Top Ten Minigames in Mario Party 5

When we talk about Mario Party, it feels like the GameCube era tends to be forgotten. This was kind of the transitional period between the iconic Nintendo 64 games and the more gimmicky games that came about around the time of Mario Party 7. There is still plenty to love about these games so lets look back at the top ten minigames from Mario Party 5.

Honorable Mention: Cage-In Cookin' (Bowser)

So Mario Party 5 has six character minigames: three for Bowser, and three for Donkey Kong. The Donkey Kong minigames are all pretty similar where the player has to compete to collect bananas which are then exchanged for coins while the Bowser minigames are all designed to screw as many of the players as possible. Only Cage-In Cookin' has any sense of skill to it where the player has to correctly input as many buttons as possible to unlock the cage and escape before Bowser sets all the competitors on fire.

I also want to call out Hotel Goomba and Chomp Romp for having great concepts, great execution, but (possibly due to hardware limitations of the GameCube) the layout never changes so the first time may have a little bit of difficulty but once you know the layout it's just repetitive.

10. Bus Buffer (Two-on-Two)

Bus Buffer only makes the list because no matter how poor your AI ally plays, you can basically solo this minigame. Sure Luigi may get stuck in the top corner of the screen and leave you to clean the entire rest of the bus, but you can still clear without him. Unlike the rest of the two-on-two options, this is the least luck-based and the easiest to handle with or without help.

9. Bill Blasters (Battle)

This is a fun albeit repetitive option. The battle minigames are definitely the weakest point of the game since I believe you're guaranteed to encounter at least one each party and Super Duel mode requires you to grind these to buy upgrades to your weapons systems. The problem is a good amount of them are long because these rank based on performance and luck-based so the grind gets annoying. The best game for this grind is Bill Blasters where each of the four players sit on spinning platforms and try to shoot their opponents with the last one standing as the winner. This one doesn't require a ton of skill but is quick win or loss so it's best for the grind.

8. Astro-Logical (Battle)

Which brings us to the second Battle minigame on this list: Astro-logical. You have to move around the board and pick the astrological sign that matches the one that appears in a limited time. It's definitely the most fun of the Battle minigames and gives the best chance of winning without relying on blind luck. Plus, the aesthetic is great.

7. Mazed and Confused (Four Player)

Pretty simple game, each player starts at one corner of the map and have to be the first to reach the center. The caveat is that there is a constantly moving maze of electrified walls that will stun you if you touch them. This one is only low because the wall switching can happen at in opportune times, leading to a marked disadvantage if you fall victim to an ill-timed switch. The hit will stun you and could put you on the side of the wall you weren't intending, making the game a little harder than it needs to be.

6. Mario Mechs (Three-on-One)

This one basically makes the list because of the aesthetic and not for much else because, while it is possible for the three to win, it is incredibly difficult. The single player is in a large mech, the three are in speeder bikes. If the three either take down the mech or last until time runs out, they win. If the mech destroys the three bikes within the time limit, the one wins. Like I said, it is possible for the three to win, easier by survival than killing the mech, but taking down the mech is an incredibly satisfying victory so this makes the list.

5. Whomp Maze (Duel)

The Duel system was probably a lot of people's first experience with anxiety as a child. During the last five turns of a game, if two players land on the same space, they have to duel for coins or a star. A duel can also be started by a player landing on a space that a duel capsule was used on or using a duel capsule on themselves. The overwhelming majority of theses events are either, again, luck-based or have some kind of absurd control scheme that's frustrating. Whomp Maze is basically a sprint where the players compete to get through an invisible maze of Whomps before the other. It's frantic and, while there is an element of luck, I've never encountered an unwinnable maze. Plus, since the maze doesn't move, it is substantially easy to recover from a mistake.

4. Frozen Frenzy (Four Player)

A disproportionate amount of the four-player minigames are collect-a-thons. There's an item spawning on the map and all four players have to run around and grab as many of them as they can get their hands on. Frozen Frenzy takes this basic gameplay loop and does it best because the map is not static, there are a finite number of collectibles, and you have to fight the opponents or play keep-away to win.

3. Quilt For Speed (Three-on-One)

The three-on-one minigames in Mario Party 5 tend to feel a little one-sided. They are improperly weighted so either the three or the one have a marked advantage, to the point where when one comes up during a party, you can feel either thrilled to be on the winning side, or annoyed to be on the side that's basically a guaranteed loss. Quilt For Speed is the best-balanced of the three-on-one minigames considering the computer screwing up while you are on the side of the three is not an insurmountable setback. Both sides start equidistant from the finish line and have to pick the direction they want to move their giant robot Goomba using a spinning roulette wheel. Since the one is moving one space at a time while the three moves three, even a wrong move does not spell doom for the three making this one of the less frustrating games to play.

2. Leaf Leap (Four Player)

A list without Leaf Leap would be incomplete since this game is basically synonymous with Mario Party 5. Simply put, each player has to climb a beanstalk by jumping in the right direction based on where a leaf spawns above them. If they jump in the wrong direction, they fall down to the last leaf on that side. It's kind of a zen experience to an extent as you jump side-to-side, climbing from a farm all the way to space. Plus, I'm always a fan of games that let you set an internally tracked record.

1. Hydrostars (Four Player)

The best minigame is hands down Hydrostars where each player starts out at the same point, has to hit five stars across this zoned-off ocean space in a random order, and then has to cross back over the starting line first to win. It's quick, requires a small amount of strategy, and has an internally tracked record that may not be entirely fair because the layout changes each time you load the track. It's really the only minigame that has the ability for the player to improve and feel the gradual impact of their improvement.