The first three installments in the Mario Party series of games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online soon. Originally released between 1998 and 2001, the three titles were made for the Nintendo 64 and will be added to the console’s library on NSO, which is only available for subscribers of the Expansion Pack tier.
Mario Party is Nintendo’s take on a digital board game, featuring some of the most well-known characters from the Super Mario Bros. universe as players’ avatars. It resembles classic, old-school board games like Monopoly, in which players start their turns by rolling a die, then move the corresponding number of spaces and react to whatever is at that space on the board. But your main goal here is to be the one with the most stars at the end of the game. Stars can be purchased by a number of coins in certain spaces on the board, and you can earn (or lose) coins depending on what space you land. After each round, all players get to face off on a random minigame, which also grants coins to the winner.
While the basic structure can feel repetitive for fans of modern board games with more refined mechanics, there is still enough to make it entertaining today, especially if your group of friends loves competitive party games. The fact that two new installments in the series (the original Super Mario Party and the remastered best-of Mario Party Superstars, both with online play available) were released for Nintendo Switch is more than enough proof that it stood the test of time. You can also choose to play only the minigames instead of the full match if you’re short on time.
When will Mario Party, Mario Party 2, and Mario Party 3 release on Nintendo Switch Online?
Though Nintendo did not provide an official date as of yet, the first two titles in the series (Mario Party and Mario Party 2) are coming to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion pack library until the end of 2022. Mario Party 3 should be released sometime in 2023, according to the reveal stream.
In the meantime, you can gather your friends or get online to play some Super Mario Party or Mario Party Superstars as you wait for further news. With less than four months until the end of 2022, the release window for the first two titles is narrow, which means nostalgic fans won’t need to wait long.
