Mario Party Superstars brings back five classic boards and 100 mini-games from the N64’s Mario Party games to the Nintendo Switch, now with the delightful graphics and user interface of Super Mario Party. However, some players have argued that Mario Party Superstars’ classic content could have been featured as DLC for Super Mario Party rather than comprising its own standalone game.
When Super Mario Party was released in 2018, it relied heavily on the Switch Joy-Con controllers for their motion controls and rumble features. However, after the release of the Nintendo Switch Lite in 2019, players with this smaller version of the Nintendo Switch console were unable to join the party as the Switch Lite does not support motion controls. Super Mario Party was also incompatible with the Nintendo Pro Controller, restricting players to the use of the Joy-Con as their only option.
Mario Party Superstars, on the other hand, fully supports button controls, which means that players can pick up their Switch Lite consoles and Pro Controllers to join in the fun. Not only is Mario Party Superstars more varied than its predecessor in terms of control options, but this also brings the classic Mario Party feel to the game as players dive back in with controls and mechanics that are more reminiscent of the original titles.
Why Mario Party Superstars Works Best As A Standalone Game On Switch
With full button control support, Mario Party Superstars works better as a standalone game than it would as Super Mario Party DLC. Players using a Switch Lite console would have to purchase an entire game that is incompatible with their controls just to access the DLC, rather than purchasing a standalone game complete with a full roster of boards and mini-games. While Mario Party Superstars' boards and minigames aren't new, the game does breathe new life into classic content with beautiful graphics and plenty of new game modes and features for players to enjoy.
In addition to button controls, Mario Party Superstars features full online multiplayer support at its release, allowing players to join friends and strangers in party mode and mini-game challenges. Super Mario Party only added online play to party mode, partner mode, and free play mini-games earlier this year. Mario Party Superstars even features an exclusively online mode with Mt. Minigames’ Daily Challenge mode, which allows players to face random players in a new round of mini-games each day.
Though DLC for Mario Party Superstars has yet to be confirmed, there is speculation that boards and mini-games from other Mario Party titles may be added to the game later on. While Super Mario Party notably lacked DLC in the three years since its release, Mario Party Superstars gives Nintendo a fresh opportunity to add more classic content to its latest title in the Mario Party franchise.