Mario Party 4 Retrospective: A Rollercoaster of Emotions

00:00 Intro
00:31 New Mechanics
04:22 Items
09:32 Team Match
10:04 Boards
18:41 Minigames
23:17 Custom Minigame Sets
23:49 Side Modes
25:01 Beginner Friendliness
26:05 Conclusion (Mario Party Rankings)
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After a rather successful run on the Nintendo 64, the Mario Party series was really hitting its stride for this upcoming console generation. Mario Party 3 was a great Mario Party game with a lot of great ideas that just needed to be refined and smoothened out. Mario Party 4 has a reputation for having some of the greatest minigames in the series, but does it live up to its hype? Is Mario Party 4 a sensational soirée or a bland bash? Well, welcome back to Mark’s Rec Room, where today we will be talking about Mario Party 4, the one with the banger minigames. If you are interested in a comprehensive Mario Party series review, I will be taking a critical 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 5 review coming soon. :) If you get this far in the description, leave a comment telling me what your favorite Mario Party 4 minigame is.
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#MarioParty4 #MarioParty #MarksRecRoom

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much for watching!! what’s your favorite mario party 4 minigame?

[@tobekontinued7090]

Either Trace Race or Reverse-a-Bomb.

[@silokhawk]

This is a super solid overview man! Your stuff definitely deserves more views given the quality editing 👌

[@marksrecroom]

yo thanks so much for leaving this comment man!! i really appreciate it, it’s great to hear from a fellow Mario Party fan. I definitely have plans for more Mario Party in the near future for sure.

[@MatthewSmart]

Mario Party 4 is this mental battle for me of quality vs nostalgia. I replayed the game last year, and its shortcoming are very apparent to me now. While Mario Party has always had a blend of luck and strategy, the boards in this one go too far into the luck sphere to the point where player agency feels non-existent, which makes them far less engaging to play, especially with how they changed the mushrooms. There's a reason why they reverted back to the status quo in later entries. And while the minigames are great with my personal favorite probably being Revers-a-Bomb for its frantic pace, they're not enough to save a mediocre board experience, especially with the smaller pool to pick from meaning you're bound to run into more repeats. That being said, this is the first Mario game I ever played and the game that got me into this whole hobby entirely. I remember having the time of my life learning about these characters I never knew before and getting to play around with them in these fun environments, and I've been a lifelong fan since. The music tugs at my heartstrings, the extras are neat, and there's a special uniqueness to this entry with the presents you could unlock in the story mode and the fact that it's the only entry with FMV cutscenes, albeit very dated ones. It's far from my favorite Mario Party game, and the later installments on the GameCube definitely improved on the formula, but 4 will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much for watching!! i agree with this comment for sure, especially as someone who also has really fond memories with Mario Party 4. Also revers-a-bomb is a great pick for fav minigame!

[@CathyDotUK]

Mario party 4 music will always make me feel emotion

[@marksrecroom]

Same, the music to Toad’s Midway Madness is insanely nostalgic for me

[@Formula_Zero_EX]

It’s the best Mario Party soundtrack in my opinion.

[@Chun-believable]

Omg same. Instant nostalgia chills.

[@officertom6751]

There is also the possibility to pass Bowser on Bowser's Gnarly Party while wearing the Bowser Suit! Yesterday I watched a video about this and Bowser's reaction is that he notices that you look just like him and he gives you 50 coins as a reward! Also on Koopa's Seaside Soiree you can simply choose the direction at Ukiki's Banana Junction while wearing the Bowser Suit. The character will walk onto the banana peel removing it and a text appears stating that Bowser doesn't slip on banana peels. Then you can just choose to go up or down.

[@muffinfighter3680]

I honestly think that if they just used MP2 and MP3 as a blueprint (items, boards etc.) for a new game, it would be immediately one of the best Mario Party games.

[@danechristian2379]

Why does MP4 have so many infinites?? Its kinda hilarious one of the devs was feeling devious with the board designs

[@Formula_Zero_EX]

Plot Twist: Bowser was the one to design all the boards all along.

[@RiverOfTheHeart]

The Bowser Suit mushroom is on the box! Yet i don't think i ever saw it when i played it with my family as a kid. We usually got Bowser mini-games. I've always wondered what it looks like in-game.

[@TheDucksEye]

Really excellent analysis. Mario Party 4 has always been the entry I shelve the fastest. It shares a feeling of subliminal dread from the board's featurelessness with 8 & later Super Mario Party (although distinctly less empty feeling in other aspects) suffered. At time's it an severely empty feeling game, no other entry has me staring back at my reflection through the tv wondering why I'm playing than 4, ironically very little party feeling haha.

[@marksrecroom]

yeah there’s things about Mario Party 4 that i like, but there is a feeling of emptiness and i think it just comes down to a lack of interesting spaces and board mechanics. thanks so much for watching!!

[@tjtjtjtjtjify]

One thing I always hated about mario party 4 was the visual aesthetic of the boards. I hate that they all exist as floating stainless steel meshs over the board you wish you actually played on. Certainly doesn't help that they almost all suck to play on. I think the worst offender visually is boo's board. The board isn't even floating over a place it's just in the void with some ghostly furniture... probably my least favorite board in the whole series, visually.

[@claytonrios1]

This is my second favorite Mario Party of the bunch but a lot of that is because of the quality of minigames. Dungeon Duos, Avalanche, Booksquirm, Hop or Pop and Team Treasure Trek are among the games I remember most when I played with my friends.

[@chewie_lombax3764]

Over the last few videos I’ve started anticipating a new Mark vid whenever they happen! Super stoked to have found your channel.

[@marksrecroom]

yo thanks so much!! i really appreciate that, been working on some new ideas for videos so i hope you like em!!

[@Superbad22]

Only thing I really dislike about this game is how the boards look. It just used backgrounds that look cool with metal looking platforms. I think it’s better in the other games where the spaces are built into the map

[@starman1270]

Fantastic video of this classic game! This is actually my favorite Mario Party game, primarily from nostalgia as it was also my first Mario Party game, oh I wish I could relive those childhood memories!

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much for watching!! man playing mario party takes me back, i think that’s part of why i love the series as a whole so much haha

[@starman1270]

Thanks for your reply, can’t wait to see the rest of your synopsis’s for the rest of the series! Quick question, what was your first Mario Party game?

[@marksrecroom]

@@starman1270 Mario Party 4 was, actually!

[@dabluepittoo-aqua4213]

Fun Fact: In my very first game of MP4, I landed on a Bowser space, got Bowser and got a Bowser Suit. My mind was blown.

[@BigShowGunnoe]

17:15 yes! we agree on the best board in this game!

[@DoctorLeft]

I just found your channel a few days ago via the Star Fox video. I've been enjoying this trip through the old Mario Party titles. I've already recommended your videos to a few of my friends. Keep making good content and thanks for the thoughtful analysis!

[@marksrecroom]

yo thanks so much!! i really appreciate the support and you sharing the videos, that means a lot haha. i’ve got some new videos in the works, especially if you like stuff like the mario party series haha

[@Chun-believable]

My absolute favorite in the series. Yes nostalgia is a big part. But I love the boards (except Goomba’s), the minigame. And the extra minigame slot. I remember discovering Volleyball for the first time.

[@Formula_Zero_EX]

Guess Mario Party 4’s favorite character from Sonic Forces is _Infinite._ 21:10 Also, nice reference to what Weegee Plays said about Fish & Drips.

[@MegaDude10]

You know, all they had to do for dueks was just let you play the boss mini games (excluding Bowser's) as duel mini games. Freeplay lets you do it, so why not?

[@guppycagefight1258]

Love your content! This was a wonderful dissection of MP4. Even though there would need to be adjustments with items and therefore shroom-specific board designs, the addition of Shy Guy Jungle into Superstars would be super cool

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much!! yeah i think it would be cool to see shy guy’s jungle jam in superstars but with the mini pipes converted into skeleton key doors, i think that’d be cool

[@soranortthirteen561]

Every time I see a gaming youtuber do mario party, its ALWAYS this game so its gonna be interesting to learn what the hubbub is about

[@PO1PLE]

This is great!

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much!!!

[@muffinfighter3680]

Mario Party 4 was my first Mario game I've ever owened. I fell so in love with Mario Party that I bought MP5 and borrowed MP6 from a friend. My goal was to own every Mario Party game in existence... lol

[@cliffturbo2146]

Do you have them all?

[@muffinfighter3680]

@@cliffturbo2146 Nah I didn't pursue this "goal" any further but maybe in the future I will find interest again. I would try to get every Mario Party up to 8 not big of a fan of the newer ones

[@cliffturbo2146]

@@muffinfighter3680 Ah, That's fine. Mario Party Superstar also seems be a great buy. Everybody seems to like it.

[@elius1548]

Love the Air Ride music

[@Glevion]

My childhood was mario party 4 and mario party 5, and I always enjoyed 5 more than 4. It had more entertaining minigames and the boards were amazing and everything felt so alive.

[@E_X_I_T]

This is a great video!

[@tobekontinued7090]

Another incredible analysis! Nintendo, listen to this man!

[@navihey]

The real use of mini-mega hammer would be to stop that player from using his/her items---especially when that player has a genie lamp or a boo crystal

[@darkensama1390]

Top 6 Boards: 6- Bowser's Gnarly Party 5- Toad's Midway Madness 4- Goomba's Greedy Gala 3- Boo Haunted Bash 2- Shy Guy Jungle Jam 1- Koopa Seaside Soiree

[@megalo_64]

I currently own what I consider the best N64 Mario Party game (3) and I’m currently looking for a GameCube game to pick as the main game for me and my family & friends. The difference between the GCN and N64 games is that instead of being fine with just one entry, I’m okay with owning more than 1 GameCube entry, but I don’t know if I should pick 2 or 3. The main reason is that I also consider the aspects that you don’t cover here (ie the character roster, single player content, and music). This video is the start of my search.

[@Skullofbread]

I love ur vids

[@marksrecroom]

thanks a bunch i really appreciate it!!

[@stonedscone]

this is best video

[@AkiyoScarlet]

The Mega and Mini mushroom idea is a fun concept poorly executed. I think the reasoning is the boards just feel kind of small? I dunno but it is the big kill to playing this one despite the great games ugh

[@Russell1995]

Excellent review! But while I agree with many points you make in this entire review, I disagree with a few as well and what really upset and disappoint me was that you did not mention one thing at all about story mode, the presents you get from all the board hosts and the present room, and ommitted all those extra mini games too which in my opinion were some of the best mini games and you mentioned no duals but those story mini games that you play with the host at the end were basically duals so it kind of made up for the lack of them although yes I do agree that more dual mini games should've been added to the main boards as well in both party and story mode including the same ones already included at the end of the story mode boards. Also, about the lottery shop....did you know there's a cheat to it? If you roll the analog stick backwards on the ball game either all the way, backwards all the way until the last tilt and then tilt it frontwards on the very last tilt, or tilt it frontwards all the way until the last tilt and then tilt it backwards on the last tilt, you will get one of the jackpots. Also choosing the last or second to last ticket on the scratch offs can sometimes give you a jackpot as well.

[@Catgamer7YT]

Man if you have a chance with your life savings, get the 4 mario parties 😂😂😂

[@algotkristoffersson15]

whats so much worse about mashing l and r than mashing any other buttons?

[@rookiebanks2693]

Least favorite “Mario Party” game on the GameCube.

[@l3wismoreman9227]

Could you do Mario Party 8 and if you can’t explain why?

[@micpirik2700]

Nice content

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much!!

[@micpirik2700]

Thank you, for making my day better!

[@PrincessVanessy]

I am the Princess! ❤❤

[@officertom6751]

I never liked Chance Time or the Game Guy Spaces. You are forced to play Game Guy's minigames and lose all your coins if you lose. To me it doesn't even matter how many coins I get if I win. If the Game Guy Minigame with the two treasure chests appears and I happen to pick Toad, I refuse to double my coins another time after that and I just want to get out of there before I lose everything.

[@badasahog]

You need to create a patreon

[@DJInt3nsity]

Goomba’s greedy gayla

[@spartanq7781]

The mini games are great but the boards and item system are so bad in this game. Mario Party 5 somehow managed to have a even worse item system. You can't even choose what items you want or even pay for them.