Nintendo has released a huge update for Super Mario Party on Nintendo Switch, adding full online multiplayer for the game’s main Mario Party mode. It’s an update that fixes one of the biggest complaints that we had about the game at its release over two years ago.
You will need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription in order to play online, but if you do, you can now play Mario Party, Partner Party and Free Play with minigames over the internet. You can play with either one player per system or two players per system, with the maximum number of four players in a game. There’s no mixing and matching between the two configurations, though.
There’s no online matchmaking to play with randoms, with the two options being a Friend Match, where you can play with Friends, and a Private Game, where you can set up a lobby with a password to connect with.
Guide: How to play Super Mario Party online with update 1.1.0
There’s a couple of caveats, in that 70 of the game’s 80 minigames are available to play online, that the previous Onliine Mariothon multiplayer mode does not support Friend Invite, and there’s no player progression while playing online. All of the characters and maps are available when playing online, but play data will not be saved.
Here’s the version 1.1.0 patch notes.
Super Mario Party online multiplayer patch notes
Ver. 1.1.0 (Released April 27, 2021)
Feature Added
-
- You can now play the following modes over the internet:
- Mario Party
- Partner Party
- Free Play (Minigames)
- You can now play the following modes over the internet:
Important: To play over the internet, a subscription to the paid Nintendo Switch Online service is required.
Playing over the internet
- To play over the internet, select either Mario Party, Partner Party, or Minigames, then select Online Play.
- There are two ways to play over the internet: Friend Match, where you can play with Friends, and Private Game, where you can play with anyone using passwords.
- The combinations through which you can play over the internet are as follows:
- Up to 1 player per system (you can play with between 2 and 4 players)
- Up to 2 players per system (you can play with between 3 and 4 players)
If two players are each playing on their own systems, they cannot play with two players using a third system.
- Playing over the internet supports the Invite Friend feature. If you select Invite Friend on the screen at which you’re waiting for rivals, your selected Friends can join from the Online Play Invites on their user-page icon in the top left of the HOME Menu.
- Online Mariothon does not support the Invite Friend feature.
- When playing over the internet, all 20 characters and all maps are available, regardless of your current in-game progress.
- When playing over the internet, 70 of the total 80 minigames are available to play.
- The following 10 minigames are not available when playing over the internet.
- Strike It Rich
- Time to Shine
- Take a Stab
- All-Star Swingers
- Rhythm and Bruise
- Pep Rally
- Wiped Out
- Fiddler on the Hoof
- Clearing the Table
- Baton and On
- Play data won’t be saved when playing over the internet.
Super Mario Party released in late 2018 and went on to be a multi-million seller for Nintendo with its family friendly board game. The lack of online multiplayer was one of the main complaints from its release, but it also felt very safe as a Mario Party game at a time where the series needed more innovation. That Nintendo has taken the time to come back around and add online multiplayer is a real surprise.
In our Super Mario Party review, I wrote:
Super Mario Party is just a very safe game. It brings back the classic Mario Party board game form, marrying it with some of the better ideas from Mario Party: Star Rush, but it’s light on the number of boards to play, lacks depth in other game modes, and misses opportunities for solo handheld and online multiplayer. It’s Mario Party, but it’s not particularly super.
Source: Nintendo
