The recent Nintendo Direct gave fans a plethora of different updates and announcements on some of the most anticipated Switch games coming over the next few months. There was also the exciting announcement that Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games would be coming to Switch Online through an expansion of the service, so the Direct really had a little bit of something for everyone. Between all of the big reveals, Nintendo provided more information on Mario Party Superstars, the next installment in the classic party game series.
The main focus of this update was showing off three of the classic boards that have been remade for Mario Party Superstars, but Nintendo also expanded on some of the new features that will be coming to the game. When Superstars was first revealed, fans learned that the game could be played completely online with friends, an option that hasn't been included in a Mario Party game at launch before. This would have been exciting enough on its own, but the Direct event also showed off new modes that significantly expand the scope of the game. It looks like an unprecedented amount of content for Mario Party, and it could help Superstars be the most versatile game in the series yet.
Mario Party Superstars' Many Game Modes
While Mario Party Superstars will still have the classic boards that Mario Party fans know and love, it's also expanding on the franchise's minigames to create something new. Mario Party Superstars will feature competitive modes that provide a wealth of new options. For those that want to test their skills alone, there's a solo survival mode where players can compete to see who can come out on top. For those that like to work cooperatively, Superstars will also have a tag match mode where players can partner up to take on the competition. These modes will also have unique courses, which should help them from being simple minigame collections.
Making The Mario Party Worldwide
Super Mario Party may have introduced online play, but Mario Party Superstars will be the first game in the franchise to have it baked in at launch. Fans won't be restricted by who can get together for a game of Mario Party anymore, as they'll be able to play with whoever they want, whenever they want. Online play will also be available for the new minigame modes, so fans will be able to start up a competitive match with anyone in the world instead of repeatedly playing the CPU. It has the potential to really add to Mario Party Superstars' longevity, and get more people into the series if they never had an opportunity to play it before.
How Mario Party Superstars Can Keep The Party Going
Mario Party Superstars' game modes make it look like the game is really going to stand out from previous installments. It's important, though, that Nintendo adopts a model that will keep Mario Party Superstars going for years to come. The game already has a great framework with its classic boards and minigames, and it has the potential to expand even further by including boards from other Nintendo 64 and GameCube era Mario Party titles to keep the new modes interesting. Whether these would be free or paid DLC would be up to Nintendo, but it would certainly do a lot to keep Superstars going.
The Mario Party franchise is perhaps one of Nintendo's most popular spin-offs to come out of the Super Mario series. It's exciting to see how classic boards are getting revisited with more modern graphics, and there's a lot of potential for Nintendo to continue going in this direction for some time. With Nintendo 64 games officially coming to the Switch, N64 fans are going to have a lot of content to play through for the foreseeable future.
Mario Party Superstars releases October 29 on the Nintendo Switch.