Mario Party 10
Tenth home console Mario Party with Bowser Party mode.
Mario Party 10, a party game for the Wii U, was created by NDcube and released by Nintendo in 2015. As the tenth home console installment, it includes standard board and minigame play plus two new modes: Bowser Party, where one player controls Bowser on the GamePad, and Amiibo Party, which uses Amiibo figures.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- NDcube
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Producer
- Jumpei Horita
- Toshiaki Suzuki
- Atsushi Ikeda
- Director
- Shuichiro Nishiya
- Designer
- Tatsumitsu Watanabe
- Programmer
- Hideki Sahashi
- Artist
- Keisuke Kasahara
- Composer
- Rei Kondoh, Toshiki Aida
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Mario Party 10 carries forward the core ideas from earlier games in the series, especially Mario Party 9. The main Mario Party mode has four characters, which can be human or computer controlled, all riding together in a single vehicle across a game board. The goal is to collect the most mini-stars by the time the board ends. One player at a time acts as the driver, rolling a single die to move the group forward by that many spaces. The driver also makes choices when the path splits. Each board includes two boss fights where all four players cooperate to win. There are five boards to choose from: Mushroom Park, Haunted Trail, Whimsical Waters, Airship Central, and Chaos Castle. Minigame spaces are placed around the board, and landing on one starts a minigame from a selection of over 70. These minigames come in three formats: free-for-all, two versus two, and three versus one. They test memory, puzzle-solving, and platforming skills, and some rely on the Wii Remote for controls. The Wii U GamePad shows Bowser trapped in a cage. If the players manage to roll every number on the die at least once during a game, Bowser breaks free and adds extra obstacles and challenges, like making the player who comes in last in a minigame the winner. A full round of Mario Party lasts about 30 minutes. The game also adds two new modes: Bowser Party and Amiibo Party. In Bowser Party, a team of four players called Team Mario faces off against a fifth player controlling Bowser with the GamePad. Instead of mini-stars, there is a single star at the end, and each player has hearts. Team Mario must reach the board's end without losing all their hearts. Different spaces can give special dice, chances to earn more hearts, interference from Bowser Jr., or affect how many dice the Bowser player gets on their turn. If a Team Mario member loses all their hearts, the others can revive them by collecting extra hearts on the board. While waiting, that player can still help by giving the team special dice.
Development
Mario Party 10 was built by NDcube, the same studio behind Mario Party 9, and came out under Nintendo's banner. Shuichiro Nishiya returned to direct, with Jumpei Horita producing. The team stuck with the idea of moving all players around the board as a group. They had seen that in older games, people often tuned out when it wasn't their turn. With everyone moving together, each player's choices directly affected the others, which kept the whole group involved. To speed things up, they cut down on on-screen text. Instead of written instructions before a minigame, a short video shows how it works, and the characters' exaggerated reactions help players understand what's happening without reading. The minigame ideas came from NDcube staff. The team in charge of making them would take simple concepts—often just a single sentence or a rough sketch—and either build them out or combine them with other ideas. They looked to recent Mario games like New Super Mario Bros. U and Super Mario 3D World for inspiration. Nishiya, who worked on the minigame team, also found ideas by paying attention to his everyday life. Other party games on the Wii U, such as Nintendo Land and Wii Party U, used Miis as characters, which kept their minigames tied to real-world situations. To make Mario Party 10 feel different, the developers chose to base its minigames on strange, surreal settings and ideas.
Reception
Mario Party 10 earned a mixed critical reception, with Metacritic calculating an average score of 66 out of 100. On OpenCritic, only 16 percent of critics recommended the game, indicating weak approval. In Japan, Famitsu’s four reviewers gave it a combined 33 out of 40. Several reviewers noted that the game did not change enough from earlier entries. The shorter round times and high-definition visuals were praised. Samuel Claiborn of IGN liked how the improved graphics made split-screen multiplayer easier to follow. Kyle Hilliard of Game Informer also complimented the visuals and enjoyed the music, calling even the simplest remixes of Koji Kondo’s scores very pleasant. Chris Carter of Destructoid appreciated the variety in minigame controls, which went beyond just shaking the Wii Remote as in Mario Party 8 and 9, but he was disappointed by the small number of Bowser minigames in Bowser Party. Ray Carsillo of Electronic Gaming Monthly found the Wii U GamePad’s use in the main Mario Party mode underwhelming, a view Hilliard shared, especially when compared to Nintendo Land. Claiborn, however, thought Mario Party 10 was one of the best uses of the GamePad, mainly for Bowser Party. A frequent complaint was that the game kept the vehicle mechanic from Mario Party 9, which many disliked. Carter had grown used to this gimmick but still found it less interesting than individual movement, as it caused unique board spaces to be easily skipped. He also criticized the inability to choose round length. Some critics preferred the linear style from Mario Party 9 over older entries. Hilliard liked the faster pace it created, and Martin Watts of Nintendo Life agreed, adding that the linear movement made the game more tactical because each move directly affected others. Carsillo did not see the continued cooperative focus as a problem, but he faulted the lack of difference between Mario Party 10 and Mario Party 9, and he missed the competitive feel of earlier games in the series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Mario Party 10?
Mario Party 10 was designed by Tatsumitsu Watanabe.
Who composed the music for Mario Party 10?
The music for Mario Party 10 was composed by Rei Kondoh and Toshiki Aida.
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