In no particular order…
1. Because it’s in the Mario franchise, which is irrefutably classic. (Yes, “irrefutably” is a word. I know because I looked it up.)
2. Because I won twice this weekend, in the 3rd installment. And boy, do I like winning.
3. Because even when you lose, it’s a fun fall down the ladder to Bowser-dom.
4. Mini-games. Because I have THAT short of an attention span lately.
5. 4 players. Because who else is more fun to fuck over than your bestest friends?
6. The fun spans five (count ’em), f-i-v-e systems. (*RE-EDIT* My fellow Partier has reminded me that Mario Party HAS, in fact, arrived to DS and it was also on Gameboy Advance! This brings the number to a whopping five!)
7. Because you can be a badass gambling man, and only have to shell out fake coins for errors in judgment (read: You’re too drunk to really realize what you are agreeing to when pressing “A” so fast).
8. Because sometimes when life gets rough, earning that shiny golden star gives me the greatest sense of self accomplish I’ve had all week…..until that bitch Peach usually steals it away. Whore. (but again, see Point 3).
9. It’s fun to conduct lengthy group discussions debating whether Toad is male or female.
10. It completes me.
11. The Bonuses. Cuz any game that rewards you for sufficiently kicking other people’s asses (or sometimes for sucking THAT badly) fucking rocks. And also: anything is possible. Fate is never determined until the Bonus stars are rewarded, and even if you can’t quite handle the crazy A-B-Z combinations as fast as an MP pro, you can still win. Sometimes. Bonuses make the game fun for all skill levels- a definite plus.
ps – this was beautiful. i want to print it out and hang it up in my room.
Only three systems? Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Wii, Nintendo DS, probably gameboys… I was never great at math but I think that’s more than three.
You are right about DS…though I know for a fact it was not on SNES. Mario Kart, was, however.
I have changed the number from 3 to 4. Thanks!
AHH GAMEBOY ADVANCE! ITS FIVE!