#10: Bobsled Run
Type: 2 VS. 2
Difficulty: 1/3
Controls: Control Stick Left/Right to steer. Control Stick Up/Down to speed up/slow down. A to push sled.
One of the many returning games from the original Mario Party, Bobsled Run squeezes in at the 10th spot. Bobsled Run is a 2 VS. 2 sled race against the other team. You start off by pushing the sled to get it moving and then you just try to stay ahead, using speed-ups to help your team go faster. The controls work well with this game and overall, it is a fun play, especially on multiplayer.
#9: Lights Out
Type: 1 VS. 3
Difficulty: 1/3 for Team of 1. 2/3 for Team of 3.
Controls: Team of 1: Control Stick to move. A to Swing Hammer vertically. B to Swing Hammer horizontally. Team of 3: Control Stick to move.
In this mini-game, one player possesses a hammer and has 30 seconds to knock out the other 3 players. The other 3 players are basically defenseless and can only run away in the circular arena. But they do have lights to see where they are going while the hammer holder does not. Regardless, this game can be fairly easy for the hammer holder single and multiplayer. It is easy to manipulate the CPU on the Team of 3 but when a human player has the hammer it is much harder.
#8: TOAD in the Box
Type: 4-Player
Difficulty: 1/3
Controls: A to jump.
This game is fairly easy but easily lovable. The simple objective is to make sure you jump in time to hit the side of the block with Toad’s head on it. The block rolls faster each time you progress. It takes 5 hits to win but getting the 5th hit is tricky because the block goes uncontrollably fast. Nonetheless, it is easy enough to get a lead on the CPU on the first four hits to be able to get the final Toad before they do. Playing against human players who know what they’re doing can make the game closer and more tense.
#7: Bumper Balls
Type: 4-Player
Difficulty: 2/3
Controls: Control Sick to move.
Next up is another Mario Party remade game, except this time Bumper Balls has 3 different stages to play in, each creating different strategies on how to win. The main objective of the game is to knock all the players off the circular surface until you are the last one standing. This can get tough, especially when only two players are left because it is hard to find a way to set the player up to make them fall off. You can generally get a tie or win against the CPU but human players create a bigger problem because they can knock you out early or can force a tie more than a CPU.
#6: Shell Shocked
Type: 4-Player
Difficulty: 2/3
Controls: Control Stick to move. A to fire straight shot. B to fire lob shot. Z to fix aim.
Ah, a shooting game in Mario Party. Each player is in a tank and has two lives and must be able to survive the other three players battling against them to win. This game has 3 different stages that present 3 different challenges. Similar to Bumper Balls, you are more likely to pick up the win agains the CPU but against a human player you are a bigger target on most occasions.
#5: Cake Factory
Type: 2 VS. 2
Difficulty: 1.5/3
Controls: A to pick up strawberry/cake, then A to release strawberry/cake.
We start off the top 5 with a very fun teamwork game. One player must pick up cakes from a conveyor belt and then place it in the center, then the other player must pick up strawberries and place them on top of the cakes to complete them. The objective is to make more cakes than the other team. The conveyor belt gets faster as the game goes on making you more prone to miss a cake or strawberry and mess up. You’re gonna wanna be the person who picks up the cake more so you can control your own destiny instead of waiting on the person who puts down the cake before you can put down the strawberry. This game gets the elusive 1.5 difficulty rating since it’s not too hard after you play it a few times but you can still mess up due to lack of focus easily. Teaming up with another human player can make things a little tedious since the strawberry holder will get impatient.
#4: Speed Hockey
Type: 2 VS. 2
Difficulty: 3/3
Controls: Control Stick to move up/down
Next up is the final 2 VS. 2 mini-game on the list, Speed Hockey. It’s a very interesting mix between foosball and air hockey. You can only move up and down one spot as one person is near the center and one is near the goal. The goal is to score three times on the other team before they do the same to you, or have the most goals in 60 seconds. This game can be very fun as long as you don’t get too intense. Because this is also a very tricky game and you can lose easily once the Koopa Shell starts to gain speed. Overall, a fun and intense game with the controls being as good as they can be. Teaming up with another human player is not the best of ideas though, unless both players have mastered this mini-game.
#3: Hexagon Heat
Type: 4-Player
Difficulty: 2/3
Controls: Control Stick to move. A to jump. A+Z to ground pound.
A near duplicate of Mushroom Mix-Up, but this game has a more intensified background with a lava pit waiting for you. There are 7 hexagons in total, and Toad will hold up a flag with the color hexagon you must stand on. Then the fun begins as all the players try to rush to get on, some jumping frantically and some even jumping on other opponents’ heads to stay afloat. The speed of the game picks up as it goes on as does the enjoyment. It isn’t too hard to win this game but it’s also not too hard to take yourself out of the equation. Also, they allow you to ground pound opponents and flatten them temporarily which adds an extra strategy to an already strategic game. Having more than one human player can add to the madness and can also make you die out faster if you’re not careful.
#2: Look Away
Type: 1 VS. 3
Difficulty: 3/3
Controls: Control Stick to move head (for both sides).
The title says it all, really. One player is the “head master” (get it?!) who must try to get the other three players to look the same way he/she does. You just use the control stick to move the head whatever way you want. Once the music stops you have about a one second period to switch your head to a bunch of different positions which can be crazy for both sides. The one player has 5 tries to knock out all of the players on the other team. The team of three might have a small advantage in this game just to outnumber the one player but it’s a difficult game to win for both sides and there are absolutely no guarantees of winning. And a small note, it’s kinda funny how they make the one player shed a tear whenever they don’t get anyone out in a round.
#1: Face Lift
Type: Battle
Difficulty: 2/3
Controls: A to grab part of face. Control Stick to move part of face around.
And the number one game is…FACE LIFT! Almost everyone you ask will tell you they love this game. It’s a favorite for many because it’s a fun and creative game. The goal is to try to make the your face mirror the face shown in the middle of the screen. Everyone else has the same objective and you must try to make it as perfect as possible as you get scored on a scale of 0 – 100 points. You will find it generally easy to score in the 80s and 90s but you must be precise. Especially when playing against human players since they will tend to score high also.