If something makes one Mario Party stand out from another, it is the game boards. As most of the gameplay is spent on these, the game boards need to be inventive, visually pleasing, and engaging to navigate to produce the best gameplay experience. Mario Party 3’s story campaigns you through all six boards.
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From the depths of Chilly Waters to the mischief on Waluigi’s Island, there is plenty of fun to be had while playing this classic. Some boards are better than others, so let us delve into each map to dissect where each shines and where they falter.
6 Chilly Waters
Why It’s A Good First Map
The first board most players will play in this Mario spin-off. Chilly Waters takes place in an Arctic environment. Chilly Waters uses this setting to create an appealing appearance with enormous snowmen and Christmas trees scattered about. As one of the first boards you’ll experience, Chilly Waters isn’t particularly difficult.
This isn’t a bad thing, as in a game as chaotic as Mario Party, each title needs a map to take it easy on the players. This is demonstrated well by the mechanics of Chilly Waters. The ice in the center of the map can crack because of too much weight on it at once. Knowing when to stand on it isn’t too difficult to figure out, allowing beginners to learn quickly. While not the most exciting map, it is the most accommodating.
5 Creepy Cavern
The Map About Resource Management
The fifth map of the game’s story mode, Creepy Cavern, takes cues from past Mario Party boards and builds its identity around two sides of the map. When navigating Creepy Canvern, you’re initially stuck on one side of the map. However, you can travel to the other side via two methods. A mine cart that will traffic players between sides and pathways blocked by Whomps.
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How do you open these pathways? You must give an item to the Whomps as payment to traverse. This gimmick gives Creepy Cavern a unique type of management that most Mario Party maps don’t have. While you must use items on all boards, having to give them up to make your way to the star creates a different experience for veteran players.
4 Deep Bloober Sea
How Luck Factors In
Deep Bloober Sea is the second board most players will experience while playing the story mode. Set underwater, the map features two mechanics that emphasize the luck-based nature of Mario Party. Players must navigate a luck-based torpedo section and a large fish that can potentially eat them. Strategy can only get you so far in a game like Mario Party. Often, your luck will determine how well you perform on any given board.
Deep Bloober Sea displays this well, with the enormous fish as an example. Landing on a happening space will cause you to be sucked in by the fish and shot somewhere else. The location you get sent to could be close to a Boo, which would allow the taking of coins or stars from other players. You may not have planned around it, but a luck-based situation could give you the lead.
3 Spiny Desert
Changing The Formula
On most boards in Mario Party, there is one star that players will race towards. Spiny Desert decides to alter this formula and, in doing so, carves out a unique identity. When playing Spiny Desert, two stars will show up rather than one. With no way to tell them apart, how you’ll choose to navigate this map is entirely different.
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Rather than head to a star immediately, let somebody else go there first and test it. This can even give more power to the player going last rather than first. This change creates a new experience that turns another Mario party map into something memorable.
2 Woody Woods
Why Order Placement Matters
One of the most significant factors in Mario Party is the turn order. At what point you take your turn determines what you get to do. Woody Woods takes advantage of this concept with its gimmick. Throughout the map, you’ll see various signs facing one of two directions, determining where you can go.
Now, somebody further ahead than you can flip them, changing where you can travel. This emphasizes why your turn order is crucial. This is a fact seen on other boards, but it stands out on Woody Woods due to the player going first having more control while the last moving play can react to these changes. It’s no wonder a map this well-constructed returned in Mario Party Superstars.
1 Waluigi’s Island
Personifying A Location
The final board of the story mode, Waluigi’s Island, sees you playing a game with the titular character himself. This map is a perfect representation of Waluigi. Every mechanic Waluigi’s Island throws at you feels mean-spirited.
One part of the map features a timer that, upon reaching zero, will explode, causing you to lose all your coins. While another is a circle filled only with red spaces, leaving you stranded if you roll poorly. This is entirely what elevates this board above the others. It captures the mean, spiteful side of Waluigi and encourages the inherent chaos of Mario Party in the form of a map.
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