In the world of trick ‘r treating, Nintendo is the house that gives out apples instead of candy because it's the healthy option and then later gets their yard TP'd. Here we are, late in October, and we've been waiting all month to find out what classic games will be added to the Nintendo Switch Online service ... and all we get is Mario Party 3. That sounds more like a trick than a treat to me. But even if I'm not that excited, I still have to ask the question: Is this game worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Computer + Video Games, Nintendo Power and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when this game first came out. Get your costume ready, because we're about to attend the world's lamest Halloween party in this episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew.


When we last left the Mario Party series, the critics were generally still positive about Nintendo's party franchise. Many felt that the 2000 sequel was actually a slight improvement over the original, polishing up a lot of the problems with the first game and adding some iconic mini-games. Then, one year later, came Mario Party 3, the third and final entry for the Nintendo 64. Once again, it brough new characters in the form of Princess Daisy and Waluigi, along with a bunch of unique mini-games and competitive duel maps. This was also the moment that many fans realized that Nintendo intended to turn Mario Party into an annual franchise, whether it had enough content to support that or not. Would that have any impact on what the critics thought of Mario Party 3? The answer to that question is a bit more complicated than you might expect.

If we go by both the reviews and scores, it's clear that there was a little fatigue setting in. Electronic Gaming Monthly, for example, gave Mario Party 1 and 2 scores of 8.6 and 8.25 respectively, but now they are down to a 7.3 out of 10. That's nearly a full point drop in just one year. Shoe explained that Mario Party 3 was “both a disappointment and a breath of fresh air at the same time. Disappointment: While this chapter is full of new mini-games, a lot of them are ... oh, how should I put this ... ass. A handful are fun, but the rest are really uninspirational, unlike most of the mini-games seen in the first two Parties. The Game Guy mini-games make it worse. These are events based on pure chance. You can't control the outcome, and if you choose the wrong thing, you can lose all of your coins, just like that. Whose brilliant idea was this? Who is going to consider ‘you lost all your coins and are now in last place and there wasn't a damn thing you could've done to prevent that' a fun thing?” The one bright spot in Shoe's review is the Duel Mode, a one-on-one game he considered to be quite fun. “Overall, you can get the same bang for fewer bucks with either of the first two games in the series.”

EGM was not the only magazine to be underwhelmed by Mario Party 3. Game Informer, for example, hated the game, going as low as a 4 out of 10. And then there's Computer + Video Games, who found a cozy spot between EGM and Game Informer. Giving this third party game a 6 out of 10, Mike concludes that “loads of good mini-games don't make one great game. Fun in small bursts and with mates, but playing by yourself can become depressing and lonely.”

While some critics may have been down on Mario Party 3, there were many magazines who gave the game high marks. The Official Nintendo Magazine in the UK gave the game a 92% back in issue #111. Over here in the States, our own official Nintendo magazine, Nintendo Power, was also in love with the game. Giving it an average score of 4.5 out of 5, Jason argued that “this has the most inspired variety of mini-games yet, and there isn't a party pooper in the bunch. The Tetris game, slew of races and 3D chases are a blast.” Jenni agreed: “Happily for gamers everywhere, but sadly for me, Mario Party 3 is the best party I've been to in a while. This is a good game if you don't have three pals to party with and an even better game if you do.”

Now, if you're wondering who gave Mario Party 3 the highest score, look no further than GamePro, who gave the game a perfect 5 out of 5. They loved the well-crafted mini-games and new duel mode, not to mention the music that perfectly fit the party theme. “Don't throw out your N64 yet – Mario Party 3 is one of the last and best games you can play on the system. It will definitely get things started at any party.”

I think it's safe to say that Mario Party 3 was a divisive game when it came out in 2001. You can see the cracks starting to form and critics beginning to get fatigued by the annual franchise. These days, your experience may be a bit different. Chances are good that it has been a while since you rolled the virtual dice, so maybe this is worth a play. Just make sure you have a few friends around.