Under the mini-game section, there are also a couple puzzle and extra mini-games that you won’t come across in the other modes, including Tetris style and Bejeweled style mini-games, with some Mario Party twists. The Bejeweled style game actually uses the stylus better than some of the others found throughout the game.
Mario Party: Island Tour introduces a new single player mode with Bowser’s Tower, which is very much needed due to the requirement of multiple Nintendo 3DS handhelds to play with more than one person. This mode features a giant tower with each floor giving you an option between two mini-games. You face off against clones of the enemies on each one of these floors with a varying difficulty as you move forward.
Beyond the regular mini-games, you will also face off against small boss battles every five floors. This leads to special mini-games against these bosses, including Goombas and a Chain Chomp, which change up the formula as you square off solely against these bosses. This culminates in a fun boss battle with Bowser at the top of the tower.
The problem is that the mode seems a little too easy with no difficulty setting to choose from at the beginning. Even when it supposedly increases, it is still quite easy, especially considering the ability to replay each floor if you happen to lose without really any repercussions. The time it takes to move between floors, even with the included speed up button, takes way too long as well. Rather than a speed up button, there should have just been a skip forward button instead, as it just seemed like a way to pad a very short single player campaign.
Bowser will also occasionally spin a number of options, that are essentially useless. If you land on the one that says “Advance to the top floor,” he will say that you are cheating and nothing happens. However, you can land on one that sends you back to the ground floor. I luckily never got this option, but if you were to land on that near the end, it might make this mode not even worth retrying.
The Mario Party franchise is most well known for its multiplayer aspect, as the name would suggest, which is kind of a problem on a handheld. Luckily the game does allow for Download Play, so you can play the game with friends using only one cartridge or downloaded copy across multiple 3DS, but that is still kind of a pain. This is where online play could have come in big time in Island Tour. Considering the success of online play with the Mario Kart franchise on handhelds, you would think that it would be possible on Mario Party as well, at least for some of the mini-game competition modes. While this addition would be useless on the go, it would be perfect for gamers sitting around the house, perhaps playing the game while watching TV. Neither Mario Party 9 or Wii Party U chose to include online play, so I really hope the next Nintendo party-style game chooses to move in that direction.
Mario Party: Island Tour is a return to handhelds for the Mario Party franchise, but does have some setbacks to hold back the full potential of the game. In typical Mario Party fashion, the boards and mini-games are the biggest strengths of the title, but there just seems to be something missing due to the inability to play multiplayer readily. Download Play is available, to where you only require one cartridge, but it still doesn’t work as efficiently as a console version of the game. While it is missing this element, the game is still great fun for roadtrips or even quick gameplay sessions. The game is a Mario Party title through and through, even with the additions and changes to the franchise. If you are looking for some mini-game action on the go, Mario Party: Island Tour is one of your best options on the Nintendo 3DS.
[Editor’s Note: Mario Party: Island Tour was reviewed on the Nintendo 3DS. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
