Oh heck yeah. I am not at all good at Mario Party 2, as is documented in the Tarvould's Quest Mario Party League. But I'm all right with that. So much of the heart of what makes Mario Party good really hits its stride in the second game. Great board design, great mini-games (many of which are salvaged from the first game, true, but they're uniformly improved here), fun item balance, ample opportunity for inter-player politics... I don't know that I'll ever have the patience or interest in becoming good at a Mario Party, but I am very happy to return to this one as a favorite among friends.

Most of my issues with the game come in retrospect: one item allows for less strategy than three items, more interesting items are waiting a little further down the series, more characters are generally more fun, etc. But what's here, especially for its placement in the series, is really damn strong.

A great example of a sequel which completely outshines the first game. Mario Party 2 pretty much improves everything that was wrong with the first Mario Party, with the the pacing being way better, coins being gained and lost much more fairly and mini-games actually being fun. The added feature of themed boards and outfits also makes this really stand-out compared to the sequels, and makes it feel like more of a party.

I wouldn't say this game is perfect though, as the boo item that steals coins seems busted, and no matter how much you press A you'll lose no less than 20 coins, which just seems very unfair. Also some, but few, mini-games seem like you're destined to lose depending on which team you're on, although this can still be seen in modern Mario Party games so it's not really an issue that only this game has.

Overall, I'd say Mario Party 2 is a great sequel to a very poor first Mario Party game, and still hold ups really well over 20 years later with hardly anything feeling outdated.

it's mario party. but again. make sure you bring some other people with you if you want to tackle all this game has to offer; theres no dedicated single player campaign, and doing regular mario party rounds by yourself is really sad and lonely. other than that, this is pretty much mario party 1 again, except with a lot less chance time and palm blisters. If you like physical pain, I think mario party 1 is a better pick than this, but honestly both this and the first are equally worth checking out.

Mario Party games are interesting games to review, because for almost 10 years, it was an annual release. So even though most players wouldn't put it in the same genre as sports games, it was following effectively the same model. This led to a lack of variability from title to title, and most people's favorite Mario Party game just tends to be the one they had at the time. While the model would inevitably get stale after so many releases in such a short time, Mario Party 2 was released early enough in the series where it still felt unique. And, building on the groundwork that was laid by the debut game one year earlier, Mario Party 2 became-and has remained-one of the most enjoyable entries in the series.

All Mario Party games worth playing essentially have the same gameplay, so usually personal preference will come down to what boards they enjoy, or which mini-games are their favorite. MP2, being the 2nd entry in the series, came at a time when the mini-games still felt fresh, and it removed most of the mediocre ones from its predecessor as well. This results in a much more pleasant-and less painful-gameplay experience. Each of the boards are unique and enjoyable enough, and the gameplay is attractive enough even to those who normally don't enjoy games. Players that are more competitive might not appreciate the RNG heavy nature of Mario Party 2 (or any of its sequels), but it's fun enough as a casual party game. The graphics, while poorly aged, aren't as bad as other titles from the same era; the game is still able to convey what is happening to the players relatively well. There's a single player mode as well, but it's mostly irrelevant.

Mario Party 2 doesn't really do anything unique, and it doesn't offer a great gaming experience, but it's content with what it is, and players most likely will be, too. It's not fair, but it's fun. The games generally do tend to go on for slightly too long, and it relies on all players being invested in finishing the game for it to be truly enjoyable. The Nintendo 64 was the king of multiplayer games at its time, and while there were certainly more engaging multiplayer games available on the system, Mario Party 2 is the best at what it strives to do. It's simple enough for anyone to play and enjoy, and it doesn't need to be anything more than that.