Best Mario Party Games, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• The Mario Party series has had plenty of ups and downs, producing some of the plumber’s greatest games ever and some of his worst.
• The best Mario Party games offer fresh new ideas while preserving the chaotic board game fun that made the series famous to begin with.

When it comes to playing with family or friends, few games deliver as much fun as Mario Party. The famous plumber and his pals have starred in over 15 Mario Party installments. All the way back from 1998 to the modern day, Mario Party has ruled the virtual board game market.

Though every entry brings some layer of fun, there is genuine criticism to be levied against the series. Some are much harder to play with friends, some can be more luck-dependent, and many fail to innovate enough. Nonetheless, the best titles in the series remain on the top echelon of party games.

Updated on October 29, 2024, by PJ Molloy: Super Mario Party Jamboree is finally out on Nintendo Switch! But how does it compare to the other games in the series? We’ve updated the list to answer that very question!

19

Mario Party-e

An Interesting Experiment, But Nothing More

A long time ago, Nintendo launched the e-Reader, a fun little accessory for the Game Boy Advance that few people owned. The device could be used in some games to open up new features. For example, extra levels in the GBA remake of Super Mario Bros. 3.

In 2003, Nintendo developed Mario Party-e, which took advantage of the e-Reader. It’s essentially a card game with minigames that could be played on the Game Boy Advance. For what it is, it’s actually quite fun.

That being said, it’s almost impossible to find the hardware and cards for this limited old game, and it’s much more of a tech experiment than something you’ll be replaying endlessly with friends. It’s a fascinating entry, but it is definitely the worst Mario Party game for those looking to have a proper fun time.

18

Mario Party Advance

Who Wants To Play Mario Party Single-Player?

Mario Party Advance is the first fully handheld title in the Mario Party series. It brought many iconic things, such as the dice roll and frantic minigames, to a small console.

Though it’s admirable that Nintendo put a lot of work into making a portable party experience, the game falters in one critical area: it isn’t much of a party.

Mario Party Advance isn’t a bad game. Most of the minigames are fun but tailored to a single-player experience since finding three friends with Game Boys and cartridges is a massive challenge.

If you’re craving the best Mario Party game to play in the modern day, this will not likely be the one you’ll want to revisit.

17

Mario Party DS

Let’s Hope You Like Touch Controls

This is how you do a portable Mario Party. Mario Party DS picks up the slack of its Game Boy Advance predecessor by introducing wireless play with just one game cartridge. However, that doesn’t make up for its minigame lineup, which is a bit too focused on the touch screen.

Mario Party DS isn’t too different from the games that preceded it. It does a perfect job of bringing the experience on the go with an impressive number of minigames and diverse boards. Much like Mario Party Advance, though, needing multiple consoles hurts this game and makes it hard to enjoy with friends.

16

Mario Party: Star Rush

A Bold New Step That Fumbled The Execution

Mario Party: Star Rush is perhaps the most unique game in the series. Gone is the usual board-based play in favor of a new main mode: Toad Scramble.

For the first time, the turn-based gameplay has been scrapped for simultaneous movement. It’s great that Nintendo thought up something brand new for the series, but it doesn’t stop Star Rush from being on the bare-bones side.

The biggest drawback is the minigame count, with only a measly 53 to play. To put that in perspective, Mario Party DS has 73 minigames, and the original Mario Party has 50.

Considering how much later this game was launched and how much innovation they were trying to go for, this is undoubtedly one of the most pointless and underwhelming Mario Party titles.

15

Mario Party: The Top 100

Where Are The Boards?

At a glance, Mario Party: The Top 100 seems like an easy win since it features all of the greatest minigames from every prior entry. While some favorites obviously didn’t make the cut, the minigame list is much larger than other handheld entries.

That said, it still has the same problem as the other portable Mario Party games, even if it’s saved by having better gameplay and visuals than some of the weaker installments in the series. So, it’s definitely better than the content-starved handheld games, but it’s hard to say it’s more enjoyable than the home console titles.

14

Mario Party: Island Tour

The Best 3DS Mario Party

Island Tour was the first Mario Party game on the 3DS and the first handheld game in the series since Mario Party DS. Like Mario Party DS, Island Tour only requires one game card to play with others locally.

This is definitely the portable Mario Party with the most innovations. The boards are among the most underrated in the series, featuring many diverse and unique mechanics. It’s easily the best handheld Mario Party game thanks to its unique twists on the classic formula, and it would absolutely be the most welcome for a home console remake.

13

Mario Party 9

Get Ready To Drive Cars A Lot

Mario Party 9 is perhaps the most controversial game in the series. It was the first to implement a brand new play style for the main Party Mode.

This time, everyone rides together in a car instead of traveling around the board separately. It’s an interesting approach but can take away from the competitive board game feel the series is known for.

It still manages to be superior to every handheld Mario Party game, though, with its spectacular variety of minigames that combine the simple button setup of the Wii Remote and the entertaining motion controls.

12

Mario Party 10

Hooray, More Cars

There’s not much to say about Mario Party 10, as it mostly feels like an expansion of Mario Party 9. It brings back the car mechanic, the maps remain linear, and the entire game is played on Wii Remotes. It’s just another version of Mario Party 9 with some different maps and minigames.

That said, it has one major upgrade that makes it infinitely more fun: the Bowser Party mode. This lets one person use the Wii U Gamepad to control Bowser in four-on-one minigames, all of which feel elaborate and fun. It still suffers from many flaws of Mario Party 9, but having this unique gimmick makes the linear levels and shared car feel much more worthwhile.

11

Mario Party

Now For Some Good Mario Party Games

This is the game that started it all. The original Mario Party laid the foundation for all its sequels, from the dice rolling to blue spaces that award three coins. It cemented the original formula for board games and minigames for every game onward. It can be easy to forget how good the boards were, and they’re still some of the best in the series.

The outcomes of some minigames are a bit on the harsh side, as it can be too easy to lose coins. However, the original Mario Party is still a classic worth returning to. If you wish to replay it on the original console, though, do remember that several minigames involve rolling the joystick, which can be extremely painful with the console’s unusual controller.

10

Mario Party 4

A Fine Debut On The GameCube

Mario Party 4, the first to appear on the Nintendo GameCube, takes everything that made the Nintendo 64 games fun and multiples it. Party Mode is at its finest, always giving friends and family many laughs. The excellent co-op minigames, diverse boards, and overall presentation earn Mario Party 4 the title of one of the greatest party games out there.

That being said, it doesn’t provide many original ideas. The boards are all extremely standard in terms of themes and mechanics, and there isn’t much unique that’ll happen in each game since the worlds are deceptively small. It’s a decent game, but hardly the best Mario Party ever.

9

Mario Party 7

Another Solid GameCube Mario Party

Mario Party 7 is the last Mario Party on the GameCube. There isn’t much to say about this installment, mainly because it does little to differentiate itself from previous games. Still, it’s one of the biggest unexpected winners thanks to a marvelously high number of minigames. Like Mario Party 6, it uses the GameCube microphone, although for only a handful of minigames.

This was also the first Mario Party game to try new board mechanics, including one involving several shifting bridges in a canal and one with a linear climb up a mountain with branching paths. It’s a significantly more creative Mario Party than the originals, but its expansive list of unique mechanics can make it less appealing to major Mario Party fans of the classic games.

8

Mario Party 5

Grab Some Friends And Enter A Dream World

Mario Party 5 was the second installment on the GameCube, and it really doesn’t change the formula. It’s best described as “more of the same.” While it makes it a more dynamic experience than Mario Party 4, you definitely will feel a little underwhelmed if you were hoping for a huge upgrade.

Nonetheless, this consistency is a strength, and it’s probably the newest Mario Party game that classic fans will feel at home in. The one new mode worth mentioning is Super Duel Mode, a strange motor derby mode where you can build weaponized cars, which is surprisingly fun but not a deep side game.

7

Mario Party 2

This Is How You Do A Sequel

A sequel is supposed to go bigger, and that’s what Mario Party 2 does. It features fewer boards, but it makes up for that by letting the characters dress up according to the boards’ corresponding themes. This feature has never returned, and considering the charm of the game’s unique fantasy settings, it’s sorely missed in every new Mario Party game.

In terms of gameplay, Mario Party 2 adds to the original by featuring duel minigames and battle minigames for the first time, meaning there are far more ways to clash compared to its predecessor. This, alongside more items, makes it a much more memorable experience.

6

Mario Party 6

The Best GameCube Mario Party

Mario Party 6 is perhaps best known for its day and night system. Taking a page from Mario Party 2’s Horror Land board, Mario Party 6’s boards change when the game switches to nighttime and vice versa every three turns, shifting pathways and opening up certain empty spaces to reveal new mechanics.

This is just the right amount of innovation for a simple Mario Party game, having the core gameplay of each board be identical while having semi-consistent events in each space. It’s undoubtedly the best GameCube Mario Party game. What’s worth noting is that the game supports the GameCube microphone, and there’s even a space dedicated to it.

5

Super Mario Party

A Grand Return To The Series’ Roots

Ten years after the last traditional Mario Party, fans were starting to get jaded by all of the gimmicks. The car didn’t work, the handheld titles were lackluster, and the continued lack of online play was criminal on modern platforms. Thankfully, the reputation of this series was absolutely saved by Super Mario Party.

As it turned out, this would be the best Mario Party game in years and is undoubtedly one of the best options if you want a Mario game on Nintendo Switch. It brings back the chaotic fun that made the series so special in the first place. While light on boards, the game captures all the fun of classic titles while having the polish of the later GameCube ones.

4

Mario Party Superstars

A Spectacular Remake

In many ways, Mario Party Superstars is a love letter to the series as it includes minigames and boards from some of the classic titles. But it doesn’t ignore its direct predecessor, as the game is very much a sequel to Super Mario Party.

The unique dice and buddies introduced in that game make it over to this one. And even the user interface is pretty much the same. This combination of old and new Mario Party works fantastically well here.

3

Mario Party 8

The Wii’s Greatest Mario Party

Mario Party 8 came out just six months after the Nintendo Wii launched. As one would expect, the game uses the Wii remote extensively. After all, with the Wii being the pioneer in motion control, it makes sense that Nintendo wanted to show it off as much as possible. Given Mario Party’s short minigames, it was definitely one of the best ways to use the console’s primary gimmick.

There are still a few minigames that just require buttons and the D-Pad. Still, the motion games are varied enough to be a ton of fun and make each minigame feel different. This game also has a good selection of boards with unique playstyles to keep it from feeling stale, such as a city where you must invest coins into hotels to earn and steal stars.

2

Super Mario Party Jamboree

A Must-Play For Nintendo Switch Owners

Super Mario Party Jamboree is, by far, the best entry on Nintendo Switch. The game adds many exciting new features, including rules that make gameplay less luck-based, a 20-player online mode, the largest character roster yet, and plenty of exceptional new minigames and boards.

Jamboree feels like the perfect mix of innovating what worked in the first Super Mario Party while also preserving what made the N64 and GameCube titles so great. It’s the biggest Mario Party ever made, and it’s a must-play.

1

Mario Party 3

The Best Mario Party Game Of All Time

Mario Party 3 is the last installment on the Nintendo 64, and it ended on the highest note that a game series could ask for. It has great boards akin to Mario Party 1 and awesome minigames akin to Mario Party 2. The best qualities of the first two games are in one total package. Plus, with revamped visuals, it looks much better today than either predecessor.

Additionally, Mario Party 3 has the best two-player mode in the series, as it features a Duel Mode with unique party boards and a wide variety of minigames. Mario Party 3 is considered underrated by most fans, but it’s got so many improved traits that make it the best Mario Party game in the entire series.