Mario Party 2

Developer: Hudson Publisher: Nintendo

Released: January 24, 2000 9/10 Rated: E

Although in no way is there any definitive ranking, either within the N64 trilogy or the series as a whole, I have often seen discussions regarding Mario Party 3 as the best of the three, and the original as the weakest, and I think that’s a case of refinement. While the three entries in three years would remain a trend for the series that contributed to a lot of fatigue over the first 10 years of its existence, the freedom for Hudson to keep riffing and garner feedback creates a lot of particular iterations on the formula that everyone has their own preferences for, but keeps evolving nonetheless. Mario Party 2 is the introduction of a lot of the most crucial mechanics and concepts that would deepen the series in future entries, while also maintaining an almost carbon-copy of the foundation the first entry created, so as not to stray too far too quickly.

Donkey Kong is currently in one of the least enviable positions in the whole game, just above an impending Boo possession

Possibly the most crucial addition that most notice as being absent in the first Party is the use of items. Some of the series staples like the mushroom, skeleton key, and plunder chest are here in the initial lineup, though there are growing pains just like the first game had with mini game design. The magic lamp is notoriously broken, while only being able to hold one item at a time limits the overall impact of items as a whole. Item mini games, however, are an overall improvement, as not only are they themed to each board, just like the delightful costumes each character wears, but are considerably shorter than the single player mini games they are replacing, meaning that the lengthy bouts of inaction for three players while one spins a control stick to pedal a bike for an agonizing 30 seconds are a thing of the past.

Wario wants to play Pile O’ Bullets after this (and it’s a winner’s choice party)

Duel mini games and battle mini games, meanwhile, offer some excellent ways to keep mini games happening more often than just at the end of a turn, and the formatting changes that they entail are also fun. Duel mini games are intense one-on-one bouts, again specific to each board, and occur via the dueling glove item or when players occupy the same space in the last five turns, when tensions are highest and momentum swings are most sudden. Battle mini games, meanwhile, correspond to particular spaces. These games redistribute wealth via a mandatory ante system and pay out in an elimination/ranking fashion, rather than awarding coins out of thin air. Winners take home 70% of the pot and second place gets 30%, with a pity coin sometimes given at random. What’s fun about battle mini games is the way they contribute to a certain style of winning condition, enabling a particular interpretation on mini game design to help variety.

Luigi re-enacts the story of the loaves and fishes, adapted for penguins (no loaves)

And in that realm of mini game design, Mario Party 2 is unique to the series’ main entries in that it reuses about a third of its 65 mini games from its predecessor. This practice would be abandoned save for compilation-style titles due, apparently, to it feeling lazy, but personally I enjoy the returning games because the majority of them have been improved with some new mechanics. Bombs Away and Platform Peril, for instance, introduce some variety in projectiles and platforms respectively, to keep players on their toes, and Bumper Balls, I’ll be damned, is actually tolerable this time, with different types of terrain rather than a flat arena allowing for changes in momentum so players can actually push each other around. Of course, new games like Shell Shocked, Roll Call, Day at the Races, and Bowser’s Big Blast, are just a few classics introduced here, for better or for worse.

Everybody who had a winning record in Day at the Races as a kid works for a sportsbook company now.

And other than that? Well, like I said, the foundation and structure is about the same as before, it’s the bells and whistles that have been further expanded. Another batch of six main boards plus a seventh, Bowser-themed one to serve as a final boss. The main difference being that the concepts are more about the theme a party might have, rather than whose crib it’s being hosted in, and Pirate Land, Western Land, and Space Land all get a ton of character from the adorable costumes everybody wears to match them. Everybody, naturally, being the same six characters as before, with new faces not being added for the first time until Mario Party 3. For single players, the mini-game gauntlet returns, this time as a roller coaster, but functionally identical. The meat of Mario Party is, of course, the replayability and the fun of enjoying it with a group, and Mario Party 2 essentially refines that formula while embracing the chaos that gives players the most memorable experiences that they keep coming back for.