The Nintendo Switch’s final year (assuming this is its final year) has been way more packed with major new releases than most would have expected (especially since most of us expected the Switch 2 to be out by now, or at least close to releasing). A third, new Mario Party games isn’t something many would have expected to see before the console’s lifecycle had wrapped up, but Super Mario Party Jamboree is coming soon, and looking quite promising at that. Ahead of the game’s imminent release not long from now, here, we’re going to go over a few key details that you should know about it.
OVER 110 MINIGAMES
Nintendo is looking to one-up itself with its offerings of minigames in Super Mario Party Jamboree. To be specific, the party title is set to feature a total of 112 minigames, which is the most we will have ever seen in the series’ history so far. The roster will feature a variety of different minigame types, including 4-player, 1v3, 2v2, showdown minigames, duel minigames, and more. Super Mario Party’ rhythm minigmes will return, as will boss battle minigames from 3DS’ Mario Party: Star Rush.
8-PLAYER MINIGAMES
Super Mario Party Jamboree is also introducing a new minigame type that will see eight players competing against each other. So far, at least ten 8-player minigames have been confirmed, and it seems they will cast a wide net in what they will task players with. There’s one that challenges players to work together by gathering apples and squeezing juice out of them, while another sees you having to solve puzzles together by placing jigsaw pieces. One challenges you to walk on skis in tandem in order to defeat Wiggler in a race, while another tasks you with cleaning Chain Chomps by spraying them with water.
SEVEN BOARDS
True to Jamboree’s insistence on going above and beyond in the content that it will deliver, the game is also confirmed to feature seven boards, which is the most we’ll have seen in any Mario Party game on the Switch. Right off the bat, players will have four boards accessible, with three more being unlockable. Of those three, two will be familiar boards returning from past titles, in the form of Mario’s Rainbow Castle from the original Mario Party, and Western Land from Mario Party 2.
NEW BOARDS
A couple of boards in Super Mario Party Jamboree will be familiar ones, but the major of them are going to be entirely new. Of the five new boards, four will be unlocked right from the off. These will be Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party, which will be set in a tree orchard; Roll ’em Raceway, which is set on a racecourse in a lush environment; Goomba Lagoon, a tropical island with a shipwreck and a volcano; and Rainbow Galleria, which is set in a multi-storey shopping mall. The fifth new board, King Bowser’s Keep, is an unlockable one, and takes players to a giant, lava-filled castle.
22 CHARACTERS
Here’s another area where the upcoming game is looking to scale new heights for the series. Super Mario Party Jamboree is confirmed to feature as many as 22 playable characters, which is going to be the largest roster of characters in a Mario Party game to date. Every characters from Mario Party Superstars is returning, as are a handful that we haven’t seen in a Mario Party title in a few years, like Spike, who is appearing for the first time since Wii U’s Mario Party 10 nearly a decade ago.
NEW CHARACTERS
There will obviously be plenty of familiar and returning characters to play as, but Super Mario Party Jamboree is also adorning its roster with a few characters who are going to be playable in a Mario Party game for the first time ever. Specifically, there’s two new playable characters confirmed for the game in the form of Pauline, the Mayor of New Donk City, and fan-favourite weirdo Ninji.
NEW ITEMS
Jamboree will let players use a total of 37 different items, which is once again a record high for the series, and in that list, a good number of them are going to be entirely new additions. That includes the likes of a warp pipe that can move you to a random spot on the board, a mushroom ticket that can be exchanged for mushrooms, a warp box to directly transport players to a shop, items that are tied specific elements in specific boards, and more.
JAMBOREE BUDDIES
Allies in Super Mario Party Jamboree will take on a slightly different form, appearing this time as Jamboree Buddies. Of the 22 playable characters in the game, 10 will also appear randomly on boards as Jamboree Buddies. Get to them, and you can initiate a showdown minigame, which, if won, recruits that character to your party, with each Jamboree Buddy coming with unique abilities to give you different kinds of boosts and advantages, from Yoshi being able to copy items held by opponents that you pass, to Peach letting you purchase items from item shops at half cost, to Luigi giving you better odds of rolling higher numbers when you roll a die, and more.
PRO RULES
If you’re looking for a more competitive edge from Super Mario Party Jamboree, the game will let you turn on Pro Rules, which will change a number of in-game rules to suit your needs. Some of the changed rules will include turn counts being capped at 12. players being able to choose an item to start a board with (from a limited selection), item shops having limited stock, hidden blocks no longer appearing, specific blocks having new and changed rules, and more.
SINGLE-PLAYER MODE
Multiplayer is and obviously always will be the best and primary way of playing any Mario Party game, but those who wish to try out its offerings solo will have the chance to do so with Party-Planner Trek, Super Mario Party Jamboree’s single-player mode. This mode will let you lay minigames across the game’s five new boards by yourself, with rewards for completing quests and minigames being Mini Stars and decorations to be placed in the Party Plaza.
KOOPATHLON MODE
Super Mario Party Jamboree is also set to introduce a large-scale multiplayer mode in the form of Koopathlon. On paper, it’s similar to Mario Party: Star Rush’s Coinathlon mode, with the key difference being that it is for up to 20 players competing against each other. That, of course, will also mean entirely new minigames designed for a larger pool of players, with each minigame seeing players trying to survive amidst Fall Guys-style chaos.
BOWSER KABOOM SQUAD
Another new mode in Super Mario Party Jamboree is Bowser Kaboom Squad, which is a co-op experience. Eight players are tasked with working together to defeat Imposter Bowser across a total of five rounds, with one single game in the mode entailing minigames, throwing bombs at Bowser, and more.
OTHER MODES
The likes of the main party mode, the single-player Party-Planner Trek mode, the chaotic Koopathlon, and the co-op Bowser Kaboom Squad are set to be Jamboree’s star attractions, but there will be plenty other modes to dive into as well. Paratroopa Flight School will task two players with working together by using motion controls to in a flight minigame, while Rhythm Kitchen will be a four-player co-op cooking rhythm minigame, and Toad’s Factory will put you through thirty increasingly difficult levels in another four-player co-op affair.
FILE SIZE
As per the Switch eShop, Super Mario Party Jamboree is set to have a file size of 5.3 GB, which is pretty standard for the Nintendo Switch (and practically nonexistent compared to what we see from most games releasing on any other platform these days). In comparison, both previous Switch Mario Party titles had lower storage requirements with Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars both weighing 2.9 GB each.