Let’s kick this look at Super Mario Party Jamboree’s new Nintendo Switch port off with a wonderful example of what Eurogamer isn’t – a one-opinion monolith. So while I greatly respect the brilliant Katharine’s opinion that Jamboree is fine and agreeable but equally compromised and frustratingly random, that respect comes with a head-shake of disagreement. I actually thought it was rather good!
Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TVDeveloper: Nintendo CubePublisher: NintendoPlatform: Played on Switch 2Availability: Out 24th July on Nintendo Switch 2
This information is key to parsing Nintendo’s latest Switch 2 exclusive. Did you play Jamboree? Did you like it? If you’ve never touched it you definitely need to read a range of opinions to find out if you’re likely to be closer to me or to Katherine’s two-star Eurogamer review of the game from last year. I thought it was probably one of the better Mario Party titles since the golden age of N64 and GameCube entries – even if in places it could still infuriate in ways that were unintentional and less fun.
With that noted, let’s talk specifically about the brilliantly titled . Try saying that ten times fast. The title is a head-scratcher – but in a sense, that makes it quite appropriate for this release, for how this do-over is structured is truly baffling.
Mario Party Switch 2 May Be Fun, but Is It Just an Overpriced Gimmick? Watch on YouTube
Where the original Jamboree felt like a carefully-crafted thing with each of the game options and modes integrated into a hub world of sorts, the Switch 2 edition’s new content is more siloed. When you first boot up the game you’re greeted by a relatively static menu that gives you the options: do you want to play Mario Party Jamboree, or Jamboree TV? There is a wall between these modes that no amount of gleeful button-bashing or palm-annihilating stick spinning can penetrate. These things are, for all intents and purposes, separate games.