There's actually a lot of strategy on Bowser's Warped Orbit. While the board seems only luck based, there is so much you can try do to either preserve your stars or rubber band your way back from a rough position. The board is very good at encouraging and rewarding risk assessment and tracking player placement. For one, the junctions can be just as much as a benefit than as hiderance. If someone is trying to attack and you are inside a junction, they have a chance to fail. While this form of defence may seem too unreliable, it's always better to have ANY form of defence than just, being out in the open. Another is the Slowgo candy. It is the best candy to abuse on this board in particular because of every event. There are multiple ways you van abuse it, but i'll only say 2 for now. One is to save it for a guaranteed event space. All the events can be game changing if landed on correctly. For one example, imagine you are being chased and need to escape, you spot that you are in range of the "flip board orientation" space. Congrats, you not only prevented yourself losing more stars, you now have the opportunity to gain more stars from the person running away. Another way is as a gamble, say you are very desperate to escape from the other players behind you or you want to "win more", instead of trying to run, you have the option to use slowgo and land on an event inside of a junction. If you win, you can guarantee an escape like the pipe or any other effect that can play, but even at worst, you still stay inside a junction and have a form of defence. Finally, the board encourages you to move. Movement is still really good since it can also be a really good option. You can use a Twice candy to give yourself more distance against other players or try and use it to give yourself the best chances you can at catching the players. And there is a lot more I can go on about, I havent even touched the Dk/Bowser event, stalling, targetting, etc. This board is really fun, just people never really knew how to play it was all.
@Mad_madeleine Yeah, just the board in general is basically a good litmus test on if someone actually knows how to play 8. Usually, they don't and think it's all rng, when you have boards like Dk's Jungle Adventure & Mario party 4 in general where the rng on those boards is so much worse than anything Warped Orbit has to offer. At least if you know how to play and still think it's the worst, then it's fair just yeah most people don't know how to play.
I always find it weird that mario party keep having segmented board, when it's the most hated type of board We almost have one for each "classic" Mario party I don't consider wario's battle canyon as one because it doesn't have loops but here's my list : Yoshi's tropical island, Mistery land, goomba's greedy gala, rainbow dream, future dream, bowser's enchanted inferno, kamek's library, mega fruit paradise, even jamboree has one with goomba lagoon when at high tides
Did you forget about Bowser’s Enchanted Inferno from 7? The board event games are impossible to win, the islands are constantly sinking, it’s a nightmare. 🤦♂
That board is amazing and is one of, if not the best Bowser Boards, in the entire series. Look, Bowser Boards are suppose to be punishing because it is of course Bowser themed but I think it does a great job of being punishing but not over the top with it. Like yeah the board events are hard to win but the rewards are worth it and losing is not the biggest deal in the world. Island sinking mechanic is actually really good since you know exactly when its going to happen since its the only thing that happens during Bowser Time AND its always the island with the Star. To me its one of the easier boards to manage and because of that it's really fun.
@luigi6388The game itself? It's pretty good with great minigames and side content. But the boards? Those are garbage. It's kinda a similar problem to the one that MP9 has.
Disagree on some. I found the mines more tiresome than the desert in MP3, while in MP4, the Seaside Soiree was hands-down worst. With Toad's Midway, at least the unwanted detours aren't random-- you know going in how they'll switch every time, and enough raw movement can get you through. In Seaside Soiree, you're at the total mercy of the banana slip, and I've had games where no one could get the star for 80% of the game because everyone kept being diverted away uncontrollably.
0:49 for wario's battle canyon, despite the happening spaces changing what cannon blasts to where, it does have a bit of strategy(excluding the rng "Item" Dice blocks and auto-end turn Warp+? Brick Block) via utilizing the targeting reticle to land wherever one wants, which becomes easyish to time. granted if I remember right, that solely depends on the speed of the targeting reticle+where the person's launched to. for Mario party 1 I deff think Rainbow Castle, despite being one of my fave boards w/some of the best music, is one of the worst ones because you're significantly punished via losing 40 coins when reaching Bowser, on a board where you don't have "items" cept the ones from the MP1 shop which're rng, and can auto-end your turn (Warp and ? Brick Block.) it deff a "1 star" difficulty board-wise cuz of the simple layout, but its actually a "5 star" aka a "Fake 1 Star" difficulty in disguise because of how severely punishing it can be w/the 40 coin loss via Bowser. Jamboree deff improved Rainbow Castle via simply having a lot of item options, esp the various warp items and its exclusive item. it deff ain't the best board, but I don't think its necessarily the worst, as the items improve it a lot. the item strategies+Bowser only taking 20 coins(unless you have a buddy, then original 40) deff makes Jamboree's version of Rainbow Castle the 1 star difficulty it was supposed to be compared to the fake 1 star Rainbow Castle was in the past
@@MLmaster135 There is no timing or pattern for the reticle. Anything you think you might have found to aid you is not true. It is entirely random and that makes it one of the worst board gimmicks in the series
@@PalmFire_ its random? its deff been a long time since I touched mp1 as I never knew that. I must've been thinking of the fangame called party project, which allowed players to time the reticle. but if thats the case, then I can deff see why its one of the worst boards in mp1 due to that gimmick being random
@@MLmaster135 Unfortunately yes. My friends and I only ever play this board as a meme. If you want in-depth information on it, I recommend watching Identifying Luck. I've actually never heard of Party Project, if it has some other changes to make MP1 more fair then maybe I'll check it out
If you want to watch a UA-camr who likes to talk positive about 9, I'd recommend watching Albert Boris. He even has a video solely dedicated to defending Mario Party 9.
MP1 - Luigi's Engine Room MP2 - Mystery Land MP3 - Chilly Waters MP4 - All of them are awful, but the worst is probably Boo's Haunted Bash MP5 - Pirate Dream MP6 - Castaway Bay MP7 - Grand Canal MPDS - Kamek's Library MP9 - Bob-omb Factory SMP - Megafruit Paradise MPS - Peach's Borthday Cake Haven't played the other MP games
You and another put Boo's Haunted Bash for worst MP4 board, I agree that board sucks a lot but for me Koopa Seaside Soiree is even worse, specially because the banana peel gimmick that is horrible
I agree with Bowser's Warped Orbit in Mario Party 8 being pretty much the worst of the series, at least among the Mario Party games made by Hudson Soft...
it's honestly not that bad lmao. there is a lot of strategy you can do to prevent yourself from getting tagged/a lot to try and attack. just people never really get it the first time.
@@Daluckyplays Not against a human tryhard, but many times against Very Hard CPU opponents. And I agree that game board is also pretty hard respectively luck-based.
@@StaminaLoss Yeah, you can always use Candy to change your fate. But you can only use Dice Candy to proceed forward a little which you can also do with Bullet and Bowser Candy or steal coins with Vampire Candy. And you can at least use Slowgo Candy to land on a specific space that's up to 5 spaces away.
What I appreciate is that while mega fruit was frowned upon, at least the stupid hypothetical situation of being trapped on one island (which is impossible... It just is) was not mentioned so thank you for not bringing that into the argument against mega fruit
Mario Party definitely has a mixed bag of boards. Though, Mario Party 1 really has some of the weakest boards compared to many of the others. For Mario Party 4, I'd say Koopa's Seaside Soiree is the worst to me because of the banana peel thing. Though, Goomba's Greedy Gala is an honorable mention. 4 just didn't really have any fantastic boards in general, though. For Mario Party 6, I just didn't like Snowflake Lake. It's just one big loop and I never really liked the Star-stealing mechanic. For Mario Party 7, I'd say Neon Heights was the worst as it also was heavily luck-dependent. Mario Party 8 had some uninteresting boards in general, but I'd probably go with Shy Guy's Perplex Express _or_ Goomba's Booty Boardwalk. They're just both incredibly boring to play. Though, King Boo's board can be obnoxious as it is really just down to luck to find the correct path to a Star. For Mario Party Superstars, I'd go with Space Land. It has some of the most annoying events in the game. I would agree that in Jamboree, Rainbow Castle is a weak board, but I found Roll 'em Raceway to be the worst board in Jamboree. It just isn't a very interesting board compared to many of the others.
1: Eternal Star 2: Pirate Land 3: Creepy Cavern 4: Bowser’s Gnarly Party 5: Rainbow Dream 6: Snowflake Lake (still good tho, this games boards are phenomenal) 7: Pyramid Park 8: Bowser’s Warped Orbit (worst board of all time) 9: Boo’s Horror Castle 10: Idk they’re all the same Super: Whomp’s Domino Ruins Superstars: Peach’s Birthday Cake Jamboree: Goomba Lagoon
My least favorite 1: DK’s Jungle Adventure 2: Mystery Land 3: Creepy Caverns 4: Boo’s board 5: Future Dream 6: Faire Square 7: Pyramid Park (All are solid) 8: Koopa’s Tycoon Town (All are solid again) 9: Boo’s
Faire Square???? Thats the best board in the entire game and might be one of the best in the series imo. I'd personally say Snowflake Lake is the worst simply because I don't like Star Stealing boards.
*cough* *cough* Bowsers Gnarly Party, An even worse offender of the death loop. One player still will get utterly screwed, but they loop THREE TIMES, in a LONGER LOOP Too, also Clockwork Castle is too much? What about Faire Square, Too many people love Faire Square for being chaotic, and HATE clockwork castle for being Choatic, Also Pyramid Park is different when it comes to layout btw, I agree about Bowsers Warped Orbit mostly, but you do know there IS strategy right?, But the worst board out of every classic Mario Party? Idk, Faire Square, Anything in one except DK and Luigi’s. EVERY BOARD IN MARIO PARTY 4, Mario Party 10 is also worse then 9 because of Bowser Party, All the boards, at least Mario Party 9 had great side modes and minigames.
I’m surprised that you chose pyramid Park over neon heights, considering it sounds like you don’t like the neon heights gameplay style of boards. Is there a reason why neon Heights is different than spiny desert and kamek’s library?
I agree. If they were going to bring back a Mario Party 1 board again, DK's Jungle Adventure is probably the least offensive of all the Mario Party 1 boards. 😅
@@PalmFire_ it has the benefit of being a board where the pipe is useful, but it’s still soooooo annoying to play on. Mario’s Rainbow Castle is a solid board, just a bit boring. Goomba Lagoon on the other hand is infuriating
For me me and I KNOW I’m gonn piss people off and I don’t care: MP1: Rainbow Castle MP2: Mystery Land MP3: SCreapy Cavern MP4: Boo’s Haunted Bash MP5: Undersea Dream MP6: Snowflake Lake MP7: PyraMID Park MP8: Koopa’s Tycoon Town(MOST OVRRATED BOARD IN THE SERIES ARGUE WITH THE VOID) Didn’t play anything until Superstars Superstars: Woody Woods Jamboree: Rainbow Castle again
this video was super well made and i totally agree with you! the first few mario party games were alright but 5 thru 8 were where I think mario party really shined. I agree that the non-numbered mario parties really try (and fail) to hit on that "nostalgia" factor which really doesnt work when the boards they use are from games that were only eh.
Looks like someone hasn't had a game with 10+ Event Space hits on Yoshi's Tropical Island...
Off topic but goomba being a playable character should be more common in Mario spin offs he’s so goofy and cool
Agreed. I’d especially love him in a Mario Kart.
@@Waffletigercat How would he even steer? XD
@ who cares? It’s a fantasy realm full of magic and goofiness. Gimme Goomba in Mario Kart.
There's actually a lot of strategy on Bowser's Warped Orbit.
While the board seems only luck based, there is so much you can try do to either preserve your stars or rubber band your way back from a rough position. The board is very good at encouraging and rewarding risk assessment and tracking player placement.
For one, the junctions can be just as much as a benefit than as hiderance. If someone is trying to attack and you are inside a junction, they have a chance to fail. While this form of defence may seem too unreliable, it's always better to have ANY form of defence than just, being out in the open.
Another is the Slowgo candy. It is the best candy to abuse on this board in particular because of every event. There are multiple ways you van abuse it, but i'll only say 2 for now.
One is to save it for a guaranteed event space. All the events can be game changing if landed on correctly. For one example, imagine you are being chased and need to escape, you spot that you are in range of the "flip board orientation" space. Congrats, you not only prevented yourself losing more stars, you now have the opportunity to gain more stars from the person running away.
Another way is as a gamble, say you are very desperate to escape from the other players behind you or you want to "win more", instead of trying to run, you have the option to use slowgo and land on an event inside of a junction. If you win, you can guarantee an escape like the pipe or any other effect that can play, but even at worst, you still stay inside a junction and have a form of defence.
Finally, the board encourages you to move. Movement is still really good since it can also be a really good option. You can use a Twice candy to give yourself more distance against other players or try and use it to give yourself the best chances you can at catching the players.
And there is a lot more I can go on about, I havent even touched the Dk/Bowser event, stalling, targetting, etc. This board is really fun, just people never really knew how to play it was all.
I agree that this board isn't as bad as people think it is but it's still for me the worst Mario party 8 board
@Mad_madeleine Yeah, just the board in general is basically a good litmus test on if someone actually knows how to play 8.
Usually, they don't and think it's all rng, when you have boards like Dk's Jungle Adventure & Mario party 4 in general where the rng on those boards is so much worse than anything Warped Orbit has to offer.
At least if you know how to play and still think it's the worst, then it's fair just yeah most people don't know how to play.
I always find it weird that mario party keep having segmented board, when it's the most hated type of board
We almost have one for each "classic" Mario party
I don't consider wario's battle canyon as one because it doesn't have loops but here's my list :
Yoshi's tropical island, Mistery land, goomba's greedy gala, rainbow dream, future dream, bowser's enchanted inferno, kamek's library, mega fruit paradise, even jamboree has one with goomba lagoon when at high tides
Did you forget about Bowser’s Enchanted Inferno from 7? The board event games are impossible to win, the islands are constantly sinking, it’s a nightmare. 🤦♂
One of the best boards in the series, 7 doesn't have a bad board
Someone forgot that it’s a Bowser board
No silly Bowser’s Nightmare is in MP5
That board is amazing and is one of, if not the best Bowser Boards, in the entire series. Look, Bowser Boards are suppose to be punishing because it is of course Bowser themed but I think it does a great job of being punishing but not over the top with it. Like yeah the board events are hard to win but the rewards are worth it and losing is not the biggest deal in the world. Island sinking mechanic is actually really good since you know exactly when its going to happen since its the only thing that happens during Bowser Time AND its always the island with the Star. To me its one of the easier boards to manage and because of that it's really fun.
@ This
Wario’s Battle Canyon, Mystery Land, every single board from MP4…
Mario Party 4 isn't that bad
Isn’t it though
@luigi6388The game itself? It's pretty good with great minigames and side content. But the boards? Those are garbage.
It's kinda a similar problem to the one that MP9 has.
@@javiergironbracamonte5296 I would say that toads and koopas boards are not that good. But the others are at least ok
@luigi6388 the bowser board is awful
Disagree on some. I found the mines more tiresome than the desert in MP3, while in MP4, the Seaside Soiree was hands-down worst. With Toad's Midway, at least the unwanted detours aren't random-- you know going in how they'll switch every time, and enough raw movement can get you through. In Seaside Soiree, you're at the total mercy of the banana slip, and I've had games where no one could get the star for 80% of the game because everyone kept being diverted away uncontrollably.
0:49 for wario's battle canyon, despite the happening spaces changing what cannon blasts to where,
it does have a bit of strategy(excluding the rng "Item" Dice blocks and auto-end turn Warp+? Brick Block)
via utilizing the targeting reticle to land wherever one wants,
which becomes easyish to time.
granted if I remember right, that solely depends on the speed of the targeting reticle+where the person's launched to.
for Mario party 1 I deff think Rainbow Castle, despite being one of my fave boards w/some of the best music,
is one of the worst ones because you're significantly punished via losing 40 coins when reaching Bowser,
on a board where you don't have "items" cept the ones from the MP1 shop which're rng,
and can auto-end your turn (Warp and ? Brick Block.)
it deff a "1 star" difficulty board-wise cuz of the simple layout,
but its actually a "5 star" aka a "Fake 1 Star" difficulty in disguise because of how severely punishing it can be w/the 40 coin loss via Bowser.
Jamboree deff improved Rainbow Castle via simply having a lot of item options, esp the various warp items and its exclusive item.
it deff ain't the best board, but I don't think its necessarily the worst, as the items improve it a lot.
the item strategies+Bowser only taking 20 coins(unless you have a buddy, then original 40)
deff makes Jamboree's version of Rainbow Castle the 1 star difficulty it was supposed to be
compared to the fake 1 star Rainbow Castle was in the past
@@MLmaster135 There is no timing or pattern for the reticle. Anything you think you might have found to aid you is not true. It is entirely random and that makes it one of the worst board gimmicks in the series
@@PalmFire_ its random? its deff been a long time since I touched mp1 as I never knew that.
I must've been thinking of the fangame called party project, which allowed players to time the reticle.
but if thats the case, then I can deff see why its one of the worst boards in mp1 due to that gimmick being random
@@MLmaster135 Unfortunately yes. My friends and I only ever play this board as a meme.
If you want in-depth information on it, I recommend watching Identifying Luck.
I've actually never heard of Party Project, if it has some other changes to make MP1 more fair then maybe I'll check it out
10:56 I feel like am one of the few people in this world who likes Mario Party 9
It's not only you my friend
@ I’m glad to know that I’m not alone, stay strong out there and don’t let them crush our spirit!
If you want to watch a UA-camr who likes to talk positive about 9, I'd recommend watching Albert Boris. He even has a video solely dedicated to defending Mario Party 9.
@YoshiAteTooManyYoshiCookies thanks, I’ll check it out!
Me too dude. MP9 is so underrated people are just mean 🙄
I like how you released this video nearly the exact same time as SilokHawk released his worst minigame in every Mario Party video
MP1 - Luigi's Engine Room
MP2 - Mystery Land
MP3 - Chilly Waters
MP4 - All of them are awful, but the worst is probably Boo's Haunted Bash
MP5 - Pirate Dream
MP6 - Castaway Bay
MP7 - Grand Canal
MPDS - Kamek's Library
MP9 - Bob-omb Factory
SMP - Megafruit Paradise
MPS - Peach's Borthday Cake
Haven't played the other MP games
You and another put Boo's Haunted Bash for worst MP4 board, I agree that board sucks a lot but for me Koopa Seaside Soiree is even worse, specially because the banana peel gimmick that is horrible
Really the only reason Mario party 4 is even considered a classic is because of the minigames, THAT’S IT!
Grand canal? How is that the worse one?
@@Giran_0 The music is the most godawful thing I've heard in a Mario Party game
I agree with Bowser's Warped Orbit in Mario Party 8 being pretty much the worst of the series, at least among the Mario Party games made by Hudson Soft...
Clearly you've never played Boo's Mansion from MP8 against a tryhard
it's honestly not that bad lmao. there is a lot of strategy you can do to prevent yourself from getting tagged/a lot to try and attack. just people never really get it the first time.
@@Daluckyplays Not against a human tryhard, but many times against Very Hard CPU opponents. And I agree that game board is also pretty hard respectively luck-based.
@@StaminaLoss Yeah, you can always use Candy to change your fate. But you can only use Dice Candy to proceed forward a little which you can also do with Bullet and Bowser Candy or steal coins with Vampire Candy. And you can at least use Slowgo Candy to land on a specific space that's up to 5 spaces away.
What I appreciate is that while mega fruit was frowned upon, at least the stupid hypothetical situation of being trapped on one island (which is impossible... It just is) was not mentioned so thank you for not bringing that into the argument against mega fruit
Mario Party definitely has a mixed bag of boards. Though, Mario Party 1 really has some of the weakest boards compared to many of the others.
For Mario Party 4, I'd say Koopa's Seaside Soiree is the worst to me because of the banana peel thing. Though, Goomba's Greedy Gala is an honorable mention. 4 just didn't really have any fantastic boards in general, though.
For Mario Party 6, I just didn't like Snowflake Lake. It's just one big loop and I never really liked the Star-stealing mechanic.
For Mario Party 7, I'd say Neon Heights was the worst as it also was heavily luck-dependent.
Mario Party 8 had some uninteresting boards in general, but I'd probably go with Shy Guy's Perplex Express _or_ Goomba's Booty Boardwalk. They're just both incredibly boring to play. Though, King Boo's board can be obnoxious as it is really just down to luck to find the correct path to a Star.
For Mario Party Superstars, I'd go with Space Land. It has some of the most annoying events in the game.
I would agree that in Jamboree, Rainbow Castle is a weak board, but I found Roll 'em Raceway to be the worst board in Jamboree. It just isn't a very interesting board compared to many of the others.
1: Eternal Star
2: Pirate Land
3: Creepy Cavern
4: Bowser’s Gnarly Party
5: Rainbow Dream
6: Snowflake Lake (still good tho, this games boards are phenomenal)
7: Pyramid Park
8: Bowser’s Warped Orbit (worst board of all time)
9: Boo’s Horror Castle
10: Idk they’re all the same
Super: Whomp’s Domino Ruins
Superstars: Peach’s Birthday Cake
Jamboree: Goomba Lagoon
Oh, man, Eternal Star. I forgot about that one. I think that is one of my least favorite boards in the entire franchise! 😅
My least favorite
1: DK’s Jungle Adventure
2: Mystery Land
3: Creepy Caverns
4: Boo’s board
5: Future Dream
6: Faire Square
7: Pyramid Park (All are solid)
8: Koopa’s Tycoon Town (All are solid again)
9: Boo’s
Faire Square???? Thats the best board in the entire game and might be one of the best in the series imo. I'd personally say Snowflake Lake is the worst simply because I don't like Star Stealing boards.
Worst map in Mario Party 4 is Boo's Haunted Bash in my opinion. Its just impossible to move around the map
There is no way he didn't say that worst level in 9 is the Boo one.
*cough* *cough* Bowsers Gnarly Party, An even worse offender of the death loop. One player still will get utterly screwed, but they loop THREE TIMES, in a LONGER LOOP Too, also Clockwork Castle is too much? What about Faire Square, Too many people love Faire Square for being chaotic, and HATE clockwork castle for being Choatic, Also Pyramid Park is different when it comes to layout btw, I agree about Bowsers Warped Orbit mostly, but you do know there IS strategy right?, But the worst board out of every classic Mario Party? Idk, Faire Square, Anything in one except DK and Luigi’s. EVERY BOARD IN MARIO PARTY 4, Mario Party 10 is also worse then 9 because of Bowser Party, All the boards, at least Mario Party 9 had great side modes and minigames.
I hated 9 it was something good is near game cheats you out of it because opponents move you too.
I’m surprised that you chose pyramid Park over neon heights, considering it sounds like you don’t like the neon heights gameplay style of boards. Is there a reason why neon Heights is different than spiny desert and kamek’s library?
Probably board events
not the worst, but my personnal favorite map is from Mario Party DS, Bowser's Pinball Machine
"The mirage is purely luck"
Me who has watched every identifying luck in Mario party:
🤓☝
Lowkey I love Spiny Desert because of the mirage star
Bro really said Mario Party 4 has good boards. Get a load of that
theme should be a factor when ranking.
7 is still the best
Jamboree is such a good chapter, but i agree on Super Mario Party
i think you got a seperation issue like a health issue kind of way
I would've replaced Mario's Rainbow Castle with DK's Jungle Adventure for Jamboree.
I'd say DK's Treetop Temple. Best board from MP8.
I agree. If they were going to bring back a Mario Party 1 board again, DK's Jungle Adventure is probably the least offensive of all the Mario Party 1 boards. 😅
@@mattb6522 Yeah.
Clock work castle is best in mario party 6
The car games are overhated
At least bobomb factor has good bosses
Koopa Seaside Soiree is the worst board in all Hudson Soft Mario Parties, how it isnt on the list?
The guy was clearly blinded by his MP4 nostalgia, because there's no other way someone can think MP4 has good boards.
Someone clearly a GC baby.
The worst board in Jamboree is absolutely Goomba Lagoon, if the tide is up you can’t do ANYTHING
Especially on that island with 4 spaces on it. That’s hell with high tide.
Warping items end up being a lot more important on this board for this reason
@@PalmFire_ it has the benefit of being a board where the pipe is useful, but it’s still soooooo annoying to play on. Mario’s Rainbow Castle is a solid board, just a bit boring. Goomba Lagoon on the other hand is infuriating
For me me and I KNOW I’m gonn piss people off and I don’t care:
MP1: Rainbow Castle
MP2: Mystery Land
MP3: SCreapy Cavern
MP4: Boo’s Haunted Bash
MP5: Undersea Dream
MP6: Snowflake Lake
MP7: PyraMID Park
MP8: Koopa’s Tycoon Town(MOST OVRRATED BOARD IN THE SERIES ARGUE WITH THE VOID)
Didn’t play anything until Superstars
Superstars: Woody Woods
Jamboree: Rainbow Castle again
I agree with you on Tycoon Town being overrated, but I don’t think it is the worst that 8 has to offer
this video was super well made and i totally agree with you! the first few mario party games were alright but 5 thru 8 were where I think mario party really shined.
I agree that the non-numbered mario parties really try (and fail) to hit on that "nostalgia" factor which really doesnt work when the boards they use are from games that were only eh.