Pandora's Box: The Ultimate GameCube Tier List

#25: Mario Party 6

Rating: E

Players: 1-4

Price Range: ~$80 USD

Okay. Note.

It's come to my attention that the Nintendo Switch 2 Online will have GameCube games on it.

In fact, the whole Direct made me bust my cranium open and fill it with melted chocolate and syrup with how amazing and excited I was.

And so, I have even more motivation and need to talk about more of the system's stellar lineup of titles for you all.

Who knows? Maybe the vast majority of the games higher up here will end up on the service.

As for what games I expect to end up on it (that is, if they aren't drip fed like from a frozen facet)? Likely the exclusives that have never been rereleased (except on the Wii U, nobody played that). Maybe some first-party titles and some sprinklings of third-party ones too (don't worry, we'll get to Soul Caliber II eventually).

Long story short, the games that'll appear on it are likely the last bit of games I'll go over, and if not, well, the reason is up in the air like a birdie.

And Kirby Air Riders!? I found great fun in the original, so maybe it'll pop up?

Yes, I think the pricing for the Switch 2 games and the scheming with physical vs. digital prices are both horrible and is something that made the Direct a little mixed for me, but that is another can of worms for another day.

Anyways, enough gushing. Let's put in the disc and close the cover, shall we?

(...)

The sixth Mario Party and the third on the system.

Okay, now we are talking.

Okay, first of all, we have to talk about the biggest addition to the game, being the day and night mechanic in the Party Mode.

You see, every three turns, the time of day will change, changing the board and even some Minigames.

This is this game's claim to fame, leading to many considering it the best in the series.

Not a single bad board in my opinion, with some rocking Minigames as well.

Towering Treetop is the most traditional board. Just get to the Star Space and pay twenty coins. During the day, the tree is happy, while at night, it's dark and will likely lead to danger.

Castaway Bay doesn't do much with the day and night cycle compared to the others besides a Pink Boo to steal from other players with at night, but this is a linear one, in which at the end, either Donkey Kong or Bowser will give you a reward for your efforts, with hem rotating based on if somebody gets to them or a Happening Space. Donkey Kong gives you a Star, and Bowser takes one away with a Ztar.

Faire Square is a unique one. Here, there is only one spot to get Stars, the center. During the day, it costs twenty coins, but during the night? It changes to a random amount, either as low as five coins to as high as forty. And you can buy up to five Stars at once, so what do you do? Do you take the bite the bullet and buy the Stars during the day? Or gamble to wait and risk the coin change to a higher cost at night?

E. Gadd's Garage has a traditional Star, but with changing paths based on the time of day, along with being a great reference to Luigi's Mansion.

Snowflake Lake is a cool one in which all players start with five Stars and have to pay Chain Chomps for hit Dice Blocks in order to use them to stomp and steal them form other players. The night changes the pathing with blockades from Freezies.

However, Clockwork Castle is the most unique out of the bunch. You see, Donkey Kong during the day constantly roams the board with his own Dice Blocks. Running into him allows you to pay him to obtain a Star. However, during the night, he is replaced by Bowser, walking in the opposite direction with everyone else, and steals a Star if you touch him. Do you roll the dice to make it to him right before it becomes night? Or do you make a mad dash for it?

Minigames are also solid. Snow Whirled, Same is Lame, Lift Leapers, Jump the Gun, Burnstile, and Control Shtick are just a few. Some are even changed depending on whether it's night or day.

For example, What Goes Up during the day is a Four-Player Minigame where you have to get to the top as soon as possible by jumping on these Paratroopas, while during the night, it is the exact opposite in which you instead have to go down and avoid them to hit the ground first. Conveyer Volt is another example where it's a 1-vs.-3 Minigame where during the day, the solo player has to pilot a cloud and drop thunder bolts on a conveyer constantly moving with spikes in an attempt to get the other three. However, during the night, the roles are the opposite where the three instead have to get the solo player on an unmoving conveyer with smaller bolts.

The Capsule System was also drastically improved, now creating character specific traps and not costing anything to use on yourself, with some having one role or the other. You could also buy them from shops and get free randoms ones on set spots on the board, making this a truly great system.

There is even a fleshed out single-player mode with its own boards, even if I never got into it. And, with no Bowser board, it is debatable if it should be played, but it is nice regardless. Also, some of the Minigames are...eh. Some are also not very interesting visually in my opinion as well, if one could argue that they are more balanced in 1-vs.-3 games.

Overall, a great Mario Party title, even if it's expensive and better to play with a crowd than alone.