Mario Party 6 Retrospective: A Night & Day Difference

Mario Party 5 really changed the Mario Party series up, for better or for worse. And now, Mario Party 6 seeks to continue in this new direction, while also introducing some new ideas of its own. There was a lot of potential in the ideas brought forth by Mario Party 5, so does Mario Party 6 fully realize the potential in these ideas? Does it bring something truly new and interesting to this series that has been running steadily for the past few years? Well, welcome back to Mark’s Rec Room, where today we’re talking about Mario Party 6 - the decidedly unique Mario Party game. If you are interested in a comprehensive Mario Party series review, I will be taking an analytical look at all of the Mario Party games in this series. From N64 Mario Party to Gamecube Mario Party to even Mario Party DS and Mario Party Superstars, this retrospective series will have it all, so definitely subscribe to keep up with it! Mario Party 6 review coming soon. :) If you get this far in the description, leave a comment telling me what your favorite Mario Party 6 minigame is.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
0:30 - Board Mechanics
2:10 - Day & Night Mechanic
4:11 - Last 5 Turns
5:08 - Orbs
9:48 - Boards
21:28 - Minigames
29:37 - Minigame Modes
30:46 - Mic Mode (Speak Up)
33:35 - Beginner Friendliness
34:32 - Conclusion (Mario Party Series Ranking)

#MarioParty6 #MarioParty #MarksRecRoom

[marksrecroom]

Thanks so much for watching!! What’s your favorite Mario Party 6 minigame?

[SpeedStar]

Honestly, this is where I'd find Bowser stealing Stars in his space at night to be OK, since we have an exact opposite with DK at day. It really reinforces that polar opposite situation and honestly. You'd have as much of a chance of Bowser stealing Stars randomly as much as DK giving you Stars via the roulette, so in my opinion it's balanced very well in my opinion. And besides. Since there's more of these spaces per board than just one, you can actually fight from getting in that space at night and embrace it at day.

[cheezyboi]

I have to disagree about Clockwork Castle. The entire point of the map is to get away from Bowser.
It makes sense if Bowser steals a star if Donkey Kong is how you get them in the first place. It wouldn't really be punishing if you lost coins instead of stars especially if you have a hefty wallet from stealing from others or just being good at the game.
I get that Bowser stealing stars is a bad thing on OTHER boards since it has nothing to do with the map's gimmick, but on Clockwork Castle it makes complete sense.

[lightninja]

Bowser stealing a star is not a harsh punishment and it’s great to laugh at your friends when it happens.

[MorphBaller]

Clockwork Castle is actually one of my favorite boards in Mario party six, the fact that Bowser steals a star from you was actually great, because it means that you don’t want to be really close to donkey Kong all the time because the next turn might be having him turn around to get you. The pipes also make getting short cuts really interesting, and lead to some quick escapes or quick catches a donkey Kong. Also, the having two lanes is really important because you might want to avoid Bowser by taking a different path at slightly longer so that you don’t go in front of him, it’s all about spacing.

[legoboy]

Hands down the best MP game in my opinion. I can play this one forever

[toonaurz]

My absolute favorite Mario Party game.

[fernando]

Yes! I think you're the only one who has acknowledged the fantastic side mode Speak Up! It's as much fun if you use the controller option instead of the Mic. Mario Party 6 is my favorite MP, the selection of minigames, boards and side content are superb. Add to all that a unique game changing central mechanic like a day-night cycle and voilá! Also, big shoutouts to the fun bonus minigames like the maze one or Dunk Bros.!
Next up is Mario Party 7, an interesting and fun new entry. Can't wait for your character ranking due to the special orbs lol

[markussuello]

☀️Mario Party 6🌙 was the based entry to this day for me. I loved the Day & Night Mechanic on all the Boards, and having certain minigames have unique rules based on the time of day is such a unique detail that I enjoyed! Fond memories, still the best for me!

[darkensama]

Top 6 Boards:
6- Snowflake Lake
5- Clockwork Castle
4- Castaway Bay
3- Towering Treetop
2- E. Gadd's Garage
1- Faire Square

[danielhenington]

this video is great. I don't have much else to say, just very well written and well explained. Better than most MP videos on youtube.

[littlebigb]

One interesting aspect about orbs that you didn't mention was how you and other orbs are affected.

Tile orbs change the tile itself (almost) permanently and give 5 coins if you land on one you own rather than the usual 3. This means that not only could you potentially repeatedly get multiple rewards from a single orb, rewards that usually steal coins or other resources from whoever landed on it for yourself, but you could also put it on a red space and never worry about losing coins from that space, you would actually GET coins from that space instead. However, other players could always use an orb on that space and change it themselves.

On the other hand, roadblock orbs are single use traps that will only ever hinder one player max, and in a way that very rarely rewards the owner with anything; plus the space under it isn’t affected, so if you put it on a red space you still lose coins from it. However, they can not be overwritten. The only way a roadblock can be removed is to activate it; so you can put traps that force players to stop or lose coins in unavoidable paths to the star, and ONE player will be forced to spring it. It may be a douche move, but there are no friends in Mario Party, plus, that's why they made the Metal Shroom as a trap-guard.

Tiles are stronger, but requires players to land on them and can be lost.
Roadblocks are unavoidable if placed well and unchangeable, but typically less make-or-break game changers.

It all comes together to create a sense of strategy as to where and why you put orbs. I really miss this orb feature.

[bm_burger]

Orb Star is fine but I think you're selling Coin Star a bit short. I really like the decision making that the Coin Star allows. The player with the most coins will essentially set the bar for what the Coin Star will be, and there's a risk/reward to when they want to "cash out". If I have 100 coins, and I run into Boo, I might feel secure that I've reached the Coin Star, and go for the star steal, but now that I've lost a substantial amount of coins I'm risking another player surpassing my coin goal, with me at the disadvantage. Another player currently at 80 might be able to surpass my record and keep me at bay for the rest of the game.

And while its true that I might have accumulated my wealth through minigame skill, we all know there's plenty of silly ways to suddenly get rich in Mario Party lol. There's an added panic where I might have the Coin Star currently on lock but I'm not confident I'll be able to crawl my way back to the top once I dip significantly below the set record.

Granted, the Orb Star does have some advantages. One could argue that Coin Star forces me to play more turtley, and the Orb Star encourages me to engage more with the game's mechanics (orbs), so I don't think its a strict downgrade. But ideally, a player should be using their orbs often anyway, so I don't think it adds the same extra decision that the Coin Star provides.

[thegreenreels]

Very late but happy to see MP6 getting a great video to cover it! Yeah, it's still my favorite MP I think: the graphics are old but still charming; the gameplay isn't as janky as the N64 ones; it doesn't go full psycho like MP9/10 with innovation, but it's still packed with content (unlike the recent ones that skimp on boards and whatnot); and all the mechanics in the Gamecube ones that were rough in the edges (like the capsules you mentioned) are ironed out here.

Overall, it's still insanely replayable. Loved the video, you highlighted every good part of it, and I'm shocked to see how much I agreed with the board ranking lol.

[dimitri]

Mario party 6 is the game in the entire series that deserves a remake for the switch the most. Apart from adding more minigames and maybe another board, these are some of the changes I would do (Btw I would really appreciate if you replied to this comment):
1. Increase the price of some of the orbs (like they did in Mario Party 7)
2. In faire square, a star should never cost more than 30 coins, since you can get stars for 5 coins and it's easy to get stars with the hat shuffle event.
3. In Clockwork Castle and Castaway Bay, Bowser should steal 20 coins instead of a star.
Maybe in Castaway Bay if you don't have 20 coins to give him, he should take a star instead, and if you also don't have a star then he just takes all your remainder coins.

[dylanvo]

Despite Bowser stealing stars being a unfair punishment, I always have a blast playing MP6 whether 20, 30, 40 or heck even 50 turns since this game is pretty quick and to the point like 2, and 3. Minigames can varied by each, but it’s still a decent selections. Boards in my opinion are one of the consistent selections in any MPs, and there isn’t one board I outright disliked and fun enjoyment in any of them (yes even Castaway Bay lol).

If MP5 manage to introduced new items mechanic, but failed to execute them, 6 manage to improved them, while having more decisions in your vessel than just getting one on random.

6 is not perfect, but it’s the one Mario Party I enjoy the most for how innovate, and strategic it can get, and this review is a great way to describe the game. It’s by far my favorite MP.

[daigoroxyojimbo]

23:37 and note to self has a night version where there is only one big note ball

[varietychan]

It is your opinion, however I really hate how "Bowser steals stars" is a "harsh" punishment. If he didn't steal stard then there's not only nothing to catch a player if they slip up, but what would Bowser do? Steal coins? Coins are useless especially if the leading player has a lot of them

[nnfi]

Just found your channel, as a big mario party fan I really enjoy your analyses, keep it up! 👍🏻😁

[thehussiteking]

The absolute best Mario Party as far as I'm concerned. Fantastic minigames, the day night cycle, best item system, and the boards are just perfection. It's my most played Mario Party and likely one of my most played games period.

Best minigame is Snow Whirled btw, but I'm also very fond of What Goes Up... And basically any of the cleaning games.

Fantastic video as always Mark. I wish you had more subs and views but I get to experience your videos.