The latest Nintendo leaks have some pretty major implications for the companies future projects. According to a known Nintendo insider,the nextMario Kartgamecould be calledMario Kart Crossroads,and the game will feature a high number of characters from other Nintendo properties, rather than focusing onSuper Mariocharacters alone. Considering how many creative ideas Nintendo could get out of blending its own games withMario Kart,it’d be great to see the company experiment with further crossover-heavy games in this way. For instance, aMario Partygame that brings Nintendo characters together could be pretty compelling.
Mario Partyis already doing pretty well for itself lately.Super Mario Partyintroduced some innovative mechanics like character-specific dice, whileMario Party Superstarsrevived tons of beloved core content from the franchise, giving players a second taste ofMario Party’s past. Even so, a newMario Partygame that includes characters fromThe Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing,and so on could be a ton of fun. If characters from all parts of theSuper Mariouniverse can come together forMario Party,then extending invitations to Nintendo characters from beyond the Mushroom Kingdom doesn’t seem all that far-fetched.
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Room For Mario Party Guests
For a long time now,Mario Karthas already proven that other Nintendo characters can fit intoSuper Marioparty gameseasily.Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,for instance, features the originalMario Kart 8’s DLC as core content, meaningThe Legend of ZeldaandAnimal Crossingboth have presences as base content in the game. The characters and courses that these franchises provide toMario Kartare really charming and mesh with the racing game, even if they don’t bend the rules ofMario Kartsignificantly.Mario Party,on the other hand, would be at liberty to make much more extensive use of other Nintendo IPs.
If the nextMario Partygame is all about Nintendo crossovers, then inevitably Nintendo and developer NDcube would end up creating a long list of new game boards themed after other franchises. It’s not hard to imagineMario Partygame boards about other franchises; aZeldaboard could be based on Tingle or Beedle, aSplatoonboard could star Judd and Lil' Judd, and anAnimal Crossingboard might be managed byTom Nook and his sons.
NDcube could create minigames about battlingZeldaenemies or helping outAnimal Crossingvillagers, and naturally the game could get great playable characters like Link, Zelda, Isabelle, the Inklings, Samus, Kirby, and many more. AMario Partycrossover game would hardly be short on inspiration.
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Nintendo’s Next Big Crossover
It’s worth noting that Nintendo is potentially in the market for a new crossover franchise right now. As series director Masahiro Sakurai has confirmed, there aren’t anyplans for a newSuper Smash Bros.gameright now, which means Nintendo will lack its main way of bringing its diverse IPs together under one roof. While aMario Partycrossover title wouldn’t scratch the fighting game itch forSmashfans, it would certainly fill the niche of a party game starring Nintendo characters of all kinds. IfSuper Smash Bros.is potentially getting sidelined for now, then maybeMario Partycan fill its shoes for a little while.
Of course, ifMario Kart Crossroadsis really in development, then aMario Partygame with a similar premise is probably far off. Nintendo may not want to oversaturate the Switch with crossover titles, sinceSmash Ultimateremains a major presence on the console. What’s more,Mario Party Superstarsis still very fresh, meaning Nintendo probably doesn’t plan on releasing a newMario Partysoon. Regardless of that, though, when constructing a plan forMario Party’s long-term future, Nintendo should look into a crossover title. Considering the precedent ofSuper Smash Bros.andMario Kart,Nintendo characters in aMario Partygame will probably get along just fine.
