Mario Party 3 is a 2000 party video game created by Hudson Soft and released by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the third part of the Mario Party series. The game was first sold in Japan on December 7, 2000, in North America on May 7, 2001, in Australia on September 3, 2001, and in Europe on November 16, 2001. Players can choose from eight characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Donkey Kong, Princess Daisy, and Waluigi. The game added special maps where two players compete by using other characters, such as Chain Chomps, to reduce each other’s stamina.
Mario Party 3 received mixed opinions from critics, who had different views about the new minigames and gameplay changes compared to earlier games in the series. It was successful in sales, with more than 1 million copies sold worldwide, making it one of the most popular Nintendo 64 games. It was the last Nintendo 64 game released in North America before Mario Party 4 came out for the GameCube in 2002. The game’s content was included in remastered versions called Mario Party: The Top 100 (2017) for the Nintendo 3DS and Mario Party Superstars (2021) for the Nintendo Switch. It was also re-released on the Nintendo Classics service on October 27, 2023.
Gameplay
Mario Party 3 is a video game where players can choose from eight characters: Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Wario, Princess Peach, and Donkey Kong are available in all game modes, while Princess Daisy and Waluigi are not playable in the Story Mode. In the game’s story, Mario and his friends see the Millennium Star, a magical star that appears once every thousand years and grants the person who owns it the title of “Superstar of the universe.” When the group argues about who should own the star, it sends them into a toy box and challenges them to prove their worth by collecting seven “Star Stamps” across different lands.
The game is played like a traditional board game with five themed maps. Players can compete in multiplayer mode, with each game having four players, including at least one human and up to four computer-controlled characters. The difficulty of the computer-controlled characters can be set to “Easy,” “Medium,” or “Hard.” After choosing a map, players decide how long the game will last: “Lite Play” has 20 turns, “Standard Play” has 35, and “Full Play” has 50. A “Custom Play” allows players to choose any number of turns between 10 and 50, but only in multiples of 5. At the start of each game, players roll dice blocks to determine turn order, with the highest number going first.
The goal is to collect the most Stars within the set number of turns. Stars are bought from the Millennium Star using coins, which players earn by completing one of 70 mini-games after each turn. Each time a Star is purchased, the Millennium Star moves to a new location. A player’s turn begins by rolling a dice block to move forward 1 to 10 spaces. Each map has different spaces: blue spaces give 3 coins, red spaces take away 3 coins, and both amounts double during the final five turns. Red spaces with Bowser’s head trigger Bowser to appear and slow a player’s progress. Green “!” spaces start a mini-game where players exchange coins or Stars. Green spaces with Goomba icons begin a four-player battle where coins are taken from players, and the winner keeps most of them. Green “?” spaces cause random events that help or hinder players. Green spaces with a bag of coins require players to deposit 5 coins into a “Koopa Bank,” while landing directly on the space lets players take all deposited coins. Green spaces with Shy Guy icons start a mini-game where players may gain or lose coins.
Players can collect items to use on the board, carrying up to three at a time. Items can be used before rolling dice blocks and may help players gain extra dice or steal items. The Skeleton Key allows players to use shortcuts on the map. Items can be bought from shops or won by landing on green spaces with Toad’s head. Boo appears in some areas and can steal coins or Stars from other players for a cost: 5 coins for coins or 50 coins for a Star. If targeted, players can reduce the amount stolen by tapping the A button repeatedly.
After all players move, a mini-game is played. The type of mini-game depends on the color of the space each player landed on. If all players are the same color, a 4-player mini-game is played. If players are on different colors, they split into teams (1 vs. 3 or 2 vs. 2). The mini-game is chosen randomly, and players can review rules and practice before playing. Winners earn 10 coins. After the mini-game, the next turn begins, repeating until the set number of turns is reached.
During the final five turns, if two players land on the same space, a one-on-one Duel mini-game starts. A player can also start a duel earlier using the Dueling Glove item. After the last turn, if bonuses are enabled, three awards are given: the player with the most coins from mini-games, the player who landed on the most “?” spaces, and the player with the most coins overall. The winner is the player with the most coins and Stars. If tied, a dice roll decides the winner.
Mario Party 3 includes a Duel mode where two players use up to two partners to attack the opponent and reduce their health. Partners can be placed in front or behind the player and must be paid a salary each turn. If the salary is not paid, the partner leaves. The mode lasts for 20 turns or until one player’s health reaches zero. Partners attack the opponent and protect the player. If a partner’s health reaches zero, they disappear. If an attacking partner deals more damage than a defending partner can take, the player takes the difference. If no partner is between the attacker and opponent, all damage is taken directly. Players cannot attack directly. Some attacks cannot be blocked, and partners cost coins to keep. If a partner is attacked, the attack may miss. The winner is the player with more health left. If health is equal, the player with more coins wins. If both health and coins are equal, the game ends in a tie.
Duel mini-games and Game Guy mini-games are the only mini-games available in Duel mode. Unlike Battle Royale, they do not occur after every turn but only if a player lands on a mini-game space.
Development
Mario Party 3 was created by Hudson Soft and released by Nintendo, just like other games in the Mario Party series. This game was the first in the series to include more than one place to save progress and introduced Princess Daisy and Waluigi as characters players could control. On August 9, 2000, it was announced that the game included 70 new mini-games. Later that same month, Nintendo shared 12 additional images of the game’s adventure boards. At that time, the game was about 70% finished. The game’s advertising campaign required a budget of $4 million.
Reception
Mario Party 3 received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. GamePro praised the game, calling it "one of the last and best games you can play on the system with up to three buddies." However, other reviewers criticized it for using the same gameplay as earlier games with only small changes. Critics noted that the game was most enjoyable when played with friends. NGC Magazine wrote, "Playing against the CPU is one of the most frustrating exercises known to man."
Common topics in reviews included the mini-games, new features, and how the game compared to earlier entries. Gavin Frankle of AllGame called Mario Party 3 the most enjoyable in the series, stating it "provides enough to entice new fans and satisfy existing ones." He also noted it "does little to further the genre or remedy the problems that have been around since the first game." Nintendo Power described the mini-games as "the real life of the party," and Joe Fielder of GameSpot and Cam Shea of Hyper agreed that Mario Party 3 had the best mini-games in the series. However, opinions on the mini-games varied, with some called "stinkers" and others described as "senseless, boring, and just plain stupid." Shea and Dr. Moo of GameRevolution praised the duel mode, noting it and the item site helped add variety to the game. Dr. Moo wrote that the mini-games helped improve the game's weaknesses. However, Shea and Dr. Moo criticized the series' usual reliance on random luck and the need to wait for computer-controlled opponents. A negative comment from Nintendo Power staff stated, "It seems like many of the challenges are based on overcoming unresponsive controls."
Joe Fielder said the graphics were similar to previous games and wrote they "look as good as they need to for this kind of game, but are certainly not going to win it any awards." Fran Mirabella III of IGN stated the game "uses the same bright colors, low-resolution textures, and choppy animation that the rest have." Fielder said the soundtrack was slightly better than previous games. Mirabella called the music "just as outdated as the graphics" but also described it as "very cute" and wrote it "does the job of keeping your ears occupied in the cheesiest of ways."
In 2015, IGN listed the game at number one on its list of "Best Mario Party Games," writing, "The best Mario Party games know the balance between luck and skill, and Mario Party 3 best exemplifies this rule. Just about everything that made Mario Party 2 so great was pushed further as Mario Party 3 introduced even more strategic items, creative new boards, and some truly fun minigames." TheGamer also ranked Mario Party 3 first among 17 Mario Party games, praising its boards, mini-games, and visuals.
The game sold over 1,000,000 units worldwide. However, it did not sell well in Western regions because it was released late in the Nintendo 64's lifespan.
Mario Party 3 won the "Console Family" award from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences during the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.