Nintendo’s iconic party game series, Mario Party, has seen no shortage of wacky, off-the-wall minigames designed to invoke plenty of joy and laughter when playing amongst friends or family. From the most modern rendition on the Switch, Super Mario Party, to the one that started it all on N64, we’ve seen an array of colorful bite-sized gaming romps.
But which of these competitive showdowns stand out as the weirdest of the weird? We’ll seek to cover just that! Join us as we examine 10 of the most bizarre experiences amongst countless minigames spanning nearly a dozen entries of mainline MP.
10 Tick Tock Hop (Mario Party 3)
While there are many examples of brand new minigame concepts in later entries of Mario Party, this spinning bout of insanity is somewhat a retooling of the classic Hot Rope Jump with a more creative twist.
Rather than hopping over a rotating jump rope of flames like Mario Party 1 and 2 had you doing, you’ll now be leaping over the large hands of a massive grandfather clock. Why Mario and his pals are in a scenario involving a huge grounded clock with erratically spinning hands is anyone’s guess - but it’s a fun game regardless.
9 Flinger Painting (Mario Party 9)
In a sort of “Jackson Pollock” take on a Mario Party game, this messy showdown, from MP9 on the Wii, involves up to 4 players blasting a giant canvas with splodges of paint. You’ve got to appreciate the simplicity in this colorful, mess-making bonanza.
The massive paint-bazookas sure make for some amusing and satisfying weaponry. One can’t help wonder if this wacky kid-friendly minigame served as the foundation for Splatoon, a paint shooter with a similar - albeit more elaborate - premise.
8 Stamp Out (Mario Party 4)
It’s funny how some of the most basic concepts can provide the template for some of the most enjoyable games. This fan-favorite was one of the standout 4 player free-for-all romps in GameCube’s first MP game. The name of the game is at once simple and thrilling - to mark up a gigantic, mostly blank canvas with your colored stamp, covering as much ground as you can.
The silly imagery that comes with Mario and company hopping around a blank sheet saddled atop large stamps is quite chuckle-worthy. Yet, players can also invoke angry shouts from friends as they sabotage their opponents by stamping over their trails of ink.
7 Don’t Wake Wiggler (Super Mario Party)
One of the most comically subdued minigames in MP history has to be Don’t Wake Wiggler, a sort of “hot potato” variant where the goal is as simple as petting a sleeping Wiggler. As the title spells out, the aim is to get in as many subtle pets as possible without causing the critter to angrily awaken.
It’s truly a bizarre experience to rake in points for the basic act of moving your digitized hand in this motion-controlled Switch game. It’s also quite the oddball concept, considering the plumber and friends are trying to appease a well-known baddie in Mario games.
6 Bowl Over (Mario Party 1, 2)
Sure, the idea of bowling in and of itself is one that’s rather straightforward. Yet, the N64 Mario Party titles offer a particularly strange spin on these showdowns from a visual and conceptual standpoint.
The very idea of bowling against opponents who aren’t aiming to take down pins, but rather, are the pins, is a pretty bizarre one. It makes for some particularly goofy imagery once you begin futilely hopping around trying to dodge the oncoming Troopa shell.
We’d sure like to know the backstory behind this weird premise!
5 Shake It Up (Mario Party 8)
This delightful minigame on Mario Party 8 for Wii exists as both a 4-player showdown as well as a 1 v 1 faceoff. The concept is about as simple as you can get - shake your Wiimote ferociously to build up the carbonation in a virtual can of soda and eventually trying to get it to burst.
This was no doubt a way for Nintendo to showcase their motion controls, which was a fairly new concept during the time of its release in early 2007. Nowadays, though, it tends to both look and feel rather silly. It’s sure to garner plenty of yuks from those playing.
4 Look Away (Mario Party 2)
This one checks many of the boxes when it comes to its “weird” factor. You’ve got some rather colorful, borderline trippy imagery, along with a premise that’s so simple it’s tough to take seriously. This one is partly based on sheer randomness and partly on fast reaction times, as you’ll be tasked with looking a different direction than your opponent(s) as designated breaks in the music.
One has to wonder what was going through the minds of Nintendo and Hudson Soft while watching these floating heads bob along to cheery music and busting out such a simplistic action.
3 Slaparazzi (Super Mario Party)
There’s little doubt that several minigames featured in the vast Mario Party series are meant to coax some laughter amongst family and/or friends. This seems to be the case with this romp; a slap-happy showdown that is unusually violent for a Mario title.
Of course, there’s no blood or anything of that nature, but just the notion of running around smacking your opponents to sabotage their photoshoot carries a comically aggressive vibe. It’s all the stranger when you consider that you get rewarded by laying the most effective smackdown in your photos.
2 EyeBrawl (Mario Party 8)
This cleverly-named minigame borders on the surreal with its weird visuals and concept. As is the case in many MP 8 games, you’ll need to waggle the Wii Remote vigorously, as the aim is to get the giant floating eyeballs to get dazed when trying to follow your pointer.
This one takes a page from the playbook of Eye Sore from Mario Party 3, though it amps up the strangeness with its massive eyes that appear to be even larger than the players.
1 Eatsa Pizza (Mario Party 3)
Similar to our previous entry, the amusing Eatsa Pizza puts a colorful twist on an already existing minigame, making it more visually interesting and wacky. The game utilizes a similar digging mechanic and concept from Buried Treasure - but instead of frantically digging for gold, you’re now scarfing down a gargantuan pizza.
Why not, right? This makes for quite the off-kilter visual. Yet, it’s a fun one, and a fan favorite which has been deemed memorable enough to make it to MP: The Top 100 on the 3DS.
One can’t help but think of the rough stomachaches these characters will have to endure following the large-scale gorging of this pizza.
NEXT: Party Hard: The 10 Best PS4 Games For Parties
