Party, party ! Mario and his friends organize a big party to celebrate their birthday, and you know what ? You're not invited ! Well, no, if you want to join them, you have to buy the game. Ah, greedy Mario... I never had to pay to attend a birthday party, grumble, grumble, here's your money. But, hey, it'd better be worth its price.

According to Japanese players, it is: Mario Party sold better than Zelda, so far. But let's not forget that Japanese love rubbish (the crazy about Final Fantasy, Gundam and other silly stuff... - yes, I like to make myself new enemis ^0^), and, somehow, it is a bit the case here with Mario Party 4. Mario Party, that's fine, kind of entertaining with friends, but when it sells better than Zelda, it's like lead was more valuable than gold. Number 4 or not, Mario Party GameCube plays like the three past Nintendo 64 games, with some better graphics: a few different theme boards, plenty of mini-games around, most are nice, others are annoying or stupid, and an overall slowness which makes it unbearable if you're in hurry or if you really want to play, but makes it the perfect companion if you're doing something else (cooking, eating, talking...) or if you are playing with yoru family or your buddies. Alone, obviously, it's more difficult to enjoy Mario Party 4, especially when you have to wait for the end of the three computer players' turns.

There are many ways to enjoy yourself though, including some special mini-games you can't play in normal modes. You can also try to set some records or finish the game with different characters in different difficulty levels (the present room is really bad compared to Magical Mirror). The problem is that if the slowness gets on your nerves of if you dislike the main idea of the game, it won't help much. However, are there anybody else but Mario party fans who buy Mario Party games ? Yet, even fans could complain about a few things like the lack of improvements over the past games or, eventually, how important luck is. Some more characters or a greater diversity among them would have been welcomed too, and one item is too effective: the magic lamp, it's easy to get, cheap and bring you straight to the star. But Mario Party does some things well too, like making the board interesting to play several times, because some games are harder to get (the mini-attractions, the lottery...). The final confrontation with Bowser on a magma cube is original and well done too, a nice mix of Mario's action in Hudson's style (it reminded me Bomberman Hero). And, if luck has the big part, a touch of strategy from human players can often change the game's issue, for instance by using an item at the appropriate time.

Mario Party 4 is not a revolution, it's just one more party. It's not even a great concept or something special, it's a kind of lucky mini-game ! "lucky", because despite all its numerous drawbacks it keeps selling amazingly well. Seemingly lots of people like the main idea even if they don't get anything really new... ah well, never mind, just forget it and let's have a party !