Around third and fourth grade I was a massive fan of Mario and wanted to get my hands on every spin-off I could in the franchise during the Gamecube era. Catching wind of Mario Party with the seventh game in the franchise came at a perfect time for me and I found myself loving every aspect of this game to death, mastering every single mini-game and playing countless parties with anyone who'd join in. One time I even handed my grandparents controllers which didn't go too great but goes to show how enthusiastic I was about this game.
There were a couple of unique features to Mario Party 7. One was the Gamecube mic, which came into play when you landed on certain spaces around the board. If you didn't own the peripheral you'd just move onto the next player's turn, but I managed to track one down at GameStop. The mechanics didn't work too great and was a pretty dumb gimmick but I still enjoyed it at the time.
Another major feature was the 8-player mode, which I pulled out quite a few times at family gatherings. Select minigames only required one shoulder button or one controller stick and two people who share a single controller. It worked surprisingly well and proved a lot of fun.
One thing I could've done with less of in this game were mini-games in Party Mode that only involved one or two players. DK and Bowser spaces were a big component of that and could really slow things down sometimes if you weren't involved. The boards in this one were especially good, though. I've always liked the investment-type boards so the windmill one is my favorite, but the theming of Pagoda Peak was also a lot of fun.
Mario Party 7 is an excellent entry in the franchise even if it starts with the awkward line "Mario was out for his morning constitutional" every time you boot it up. It's arguably the last great Mario Party before the series started to decline.
There were a couple of unique features to Mario Party 7. One was the Gamecube mic, which came into play when you landed on certain spaces around the board. If you didn't own the peripheral you'd just move onto the next player's turn, but I managed to track one down at GameStop. The mechanics didn't work too great and was a pretty dumb gimmick but I still enjoyed it at the time.
Another major feature was the 8-player mode, which I pulled out quite a few times at family gatherings. Select minigames only required one shoulder button or one controller stick and two people who share a single controller. It worked surprisingly well and proved a lot of fun.
One thing I could've done with less of in this game were mini-games in Party Mode that only involved one or two players. DK and Bowser spaces were a big component of that and could really slow things down sometimes if you weren't involved. The boards in this one were especially good, though. I've always liked the investment-type boards so the windmill one is my favorite, but the theming of Pagoda Peak was also a lot of fun.
Mario Party 7 is an excellent entry in the franchise even if it starts with the awkward line "Mario was out for his morning constitutional" every time you boot it up. It's arguably the last great Mario Party before the series started to decline.