With Mario Party and Mario Party 2 just being ported to the Nintendo Switch Online N64 Expansion , fans can hop back into the beloved game series and take a trip down memory lane.
Mario Party Superstars even recently revamped classic minigames that made the titles perfect for getting friends indescribably pissed at each other with their competitive yet wholly entertaining nature. From “Granite Getaway” to “Booksquirm,” many minigames have become fan favorites that exhilarate players, but some stand out as the best of the best.
Burnstile (Mario Party 6)
One of the simpler 2-vs.-2 minigames of the series, Mario Party 6’s “Burnstile” has each team leaping over a rotating turnstile on circular platforms surrounded by lava.
With each lap, the turnstile moves quicker and quicker, until both players of one team are slapped off into the fiery floor below. Proving who had the best timing and fastest reflexes, the minigame gives players an adrenaline rush that is equal parts fear and excitement, testing their ability to stay cool under pressure in an insanely addicting way.
Rocky Road (Mario Party 6)
Playable in both Mario Party 6 and Mario Party Superstars, “Rocky Road” has a Shy Guy (or Toad in Superstars) drive players to five sets of boulders, which must be destroyed for a team to advance to the next set.
Players race against each other, kicking and punching the big rocks until each part of the road is cleared, the winners continuing down the road after the largest of the boulders is in pieces. As if the 2-vs.-2 wasn’t competitive enough, players can accidentally hit their teammates and stun them, causing them to lose. But this is exactly what keeps the classic minigame so neck and neck and unpredictably fun to play.
Wrasslin' Rapids (Mario Party 6)
The classic Battle minigame, “Wrassling’ Rapids,” puts all players up against each other in a violent free-for-all on wooden raft. Cascading quickly down a river, players must try to punch and kick one another off in order to eliminate them.
The minigame’s entertaining intensity is only spread further as obstacles begin to appear, making players avoid being hit out by others and things like falling nuts that can stun them, giving a chance for their foes to combo them out of the ring. Being the last player standing is one of the best feelings that few other minigames can give, making it an instant classic in Mario Party 6.
Defuse Or Lose (Mario Party 5)
“Defuse or Lose” is a race against time as two King Bob-ombs appear, each of their fuses sparking and threatening to explode on the players. In an attempt to snuff out the three fuses per team of 2-vs.-2, players must ground-pound the sparks out, which follow a set tail and rekindle quickly.
Whichever team’s spark reaches their King Bob-omb’s first explodes, sending them flying into the air and off-screen. The panic of each character and player is hilarious to watch, making the minigame that much more fun. The suspense of which team will be blown up first is unquestionably thrilling, causing "Defuse or Lose" to be a fan-favorite of Mario Party 5.
Boonanza! (Mario Party 6)
The minigame “Boonanza!” stakes two players against each other as they try to round up the most pink boos into their own pen before time runs out. Whoever has the most boos when the time is up wins, a parade of boos striding behind them.
Every time a player approaches a boo, they glide away from the player, making it easier to lead the little ghosts where the player wants. Herding the cute little entities is not just incredibly satisfying and a load of fun, but makes “Boonanaza!” one of the least frustrating Duel minigames in Mario Party 6, nestling a place into the heart of every player.
Pushy Penguins (Mario Party 5)
Responsible for some of the funniest Mario Party memes, “Pushy Penguins” is a 4-player minigame in which players must fight to stay atop a polar ice cap as a stampede of little blue penguins runs toward them.
The herd pushes the players back for 30 seconds as they try to weave through the crowd and not fall off the edge into the water, where the penguins are jumping. The fairness and pure chaos of the Mario Party 5 minigame are as laughable as they are is adorable, the penguin friends being the icing on the cake of a near-perfect competition.
Granite Getaway (Mario Party 6)
Based on an iconic scene from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, “Granite Getaway” makes players run through a cave for their lives from a massive, tumbling boulder. While holding down the left stick, 4 players must avoid and vault over obstacles or face being crushed by the gigantic rock.
The Funky, floaty physics of the Mario Party 6 minigame makes it tricky for players, especially since characters can’t move their direction mid-jump, but that just makes it all the more fun. Proving who was the best at controlling their character, the euphoric feeling of making it to the end as the sole survivor is unmatched.
Booksquirm (Mario Party 4)
One of the fairest and best minigames reappearing in Mario Party Superstars is none other than Mario Party 4’s “Booksquirm,” a 4-player competition where everyone is scrambling on the pages of a giant book, trying to find the holes in each page every time a new one is turned before they are flattened.
With the highest skill ceiling of any minigame in the series, to the point of where it can last an impressive amount of time if players have mastered it, the game shows a player’s true dedication to forming the skill needed to win. There is even a more competitive and challenging version for these players called “Challenge Booksquirm” which can last up to 99 pages.
Jump The Gun (Mario Party 6)
Mario Party 6 not only has some of the best boards in all of Mario Party, but the best minigames as well. The 2-vs.-2 minigame “Jump the Gun” may be pretty simple, but has players take a test of trust as one teammate jumps from Bullet Bill to Bullet Bill, while the other shoots them like canons into place for the player to land on.
Jumping prematurely or firing a Bullet Bill in the wrong spot is enough to lead to a loss, if the other team doesn’t slip up as well, putting the pressure on everyone to work smoothly as a team. The match can get pretty heated, but it’s all in good fun, as the controls are very reliable and pretty easy once players get the hang of it.
Dungeon Duos (Mario Party 4)
Regarded as one of the best 2-vs-2 minigames of the franchise, Mario Party 4’s “Dungeon Duos” takes exceptional teamwork to win, requiring actual skill and not pure button mashing or luck like many other minigames in the series.
With two split screens, players go head-to-head as they do various tasks like moving a lever, rotating a platform, and filling a balloon with air. Beginning in a dungeon, both player of each team must sync their controls with one another to reach maximum efficiency. The competitiveness of the minigame cannot be understated since players greatly rely on their teammates every intricate step of the way.