Introduction

Whether it be with your 5 year old sister, or the drunken 40 year old across the street, Mario Party 4 is fun for people of all ages. From the comic mischief, to the kooky sound effects- this is one exciting and fast game. But just because it isn’t your splatter house beat ‘em up, doesn’t mean it can’t make an afternoon hilarious! The mini-games are, for the most part, very original and fun. Doing a 3-on-1? Have two of your pals tackle the loner, while you finish the round! Can’t tap A fast enough with just your finger? Rip out a penny and tear up that plastic! If you’re a fan of the Mario Party series, chances are, this’ll be your favorite thus far. Fast, furious, smooth, clean and crisp! This time the boards are very nice looking and rendered in full 3-D, so you can imagine it looks a lot better. Unfortunately, they’re a lot more based on luck now. But if that’s your bag, you’re going to love it. With over 50 -all new- mini-games to choose from, 5 new stages (Five doesn’t seem like much, but you’ll spend most of your time in the mini-games, trust me.) and the new mini and mega mushrooms, there’s a lot of fun to be had.

Presentation:

The game is brought to you very well, with a nice clear CGI opening that blends into a good looking’ title screen, plenty of things to choose from, and lots to be done! As usual, you’re given a tutorial if you wish; it explains everything fairly well for new-comers. The first thing you may notice is that, of course, compared to its predecessors; it’s a beautiful game. The characters run sort of stiff on the board, but control and animate beautifully in mini-games. The GameCube controller is also bliss to use it with. In some mini-games, such as one where you and your partner have to activate switches to help each other escape, I sometimes run in circles until my partner gets there, just because the animation of Mario doing a circle so quickly is very well done- That and I’m tired of my ’buddy’ not being able to push the buttons fast enough. Overall, Mario Party does a great job.

Visuals:

As I’ve mentioned, the game looks worlds better than any former Mario Party titles, but how’s it hold up against other GameCube games? Pretty well, actually. It’s sharp, clean and free of ’jaggies,’ plus it animates well for the most part. The models aren’t as detailed as Super Smash Bros. Melee, but the shadows are some of the best seen on the GameCube yet, and some of the best I’ve seen. They’re not overly-detailed, and they’re not all jagged. You’ll see. There really isn’t much lighting effects to be found in any of the mini- games, but one in particular, where you’re trying to put out one players candle with a water gun (It’s 3 on 1, the single person has the candle) has some beautiful lighting, everything is a low dim-orange, and it all goes off just perfectly. And as with any Nintendo game with Mario so far, the water is absolutely stunning in just about all of the parts that have it. Some even better than the spectacular water effect found in Super Mario Sunshine. But don’t be fooled: Some of it is nothing more than two flat textures overlapping one another, don’t ask me why they did this, but they did.

Audio:

Splashing water, little war cries, shrieks, screams, stars, boinks, bonks and squashing other characters, just like a Saturday morning cartoon, they’re all done fairly well. The music is just like any Mario Party, very upbeat and bouncy, but nothing that’ll stick out in your mind. Also, the music doesn’t seem to get annoying or repetitive, as it’s always a busy scene on screen making other sounds. The mini-game music fits most of them perfectly, but again, nothing you’ll find yourself humming down the street. Also supports Pro-Logic II, for you audiophiles. Overall, I don’t really see any problems with the sound; they’re a perfect fit for the game. (That does not make them perfect sounds, however.)

Controls:

The game controls are simple, and easy to learn. Tap A here, follow a line there; tap L and R alternatively over there. Sounds so simple, but if you have fast friends, it quickly becomes a test of stamina and speed. Hope you brought a neck massager, because you may find yourself jumping off the couch and glaring down at the screen to help you concentrate. Thing is, sometimes you don’t want to sit back down, and trust me, that’s a very, very good thing. Overall the controls are tight and well placed, simple yet challenging. So you don’t really need to find someone who is visually coordinated, just as long as they’re quick.

Gameplay:

Let’s see here... Time to describe the boards and some mini-games! Let’s start with the boards, the first you’ll see is a casino type stage, near the beginning is a roulette wheel that determines where you go, it can put you closer to the star if you pay, or just be random if you don’t, if you pay more, you have better chances. Too based on luck if you ask me, but near the end of games, it really helps if an opponent doesn’t get closer to the star, oh, and don’t forget about the mini-space where you get pushed across a little board to get coins, you can slide left and right. Basic level design, nothing too special to talk about. Next up is theme park level, with a little roller coaster mini-space where you can lean left or right to nab some coins, pretty neat little level, my current favorite, very vibrant. Then there’s the Boo level, with a mini-space with a ghost train, where you can shortcut through the level, beware, it doesn’t always take you where you want to go. Pretty cool level. I’ll leave the other 2 for you to see on your own, you don’t need the ENTIRE game to be described to you, do you?

Now for some mini-games, I’ll name a couple, and some brief descriptions so you get the basic idea of what they’re all about. For starters, there’s one where you shoot basketballs into moving hoops, but you can’t score if someone else’s ball is in your hoop. Short and fast. Then for the racing sim fans (Haha!) there’s the rally race. You hold R to go and A to shift gears, mere seconds long. There’s a 2 vs. 2 dungeon game where you have to help each other through, you have to tap the button specified quickly at the beginning to open doors, then work as a team even more later, are you must spin a platform around so your partner can jump on, then spin it to the other side so he can jump off and control it from that side. Then you have to find the right pipe to go through a few times, and finally tap L and R alternatively to pump up a hot air balloon, very good mini-game. Yet another is "Pair-a-sailing" where one teammate is on the parasail and the other drives the boat, simply avoid the crates in the water and collect the most coins within the time limit. But there’s a catch, the boat driver can’t collect coins- they’re in the air, so you must speed up or slow down so your buddy can move around and collect coins.
How about a mini-game where you’re on a conveyer belt, trying to avoid large pieces of candies and such, one player is on top so the coins come in faster for them. But they also get knocked down easier, catch? You can’t jump. Very fun. Again, there’s one where you have to choose a plunger to push down, hit the wrong one and BOOM, you’re out. Last one standing wins, you go one at a time. I think I’ve explained these enough, they’re VERY varied and most of them are quite exciting, if you get this, chances are you’re going to love it!

Final Thoughts:

Sadly, the one player mode is a bit... How shall I put this...? Lacking. Here are a few comparisons I’ve made, and some I’ve seen made to it. "It’s like riding a horse with no legs, just isn’t going to happen.", "If you like being bored and frustrated, you’ll love this.", "No, really, I fell asleep." Call over a few friends and let the good times begin. If you liked previous Mario Party titles, you should definitely pick this one up. The boards aren’t as good as the previous installments, but everything else far surpasses them. Have fun, and don’t break any controllers!