It’s that time of the year again! Time to reflect and think about who and what you’re thankful for and take some time to appreciate those people or things. It’s Thanksgiving!
Unfortunately, just like any major holiday lately… it just seems like another day. Which is terrible! Thanksgiving should be a party!
Let’s take it back 20 years. Thanksgiving 2003. The Detroit Lions beat the Packers, 22-14, and the Dolphins spanked the Cowboys, 40-21. Meanwhile, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade was going on. Viewers would see the see the classics like Pikachu, Mr. Monopoly, Cheesasaurus Rex, the Wild Thing, Jimmy Neutron, and of course, Barney. Man… times were good, huh?! Add in a ton of food… friends.. AND FAMILY! Phew… almost perfect! There’s only 1 thing missing. Obviously, an awesome game for everyone to play together. Luckily, 20 years ago, on November 11, 2003, that game just so happened to be released!
Mario Party 5 on the Nintendo GameCube was a revolutionary release to this series. This release introduced some great new features that are still present in the latest version. The capsule system was introduced for the first time which replaced the old “item” system. Super Duel Mode was introduced, which allowed players to battle each other on battle machines. And Bonus Mode was introduced, which allowed players to play special mini-games. Mario Party 5 also maintained the 3D gameboard that was introduced in MP4, which is a staple of gameplay until this day!
With the new technology packed into the GameCube, this second release on this console was able to take all those new features, while maintaining what worked in previous versions, along with adding a few new characters (Toad, Boo, and Koopa Kid) packed into a cool dream-theme in the Dream Depot. Mario Party 5 had a bunch of fun mini games and was an awesome party game back in the day, and it still is!
Mario Party is definitely in the top percentage of party video games. I mean, I can only think of a couple off the top of my head… Mart Kart.. aaand Overcooked? MP has dominated their genre for over 20 years! That’s 1% behavior right there! So get out there and get whatever version of Mario Party you have, get your friends and family together, and have a Turkey Party this Thanksgiving!
Community! Enjoy your Thanksgiving, eat well, drink up, and have a great time! Let the community know; have you played Mario Party 5? If so, what are your favorite mini games? What’s your favorite out of the MP series? Leave a comment below!