Pros: 80 new mini-games, microphone games with included mic, hours of fun with friends
Cons: Very similar to other games in the series
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this to someone who doesn't already own other Mario Party games, but people who do might want to proceed with caution.
petunia0384's Full Review: Mario Party 7 for GameCube
How'd you end up with this game?
My boyfriend and I received this as an early gift for Christmas from a friend who knows we are fans of Mario and the Mario Party series. We previously played Mario Party 5 to the point of exhaustion, but we somehow missed out on buying Mario Party 6. Now we have 7. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, it's basically like a board game for your GC, complete with dice rolling, with silly little games in between and "orbs" that can be purchased with coins to shake up gameplay.
Tell me the basics.
The game comes in a colorful box with a splash of Mario characters on the front. Included is a microphone, which plugs into a memory card slot, used to play some mini-games. It is rated E for everyone, and if you want to save your progress, it requires use of a memory card. It currently retails for around $50 US or it can be purchased with a Game Cube and 2 controllers as a set for $100.
So why would they have bothered to make a 7th version of this game? Well, this game is different because it can be played with 8 people and there are a total of 80 mini-games. The theme is centered around the Mario gang going on a cruise that Bowser was not invited on... And he's ticked.
You'll find the same style of graphics in this game as you do any Mario GC game. The colors are fun and bright, the game boards and mini-game locations have good detail, and the overall effect is "cartoonish." Sound is good, though it really isn't something I pay a lot of attention to. Each board has its own music and characters react to their performances with outbursts.
There's a decent selection of characters. I would have liked to have seen more, but maybe I'm spoiled by Mario Superstar Baseball. You'll find Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Toad, Toadette, and Boo when you first play the game. Birdo and Dry Bones are unlockable with cruise points, which you earn each time you play. You get a cruise point for each space you advance in a game. It takes 1000 to buy each of those characters. Other things you can "buy" include additional mini-games, staff records, and silly little "souvenirs."
So what is the point of all of this? How do I play?
Typically, the object of the game is to have the most stars, though this isn't always true in Solo mode. There are 6 boards you can play on in any mode. Each has its own style of play. They include Pagoda Park, where you race to the top, and Windmillville, where you deposit coins into Windmills that are worth stars (basically like bidding).
The mini-games are divided into 4 Player, 2 v. 2 Player, 1 v. 3 Player, Duel (one player challenges another), Battle, and Microphone, not to mention fun games against Donkey Kong to win bonus items and not so fun games against Bowser to lose coins, etc.
I know this was a question in my mind before I played, so I'm sure some of you are wondering how the microphone minigames work. My favorite one is called "Oil Crisis," where your character must successfully navigate his or her kart through a series of oil barrels and spills to the finish line. Players go one at a time and you say "Yes" into the micophone when you are ready to go. For this game, you say "Left," "Right," and "Mushroom" (a boost that can only be used once) to control the kart. It's a lot of fun. We've fortunately had very little trouble with the voice recognition.
What game modes are there?
The "Solo Cruise" mode is for one player, hence the name. :) You compete against a CPU character in this mode, moving through the boards as you defeat them. Personally, I don't really care for this mode in this game. I don't think it's as challenging or interesting as Mario Party 5. My boyfriend feels the same way. It could just be us.
"Deluxe Cruise" is for 8 people. I actually haven't played this mode, but apparently, controllers are shared between two people, and there are special mini-games just for this mode.
"Party Cruise" is for 1-4 people. You can play up to 50 turns. I will warn you, 50 turns will take 4 hours. My friends and I learned that the hard way one night when we were up until 3:30 AM playing this game.
In each of those modes, you can buy orbs (or sometimes, you'll move over them and get them at random for free) to alter gameplay. Some orbs give you more dice blocks, others take coins away from your opponents. There are roughly 30 available in all, but some are only available to certain characters, and some are only available on certain boards.
There is also "Bowser Time" in the party mode. Basically, after every turn, a Bowser head shaped meter fills up a little bit, showing Bowser's level of anger. When it reaches the top, some negative event will occur (one that's kind of funny is that he forces the characters to take a picture in one of those scenes you stick your head through, then charges 10-20 coins for it). He also alters the game in some way (typically negative) in the last 4 turns of the game.
"Mini-game Cruise" is a way to play shorter games. There are different boards for these types of games as well.. An example is one where you have to win either 3, 5, or 7 mini-games first to win.
So what's your point?
Overall, this game is fun and exciting to play with friends, but not as exciting when you're playing alone. If you already own other Mario Party games, you might want to rent this or borrow it from a friend before you purchase it, because though there are some differences, it's basically more of the same. I probably wouldn't have bought it myself, but I'm glad I got it as a gift. If you've never owned a Mario Party game before and want to, I definitely suggest it.
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