If you’re a Mario Party enthusiast and Nintendo fan alike, it’s time to gear up: the classic Nintendo 64 game and notorious friendship-ender, Mario Party 3, is making its way to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. To make things better, you don’t even need to wait, since the launch is today!
Earlier this week, Nintendo officially confirmed this exciting addition to its subscription service with a trailer that flooded me with happy, warm memories of playing on the Nintendo 64 during my blissful childhood years.
Mario Party 3 is often hailed as one of the pinnacle entries in the series, and for good reason. The game contains an impressive soundtrack, arguably the best in the series, filled with tunes that are as catchy as they are memorable. It’s hard to find a track that doesn’t resonate or bring back fond memories of the intense mini-games and board game shenanigans.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention that Mario Party 3 was the first game in the series to introduce iconic characters like Waluigi (who came with his own board, Waluigi’s Island) and Princess Daisy to the party game spinoff’s roster.
Mario Party 3 was also the first installment in the series to feature a well-crafted single-player story mode, offering a departure from the linear solo modes of its predecessors. With over 70 mini-games and the introduction of smaller Dual Boards designed specifically for two players, it’s easy to see yourself spending hours on end fixated on your Nintendo Switch.
In this updated version of Mario Party 3, Nintendo has integrated online play, which means friends can challenge each other using different consoles. With its addition to Switch Online, Mario Party 3 will be joining an impressive lineup of 26 N64 games available to Nintendo owners. This follows the recent additions of Excitebike 64 and Pokemon Stadium 2 back in August.
The full list of N64 titles now includes classics like Banjo-Kazooie, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Super Mario 64, just to name a few. Nintendo will also be adding 1080° Snowboarding and Harvest Moon 64 sometime in the near future.
