all, trying to fry all six sides of a small cube of meat. Each game utilises the Joy-Con in a unique manner, from standard thumbstick movement, to using motion contro?ls to recreate a set of trike pedals, a rotating barrel, or perhaps a frying pan. Simple, fun and effective, like all party games should be.

I unfortunately didn't get the opportunity to play the co-op mode, where the players work together to complete tasks, such as tidying a bunch of balls into their respective containers, or controlling a canoe down some raging rapids, but these games looked equally as fun. When my demo was over, I didn't place first, which resulted in me smashing the setup and then throwing my Joy-C?on at the rep's head. Fortunately, I still made bail for EGX day two.

Super Mario Party appears to be aiming for a similar crowd that blew up with the launch of the Nintendo Wii. A crowd that can just pick up the Joy-Con and dive right in, regardless of their skill level, or whether they've even played a video game since the smothering Wii Sports phenomenon. Unlike that title, however, Super Mario Party is painted with a slick, charismatic s?heen, featuring ?a bevy of great Nintendo characters, fun sounds and voices and large, colourful visuals.

An important element to the success of this latest entry will be some of the new and returning modes, such as the setup-changing "Toad's Rec Room" and, of course, the classic board game adventure, "Party Mode". But, provided these modes all meet Mario-thon's blueprint of keeping things fast, funny and addictive, then Super Mario Party looks set to become a hit, whether bust out during obnoxious family get-togethers, lengthy train journeys, or trendy hipste??r parties. Just remember my invite. I get so lonely.

Super Mario Party launches on Nintendo Switch October 5.

The post Su??per?? Mario Party for Nintendo Switch is simplistic silly fun, which is all it needs to be appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm drawn to all of the cooking ones

As we inch toward Super Mario Party's October launch, today's a good day to check in with the Switch title. I found the new River Survival co-op mode intriguing, and I already want to call dibs on Monty Mole (in large part because he looks extra annoying to lose to).?? But what about the actual m??ini-games?

If you don't want to leave anything to chance, check this out: Nintendo has uploaded clips of the 80 new mini-games and assembled them on the Super Mario Party site. Here's some that caught my eye.

Skimming the whole list on the website, there's a handful o??f standouts that look like they'd be hectic and entertaining even after multiple playthroughs, but plenty of them seem rote or conceptually familiar. Sizzling Stakes, the mini-game in the video up top, is definitely my favorite of the bunch.

Super Mario Party [Official Japanese website via reddit]

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Andrew W.K. should have appeared for this one

Nintendo’s E3 threw me for a loop. I was hoping for detailed breakdowns on most of the Switch revea?ls we got last y?ear, but we don’t really know anything new on most of them, nor have we seen many new reveals. And yet, the new games and Treehouse streams we got did a lot to pique my interest. Overall, the Switch seems to be having a slower year, but it seems "party game" fans were given a lot more to look forward to.

The Switch’s initial reveal stood out to many of us because it emphasized the new console's social/party aspects, but most of its biggest hitters thus far are games without local multiplayer. It was inevitable that Nintendo would tackle the party game market, it’s one of their biggest niches, but the Switch’s first year only made a few big pushes for them. This E3, however, showcased many more prominent party games, more than en??ough for Nintendo to be ready to lead that charge once again.

Nintendo’s biggest guns have always been the Super Smash Bros. games, and it’s little surprise that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spearheaded this year’s presentation. Not only that, but Nintendo aims to draw back Smash fans from across the series’ history by bringing back every character who previously appeared in Smash and then some. If anything is going to create the exciting, passionate, social atmosphere depicted in that Switch reveal ad, it’s a Smash game that covers its bases as far as possible. That’s the spark that starts the fire, one that makes me question whether it’s a coincidence that Super Mario Party was revealed at the same time.

Super Mario Party is not only a new living-room Mario Party, but also a portable handheld title, that can be played with friends more easily than any of the 3DS entries. Much like Smash, that alone is plenty of reason for partygoers to rejoice, especially with Super revisiting the series’s beloved roots. But, for those who would bring multiple Switches to a social gathering, Nintendo seems to finally be tapping into the console's neglected potential with "Toad’s Rec Room". 1-2-Switch may have served in the role of Nintendo’s obligatory tech demo, but it didn’t try anything nearly as unorthodox as interfacing multiple Switch units like…?? Sifteo Cubes? That’s what they’re called, Google?.. Okay, like Sifteo Cubes.

While I don’t expect this gimmick to become the Switch’s next big trend (Nintendo’s hardware quirks are rarely used by any devs other than Nintendo themselves), it’s an unusual and creative way to get multiple Switch owners together, trying something new that no other major console can do. This experience could leave a strong impression at any party, as some of my fondest local multiplayer memories on the Wii U include games that did unique things with the GamePad, like Nintendo Land, for example.

Even the indies, renowned for their multiplayer games, are rushing over to the Nintendo platform. Killer Queen Black and Overcooked 2 aren’t Switch e??xclusive, but they had a strong presence in this year's Treehouse streams and weren’t featured anywhere else. Nintendo went out of their way to push these games, further promoting the Switch’s multi??player lineup.

The Switch is about to get its first Mario sports game, and Mario Tennis Aces looks like the craziest and most intense entry we’ve had in a whole decade. Assumi??ng it lives up to the hype - which we’ll know soon enough - it could easily be one of the biggest party games this season. With that in place, the time seems right for Nintendo to shift their vision for the Switch into full gear.

The few times I had the chance to dive into local multiplayer games at college were some of my most exciting memories on campus. That hectic social atmosphere is only magnified by quality party titles, which Nintendo has always been a champion of. For all the mixed reactions Nintendo’s E3 presentation got this year, if it did one thing excellently, it was giving Switch?? owners even more reason to party.

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The dream came kinda sorta true

I never thought we'd see the day, but according to Nintendo's E3 Treehouse stream, we're finally getting a Mario Party game with online play... sort of. The Treehouse briefly discussed one of Super Mario Party's modes, Mariothon, in which players play? five minigames and compete to get the best total score.

It's similar to recurring minigame modes like the Minigame Decathalon that started in Mario Party 5, b??ut with five?? randomly chosen minigames instead of ten preset ones. And, as the Treehouse promised, there's an online version of the Mariothon that can be played against either friends or people across the world.

Given how slow a full board game would inevitably be, I think this is a great compromise for Mario Party to test the online waters! I like what I'm seeing of the minigames thus far, and while this mode itself probably won't be enough to carry an entire purchase's worth, it sounds like it could be a great addition to compliment whatever else Super Mario Party has to offer.

Nintendo @ E3 2018: Day 3 [YouTube]

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