Mario Party Advance Critic Reviews

If you own a GBA or SP, there is absolutely no reason not to own Mario Party Advance. Heck, even if you don't own one yet, this is the perfect excuse-a true, must-own killer app.

Had it made use of the wireless adapter it might have been able to duplicate the traditional Mario Party feel.

The focus on creating a "game" out of the franchise is commendable and makes for a worthwhile purchase if you're a GBA owner looking for something to keep you busy on the bus.

If there were ever a Mario Party on the DS, then that would be perfect; sadly, this is far from perfect.

Taking Mario Party on the go is a great idea, it just wasn't implemented in the best fashion possible this time around.

7 / 7 / 7 / 6 - 27

Besides being on the dull side, the game unquestionably offers the player quite a bit of unlockable items, extras, and mini-games to mess around with.

The GBA game's multiplayer features are fairly limited and poorly organized. Its single-player component, on the other hand, is very nicely organized and offers a great deal of variety.

The Shroom City board game is a single-player adventure that will capture the imaginations of young players, but may be a little elementary for others.

Having the board game only available as a single player option is kind of disheartening and takes away from the charm of this game. Add to this a lack exciting graphics and sound and somewhat negative feelings for some of the multiplayer games and it starts to look bad.

The GBA version features a whole slew of different things to do and play, but it all seems just a bit uncreative for the first outing on the handheld system.

Squeezing the fun out of Mario Party Advance is a tough slog.

A cute idea with limited appeal thanks to the spotty quality of the minigames and the watered down multiplayer.

While there's some fun to be had with Mario Party Advance, and quite a few great game-playing aspects, it's a bit tedious and tired when you look at the slew of other excellent multiplayer games have been released for the GBA.

A nice batch of cheap thrills for what it is, even though the core aspects that have made past versions so popular aren't as prominent.

It was an absolute mistake to create a Mario Party game that didn't follow the same mechanics and style as the rest of the franchise.

A single player Mario Party isn't really a party and there aren't enough mini games to even put this title in competition with games like "Wario Ware Twisted."

The GBA just isn't suitable for a party game the nature of how Mario Party is supposed to be, however the DS, equipped with wireless and forthcoming online play, is a whole different story.

Though I'm open to new possibilities and reinterpretations of Mario Party, playing this game made me want to just jump on my Gamecube and play the original console versions -- even if I have to play against 3 CPU players because frankly, being the only player on a board game that's advertised as a party is just disheartening.

In this game, there are more decisions to make, a stronger plot and the game is better for solo play.