Mario Party 5 Retrospective: A Fever Dream

[@marksrecroom]

Thanks so much for watching!! what’s your favorite minigame in Mario Party 5?

[@ToBeKontinued]

You already know…Pushy Penguins! I also love Leaf Leap and Frozen Frenzy.

[@t-acejuice2077]

Between Later Skater and Leaf Leap.

[@Russell1995]

Coney Island, Chomp Romp, Chimp Chase, or Leaf Leap I felt were the best most fun, exciting, and engaging mini games

[@starman1270]

Fantastic video! Mario Party 5 definitely set up the foundation for which both Mario Party 6 and 7 would polish.

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much for watching!! i’m definitely looking forward to making videos on those games soon so stay tuned!!

[@emme0731]

I really love 5, I think the capsule system, while unrefined, adds a lot of fun. My friends sometimes just like to throw Chain Chomps and Wigglers on the board and watch as they continue to get landed on over and over and derail the match. Every match feels completely different and that's what I love, which is weird since my favorite is 3 and that's all about control. Good review, you definitely deserve more views. A small correction on Random Ride is that last place gets to pick first, then third and so on, so picking order is not random.

[@thehussiteking]

Wow. MP6 really fixed the item system. Can't wait for you to cover the best game in the series. Also Astrological is the best minigame. Fight me.

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much for watching!! i’m definitely excited to take a look at Mario Party 6 too. also that’s a great minigame choice!

[@ihopkiller]

Yeah I have to disagree with the ending of the KZbin video opinion of Mario party 6, like all of the GameCube Mario party series are fun to play.

[@GavinsBazaar313]

@@marksrecroom funnily enough, I was watching zoomzikes video, and there are actually practical uses for using the hammer bro, the plant and the bob-omb on yourself, but the times you would use it are for if someones about to steal a large pool of coins from you Also the bob-omb makes for some funny moments because you can explode yourself and the person on the same space. Take them down with you! XD

[@Ukysseus]

9:31 I thought the same thing about Rainbow Dream until last time I played on it with my friends. They found a strategy that consists in throwing as much orbs (preferably like chance time or the one that send you to the star) as possible on one island and staying on it waiting to land on one of those. They absolutely destroyed me who was playing normally, running after each star.

[@MatthewSmart]

I have just as much nostalgic fondness for Mario Party 5 as I do with 4. As a kid, this felt like it evolved the formula in a great way with more dynamic boards, great minigames, and a surplus of side modes that easily made me consider this my favorite entry in the franchise... which is why it pains me to say that this video really is on point. I think as kids, we tend to ignore glaring issues with the games we grow up with and just appreciate them for what they are, and when we revisit them as adults, a lot of times that nostalgic love is shattered and we see the bigger picture. For example, I loved Sonic Heroes as a kid, and it was always one of my favorite Sonic games of all time. Replaying it as an adult though, it is painful just how unpolished that game is and it makes me wonder why I even enjoyed it at all, especially when I already had the vastly superior Sonic Adventure 2 right there. Mario Party 5 obviously isn't flawed to THAT degree. It's still perfectly playable, and I'm so used to the old formula that I can still have fun with it. But it arguably has the worst player agency from the Hudson Soft entries outside of 1 and maybe 4. I do prefer 5's boards over 4's though since they feel more alive and have more junction options, but the capsule system is definitely a hinderance to the fun. The minigames are a mixed bag too, as 5 has some of the greatest most imaginative minigames in the whole series on TOP of some of the most bland and forgettable ones. The highlights for me are Coney Island, Pushy Penguins, and Hotel Goomba, and the fact that the latter isn't in Superstars should be a crime. I also think some of the side modes are series highlights like Mini-Game Circuit, Bonus Mode, and especially Super Duel Mode, and I'll give credit to the Story Mode for actually providing a different experience compared to the regular Party Mode. I still enjoy 5 at the end of the day, and I'd still probably consider it a better game than 4, but it's clear as day that it's not the masterpiece that I thought it was way back when. Also, side note. That Drake reference was so smooth and quick that it had me laughing for a good 30 seconds. I like that you occasionally throw in a joke like that without it ever becoming the focal point.

[@marksrecroom]

Thanks so much for watching!! Yeah a lot of what you mentioned here is very similar to how i felt, Mario Party 5 was one of my favorites when I was young but unfortunately I definitely view it more critically now. However, I do respect Mario Party 5 for really trying something new and there certainly are good aspects of this game, but as a cohesive package, it just doesn’t hit for me. also thank you so much hahah, i threw that in there just cause i thought it would be funny so i’m glad to hear that you found it funny too, hahaha😂

[@kenyaholloway-reliford8213]

Out of all the Mario Party games on the Gamecube, this was the only one I didn't play during that era. I had fond memories of playing 7 and 4, and vague memories of playing 6, all on the Gamecube. I didn't get a chance to play 5 until I was a preteen in the Wii era, and even then, the disc stopped working fairly quickly, so my time with it was short lived.

[@BigShowGunnoe]

14:56-15:09, outstanding insight here.

[@crocodileman94]

MP5 is pretty much the MP1 of the Gamecube games.

[@supermariof0521]

Is it weird that this is my number one favorite installment in the series?

[@ToadisKing]

Yes cuz MP6 ON TOP

[@voidsthread]

no bc mp5 is my favorite too

[@claytonrios1]

It's crazy that I spent a considerable amount of hours in Card Party and Super Duel Mode when I played this as a kid.

[@nukawave-um7iu]

Glad I’m not the only one who loved this modes a lot. Got a ton of nostalgia for card party

[@iFish12]

I adore the side modes in this game. I played them so much with the CPUs hahah. The card one and the battle bot one in particular

[@83cuicui]

Most chaotic Mp game aside from 1 really fun tbh

[@cloverfinderboygamer3573]

9.4/10 video. I love the chart about "plane spaces"

[@KurffyOfficial]

Been watching your channel for a while now. I love your editing and writing

[@marksrecroom]

thanks so much!! i really appreciate you leaving a comment, i’m so glad you enjoyed it!

[@AquaAtia]

Honestly I liked the capsule system in 5. It added a bunch more strategy to the game with items shifting over how they can benefit you vs how you can slow down opponents at certain points of the board. It reminds me Monopoly

[@MetalGame97x]

You really deserve more subscribers. Like, I've seen so mich worse top list's when it comes to mario party frim people with so much more subscribers. Reall reall cool content that sends me fliying right back to when I was a kid! I'd like to see some mario party top lists in the future! :)

[@lightninja4795]

I think that your problem with mario party 5 is not that the board gameplay is weak but you put so much value on decision making and while i agree with that i also dissagree that having luck is a bad thing. Have you seen videos of crazy things happening in mario party and everyone is laughing and screaming thats one of the reasons why mario party is so fun. Its fun to screw with people and watch them mess up. So if your only looking at mario party 5 as a strategic game then i agree it is on the weaker side but if you look at mario party 5 as a chaos game and learn to love it for that then i think you will see a really good mario party game here.

[@mallow2902]

Yeah this is a common disagreement I have with all these videos. He clearly wants these games to have no luck at all aside from maybe dice rolls, and I think that's missing the point of the series. A healthy amount of luck adds a lot of excitement and chaos to the game.

[@nekomancer47]

I think that’s my major problem I tend to be having with his arguments as I go through his videos. A good Mario Party is a healthy mix of luck and skill. A game where, even if you play as optimally as possible, fate can still screw you over, or conversely luck can save you and help you out even if you’re not strategic or skilled enough to keep up with your opponents. It’s a party game, made by Nintendo, the most family friendly game company ever. Of COURSE they’re gonna craft an experience that can try its best to satisfy ‘serious’ gamers while also being approachable and friendly to newcomers and casuals. That’s why I love ZoomZike’s Identifying Luck series on the Mario Party games. He seems to recognize and appreciate that, even as he delves so deeply into the games and tries his best to explore every avenue of strategy and probability to try to give the viewer the best possible shot of victory in most situations. He’s emphasizing the ‘skill’ parts of the game and trying to minimize the ‘luck’ factor, while at the same time recognizing that the player won’t be able to control everything all the time and still appreciating that since it leads to a more dynamic and overall fun experience. Not to say that Mark’s videos or opinions are bad or anything. I quite enjoy this series, and he does bring up some good points that I agree with often! But I do think he kind of overall wants Mario Party to be something it’s not, even if just subconsciously. Which is why I feel like he said so many mechanics and boards in this game are ‘bad’ or ‘boring’ or whatever and was so harsh on it.

[@filmfreck]

Very well made video. I'm not very knowlable in Mario party games and this video gave me a very good understanding of Mario party 5

[@Imirui]

20:23 The order is only decided at random if this minigame is played in the free play mode. If it's played on the board as a battle minigame, the order is the reverse of the placements. 4th will go first, 3rd will go second, 2nd will go third, and 1st will go last.

[@joshukaunarak]

One thing I found striking is how the first four Mario Party games all had translations to other languages, but all the big text was in English at all times. Just for context, I'm German. With "big text" I mean the text telling who won a game, headers for information screens, menu points etc. Minigame rule screen headers are in German though. Apart from that, everything not shown in small text in a speech bubble or information window seemed to be in English. And that really feels weird, to be honest. It feels like an afterthought or like you put something in a framework that wasn't exactly meant to be there. And it's even weirder on the GameCube, which is a console that can from today's perspective still feel modern in some way. From Mario Party 5 on, the games were fully translated, including big text. However, in that game, some translations in German were still slightly awkward. For example, "Mario won!" was translated with "Mario Sieg!", which means "Mario victory!", and "Draw" was translated with "Gleichstand", which is technically correct but only used when there's actual scores to compare. Mario Party 6 ironed that out and is the first game in the series that from a translation standpoint feels normal in German. For comparison: "Mario won!" was translated as "Sieger: Mario" ("Winner: Mario"), and "Tie!" was translated as "Unentschieden", which sounds natural for a wider range of games.

[@BIDENKART]

Mario Party 5 might not be the most balanced game, but its aesthetics and soundtrack knock every other installment out of the water

[@20000dino]

Eh, practically every Mario Party before DS has great aesthetics (even 8, whose eeriness gives it its own charm imo). Besides 7, I'm partial towards 2, 3, and especially 6. Saying MP5 "knocks all the others out of the water aesthetically" is an extreme exaggeration. They would at the very least not fall behind it too much.

[@bm_burger]

Yeah, especially since 3 and 4 were very minimalistic in terms of presentation. 3's is SOMEWHAT justified since they were at least going for a "board game theme", although in the already board-game themed Mario Party it didn't work for me lol As a kid, words can't describe how much fun factor it gives the game when traversing the board shows your character going past waterfalls and jumping on dinosaur bones. I think the more you play a game, the less these kinds of things matter, but its an underrated factor imo, there IS more to a Mario Party than just the minigames and board layouts

[@catdatwat9743]

“The game might be bad, but hey it sounds and looks good!” Okay bro

[@BIDENKART]

​@@catdatwat9743 Aesthetics are huge in Mario Party. Mario Party 5 was also hugely innovative in terms of board design, making it so the board was built into the terrain instead of plopping a board on top of a backdrop like in 4.

[@Goalieguy-rq9cu]

hello, Mr. President

[@ShadowWizard224]

This game was my entire childhood and it was the only Mario Party game that I would actually play by myself on single player mode. Those GameCube days back in the day as kids were no joke 🔥 Mario Party 5 Smash Bros Melee Wario World Mario Sunshine Wind Waker Etc….

[@varietychan]

I love the capsule system of MP5, I wish there was an MP game with MP5's capsule system, and the item shops from MP6

[@TheJiljo]

Another solid retrospective, great stuff. I’m glad I watched this too because I started collecting GameCube games recently and I have Mario Party 4 and 7, and I’ve been on the fence as to if I should get 5 and 6. After watching this I know I wouldn’t really dig 5

[@marksrecroom]

Thanks so much for watching! I’m glad that you enjoyed it - yeah Mario Party 5 has some good ideas but I’d definitely recommend going for 6 over 5 personally, haha

[@kaleido9631]

Dang. MP5 is one of my favorites. I really appreciated the chaos of the weird orb system (though it had its flaws) and the chaos of the last 5 turns. Also the board designs (graphically) are probably the best in the series.

[@Formula_Zero_EX]

One of the ways I would make to adjust 5’s capsule system is to either: A) Prevent the space that the player put their own capsule on from applying any capsule-related effect on the player, so that the capsules would feel less indiscriminate on how it affects players. (I would leave certain capsules that actually benefit the player when landing on their own spaces be.) 2. Or, make it like Mario Party 6 and 7, where landing on your own capsule/orb spaces would grant you a bonus.

[@SuperPlaytendo]

Mario Party 5 was my introduction to this series and me and my brother played this and 6 a lot when we were younger. But looking back, I just think this game is OK at best.

[@Bucket255]

I love these videos

[@ihopkiller]

Man I miss this type of mario party series! Mario party 1-8 we’re my all time favorites including the handheld version. I would play Super Duel Mode for hours until my bed time. #GoodTimes

[@ToBeKontinued]

Holy carp! I spent WAY too much time in Super Duel Mode as a kid. 😂

[@marksrecroom]

me too, i 100%ed it way back in the day 😂

[@goldenyoshistar1]

Interestingly, of the Mario Party 5 Boards that I've played with my friends, the order of the 4 boards that we decided upon from best to worst is We have yet to do Toy Dream, Rainbow Dream, or Space Dream yet. Undersea Dream at 1 Pirate Dream at 2 Sweet Dream at 3 and then Bowser Nightmare at 4.

[@BigShowGunnoe]

I think one of the things that would make me the most interested in these videos would be if you gave the button masher minigames bad scores. Then if you figured out those averages I think I would trust your averages a lot more for me at least.

[@TempestTemple]

Funny enough, I have more memories playing the mech side mode than the main game itself

[@turbocharger1663]

MP5 my beloved

[@HiJello64]

Oh wow. Another person reviewing all the Mario Partys. I'm surprised I hadn't found this channel sooner.

[@marksrecroom]

yo thanks for watching!! it’s always great seeing a fellow mario party fan!!

[@CeoOfBettt]

I have a love hate relationship with this game I love it cause the boards are great and a big upgrade form the MP4 boards and it gave us Hotel Goomba one of the best mini games ever but the capsule system is not great and I get the capsules are supposed to make the boards spaces more interesting but they removed spaces and turned them into capsules like Chance time, Koopa bank, duel spaces when they should’ve been spaces to begin with

[@fujikoalfonso7448]

Personally I like the luck based games and aspects, adds some randomness rather than only skill for people who don't sweat and breathe Mario Party games.

[@isaac0390]

There is a cool strategy with items like Pirahna Plant. If you don’t want to lose the Rich Star by someone using a Goomba Capsule you could use The Pirahna Plant on yourself to lose half of your money and keep the highest amount of coin.

[@pokemonyoshi]

Also this is the only Mario Party Im youtubing to justify going on hard like I did for 6 beating it recently unlocking everything.

[@MorphBaller388]

I really have to question some of your ideas on which mini games are good and which ones are bad. You rated get a rope has a really good luck mini game, but then the womp maze 1U rated very low. That doesn’t make any sense considering that they get a rope. Mini game is literally the simplest form of minigame you could do. At least the one Maison has some actual skill involved.

[@Carrottime]

Nah, you misunderstand Vicious Vending, it's a perfect metaphor and distillation of the entire concept of a luck game in a tight knit package of villany. It's a truly 11/10 minigame!

[@lightninja4795]

Mario party’s 5 board game is not very weak and the item system does not hurt the game its great.

[@darkensama1390]

Top 7 Boards: 7- Bowser's Nightmare 6- Rainbow Dream 5- Sweet Dream 4- Future Dream 3- Pirate Dream 2- Toy Dream 1- Undersea Dream

[@Russell1995]

Another excellent review and once again I agree and disagree with many points made here however you once again dismissed the story mode and story mini game which in my opinion was the best or one of the best mini games of the whole game. I didn't like that the story mode was non stop duals against one koopa which really got kind of annoying and repetitive in and of itself and I would've much rather preferred a party style story mode against 4 with normal mini games which would've made much more sense, but it was still kind of fun anyway and I can see why they wanted to shake it up and make the story mode different than previous titles so I guess I can't complain too much there. And while as much as the capsule system was a bit tediously implemented with flaws and that there was not enough things happening in the boards, the capsules were still very fun to use and while I won't deny that its flaws definitely took away from the fun factor and excitement of the experience of the game and made them all a little more boring and repetitive than they should've been and while yes the boards all could've been much better presented and executed, I honestly don't think it took away from them as much as you made it sound here to where it made them TOO boring and repetitive to enjoy as a whole, because while the attempted mechanics may be flawed or didn't make as much sense as they could've, the boards are still fun enough and all around a good time despite all that. And all the mini games are great in my opinion. I honestly feel like the mini games in 4-7 are all equally amazing and there were very few that I disliked, even the ones you said you didn't like I actually did like except for maybe one or two that you mentioned.

[@BoomingInfernape]

I see only Hard CPUs in this footage. To unlock Brutal/Intense (depending on NTSC/PAL) you need to beat the Story Mode on Hard.

[@edzarco6461]

i swear, every video i learn, like, a new word from this guy. 19:11 "Milquetoast" what?! hahaha

[@marksrecroom]

thank you, this is one of the best compliments i’ve received here lol

[@BitTrippin]

Great video! This was always my least favorite of the GC games (besides 7 because that one is just awful). The item system, the boards, the minigames, the overabundance of luck with little agency to compensate make me avoid this one when playing MP with my friends.

[@chazgleaves8948]

love your content, keep up the great work!

[@luxerhusku2609]

I dunno about the Minigames in this game. I feel that there are too many Luck and Mashing Minigames that makes it feel like the devs had been kinda lazy along with the amount of Board Events from previous games being gone and want the players to decide for themselves. I would say Button Mashers is the most skillful out of all of the Mashing Minigames with Triple Jump at a close second.

[@MorphBaller388]

I think people need to keep in mind that just because it has some bad mini games, the game isn’t bad necessarily. Part of the fun of my party is getting screwed over by BS that you’re not in control of.

[@whitemage34]

U forgot to mention THE GRATE STAR SPIRITS guardians of the STAR ROD rulers of STAR HEAVEN

[@AkiyoScarlet]

MP5 is something I could argue is worst than 9 @ 10 just because the orbs are so bad in my opinion. Half of these why would I want to throw on the board when they can hurt me or help others. It's kind of crazy.

[@MetalHeadJagger]

Mario Party 5 Boards were Weak but Mini games were memorable and fun and this game laid the groundwork for 6 and 7

[@Sparkling34]

I love leaf leap

[@shaankelly1302]

Idk how hot this take is or how ppl feel but i DESPISE the capsule/orb system. I did get used to it by the time Mario Party 7 came around but man did i not enjoy 5 and 6 when they came out. I like the variety but it is not worth getting rid of so many spaces. Just add items to the item shops. I do like Mario party 6 a lot now retroactively for some reason i still dont like 5. I guess the boards just kinda bore me. Also 6 does have an orb shop which is a good middle ground

[@Imirui]

I definitely believe that mario party 5 is one of my personal least favorite games. It’s not the worst of the originals (that honor belongs to 1, every other game improved so much) but the stuff in it just really didn’t work for me. The capsule system is better on paper than in practice. The idea of a “build your own board” item system is fun, but there’s near 0 reason to place them on spaces. The minigames to me are very hit-and-miss. There’s way too many button mashers (Button Mashers, Pump Pump and Away, Manic Mallets, Will Flower, Triple Jump, and Tug-O-Dorrie) and luck based minigames. (Ground Pound Down, Lucky Lineup, Random Ride, Fight Cards) It has some real good minigames (Pushy Penguins and Fish Upon a Star are ones I love) but god the negatives really outweigh positives for me.

[@thegameboy1353]

I know it’s weird, but this one is just odd to me. Both in aesthetics and music.

[@fernando98322]

Next time is the best Mario Party

[@marksrecroom]

👀

[@Microsoftpro-ff6ou]

SlimKirby should’ve told me he doesn’t like the idea of leaving his house instead of blocking me on twitch some people don’t like to talk to people they don’t know to unblock someone, but they will talk to random people to begin with

[@stupidinternetman999]

you have-a da good videos

[@marksrecroom]

hahaha thank you for watching!!

[@navihey]

I didnt like how they changed battle games occurring at random. I suppose they want to keep it from occurring too often and taking up time, but now it almost never occurs and that's going towards bad

[@navihey]

at most 3 if extremely lucky. In mario party 2 and 3, a 20 turn game can easily meet that number

[@Microsoftpro-ff6ou]

It’s amazing how cheap security cameras have become I’m saying this because slim Kirby blocked me on twitch

[@peterquarequio4777]

Is everybody going to ignore story mode? The system of rating your performance on each board is unfair. You need to try and fail multiple times before you can get an S ranking, and you don’t even get to play all of the boards when you do!

[@pokemonyoshi]

I'm currently playing through classic Mario Party games unlocking everything I can't get 100 % into Mario Party 5 hopefully I can one day. I feel like Mario Party 5 is like a side fun Mario Party game while 6 and 7 are golden stars and 4 from what I remember can be debatable with 3 to see which is better. Now the N64 Mario Party games I think it goes 2 , 1 then 3 but it's because I kind of love the brutality of Mario Party 1 and 3 is fun but 2 over does it.

[@joshuagraham1598]

Bottom 1 for removing my main DK

[@zacharymcfarland2613]

Who are you playing with that won't throw any capsules onto the board? In a silly party game like Mario Party, yeah I'm gonna throw the capsules hoping that it'll screw my friends up. And all of my friends will too! This is a very silly take that the boards will remain barren

[@AngeVNs]

Mario Party 4 and especially 5 ruined me and my friends motivation to play new Mario Party until Superstars As you said the super boring board/capsule system brought down everything

[@privatepika2052]

What!!?!?! Mario party 4 is better that 5?!?!

[@CameronRoberts-jh9mr]

Dont agree 2nd favorite

[@imafreakinninja12]

Since when does Mario Party require skill to win?