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Super Mario Party Jamboree at a Glance
| Category | Our rating (Out of 10) | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Graphics | 9 | The game is not the sharpest in graphics. But its vibrant colors, unique aesthetic style, and smooth animations result in a game with charm and character. |
| Gameplay | 9 | The minigames are plentiful and provide endless chaotic fun. The game relies heavily on luck for dice rolls and random events, which can both elevate and sour the experience. |
| Story | 6 | The game places less emphasis on the story and is more reliant on its multiplayer gameplay modes. Party-Planner Trek story mode is lacking in content but has fun boss battles. |
| Replayability | 8 | With 110 minigames in total across several modes and seven maps to play on, players can keep partying all night long. Though its long matches mean it’s not casual friendly. |
| Overall | 8 | Super Mario Party Jamboree is packed with delightful and frustrating surprises that combine to create an unforgettable experience. |
Super Mario Party Jamboree is the latest installment in the Super Mario Party franchise, which hasn’t seen a new addition since 2021’s Mario Party Superstars. Instead of being a remake or a simple expansion, it is a fully-fledged title that draws upon the classic party games of the past while introducing new revisions and gameplay fit for modern standards.
I never really knew what to expect, and that feeling never went away as I progressed through the rounds. Even after gaining a more comprehensive understanding of map mechanics, mini-game rules, and sound tactics, the game always had one last curveball to throw my way.
Our Super Mario Party Jamboree review goes over everything you need to know about the dice-rolling game, from modes, boards, mechanics, and more.
Rolling With It
The main flagship mode you’ll spend the majority of your time on is the Party Mode. Pick from 22 characters in total and compete against three other players to collect the most amount of stars scattered across its seven boards – each with its own unique mechanic.
In the pursuit of these stars, you’ll take turns rolling the dice and moving across spaces possessing hazards, events, and rewards. This is where the majority of the luck-based mechanics come into play, as the number of times you roll can often make or break your game performance. There were moments where I clawed my way back from near defeat and others where I fell short of the grasp of victory.
This is the life of the party and the main factor that drives me to both love and despise this game. The unpredictability of matches brings shock and disbelief I often don’t feel with other games, and my controller had never been more at risk of going through a wall since playing a Dark Souls game. It’s an emotional roller coaster that kept me engaged just to see what would happen next, both with curiosity and a small sense of trepidation.
Minigames will take place at the end of every round, and are opportunities for you to earn coins in order to spend on stars. There are 110 different games to play across several modes, although around 50 of them can be experienced through the main Party mode. These games can range from problem-solving, survival, platforming, duels, and more. You’ll participate in these games in either 1v1, 2v2, 1v3, free-for-all, or four-player-team formats.
Super Mario Party Jamboree minigames offer a small preview to let you familiarize yourself with the games before jumping straight into the action. They aren’t complicated by any means and are fairly easy to pick up once you’ve played through them a few times. However, I feel some descriptions are both a little vague and also inaccurate.
Leave it to the Pros
The luck-based mechanics of the Super Mario Party Jamboree gameplay are a double-edged sword. They can add thrilling gameplay but also put off some players from actually trying or even replaying. Nintendo offers a unique alternative for players who want to earn their stars through Pro Mode.
This mode has quickly become my favorite way to play the game, and it is what makes it one of the best Nintendo Switch games to play in 2025.
Pro Mode introduces games that remove some of the luck mechanics found in the base game and share more information with the players to allow them to strategize more effectively. For example, the Party Mode ends games by awarding participation stars based on randomized factors. Pro Mode now lets players know beforehand what the participation star is to allow players to make more informed game plans.
Additionally, players can now vote from a tighter selection of minigames before they are randomly selected. For example, if three players pick Three Throw and one picks Cold Front, then Three Throw is more likely to be picked as the next game.
There is still a level of randomness to the games, but they are far less egregious. So you may still roll a dice and coincidentally land on Boo, but now he will only take a select amount of coins rather than an undetermined number.
The mode is better suited for more experienced players who have played previous Mario Party games. There is no proper way to make the game purely based on skill, no matter how much you tinker with the settings and rules, but the Pro Mode is a strong step forward that separates Jamboree from its predecessors.
All Fun and Games
There are also several other modes outside of the main party game that offer a variety of gameplay mechanics. However, these modes aren’t quite as in-depth as Party Mode and are easily overshadowed by the main game mode.
Modes such as Toads Item Factory and Rhythm Kitchen demand players be more active in participation, utilizing the motion controls within the Joycons. These often felt like larger minigames outside of Party Mode to participate in, separated across several different levels instead of the standard one-time level. At times the motion controls weren’t the most responsive, and I was forced to at times awkwardly twist my arms or really exaggerate my movement in order to see any effect.
Party-Planner Trek is the main story mode of the game and offers several unique mechanics that separate it from the main multiplayer mode. For example, players are able to freely navigate through the board rather than using a die. You help out Kamek to set up the party and go around setting up decorations and helping out inhabitants with their troubles by completing minigames. In addition, every board ends with a boss encounter mini-game that can only exclusively be played through the mode.
The Super Mario Party Jamboree story mode will take anywhere between three and four hours, depending on independent skill and exploration. It’s not the hardest mode to play, and neither is its story anything to write home about, but it is a fun adventure that allows you to explore its boards more thoroughly at a much slower pace.
Finally, loading the game sends players to the Party Plaza, which is the main hub area. Most of these features are meant for customization, although the extent to which you can change your profile and the rewards you earn by playing games are underwhelming.
That’s not to say that the game does not have any meaningful rewards. Outside of the Party Plaza, ranking up allows you to unlock not only new boards to play on but also new modes to access. However, the means by which you unlock the two additional characters is so trivialized that they might as well have been unlocked from the get-go.
Party’s Over
There’s not really much to fault Super Mario Party Jamboree on, but there are a few factors to take into consideration.
Super Mario Party Jamboree is, above all, a family experience, meaning that games not only lack any meaningful challenge but are also extremely long. A game with a minimum of 10 rounds will take over an hour to complete, and a Pro Mode that restricts you to 12 will take even longer. Whilst the game does have a skip button to pick up the pace, gameplay can quickly become cumbersome if played at regular intervals.
Super Mario Party Jamboree is one of the best Switch games for kids to play, but it lacks enough depth in gameplay to really captivate an older or more competitive audience outside of the occasional gaming session. Some of the boards can also be quite drawn out.
Super Mario Party Jamboree features a new system called Jamboree Buddies, where allies from the main character roster can appear to support a player. These Buddies can be won through Showdowns, where players participate in unique scenarios specific to that character. For example, Peach has a celebration on her day off, during which players need to bring her presents, a selection of donuts, and collect gems to light fireworks.
They add a unique twist to the game, but some character buffs are undoubtedly more powerful than others. For example, Peach gives you a 50% discount on Stars, which is insane! In addition, buddies are incredibly easy to steal – so even after you’ve won a Showdown, all it takes is another player to pass you before they change allegiance.
Finally, the CPU opponents you face in this game are annoying to deal with. You can adjust the difficulty of computer-controlled rivals in the settings, but no matter what level you choose, they will either be incredibly stupid or absolutely brutal. This is particularly true in minigames: there were times when an AI-controlled opponent would intentionally pause to give me the win, such as in platforms or endless rounds, and other times when they move and act with deadly precision – particularly in memory or item rounds.
The Bottom Line
Super Mario Party Jamboree is a delightful mix of nostalgia and innovation, making it a must-have for fans and newcomers alike. It’s a great family experience that offers just enough randomness to be frustratingly good.
Though its plethora of modes boasts quantity more than quality, the main Party and Pro Mode offer endless hours of fun with their library of minigames and boards — provided you still have an intact screen to play with by the end.
The Super Mario Party Jamboree release date is October 17, 2024, and it’s available to play on the Switch via the Nintendo eShop for $59.99. We recommend this title for anyone after an exciting party game to play with friends and family.
