Lurker > Kamekguy

Plunder Chest (MP2 & MP3)
I trust you mean the treasure chest that steals items, and not the guaranteed 10 coin'er from Mario Party 1. In any case, the Plunder Chest is the ultimate weapon of deterrence in Mario Party 2. Any item-based move a player can make is neutered for fear of being plundered and stolen from. The only items that remain safe are, essentially, Mushrooms, Skeleton Keys, and Warp Blocks, taking all the big comeback items off the table in one fell swoop. It's the perfect item to nab in first place as a "win more" option, since Boo Repellent doesn't yet exist - it counters the Magic Lamps that spawn in shops for 3rd and 4th excellently and without impunity. You can't even counter it with another Plunder Chest, as plundering a plunder is possible and incredibly easy; it's a threat you either have to bait with a Golden Mushroom or Bowser Suit in very specific situations or deal with, and can force an opponent to prematurely use a Magic Lamp. The item is CHAOS... and is heavily nerfed in Mario Party 3. Sure, you get improved targeting, but with how often Toad and Baby Bowser load you up with Skeleton Keys, the odds of actually getting something good drastic go down. There are limited cases where it's useful, but just due to the nature of Mario Party 3, its functions are limited, and it's a "nice if you happen to get it" item rather than the game changer it was. It's a good addition to the series, but an antiquated one. Gives Peach a lot of personality, though, so that's always a plus - girl needs all the help she can get.

Brighton (MP6)
He is a sun who is neither Angry nor having a random Latin theme in Paper Mario, what is the point of him. Twila at least has the decency to look like a 3-up moon wearing a bath towel as a dress, Brighton has all of the brilliant character design qualities of a Super Paper Mario character without the art style and weird animations to make him pop. Brighton is normalcy, which is often, unfortunately, more boring than the far more fun nighttime events. No Bowser, no Boo, no random numbers on Faire Square - Brighton, unfortunately, represents the control group of a very fun system where all the big moves happen within the experimental group. He's in no way bad, he's just... entirely existent. Which is kind of the worst thing, being boring; I can at least feel hatred toward something passionately and that's fun!

Toad's "Okay"
Not quite as iconic as Toad's "YEAH" or Toad's disappointed "Ohhhhhhhh...", but Mario Party Toad is a very solid Toad voice. As far as "Okay"s go, it's not at Terry Bogard or Donkey Kong levels, but it's only one tier below them.

Banning Waluigi because he gives you an unfair advantage
I know it's a common strategy for newer players to complain about Waluigi, but please, consider actually playing around his strengths. Waluigi is kept in check for the first two games by Donkey Kong just being outright better, and his nerf-happy strategy is always countered by the simple Mushroom. The only game where he's really overpowered is 6, where he can spam "you're lousy", which is a priority taunt that others have to respect as it's significantly better played out than spammed. But other than Bowser, who deserves to only be in gimmick formats due to how overwhelmingly powerful he is, I can't, in good faith, recommend banning any character. Donkey Kong was banned in Gen V in spite of his nerfs in 4, and the metagame suffered for it.

Koopa Banker
Actively a jerk. Now, the bank ITSELF is very interesting, a great balance check and a potential backup coin reserve in 3, but this guy's life is so empty, and he wants to share that feeling with you. It doesn't matter if you can pay your deposit, he'll take what you have anyway and update you on the running balance, one that he can't be arsed to differentiate between four separate accounts because he's just so done with it all. Whereas EVERYONE else on the board has a reaction to the Bowser Suit - Baby Bowser, Toad, the Millennium Star, Hell even the Baby Bowser Bankers with their Contraception Glasses - the Koopa Banker doesn't care. He'll tax Bowser, whatever, it's his 9 to 5, he just wants to get home in 8 turns and continue the rest of his miserable existence. Just a cog in the wheel, never wanting to stand out, never having the ability to. What a rube.

Toad Boat
It could even be a boat! Honestly I do prefer FURIOUS GUITAR SOLO Toad a bit to Toad Boat, but Toad Boat is pretty Toad Boat.

give me the ball papa
The look on Junior's face says it all. This is the first time his father has scorned him, denied him at least the ability to get the things he wants. Bowser focuses all his energy on the ball, seeing all of his parental decisions reflected in its cowskin surface. Has it all really been worth it? Will his son follow in his footsteps? Or will he find him weak, becoming another one of those "partiers" like that traitor, Koopa Kid? It's too much. Junior turns away, looking empty, unfulfilled, wondering just what could happen. Bowser slams the ball down. -1. But perhaps someday, it will turn into a +1.

i laughed

Reverse Shroom (MP3)
The absolute most busted item in Mario Party, and the item that singlehandedly elevates Mario Party 3 in spite of its spotty board design. This thing is utterly broken, as whenever you reach any junction, the Reverse Mushroom will let you choose your path while going backwards. This INCLUDES board events like the splitter in Waluigi's Island or the Monty Mole signs in Woody Woods. Moreover, as Boo is usually behind Skeleton Key gates, you can pass Boo one turn, reverse into him, and then bounce off of the gate, triple dipping Boo in what SHOULD have been a single pass. It doesn't end there, though. Take this junction in Woody Woods, for example.

https://i.gyazo.com/51047de2517dd53a1da06a6f3387b624.png

Say you're on the Battle Space to start the turn. In normal play, you'd have to bounce off of the gate, go to the right, and then go the direction the sign is facing. With a Reverse Mushroom, not only can you pick what direction you'd go at the Battle Space split, but if you chose to go on the normal path to the right, when you hit the sign, you can choose what direction to go in spite of hitting it straight on. The item takes maps like Woody Woods and Spiny Desert and makes them INCREDIBLE, filled with potential for all sorts of screwy mechanics. And it costs 5 coins. It is unassuming, and it takes skill and map knowledge to use, but it can provide payouts that only The Big Boo and Chance Time could hope to match, at FAR less of a risk. AND you can use it on opponents to delay them getting a star for a turn. It is, absolutely and without a doubt, the best item in Mario Party, and while it's no wonder why it hasn't returned... DAMN is it a fun ride.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Dual Destinies

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Rudder Madness (MP8)
You wanna simulate "Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing"? Here you go! Every tiny motion you give in a slow, plodding affair causes you do do worse. Might as well just not touch anything and let fate decide for all the good it does you. There are some mini-games that are exactly that - Pinball Fall, for instance - but at least in those pure luck-based ones you get a choice of where you want to start and PRETEND you have agency. Another one for the "waste everyone's time" category.

GameCube Microphone (MP6 & MP7)
The microphone in Mario Party 6 is fine. It's completely unobtrusive, and was just an experimental gimmick that ended up going nowhere. Cute little mini-games where the lag in between commands was a bit too easy to react to, but Fruit Talktail was a legitimately fun mini-game. It meant about as much to MP6 as the control stick spinners were to MP1, and that's about all it needed to be. MP7, however, decided to shove it down your throat and never let go. The Mic Space is perhaps the worst space in all of Mario Party. If the Mic is on, you play a slow, incredibly boring memory game with Toadsworth, baby's first Fruits of Doom, and just get a nice swath of coins for no reason. If the mic is turned off, the mic spaces are still there. Toadsworth wastes your time with a long animation of him showing up, only to tell you that the Mic is turned off so you can't do the mini-game, and NOTHING HAPPENS. It would not have been a problem to turn these into Blue Spaces, or do ANYTHING to them to make them just not wastes of time. Hell, just a tooltip that says "mic is turned off" and cut off the animations, would've been annoying but not a waste of about ten seconds of stacking lifetime I won't get back. An average of "eh whatever" and "actively unpleasant" sticks it down in the basement somewhere.

Shrek Super Party
I have not had the pleasure, but looking at it from about five minutes of gameplay, it looks somewhat miserable. Objective-based party games can work out absolutely fine - Dokapon Kingdom is a great example - but this looks rather miserable and trying to use Shrek's, erm, "personality" to compensate. I would normally not rank it, but it also does not have Gingy as a playable character. Gingy is my favorite character in the Shrek Cinematic Universe, so that's unforgivable.

100% Orange Juice
I exist in the sad reality where I owned a Mac when this PC-exclusive title was all the rage with my friend group. Thus, I've never been able to experience it. I understand from memetic joking that Marie Poppo is a shit, though? I support her.

Big Top Drop (MP5)
It seems that all of the mini-games about tightrope walking are destined to be mediocre. This game seems very overwhelming to the 3 at first, and the ones on the outside CAN be put into unwinnable positions. However, the 1 player can't drop the balls fast enough to prevent the player in the middle from finding an easy gap to walk through. You CAN mix this up a bit with lob tosses to create less consistent timing, but there's always going to be a gap to make this POSSIBLE for the team of 3, and due to how slowly they walk on the tightrope, whilst the space they have to fit in isn't the most generous, the time they have to maneuver their way there often is. The worst 1v3 games are the ones where the 1 has to rely on the 3 to seriously screw up in order to actually accomplish anything, and this is one of those cases. Not quite Shock, Drop, or Roll bad, but in the same ballpark.

Pedal Power (MP1)
My favorite part of the game is that you lose 5 coins if the Boo eats you. If this were a 0 coin loss, the game would be nothing - most players would go "nah, tearing a hole in my hand isn't worth 10 coins" and throw. But by having a cost and REQUIRING you to play the game if you want to not only maintain your coins, but also stay competitive for the mini-game star (MP1 lets you go into the negatives toward mini-game star count), the player is given real time to decide just how much they value the flesh on their palm. I know a lot of people rate this game as the worst in the series, but any mini-game that can create a moral dilemma out of a player, intentional or not, is pretty hilarious in my book. Music and theming is also pretty on-point and silly.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)
Mario Party 2 OST
Hexagon Heat (MP2)
Mushroom Mix-Up (MP1)
Game Guy (MP3)
Day At The Races (MP2)
Waluigi

Super Star Tier
Space Land (MP2)
Faire Square (MP6)
Unique Character Dice Blocks (SMP)
Lights Out (MP2)
Waluigi's Island (MP3)
Luigi Wins By Doing Absolutely Nothing
Monty Mole (SMP)
Toad (Playable)
Slapparazzi (SMP)
Chance Time
Super Duel Mode (MP5)

Happening Star Tier
Koopa Kid
Cake Factory (MP2)
Bumper Balls
The Big Boo (MP2)
Pedal Power (MP1)
Kamekguy
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)
Skeleton Key (MP3)
Shake It Up (MP8)
Mario Party 8
Mix-And-Match Amiibo Party Boards (MP10)

Red Star Tier
Wiggler (MP2)
Toadette
Mario Party 1 Cartridge
The Inflatable Thwomps From The Great Deflate (MP4)
Mario
Tumble (MP3)
Big Top Drop (MP5)
The Car (MP9 & MP10)
Toad's Midway Madness (MP4)

Mario Party DS Tier
Duel Mode (MP3)
GameCube Microphone (MP6 & MP7)
Kamek (MP2)
Shrek Super Party
The Beat Goes On (MP3)
Rudder Madness (MP8)
Miracle Capsule (MP5)
Kamek's Library (MPDS)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

The Beat Goes On (MP3)
If this had as many inputs as Move To The Music did in MP2, it would be a really solid mini-game. As-is, it's a bathroom break mini-game. The single largest waste of time as everyone has to stand around and listen to a boring tempo and hit buttons in a super easy to remember pattern (the fact that "A" is the only vowel between the three letters makes it very easy to sound out nonsense words for phonetic memory, and that you're reminded of the pattern with every success is too much). Basically everyone has to decide who they want to throw to, otherwise everyone sits around miserable as the game slows to a crawl until someone's brain has a sudden lapse. This wouldn't be terrible if everyone who survived got coins, but it ends in a Draw if you fill out all of your beat lines, meaning that it absolutely is an utter waste of everyone's time. Miserable mini-game, waste of the awesome Spear Guy aesthetic from Paper Mario, the fact that it made the Top 100 is baffling.

Luigi wins by doing absolutely nothing

Toad's Midway Madness (MP4)
Honestly fine once you get out of the bottom-right corner, but the way that the teacups function essentially ensures that two players are going to sit around and have a miserable time while the other two actually get to play the video game. DK's Jungle Adventure in MP1 had a similar issue, but the Whomps blocking your path could be overcome with mini-game wins, and staying in the bottom right was a viable Coin Star farming strategy due to the presence of Koopa Troopa's "Pass Go" mechanics in that game. Here, there's no viable strategy, especially with all item spaces being reduced to Mini-Mega spaces. Almost all of the boards are a victim of the mini-mega system in MP4, and this one is no exception. Sure, you skip all board events, EXCEPT the ones we don't want you to, and the teacups here pretty much guarantee that escape from the starting area is based on turn order and luck. It also suffers from the flavor weaknesses of all of 4's boards - all of them are flat and one-dimensional due to taking place on a weird, techno-themed pathway that hovers over the actual cool parts of the board. There's no real dimension to it, just a bunch of cluttered junk underneath. I do like both of the Mini-Areas, the carousel is cute and the rocket is difficult enough to access (requiring a double mini-check) to make its reward worth it, and the roller coaster is a fun option and improved version of the Creepy Cavern mine carts, but everything interesting on this board is just too hard to access. Not the worst MP4 board, but that's not because of any of its own strengths.

Miracle Capsule (MP5)
As someone who exclusively ran Exodia deck variants through his teen years, this is an insult to assembling the puzzle. You waste Capsule space to lug around these worthless things, especially vulnerable since Mr. Blizzard, Kamek, Magikoopa, and Lakitu's capsules are VERY easy to come across and there's no good way to perform capsule defense. It's an entirely random chance that you get these from a Capsule Machine, no way of manipulating that as ALL capsules in MP5 are gotten through chance, and what does it do? If you get three, it gives all the stars from 1st place to 4th place. No direct benefit to the player who assembles all three pieces of the puzzle, no agency, just a reversal of fortune. This is both harder to accomplish than finding a Wacky Watch AND less impactful, ESPECIALLY when Chance Time is already a capsule. There are so many better ways to mess with the game state for this payoff - changing the turn counter, guaranteed giving you one Bonus Star of your choice at the end of the game, swapping overall stats with a player of your choice, Hell, just let YOU, the one who assembled the damn thing, CHOOSE who you're taking from, as someone might have a Bonus Star lead that leaves you in a less favorable position. It's not like it's hard to put in multiple effects - Cellular Shopper gives you a crapton of permutations on its own. If something's going to be this obtuse to get, it should allow a great deal more control or chaos than "one guaranteed deathblow to a single player". The epitome of wasted potential in a game full of it.

Waluigi
Waluigi had about as low-impact of a debut that a superstar could have. He came up in Mario Tennis as a tag partner, and Luigi, not even MARIO, said "Luigi not afraid" in his opening promo. Luigi, who was afraid of everything, who lacked self confidence, felt no threat, immediately burying Waluigi. Mario Party 3 was Waluigi's rehab attempt after his botched intro, and they tried HARD. Throwing him in a Last Man Standing match against Bowser is a risky move - Bowser's a topcarder by every estimation, but he'd been saddled with a comedy "Koopa Tunes" gimmick for weeks before the match. It was almost like Waluigi needed an excuse to be able to beat him, but a clean win over Bowser where Mario is not somehow involved is nothing to sneeze at. Naming the next PPV after taking over the show and getting the Mischief Title is pretty damn solid, too. Successfully doctored and ready for a marquee match against Luigi, where would the Wah go from here?

Please watch my 17 minute Waluigi Career Retrospective for more information: https://youtu.be/Bn-1F8ezfV8

It's Waluigi. He's very good and a personality juggernaut. It's a good time whenever anyone picks him, his dice block in Super is above average, he's got a high tier partner in Duel Mode, and a mid tier Orb in 7. He's fun and a good addition to any party. Great voice lines and animations in general, just a staple of games. It doesn't feel right if Waluigi's available and SOMEONE'S not playing as him.

Cake Factory (MP2)
The fun comes only if your partner is bad and breaks their spine attempting to pick up a strawberry. Got good music, fun concept. Once you know the visual cue for the timing (In front of you while it's slow, when it passes by the middle of the platter when it's going faster) it becomes a bit trivial, but it's a very solid 2v2 because of how simple it is for either party to screw up and get mad at the other.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)
Mario Party 2 OST
Hexagon Heat (MP2)
Mushroom Mix-Up (MP1)
Game Guy (MP3)
Day At The Races (MP2)
Waluigi

Super Star Tier
Space Land (MP2)
Faire Square (MP6)
Unique Character Dice Blocks (SMP)
Lights Out (MP2)
Waluigi's Island (MP3)
Luigi Wins By Doing Absolutely Nothing
Monty Mole (SMP)
Toad (Playable)
Slapparazzi (SMP)
Chance Time
Super Duel Mode (MP5)

Happening Star Tier
Koopa Kid
Cake Factory (MP2)
Bumper Balls
The Big Boo (MP2)
Kamekguy
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)
Skeleton Key (MP3)
Shake It Up (MP8)
Mario Party 8
Mix-And-Match Amiibo Party Boards (MP10)

Red Star Tier
Wiggler (MP2)
Toadette
Mario Party 1 Cartridge
The Inflatable Thwomps From The Great Deflate (MP4)
Mario
Tumble (MP3)
The Car (MP9 & MP10)
Toad's Midway Madness (MP4)

Mario Party DS Tier
Duel Mode (MP3)
Kamek (MP2)
The Beat Goes On (MP3)
Miracle Capsule (MP5)
Kamek's Library (MPDS)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Sonic Shuffle's okay. I mean, it's better than Mario Party DS, at least. But you're right, that's too cruel of a ranking.

Kamekguy
Shocking proof that you need absolutely zero technical skill in order to win at Mario Party. His ability to actually win mini-games against opponents that aren't children or computers is shockingly low, his button-mashing ability is inconsistent and only works in 3-second spurts rather than endurance games (good at Abandon Ship, awful at Mecha Marathon), and his luck is unimpressive. But damn he talks a lot and likes hitting the map button. Board strategy is big for him, and either he will pull ahead in the Last Five Turns and hope to steal the Coin Star in order to overcome the mini-game star deficit or pull ahead and lose by Bonus Stars if he didn't get the chance to farm Happening. Said "no" to getting a Star once and it paid off. Only occasionally first place, but his save file says that Donkey Kong's won on Horror Land, like, 57 times more than the 2nd place finisher, and is very, very seldom last place. Is very bad at Chance Time.

Unique Dice For Each Character
Honestly I'm a fan of the concept. Does it make certain characters just blatantly better than others? Yeah, but it adds a really neat strategic element to the game that could be helped with the ally system. Honestly, it's the Ally System forcing you to take a +1-2 to your roll that ruins the system - you could have so much depth with so many characters if you were able to keep a consistent dice roll whilst collecting dice to improve your options, just move the player off of the Ally space after getting one so that Donkey Kong doesn't have a 60% chance to farm allies all game, or make them a resource to purchase that moves like Stars. It's a really good and interesting mechanic that kneecaps itself with board implementation, but the idea itself is REALLY interesting. Plus you can just gentleman not to use character dice if you really love Yoshi and now he sucks or you really love Bowser and now your friends won't play with you anymore.

Mix-and-Match Board Customization in Amiibo Party
A really cool idea, but the lack of junctions severely cripple the overall effectiveness of the board. There's some really cool stuff in here, like how Wario's board pieces rep both WarioWare and Wario Land, or how Bowser's board forces Bowser mini-games to happen. Individual character motifs for each section are also really good, even if DK can't ever get a song that isn't DK Island Swing in any spin-off ever. The only problem is that it's as straightforward of a board game as you can get. If you could arrange different pieces - have part of the Luigi board start in Luigi's mansion, but then cross into the WarioWare Game Factory at a diagonal, for instance - and just close off the junctions or act as teleporters or something if the pieces wouldn't fit together, it'd open up so many possibilities for exceptional, flexible board designs. Mario Party is full of stuff where the idea is GREAT but the execution is an afterthought.

Mario Party 1 Cartridge
It's alright. Mario's big mug punching up a dice block, yup, that's Mario Party. If you please, you can imagine that he wants to fist bump you rather than punch you in the jaw, and I would assume that would be more pleasant. Nintendo 64 carts lack end labels unless you make them yourself, though, which make them a lot less pretty to display on a shelf or collect than NES or SNES, and Mario Party doesn't have the big brain that DK64's cart has to be immediately recognizable at a glance. It's also got Mario Party 2's cart to compete with, and few things in life are more powerful than Cowboy Mario doing the Jotaro Point right at your face.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)
Mario Party 2 OST
Hexagon Heat (MP2)
Mushroom Mix-Up (MP1)
Game Guy (MP3)
Day At The Races (MP2)

Super Star Tier
Space Land (MP2)
Faire Square (MP6)
Unique Character Dice Blocks (SMP)
Lights Out (MP2)
Waluigi's Island (MP3)
Monty Mole (SMP)
Toad (Playable)
Slapparazzi (SMP)
Chance Time
Super Duel Mode (MP5)

Happening Star Tier
Koopa Kid
Bumper Balls
The Big Boo (MP2)
Kamekguy
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)
Skeleton Key (MP3)
Shake It Up (MP8)
Mario Party 8
Mix-And-Match Amiibo Party Boards (MP10)

Red Star Tier
Wiggler (MP2)
Toadette
Mario Party 1 Cartridge
The Inflatable Thwomps From The Great Deflate (MP4)
Mario
Tumble (MP3)
The Car (MP9 & MP10)

Mario Party DS Tier
Duel Mode (MP3)
Kamek (MP2)
Kamek's Library (MPDS)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Viridi (tough one though, either could easily beat whoever they're up against next round)
Bowser Jr.
???
Groose

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Toad becoming playable starting in MP5
Man, Toad was a king in the N64 days. Sitting there, watching you play whatever, suffering through Mini-Game Island, then revealing that he's an absolute boss at Mario Party and thrashing you at Slot Car Derby. Encouraging you, "aw c'mon champ, you can beat me THIS time. Guy gets kidnapped by Bowser, doesnt even flinch, just keeps selling you stars like usual. You cant beat Metal Bowser after Bowser reveals he had a zenkai boost after Mario 64 to make him Giant Swing-immune? Toad tosses you the Spirit Bomb of star power in order to toss him across the galaxy. Even in Mario Party 3, where his role was greatly reduced, the man can smell your greed and refuses to reward you for being an ass with his item questions, and insults your intelligence in MPIQ. Things started going downhill for Toad with 4, where he proved that he was inessential as a host, and his Bowser Bop mini-game was easy and dragged him down to mortal status. Out of the characters we received in 5, Toad made the most sense for joining the party - hes a good choice, you have people enjoying him for being THE STRONGEST in Mario 2, and he fulfills a niche of tiny but mighty that none of the other characters filled. Was it worth what we lost? Absolutely not, Pink Boo and Chain Chomp are crappy substitutes for the sheer beauty that was Boo Classic, and I lost my main and identity that day, scrambling to figure out what to do. But Toads addition as playable? Absolutely fine. Good, smart idea even, bringing the God down to Earth slowly through several games until it didnt seem unfair to use his power.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)
Mario Party 2 OST
Hexagon Heat (MP2)
Mushroom Mix-Up (MP1)
Game Guy (MP3)
Day At The Races (MP2)

Super Star Tier
Space Land (MP2)
Faire Square (MP6)
Lights Out (MP2)
Waluigi's Island (MP3)
Monty Mole (SMP)
Toad (Playable)
Slapparazzi (SMP)
Chance Time
Super Duel Mode (MP5)

Happening Star Tier
Koopa Kid
Bumper Balls
The Big Boo (MP2)
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)
Skeleton Key (MP3)
Shake It Up (MP8)
Mario Party 8

Red Star Tier
Wiggler (MP2)
Toadette
The Inflatable Thwomps From The Great Deflate (MP4)
Mario
Tumble (MP3)
The Car (MP9 & MP10)

Sonic Shuffle Tier
Duel Mode (MP3)
Kamek (MP2)
Kamek's Library (MPDS)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

I disagree with this, Yoshi's is absolutely bottom tier with him (yet I always pick Yoshi when I can because Yoshi is my Ride or Die boy through and through) but Monty Mole's dice block is absolutely horrendous and Mario's is better. You want anything that is more different than the standard dice and Monty Mole's is literally the same except a +1 coin instead of a 1 roll. I can accept his animation and expression during mini games reasons but I will absolutely OBJECT to his die being better than Mario's.

I value stall a lot more than others. Avoiding exactly 1 ahead of you will almost always be better than avoiding 2 or 4 ahead, just because you have the potential to farm a single Event Space. It's not a GREAT option, he's strictly an inferior Shy Guy in every way (and Shy Guy's, like, mid tier), but he has a 1/6 chance of farming and I respect that if, for some reason, you hate using Rosalina, Shy Guy, Waluigi, Wario, Diddy Kong, Bowser, AND Donkey Kong.

Game Guy (MP3)
First off, Shy Guy with a bow tie. You may not like it, but this is what peak character design looks like.

With how much weaker the Bowser Space is in MP3, I'm so glad that we get a space with some TEETH to it. Guaranteed risk all of your coins in order to put it all on the line is REALLY strong. Better yet, every single option that is not a pure x2 multiplier is intensely risky, so whilst you CAN go for an absolutely ridiculous result, it's intensely unlikely to happen, and requires a roll that no one would want to get in order to make it happen (you're not gonna risk 75 coins on Game Guy when you have enough to both get a Magic Lamp and steal a star with that total). Honestly, he's got a shockingly fair casino - Lucky 7's is blackjack where you win in a tie, and the guy actively tells you if he falls off and you're on 1 "there is literally no risk to rolling again to try to max out your coins". Sweet Surprise has a consistently reliable bet in Big Chomp. Magic Boxes is just straight up a coin flip with Press Your Luck mechanics. The ONLY one where you're likely to lose coins from the outset is Game Guy Roulette. It says a lot that the Bowser Phone is a common item, but Game Guy's Lucky Charm is a rare one - nothing has shake-up potential quite like this guy. I might have liked it if the item version let the user choose how many coins were being wagered, but I love the space as an all-or-nothing. It's a great addition that I wish would return, perhaps with a few more mini-games so that the very consistent Sweet Surprise showed up a little less often.

Super Duel Mode (MP5)
The flavor on this mode is off the charts. Every character getting their own, named vehicle that you have to fight them in the finals in order to figure out? An actual incentive to playing specific types of mini-games? Hosted by the nerd star who would totally be into mecha? Nice. There's actually a lot of really cute conveniences to this mode - being able to save vehicles to a specific memory card so you can grind one out on your own save file to fight a friend's, Donkey Kong being unlockable along with all of his random-stat parts and death banana cannon, variations slowly scaling with the difficulty? Sure, there are better weapons and builds than others, but the possibility and flexibility is really fun to see! It's great to see Mario Party give a reason to have coins, and while that would be improved eventually with the Duty-Free Shop in 7 (I think tying it to Stars in 6 wasn't entirely great comparatively), it doesn't quite have the cool factor of this one. It's not the best diversion of 5, not when Card Party exists... but I mean, it's better than actually playing Mario Party 5! That counts for something, right?

The Car (MP9 & MP10)
Yup don't like it. Not because it's non-traditional - please, the last three games were stuffed to the brim with non-traditional gimmick boards - but because it removes some of the better systems from previous games. The scope of items is toned down drastically from the Orb/Candy heydays since you can't really safeguard or trap spaces anymore, only doing things to affect yourself. You can still dick other players over, but usually only the one directly behind you. You do have to consider your position and where your roll with put the others behind you, but with three turns to consider and a wide range of rolls, that doesn't do you as much good as it could. For a few boards, and DEFINITELY for Bowser Party where this format shines, I think it could've been a good gimmick. But the fact that it overtakes the entire system is frustrating and limiting. Shoots itself in its own wheels.

Kamek's Library (MPDS)
The worst classic-style board in the entire series Do you like Mystery Land, going around in loops forever? Well, what if we made it so that there are ONLY two or three happening spaces on each isolated area instead of, like, 8? And THEN what if we added the Neon Heights gimmick of having three Star Spaces that you have to pay slightly less for, but one of them sends you back to start! In a board where it's AGONIZING to target any place OTHER than the start area? Oh, but a Warp Block could fix that, assuredly... except in Mario Party DS, the Warp Block was changed so that instead of swapping with another player, you're just teleported to a random space. In a board with an event where Kamek rotates everyone around is the non-teleportation based Happening Event. You might be able to say there's some merit to hexing the spaces around the teleporters... but that's the easy, dominant strategy. EVERYONE is going to want to do that, so strategy becomes overcentralized or just a rush to pick up the absurdly low-priced Star Pipe in this game. Absolutely the worst "fake star" map in the series due to the mitigated usefulness of Mushrooms, one of the worst "segmented map" boards in the series, combined with the absolute weakest item selection of games that actually have items. And wonderfully plodding, tinny music. An utterly miserable time.

Mario Party 2 OST
I use it commonly in videos, because I think 1 and 2 have absolutely killer OST's for mood. Woody's theme is the most failure-iffic song, all of the board themes have very strong melodies, with Space Land and Western Land being utterly exceptional in that regard. "This Way That" is probably the most 'cartoon hijinx' song that you could ask for (weird that it's strapped to Crane Game of all things instead of, like, Grab Bag), and the credits theme starts out incredibly strong, matching or surpassing MK64 or SM64's in just comfortable emotional impact... and then it goes a little goofy and simply becomes very good and comforting. Sound design in this game is just fantastic all around, matching cartoon hijinx whilst still retaining strong melodies. I don't think it's QUITE as good as Mario Party 1's - it's hard to match Mario's Rainbow Castle and the Credits theme there, Mitsuda does some awesome work - but I'd call it standout music insofar as its ability to fit a theme. If it were in a video or something, I'd smile and be able to pick out the song immediately as from Mario Party 2, and probably remember the mini-game and tone, so it's more than doing its job.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Koopa Kid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inWQAC5Zk5c#t=56m18s

Timestamp pretty much sums up my feelings on Koopa Kid: hes an intentional child troll, and its pretty great. Technically, Koopa Kid only showed up in the Gamecube Mario Parties - Baby Bowsers were the guys in Mario Party through MP3, though they slide into their role nicely starting in MP3. Koopa Kid has his highs and his lows - he effectively brings the Bowser Space to its lowest point in MP4 by locking all of Bowsers fun events behind his stupid mug showing up instead. However, when hes allowed to be next to Bowser is when he can really shine - Koopa Kid desperately fanning Bowser in order to calm him down is pretty fantastic. Him being an utter joke in Super Duel Mode in 5 also really establishes his place as completely pathetic. You play Koopa Kid when youre trying to be ironic, or you really desperately want to play as Bowser and are willing to settle for the most pitiful alternative out there. However I really hate him in single-player once he splits into three. Those designs are just IMPRESSIVELY ugly in all regards.

Honestly Ive come down harder on the little guy than Ive wanted to. Hes annoying in every respect, but he absolutely sends a message when youre playing as him: you want to win with the worst thats out there. Playing as him lets your friends know that you are not worthy of respect, but if they lose to you, they are beneath that which has no dignity. He IS Mario Party, in all of its hatred and disappointment. If we count Baby Bowser hes MUCH higher, but I feel like being pedantic today.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)
Hexagon Heat (MP2)
Mushroom Mix-Up (MP1)
Day At The Races (MP2)

Super Star Tier
Space Land (MP2)
Faire Square (MP6)
Lights Out (MP2)
Waluigi's Island (MP3)
Monty Mole (SMP)
Slapparazzi (SMP)
Chance Time

Happening Star Tier
Koopa Kid
Bumper Balls
The Big Boo (MP2)
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)
Skeleton Key (MP3)
Shake It Up (MP8)
Mario Party 8

Red Star Tier
Wiggler (MP2)
Toadette
The Inflatable Thwomps From The Great Deflate (MP4)
Mario
Tumble (MP3)

Sonic Shuffle Tier
Duel Mode (MP3)
Kamek (MP2)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Space Land (MP2)
In a game with great board music and themes, this has arguably the best one. Neon highways with stoned drivers, Black Hole Bowser in his crappy Robotnik mech, an efficient police force that has to be bribed to do its damn job - it's a fun board to look at. Balance-wise, it probably has one of the best Skeleton Key gates in the series, letting you avoid a bank space, escape a potential Happening Space infinite, access a Chance Time, AND see Boo. Actual uses for Skeleton Keys in MP2 are ALWAYS a good thing. The board is small enough with enough branching paths that you're never stuck in one area unless you're sitting in the top left and didn't get an item to let you escape it (which... why would you do that? What are you even doing, the shop was RIGHT THERE). Bowser's countdown, however, is unfortunately pretty weak. The diagonal he shoots at is only useful if you're trying to get positional advantage toward the star, and usually that'll be an early-game move. In order to really abuse the countdown in the middle, you need to make a conservative effort to abuse the loop on the right with a Mushroom, at which point... whatcha doin', mate? You could be getting Boo with that, who is intensely tempting and gets out of the Bowser Beam's way in a hurry. Bowser Bomb remains a more efficient way of screwing everyone out of all of their coins. Its item game is good, nice and learnable, and its duel game is one of the better ones, but requires a learning curve for when the damn time bomb actually starts counting down. It's the poster child for "great board design", but it doesn't quite slip into the tippity top tiers. Probably the 3rd best board in one of the strongest board selections in the series.

Inflatable Thwomps From The Great Deflate (MP4)
Spiky Thwomp > Blue Thwomp. The only exception to this is in Mario Kart 64, where they have the evil pitched-down Wario laugh and mock you for hitting them. With that said, it's a pretty good demonstration of the Gamecube's finesse in rendering objects, but if it were really good, it'd get sadder as you deflate it. And it's in a weird mix of Totem Pole Pound and Balloon Burst, which were better on their own than they were mixed together. I guess I like the sound design, though.

Tumble (MP3)
Insofar as hosts go, he's one of the weaker ones. You never really get a good read on the guy's personality - sometimes he's encouraging you to fight forward, other times he's worried and underestimating you that no one can POSSIBLY get THIS star. The fact that his host duties are undermined by the Millennium Star in most situations also limits his appeal. I guess he gets being the one plot twist in the Mario Party series, but Honestly the Fake Millennium Star was better anyway. AND turned everyone into weird dolls in a cardboard world. Tumble just kinda sat around like the DBZ Supreme Kai and let everything happen.. He's CUTE but he's... kind of absolutely nothing else AND is overshadowed as a host in his own game? At least he gets Mario Party Advance cameos?

Skeleton Key (MP3)
Its usefulness absolutely depends on the board. In Waluigi's Island, it's nearly useless, a Reverse Mushroom or a regular Mushroom will accomplish what it can do a good 80% of the time. In Chilly Waters, it's a godsend in order to get a fast Boo without needing to traverse the entire map or risk your Golden Mushroom on a random slippery slope. On Spiny Desert, having it and a Reverse Mushroom and heading to the top right of the map is nearly busted, can easily hit Boo three times in two turns. However, this is the thing you're gonna be discarding more than anything else. It is pure disappointment when you get a Hidden Block and the only thing inside is a Skeleton Key. Baby Bowser will clog your inventory with this junk and you'll throw away at least two in the process of trying to get more item. I like that they took the joke of it clogging up the inventory of MP2 and rolled with it, but the movement options offered in MP3 makes it less useful than in MP2. Also the keys are less cute in this game, that's an issue. It's a good option, especially since it's available in both shops, but rarely is it the best option or particularly exciting to have. More just stumbling into something half-decent.

Waluigi's Island (MP3)
Probably the 2nd best board in Mario Party 3! Too bad that doesn't mean as much when only three of the boards are particularly good! The lore of this board is so strong - Waluigi hiring Piranha Plants and his own construction company to destroy Luigi's house and make a stupid, booby-trapped island is kind of amazing. I like the Happening Space Circle to farm Happening Star here a lot more than I do in Spiny Desert, as you're essentially giving up Coin Star due to the big dynamite gimmick. Central splitter is a beginner's trap (you just hit the button when the arrow you want to go in is lit up, you'll get the timing right at every speed), and the Island of Rotating Spaces is really damn fun, very nasty idea that it has two Star Spawns right up there. However, it has the absolute worst Skeleton Key gates in the entire series, and it locks Boo and a star spawn behind an unskippable 50/50 chance check. I know that Bowser's Magma Mountain did something similar, but that fit in with the far more dickish nature of Mario Party 1. Locking you out of Boo - THE prime source of all strife, inter-personal debates, and grudges in Mario Party board play - is never a strong idea. The utter chaos of the dynamite pile and isle o' many spaces makes up for it, but keeps it from tasting true greatness. This is a board where everyone suffers; you will not actively lose friends playing it unless you adamantly insisted that you play on this board.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Naye745 posted...
and i thought it was hilarious! imo, if you're not willing to accept the silly nonsense in mario party, you should not be playing mario party

Absolutely, gotta roll with the punches in Mario Party. They just started removing the thing's teeth as time went on from "can definitely screw someone, but who knows who benefits from it" to "random" to "what is pachinko" to utterly neutered.

Day At The Races
https://pastebin.com/UJNPkrbQ

That explains and breaks down all the odds for every single racer. The fact that childhood beliefs of "oh Whomp looks sad" or "Boo has the best odds" are, in fact, TRUE is great. It becomes a lot closer to actual horse racing this way. I'm always a fan of luck-based mini-games being Battle games; putting a ton at risk and only having your gumption to get through is fantastic. Screaming at Boo for tripping when he has no feet, Whomp defeating people by just trying very hard and his forehead counting as crossing the finish line, Bob-omb choosing to end his own life and light himself on fire just to win a race - all fantastic. Too bad Thwomp sucks. And that DatR is only the second-best luck-based battle game in its own game.

Monty Mole (SMP)
Honestly he's more flexible than Mario and Yoshi. Utterly adorable animations, a brilliant choice to round out Bowser's villains crew. Also has the best contextual animation in the entire game, where when he has to bop another Monty Mole during a mini-game, his eyes shoot wide open and he looks so distressed. That's the kind of little detail I LIVE for.

Wiggler (MP2)
The Hootenanny event is only weakened due to the board that it's on. Western Land has two Boos, so there really isn't a good place on the perimeter to stick it for the sake of space denial. Swap its placement with the Item Shop and it's SUPER deadly and worth it. That said, getting everyone blackout drunk on milk is always fun. I do think that the Wario's Battle Canyon Fly Guy and his 10 coin cost is better bang for your buck than Wiggler's 20 coin cost, but Wiggler accusing you of hating parties and fun if you don't want everyone to get drunk on milk is pretty solid. And it CAN be used for temporary denial... it's just not as strong since you put everyone roughly 3 turns away from Boo. Sub-par in pretty much all regards.

The Big Boo (MP2)
The epitome of "cool but impractical". Due to being night-only AND behind a skeleton key door, you're in a rough place trying to get him unless you're going first and are on a mid-day cycle. Even then, it is going to be incredibly rare that you're going to 1. get 150 coins in order to steal three stars and 2. have three targets to steal from. It is far more economical and effective to go through the middle Boo row. However, there is one element that The Big Boo does very well: fear. Absolute terror that someone might get the most devastating power in the entire game overrides the logic that it's not actually that great. There is no point in choosing to play on Horror Land and NOT trying to flex on everyone by hitting Big Boo.

Shake It Up (MP8)
Amazingly, competitive jerking it is one of the most enjoyable mini-games of the MP8 bunch. Everyone has a good time.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)
Hexagon Heat (MP2)
Mushroom Mix-Up (MP1)
Day At The Races (MP2)

Super Star Tier
Faire Square (MP6)
Lights Out (MP2)
Monty Mole (SMP)
Slapparazzi (SMP)
Chance Time

Happening Star Tier
Bumper Balls
The Big Boo (MP2)
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)
Shake It Up (MP8)
Mario Party 8

Red Star Tier
Wiggler (MP2)
Toadette
Mario

Sonic Shuffle Tier
Duel Mode (MP3)
Kamek (MP2)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Raka_Putra posted...

Toadette is actually really adorable and totally worth the coins! I like her color scheme a lot.

It's a cute color scheme! I just see her as a half-measure between a lot of characters. Hot Pink's a good color, though!

Mushroom Mix-Up (MP1)
This is the classic. I mean, I assume it sucks if you're colorblind, then it may not be a classic, but there's so many good strats to this game. Jumping into the water just as the mushroom start to rise to psyche your opponents out, ground pounding on an opponent hogging the edge in order to return to center, body blocking when they're desperately trying to leap to safety, "Long Live The King"ing them into the briny abyss. I also appreciate Toad being the host, so often are one of Bowser's minions in charge of a mini-game, but Toad proves to be just as cruel of a taskmaster as Hammer Bro or Shy Guy. Just a relief and fun whenever it shows up on the roulette. Has a better aesthetic than Hexagon Heat, too.

Mario
I understand why you would pick Mario in Mario Party and Mario Party 2. If Luigi's taken, you still need someone to be heroic, despite the lack of personality and inferior voice lines. You may delude yourself into thinking you're an altruistic destined hero, but this is Mario Party. If you're playing with that line of logic, your soul animal is already Wario, so either you're deluding yourself or someone's already picked him. And I guess you just hate animals and girls or whatever, or don't want the CPU's in 2 to pick a character who likes Mushrooms instead of the far more situational Skeleton Keys or Warp Blocks.

That excuse goes out the window as soon as Waluigi and Daisy come in and have personality pouring out of their single-polygon ears. Mario is the equivalent of white bread: all filler, no killer. You lack the exceptional voice lines of Wario or Luigi, the obnoxiousness of Peach, the cuteness of Yoshi, the weird jank hitboxes of Waluigi or DK... you simply exist. You serve your function... okay, I guess, but that's about it. You do not become a Mario main by choice, you do it out of circumstance. Or you really, REALLY love Super Mario 64 and that is the ONLY Mario game you love other than Mario Party, which means you have incredibly specific and strange tastes.

Every time Mario gets to be unique, he's a disappointment. Partner in duel mode? Koopa Troopa, a boring choice that's uber-defensive, but lacks the economy advantage of Peach or taking the intentional nerf in picking DK's Whomp. You're not keeping things interesting or playing to win, you're just... playing, I guess. Fireball orb in 7? Worse Bowser Suit, with all of the "potential to roll low" drawbacks, and none of the incredibly broken benefits of Peach, Boo, or Toad's orbs. Even his dice block in Super is incredibly boring: 1-3-3-3-5-6. The spread lacks the consistency of Daisy or Shy Guy, and has the exact same odds as just rolling the damn regular dice, unless you REALLY hate the numbers 2 or 4 VERY specifically. But in almost every scenario, another block is going to be better or more interesting (except maybe Yoshi's, poor Yoshi).

There are only two redeeming qualities to Mario that keep him out of the dredges of Mario Party. The first is that in MP2 and MP3, during the last five turns, a Whomp has a chance of showing up and predicting who will win. Whomp is such a Mario fanboy that he will pick Mario EVERY time, giving him 10 coins. I am glad that GameFAQs Mario followed suit with a last-minute boost every time, as Mario rigging things in his favor by being Freakin' Mario is canon based on this. He also has an incredible taunt in 7 where, instead of annoying grunts and sounds, Mario yells out "Hey, Stinky!" This is a top-tier taunt, and while it's not worth choosing Mario because of his low-tier personal orb, it is pretty exceptional. But that's about it. You aren't playing Mario Party for Mario; it ain't Smash, he isn't inherently fun, he simply is.

Mario Party 8
A tale of two games. You have some of the best boards in the series (with one being in contention for THE best board) filled with strategy, proper uses for every candy (and the candy oozes charm with its effects), some of the best 2v2 minigames, Blooper as a playable character who is utterly adorable, and that one funny moped game where a Thwomp rides a moped.It also has some of the most luck-based, "go through the motions" boards since 1 with none of 1's utter propensity to dick players over, perhaps THE WORST selection of 4-player mini-games in the entire series, the worst final boss, the worst Bowser board, and the Golden Space that utterly destroys any sense of other strategy as "just target that space" will see you through MAJORLY. Mc Ballyhoo also exists, and I like him - he's perfectly annoying and his HAW HAW HAW sound clips are very easy to mockingly imitate. Being frustrated is good in Mario Party. Ultimately, I do prefer having good boards to having good mini-games, especially in the randomized bonus star world where being the best at mini-games guarantees nothing (a mark against it but whatever). I find 8 neither a step up or down from 7 - just making it a lot more uneven in between the 'good' and 'bad'. It's a Mario Party of extremes.

Chance Time
Next to the Bowser Space, definitely the space that varies the most in quality from game to game! MP1 had a really unique system where every time a Star was obtained, the space that it occupied would turn into a Chance Time space. 2 had a center dice block with totally consistent cycles based on what turn it was that started in the same place in the cycle every time, making it THE most abusable Chance Time in the series. From then on, it started getting weirder - 3 stopped letting you choose the order of the wheels, 4 turned it into a weird pachinko machine, 5 and 6 had a rough system where if you were on a team, you could target your teammate and then the whole thing would be considered defunct, and then 7 gave the thing a damn failure chance making it completely neutered. It's peaked at 2 and has gotten weaker with every iteration of Mario Party, until it's a sad shadow of its former self, like Blizzard or WWE Return Kurt Angle. Accounting for its bullshit with unstealable bonus stars is part of the game, so I fully encourage its presence, but later game weakness makes it a lot more depressing an entry. At least we still have the memories, you can never take away from the legend.

Hexagon Heat (MP2)
It's slightly better than Mushroom Mix-Up because it's in a less shitty world in Mini-Game Coaster than Mix-Up's world in Mini-Game Island. Cast Aways bullshit.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)
Hexagon Heat (MP2)
Mushroom Mix-Up (MP1)

Super Star Tier
Faire Square (MP6)
Lights Out (MP2)
Slapparazzi (SMP)
Chance Time

Happening Star Tier
Bumper Balls
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)
Mario Party 8

Red Star Tier
Toadette
Mario

Sonic Shuffle Tier
Duel Mode (MP3)
Kamek (MP2)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Aah I see, my bad, was thinking of it as a counter-operative kind of game. My main impetus with the arrows was to have a player be immediately threatened by an enemy and, thus, more likely to try to eliminate a specific threat, along with taking away pure chance elements, but it makes a lot more sense in a co-op game for that to be less of the case. Sorry if that was too long or assertive!

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Hell yeah go my Kirbo

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Bumper Balls (MP1 & MP2)
Some would say that Bumper Balls is a fun game of bumper cars but with fun balls. They are wrong. Some would say that Bumper Balls is a game that always ends in a draw because two players bump into each other infinitely at the end. They are also wrong. Bumper Balls is a game of politics, plain and simple. The lower players wordlessly communicate to bounce each other into the winning player, knocking them out. Once the undesirables are eliminated, you have roughly 30 seconds to debate who deserves 10 coins more and what they can do in order for you to give them the win. As this counts toward the mini-game star, this is FAR more valuable than trying to convince them not to steal from you with Boo. It is the stage of destiny on which alliances are formed. But... yeah it kinda sucks 1v1 if your opponent isn't willing to play ball. The hilly variation in 2 helps that, though! I wish it were the only one there! Evens out to about middle of the road, entirely dependent on who you're playing with if it's good or boring.

MP1 Bower Balls > MP2 Star Balls

Toadette
Man, Toad just wasn't the same after he gargled salt water and rusted nails down his throat when the Gamecube came out. Toadette represents the lesser of two evils - you want to be cute mushroom, but you don't want to have an ear-piercing screech. However, she faces stiff competition from Peach and Daisy in the "girl power" department, and from Yoshi and Boo in the "cute" department. AND she is gated behind a 30 star wall in Mario Party 6, something that you COULD spend unlocking Clockwork Castle or more CPU difficulties. She's FINE, but she's far from an instantly appealing choice.

Lights Out (MP2)
Actually a rather clever way of solving the issue with Mario Party 1's hammers! Bash 'n' Cash and Coin Block Blitz were supremely gimped by how predictable the hammer was (B&C less so because that's just delicious cruelty incarnate), simply by removing the ability to see the hammer player. Actual jump scares can happen if the hammer player's any good, and the lightbulb players not being able to jump is especially nice. Vertical slam is absolutely useless, not only is its range worse, but horizontal slam leaves the corpses of the fallen for their living counterparts to trip on, making circling the perimeter rough. It's a pretty fair game for all four players, good fighting game. Not quite tippity top tier as neither role feels ENTIRELY great to be (hammer feels clunky at times and the powerlessness of the light bulb players limits options to constantly making survival-based mind games), but it's very good.

Duel Mode (MP3)
SO much better in concept than it is in practice. Some of the maps (Backtrack, Mr. Mover) are actively unplayable, and the rest range from bad to "yeah I guess Blowhard's alright". Giving each character their own signature partner is a great idea, but Wario and DK might as well not exist with how bad their starters are (Wario a lot moreso). Needing to change a partner with every Start loop and the Lucky Roulette only showing up every three turns makes crafting a party just unfun. The Miss chance ruins the limited number of interactions the players actually have (there is NOTHING worse than succeeding the 2/5ths roll for Baby Bowser to transform, only for Bowser to miss), and Piranha Plant's kinda broken if you have 20 or more coins, they did NOT need to give his 'extra dice' gimmick to that partner. The worst thing, though, is the "Restore Heart Pieces" chance on the Happening Spaces - absolutely disheartening to get one of these as it just resets the game state. So much of this mode can be boiled down to "I sure do hope I roll high enough to continue stalling the game and maybe run out the clock", which is an absolute shame. There are so many little things that could be done - having Pipesqueak have a consistent rotation like Eternal Star that can get reset to another system, choosing one of three random partners from each Start pass, introducing just the Poison and Reverse Mushrooms to the game, reducing Thwomp's salary or swapping him with your partner in back after he's crushed someone - that would bring out this mode's full potential. But for the most part it's just... bad. The song's a bop, though. Not the Story Mode one, that one sucks.

Faire Square (MP6)
The shell game to the right side of the board is just a free star during the Day. That's the only real flaw with this board; that game being too easy overcentralizes the mechanics, making it "get a star in the center at night, head to the right side during the day, swoop back in at night if it's lower than 20, get more cup stars if it's higher". The conceit of the board is amazing - high price haggling to cash in all of your chips at once, gambling to make the high count not snowball too much and leave those who get a slow start in the dust, and a high-interest area to booby trap the crap out of with orbs. Orb placement shines in this board due to that, and it's a great place to grind stars to get Clockwork/make everyone feel important in spite of you being much better at Mario Party than them. It's really only got that one issue keeping it from greatness - no complaints with the rest, even the star-gambling Happening Space.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)

Super Star Tier
Faire Square (MP6)
Lights Out (MP2)
Slapparazzi (SMP)

Happening Star Tier
Bumper Balls
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)

Red Star Tier
Toadette

Sonic Shuffle Tier
Duel Mode (MP3)
Kamek (MP2)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Punnyz posted...

were you able to win the tug of war games in Mario party 1?

One of the routes had Tug-O-War, which was the 1v3 rotation game where you're the 1. The other route starts with Cast Aways, which was the weird fishing rod one that ALSO had you rotate to mimic reeling in the line. The fishing one sucks significantly more for having you try to control how strong you flick the N64's crummy stick.

Slapparazzi (SMP)
Funny game is funny. Positioning is based on timing your punch right before the camera flash, meaning that the usual jank of Mario Party character models is mitigated somewhat by there being a proper, if not easily detected, timing to shove the big-body boys out of the way. Everyone has a good time and actively screams at each other and insults the body types of Mario characters. Very good game, if a bit imprecise and questionable as to how exactly it determines who's the most prominent in the photo sometimes.

Kamek (MP2)
Yo low-key, Darkness Lamp sucks. You pay 10 coins in Horror Land in order to shift time from Day to Night. The issue with this is, there are more than 10 spaces in between the Darkness Lamp and Big Boo, who will steal coins or stars from all three players only at night, AND Big Boo is behind a skeleton key door, so you can't mushroom to guarantee Big Boo. Using the lamp also turns it to night immediately, meaning that once your turn ends, you'll shift to late night, essentially giving you one turn to roll high and get Big Boo. The only time the Darkness Lamp is useful is if you're at the top left-corner of the board to start the turn (or bottom-left Mr I Warp), roll very high, AND it's early day AND you have a Skeleton Key, or someone's about to go into the 2-boo alley through the center of the map and you wanna immobilize Whomp to prevent that... which only really matters if you have the star lead. And worst of all? This bastard is the one sober enough after an all-night bender in a mansion to wake up and ask if you want to fund his party, then not invite you to it. He's an ass who brings alcohol to a party and then acts too superior and noble to drink it. Kamek sucks.

Booksquirm (MP4)
Probably among the best 4-player mini-games in the series. There are few arguments that cannot be solved with a game of Booksquirm. It is fair, it is relentless, and it is always tense. And it has the stupid goofy "eh, whatever happens happens" music going on in the background. The chance for dicking your friends over is minimal due to no jumps to cause the 'flatten' state, and in spite of that, you can STILL get accusations of shoving someone into the crush zone. It's the envy of mini-games and deserves its spot as a legend.

Control Stick Spinning (MP1)
Some would say scarring and blistering your hand is a detriment, but that's a FEATURE. The reason it sucked so much was that the N64 control stick was the equivalent of driving a plastic spoon into your hand after chewing on it for a while and rubbing it down. With alternate controllers, it still burns, but it goes from "intolerable" to "it hurts". Thus, spinning mini-games become a battle of "is it really worth destroying my hand for these coins?" This becomes wonderful in games like Paddle Battle or Tug-O-War, where the 1 player in the 1v3 can try to talk the other team into throwing so that their hands will survive, and if ONE of the three decides "yeah sorry this baby board game isn't worth physical pain", then everyone is upset, two people are in pain for no reason, and one person is laughing the pain away. It's not GOOD, physical pain is a bad thing in general, but it is VERY Mario Party to find joy in suffering.

Millennium Star Tier
Booksquirm (MP4)

Super Star Tier
Slapparazzi (SMP)

Happening Star Tier
Control Stick Spinning (MP1)

Sonic Shuffle Tier
Kamek (MP2)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Feeling cute, and as I have an abundance of worthless Mario Party knowledge and experience, thought I'd share with the masses. State anything from Mario Party - any mini-game, item, character, board, game, song, costume worn in 2, feelings of discontent, whatever - and I'll rank it for the Hell of it based solely on its Mario Party appearances. If it appears in multiple games, please specify, otherwise I'll rate it overall based on all appearances. I have Mario Party experience in every game other than the two 3DS titles and Mario Party e,

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Hrm... I think there could be something really interesting with this. The way I'm envisioning it, I don't think that you need to separate searching for items or attacking an enemy versus inhaling - with the exception of mini-bosses, that's almost always gonna be a null factor. Instead, I think I would design enemy cards like this:

-Each enemy has corresponding HP and Power. Their power is used as a modifier if they're recruited as an ally.
-Each non-boss enemy has an Item drop. The item is obtained by defeating the enemy through non-Inhale means.
-Most enemies have a power that is obtained through inhalation. Each power has its own card that give Kirby a modifier against certain other cards (ex. Cutter being effective against Bronto Burt and Whispy Woods). Not as strong as getting an ally or as flexible as an Item, but Inhaling weaker enemies is free.
-Each enemy card has arrows pointing in one or more of four cardinal directions. These represent the player(s) that the enemy can attack. If multiple options present itself, the enemy attack is determined by a d4. An invalid roll is simply rolled again until it is valid. Enemy cards are placed face-up based on the perspective of the player who drew them.
-Mini-bosses can be Inhaled when their health is half or less

This gives an impetus for certain players to attack, and for others to act on it. For instance, someone with Bonkers attacking them would want to hit them, but that could weaken him to be in inhalation range for the next player.

Easy suggestions for item cards:

Friend Heart - Turn a defeated enemy into an ally. May optionally be triggered upon enemy's defeat. Their item card is not drawn. May only be used on the player's turn, or if the Kirby whose turn is immediately before the player defeats an enemy.

Copy Pedestal - Turn an Ability card into the Ally that it was obtained from.

Pep Brew - Restore HP

Maxim Tomato - Restore more HP

Galaxia/The King's Hammer/Bandanna - Automatically summon Meta Knight/King Dedede/Bandana Waddle Dee as a Boss. Add one 'Friend Heart' card to your item slot.

Megaton Punch - Remove one opponent's ally with a lower POW than your own ally.

Warp Star - Rotate the arrow directions of one Enemy card however you'd like.

From there you could adjust a lot of conditions. Have victory be achieved via either the last Kirby standing or the one who beats a super boss (Marx, Nightmare Wizard, Zero, etc.). Or make each 'super boss' drop a piece of the Star Rod or something and whoever assembles it wins. I think 1 enemy less than the number of players allows for strategic options, as ideally Kirby shouldn't be one-shotting anything he's not inhaling unless he has friends, so that a risk-reward system is always in play.

But still, could be a really fun game, color me interested!

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Whose Line Is It Anyways: A Hideo Kojima Game

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

DK
Brock
Blathers
Isabelle

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Kirby Planet Robobot

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Metroid
Mona
Hades
Dragaux

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Jynx is probably the most fun early-gen Pokemon that doesn't see appearances on most teams. Lovely Kiss + Ice Beam + Relatively High Speed makes for a brutal glass cannon. Had one as a kid that basically swept the GSC Elite Four (except Houndoom).

Banette is a creepy buddy who unfortunately is now super overshadowed by Mimikyu. But I love the "creepy lonely doll" aspect. Look at this pal.



---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

1. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
2. Persona 4 Golden
3. Mass Effect 2
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
5. Dragon Quest XI
6. Super Mario Odyssey
7. Persona 5
8. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
9. Portal 2
10. Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver
11. Skyrim

I'm unfamiliar enough with the remaining to not be able to give them a fair ranking, though I love what I've seen of Resident Evil 2 and God of War and have played other Souls game besides DS1 (namely Demon's, Bloodborne, and a smidge of DS2). Definitely value what Ultimate is rather than playing it; it's the most celebratory comfort food game out there. Anything in the Top 4's definite GOAT material, anything above Pokemon's exceptional, and anything that's Pokemon is at least really good.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

G&W
Boo
Dixie
K. Lumsy

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

7 seems about right. Fodderific Round 1 with many poorly performing indies disguised a lot of actual strength/weakness in Round 2. It's had its dud divisions, like most contests, but there's been a lot of excitement and even a healthy share of nailbiters. Could go up or down depending on if BotW is made to look like ANYTHING can punch it in the teeth, or if it's just gonna casually roll everything else (which seems probable).

About as good as it could be given the low votals and series restrictions.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Guzma
Lysithea
Flick
Ganon

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Kid Icarus: Uprising

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Kirby
Bleck
Ashley
Pious

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

WarioWare

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Only 6, with having faith in anime and Fire Emblem keeping me from having 2 and 7 well scouted.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

ctesjbuvf posted...

Also, I'm doubting how much it can help for a game tbh. Like, do hentai subforums care about NieR as much as 2B? I can be convinced otherwise, but wouldn't be certain.

I am absolutely certain that Yoko Taro would not rally Automata unless 2B's ass took up at least 60% of Automata's pic, so this may be true.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Was more thinking of it in terms of the idea of "Pokemon in a close match Vs another game"; I get that its natural, Gamefaqs-only strength is probably around a midcard level. Since I recall Gen 1 being "outdated" being a major sticking point as to its downfall against Undertale? Could be mistaken, I just see HGSS as more immune to both modern Pokemon criticism and "lolearlygens" than any other Pokemon entrant would be.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

I really want to believe in HGSS. It has everything going for it:

-Not Gen 1 so no 'genwunner' bashing
-Remake of Gen 2, so still on the fringes of nostalgia
-Gen 4 engine, which is enjoyed competitively compared to other gens
-Actually pretty decent as an RPG at times

Automata's seemed like the most textbook midcarder; decent numbers showing off strength, but nothing overwhelming. HGSS has every intangible to overcome it (and feels like the only Pokemon game that would be safe to rally without "lol this gen" ).

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Dragaux (Ring Fit Adventure)
K. Lumsy (Donkey Kong)
King Boo (Super Mario)
Viridi (Kid Icarus)
Matthew (Fire Emblem: The Blazing Sword)
ROB (Gyromite)
King K. Rool (Donkey Kong)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Fire Emblem
Devil Survivor 2
Smash for 3DS

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Johnbobb posted...

Dibs on [merc from a cartoony game that nobody will respect as much as me]

Don't worry, I'll buy it. I sell and buy only the most unbelievable, weirdly plausible arguments. Except Knuckles, I know he sucks.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

https://youtu.be/gyA48l45bLE

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Wait... it's okay to admit that Jack best girl now? Hell yeah.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Nah. I like it a lot, but the things that it does amazingly (worldbuilding, creative puzzle solutions) are broken up by a lot of uninspired shrines, 'filler' exploration, and disappointing "main" dungeons. I mean, the focus on having a discovery around every corner makes it better than any other Zelda in some aspects... but as much as I like the world, I just think the narrative through-line is too broken up BY the world and how underwhelming the Ganon fights are compared to overworld 'boss' monsters.

BotW 2, however, has a very real chance of fixing all that!

(Probably some combo of MM > LA > Zelda 1 = BotW = Oracles here)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Little Mac (Punch-Out!!)
Boo (Super Mario)
Hades (Kid Icarus)
Bowser (Super Mario)
Lady Bow (Paper Mario)
Pichu (Pokemon)
Nino (Fire Emblem: The Blazing Sword)
Lappy/Marie Wentz (Astral Chain) (not sure if you'd want to count the costumed character or the character that wears it so just listing both)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

I know it's not intentional, but now I'm just imagining End of Disc 1 as Cloud failing a QTE David Cage-style and tripping on his face.

I think I prefer that reality.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Smash for 3DS
Dual Destinies
Devil Survivor 2

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Hey first off, thank you guys so much for the shoutout! I think I was, like... 16 when I learned not to trust people online when they tell me to take Mario Sunshine to Round 3? Still, old as I may be making you guys feel (apologies for that), thank you for keeping up The Show, always a pleasure to lurk in the background and have a listen! Hopefully the video does not disappoint expectations too far, NG!

Insofar as the challenge goes... yeah this is a good excuse to play God of War, have had it sitting around for a while and LOVE the interplay I've seen between Dad and Boy. Show has definitely sold me on picking up Xenoblade Definitive, though! The semi-real time, positioning based RPG style has never immediately appealed to me, but... yeah the big sell is definitely working.

I'd figured Fire Emblem > Xenoblade would be pretty easy, as it just had every intangible going for it. Voice actors for the game streamed it all the time and rallied for it, I figured if just ONE of them sent out a tweet, it'd overturn a close match. Xenoblade being THIS much better than it is incredibly impressive... though I admit to overrating FE the whole contest (took Awakening > Bloodborne as well, mostly as I saw Bloodborne's exclusivity and being an earlier PS4 release before the console picked up steam holding it back. Was VERY incorrect and very happy to be proven incorrect)

Please keep up the excellent work!

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

A Link Between Worlds
Devil Survivor 2

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Donkey Kong
Funky Kong (Donkey Kong Country)
Groose (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
Baby Metroid (Metroid)
Marx (Kirby)
Adeleine (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards)
Count Bleck (Super Paper Mario)
Lysithea von Ordelia (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Doc Louis (Punch-Out!!)
Snorlax (Pokemon)

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

I feel the flaw with those is "requires everyone involved to have watched The Cube to know the scope of things". Compare to something like, say, basketball against Charles Barkley or boxing again Little Mac, it's a lot less immediately inviting.

... that said, for pure match changers/hypotheticals, a John Madden Pure Support is very tempting.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Short Hair Bayo works better with Long Hair Jeanne than the opposite.

Because damn give me Long Hair Jeanne every day.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

I mean, Paper Mario > World of Warcraft and Golden Sun> GTA: SA are pretty damning (if the former is very correct and the latter slightly less so; Golden Sun ain't even Camelot's best RPG on the GBA when Mario Golf: Advance Tour is sitting right there!).

I tend to think that the Gamecube era was Nintendo's worst time for "hardcores". Series like Mega Man, Metal Gear, and Final Fantasy had jumped ship to the Playstation, which was innovating storytelling in games and marketing itself both at Nintendo's traditional "family" market AND at those who wanted the medium to "grow up" with them, so to speak. Sonic was a fallen titan who people were basically giving post-retirement respect to before he decided to have another run at it and mucked it up. Nintendo had just lost Rare, which basically caused the Nintendo fanbase to turn on everything Donkey Kong internally for... some reason, put the kiddy gloves and coat of paint on Link, Pokemon was the hottest thing and clearly marketed toward younger children. They basically only had Smash, Metroid and MAYBE Eternal Darkness if you were REALLY into Ninty's catalogue to show off as "pushing the game forward" and being even remotely "mature". It really wasn't until the DS that they saved face, and the Wii made them inescapable. Nintendo's performances in these contests seem to line up with that well, Link aside because... I mean it's Link.

tl;dr, nah, Nintendo's just got a baseline "nostalgic" strength and then rises or falls from there based on what the company's doing. People were growing up from Nintendo, and Final Fantasy VII is a very resonant game to a lot of people that came out early in the PS1's life cycle. Then Nintendo came back as convenient and accessible. Then it wasn't that during the Wii U era (aside from Smash and Mario Kart). Then it came back again with the Switch. It's an easy trend to follow, the contests just started when Ninty was on the downswing.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor

Just bumping this up for the evening...

But if there were to be another one, what would the strongest through-line be? Mario Vs Crono is GREAT but peaks midway through the saga. Other immediate thoughts are Starcraft, Frog 2004, L-Block, Draven, and Undertale, though it also seems criminal to not document the rise and fall of Snake. Or a quick one on Master Hand since he's consistently funny.

---

Mario Vs Cloud 2002: A Video Retrospective - https://youtu.be/1dx4t6H_K9Y
Full Channel Available Here!: https://www.youtube.com/c/designingfor