Since launching the Nintendo 64 system on Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo has made a habit of releasing one game a month. But in an unexpected move, Nintendo has announced that two Nintendo 64 games will be coming to the Nintendo Switch Online this month: Mario Party and Mario Party 2.
As of today, Mario Party and Mario Party 2 are now available on Nintendo Switch Online!
Nintendo announced these N64 party games would be coming to the Switch’s online service back in September during the Nintendo Direct. Mario Party and Mario Party 2 will include online multiplayer, so you can roll dice and play classic Mario mini-games with your friends, no matter where they are.
Back in 1998, the Mario Party series got its start on the Nintendo 64 with the original Mario Party. The first game in the series featured four-player local multiplayer, nine game boards, and more than 50 mini-games. Just a year later, in 1999, we got Mario Party 2 for the system as well. Mario Party 2 was more of the same, but it offered several incremental improvements over the first game. Mario Party 3, the final game in the series to come to the Nintendo 64, was released in 2000.
In the late ’90s, the Nintendo 64 was the console for local multiplayer. With its four controller ports on the front, even the console’s design screamed “multiplayer,” which was a perfect fit for the Mario Party franchise.
Switch players have had other opportunities to play Mario Party games — the controversial Super Mario Party and the fun Mario Party: Superstars compilation game have been on the Switch, but Mario Party and Mario Party 2 take players back to the series’s origins (and arguably some of the best titles in the series).
For a real retro feel, you can try getting your hands on a wireless Nintendo 64 controller for your Switch.
Mario Party and Mario Party 2 will be available for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers on November 2.
