Played for the Tarvould's Quest Mario Party League, viewable here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiBuIKkhNOcetedJo2kjJwenDNYqHsFt
Probably the best of the GameCube era, weird as it feels to say that given my personal nostalgia for 6. This largely feels like the ideas from Mario Parties 5 and 6 have been refined; the Orb system's as good as it gets here, and the boardwide gimmicks are at their most universally interesting. This is the second-best use of Donkey Kong, too (first-best use being playable DK, naturally), simplifying the focus to mini-games and letting DK operate independently of Bowser. No DK is still a bummer, but the character selection overall is pretty fun - Birdo and Dry Bones are fun pulls that generally improve the rosters of whatever games they're a part of, and Toadsworth makes for a fun host, by Cor. The overall theme of a world cruise is great, easily one of the series' strongest, and Bowser Time makes for a great pacebreaker gimmick, generally not too overpowered. Lots of good, careful balance here.
With the exception of Pyramid Park (which is at least an improvement on Snowflake Lake from 6), every board is at least "good" in my book. Grand Canal and Enchanted Inferno are solid "stock" Mario Party boards. Neon Heights is a fun enough variation aided by the board's ease of navigation (and I'm always interested in international interpretations of America). I think both Pagoda Peak and Windmillville rubbed me the wrong way during Mario Party League, but that's more for bad luck/play on my part; Pagoda Peak's a strong linear board with a fun gimmick, and Windmillville is a fun resource management template for what Tycoon Town would be in the next game.
Putting so much focus on the mic mini-games does feel like a misstep here. Between that and 8-player mode, I feel like there's a huge chunk of the game I didn't get to experience during Mario Party League, moreso than a lot of the other games. Still fine either way, but it does feel a bit silly having play slow down so much every time a player hits a Mic Space.
Probably the best of the GameCube era, weird as it feels to say that given my personal nostalgia for 6. This largely feels like the ideas from Mario Parties 5 and 6 have been refined; the Orb system's as good as it gets here, and the boardwide gimmicks are at their most universally interesting. This is the second-best use of Donkey Kong, too (first-best use being playable DK, naturally), simplifying the focus to mini-games and letting DK operate independently of Bowser. No DK is still a bummer, but the character selection overall is pretty fun - Birdo and Dry Bones are fun pulls that generally improve the rosters of whatever games they're a part of, and Toadsworth makes for a fun host, by Cor. The overall theme of a world cruise is great, easily one of the series' strongest, and Bowser Time makes for a great pacebreaker gimmick, generally not too overpowered. Lots of good, careful balance here.
With the exception of Pyramid Park (which is at least an improvement on Snowflake Lake from 6), every board is at least "good" in my book. Grand Canal and Enchanted Inferno are solid "stock" Mario Party boards. Neon Heights is a fun enough variation aided by the board's ease of navigation (and I'm always interested in international interpretations of America). I think both Pagoda Peak and Windmillville rubbed me the wrong way during Mario Party League, but that's more for bad luck/play on my part; Pagoda Peak's a strong linear board with a fun gimmick, and Windmillville is a fun resource management template for what Tycoon Town would be in the next game.
Putting so much focus on the mic mini-games does feel like a misstep here. Between that and 8-player mode, I feel like there's a huge chunk of the game I didn't get to experience during Mario Party League, moreso than a lot of the other games. Still fine either way, but it does feel a bit silly having play slow down so much every time a player hits a Mic Space.