Almost three years afterSuper Mario Partyinitially got released on the Switch,Nintendo releasesan unexpected free update that fixes the game’s limited online options. The free update, available today, came out of nowhere, but it finally allows players to enjoy some of the main modes of the game with friends online.
Before the update, only a small amount ofSuper Mario Partyminigames were available to play online. Now, 70 of the total 80 minigames have online support in the “Free Play” mode, a significant boost. Most importantly, for the first time boards will be available online, with the “Mario Party” and “Partner Partner” modes. To make the update even juicier, all boards and players will be available in online mode, regardless of each player’s progression on the base game. That means that even if a player still hasn’t unlocked some of the game’s secret features, they will still be able to enjoy all ofSuper Mario Partycontent while playing online.
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With the new update, players can choose to create special lobbies reserved only to their friend list with “Friend Match”. The only other option is to create a “Private Game” lobby, which is password-protected. This means there’s no option to play with random people online, and players still need to use other communication devices to find each other online.
Another limitation concerns the number of players. Usually, up to four-player can enjoy a board match ofSuper Mario Party. However, while playing online, if there are already two local players on the same Nintendo Switch, only one extra Switch can be connected. This means either every one of the four players gets connected by their own console, or players who are sharing a Switch need to try to find another duo to be able to have a full lobby.
Ever sinceSuper Mario Partywas released, the lack of true online support has been the main complaint amongst players. That didn’t stopSuper Mario Partyfrom shifting more than 14 million copies, being one of the biggest successes of the Switch. With full online support, the game can now be played with friends all over the globe, a most welcomed feature that can help boost subscriptions to the Nintendo Switch Online service.
Super Mario Partyis the eleventh installment on Nintendo’s party franchise, released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in October 2018. The update is available worldwide starting today, and anyone with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription can already try out the new features. You can check the update announcement trailer right below:
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