Super Mario Party Jamboree Review (Switch): The Party is on a Roll Now

While there were quite a few years where Mario Party was considered to be not really good about a decade ago, I have been very impressed with Nintendo’s ability to turn things around for the franchise during the Switch’s life. A certain kind of person can love these games when they’re good, and thankfully, Super Mario Party Jamboree is a case of an entry that could contend for one of the best in a series, even if it doesn’t nail every aspect perfectly.

The Party is Hopping

Starting with the traditional Mario Party experience, the board game aspect of the game is very good, but a new feature really throws things out of whack. For the most part, it’s a pretty standard experience. Four players take turns moving around a board, competing in minigames, and trying to get as many stars as possible. However, there’s a new jamboree buddy system that randomly pops up now and then, and the more I played with this, the more I wish it wasn’t here.

Jamboree Buddy

At some point in your game, a jamboree buddy who is a character not currently in use will appear at a random spot on the board. When a player reaches them, everyone competes in a unique minigame special to that character to have them join them for three turns. During those three turns, the buddy will provide a special effect to you. For example, Wario gives coins at the start of every turn, Donkey Kong can launch you to a random spot on the board, or Luigi can turn a low roll on your dice into a 10.

On their own, those are fun inclusions, and I like them, but it’s the extra bonuses they give that really feel like they grossly throw out the balance of the game. Everything you do on the board is then done twice. Landing on a blue space gets you that coin amount twice. Pass a shop to buy two items. You can even buy two stars if you have the coins. I had one online game on the mall board where a player got four stars in one turn because they had 40 coins, a jamboree buddy, and used a triple dice to reach the star location twice in a flash sale turn. You’re able to steal the jamboree buddy by passing the player on the board, but it’s never for very long, and if you happen to be on the other side of the board, you are completely out of luck while your opponent gets showered in riches.

Boards and Minigames

Outside of the jamboree buddy feature, I have few complaints about the regular Mario Party mode. There are seven boards available, and all of them play really fun. I do feel it was odd to include Mario’s Rainbow Castle and Western Town, which are remakes of classics and would have fit better in Mario Party Superstars, but they still work here. Each one has fun gimmicks that make them shine so much more than the small square boards that were in Super Mario Party.

The minigames are a little more hit-and-miss. While I enjoyed a lot of them, there are a lot that seem to focus on waiting and paying attention. Those are fine in spurts, but by my fifth time playing Big-Top Quiz, I had had enough of watching Toads walk around on balls. I would say there were probably about five total minigames that made me roll my eyes when I saw them pop up on the screen.

Outside of that, the main Mario Party mode in Jamboree is a blast to play, even for people who didn’t grow up with and love these games. This was the first time I was able to get my daughter actually to want to play through a whole game with me.

Online Play

Remember when Super Mario Party introduced online play to the series for the first time during the pandemic, and it was pretty awful? Mario Party Superstars implemented it as well, and while it was better, it had its weak points. That is completely taken care of now with Super Mario Party Jamboree. Playing any of the various modes online gave me very little to no problems at all. Whenever a match started, I maybe noticed a slight dip in quality once or twice, and it was very short. I did have a few instances in the board mode where I couldn’t find a game right away, but other than that, I was very impressed with the online play in Jamboree.

Throwing Everything at the Wall

Super Mario Party Jamboree also has quite a few side modes to play if you want to mix things up a little bit. The headliner here is Koopathlon. In this, 20 players race around a track five times as they compete in coin-collecting minigames. I had a lot of fun playing this, especially online. There was a ton of tough competition, but the premise was simple to understand and easy to execute. The only problem is each match only has three minigames that are on repeat until someone wins. It’s not a game I would grind out because of that monotony, but in spurts, it’s very fun.

Unfortunately, I can’t say I was too impressed by the other side games. In Bowser’s Kaboom Squad, you team up with seven others and collect bombs to throw into a cannon to shoot at the giant impostor Bowser. This mode was fine, but it’s very stop-and-go as it transitions between rounds. Rhythm Kitchen, Toad’s Item Factory, and Paratroopa Flight School are all motion-based games that add variety and are probably fine for a particular crowd, but I couldn’t find interest beyond one game for any of them.

Just from a pure numbers standpoint, the variety in Super Mario Party Jamboree is impressive. There is likely at least one side mode here that you will really enjoy to give you a break from the main board mode. Some, like the flight school, felt like filler to me, but I could see why a kid would enjoy playing it.

Final Verdict

Super Mario Party Jamboree is a very fun time and a blast to play with friends, family, or strangers online. The series had a rough run for a while, but the Switch has proven there is a lot of value left in these board games and minigames. The jamboree buddy system feels a little too strong for the benefits it gives you, but it doesn’t nearly take away the enjoyment you will have playing a chaotic game where the wildest things can happen on any turn. Super Mario Party Jamboree is just about the most complete package in the series.

Super Mario Party Jamboree was reviewed on Nintendo Switch with a code provided by Nintendo.

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