Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV Offers Fun Mouse Clicks, Flimsy Camera Tricks

Last year, Super Mario Party Jamboree came and went without all that much noise, delivering a solid, if not exactly (mini)game-changing entry in the long-running series. So, the announcement that Jamboree would be one of the first Nintendo Switch titles to receive a major paid Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade came as a bit of a surprise to some. But perhaps the laboriously-titled Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV shouldn’t have been that unexpected, as Nintendo is basically using the upgraded game as a showcase for the Switch 2’s new features and peripherals, such as Joy-Con 2 mouse controls and the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera.

Does the Switch 2 version of Super Mario Party Jamboree take the festivities to the next level? Or is it okay to leave this party in the past? Boogie on down for my impressions...

Note: This is an opinion piece and, thus, not as detailed as a full, scored review would be.

From the title screen, you'll find most of Super Mario Party Jamboree's new Switch 2 content by selecting Jamboree TV, which includes a couple of new game modes that provide quick access to the game's roughly 20 new minigames.

The “Bowser Live” mode serves up minigames that require the use of the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera and the console’s new built-in microphone. Basically, two teams compete in a trio of camera or microphone-focused minigames, and whoever does best over the course of all three, wins. The loser gets roasted alive by Bowser. Pretty simple.

The Switch 2 camera is basically functional, I suppose. Simple minigames that involve doing things like punching upwards to bash a coin block or pulling various basic poses Simon-Says-style do work, but the experience isn’t overly thrilling. I’m not providing my own screenshots for privacy purposes, but Nintendo’s screenshots showing what people look like when captured in game are very much a best-case scenario. I don’t know if conditions in the room I was playing in weren’t right, but the images of myself and my fellow players captured by the game were very low quality. The camera/game is also bad at finding the edges of a person – often large chunks of background would be included or, alternatively, arms and legs would be cut off. The game is also not particularly good with players of various sizes, as my family members, who range from around 4 feet to 6 feet tall, all had to stand at odd varying distances from the camera.

Minigames based around the mic are similarly functional, but also not that exciting, and background talk and other extraneous noise easily confuses the game. Ultimately, Bowser Live was good for a few chuckles, particularly when my seven-year-old discovered he could stick his butt into other players’ sections of the screen, but nobody who experienced the heady 2010s era of Kinect and the PlayStation Eye are going to find anything here terribly impressive or innovative.

Significantly more successful is the new “Carnival Coaster” mode, which revolves around the new Joy-Con 2’s mouse functionality. Carnival Coaster asks players to team up to get to the end of one of five different on-rail rides. You have a limited amount of time to reach the end, but successfully shooting down groups of enemies will net you bonus time. You'll also periodically play a mouse-controlled minigame, with further time being added to the clock if you do well.

While the shooting aspect of Carnival Coaster mode is quite simple, it works well enough, and the minigames you play are almost all winners -- some of the best in all of Jamboree. While some of these minigames are quite simple, asking you to pluck and sort mail into folders or scoop ice cream cones, others throw in a literal twist as you use mouse and motion controls simultaneously to, say, stack and manipulate blocks and other items to build the highest tower.

Of course, the Switch 2’s built-in features bring some added functionality to the standard Mario Party experience as well. Players can capture a live image of their face to give the party a personal touch and GameChat has the potential to make online games a little more rowdy. GameShare support also means both Switch 2 and OG Switch owners can test Jamboree out with you, even if they don't own the game. Meanwhile, the new Jamboree TV content has had its resolution bumped up (the game already ran at 60fps on the OG Switch), which is nice, although I don’t know if many people play Mario Party for its graphical fidelity.

With all these additions, the Switch 2 version of Super Mario Party Jamboree is probably the most feature- and content-rich entry in the series to date, which is good, because it’s also the most expensive game in the series at a full $80 (those who own the Switch version can upgrade for $20). Whether you’re willing to pony up that much to party hardy is up to you.

A Sometimes-Stimulating Switch 2 Showcase

Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV is an interesting showcase of Nintendo’s latest hardware features, for better or worse. The Nintendo Switch 2 Camera feels like a late-to-the-party retread of a style of gameplay that went out of fashion a decade ago, but pretty much any mode and minigame that relies on Joy-Con 2 mouse controls works out quite well. Nintendo’s asking price may be hard to justify for some, but if you’re looking for a single product that shows off all of the Switch 2’s unique abilities, this multi-talented upgrade may be worth an invite.

Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV launches on July 24. As mentioned, those who already own the Switch version of Jamboree can upgrade for $20 or you can buy the original game and upgrade together for $80.

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