While the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct was indeed full of surprises, something I would never have guessed was that we’d see both Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Super Mario Party Jamboree getting not only a visual upgrade but additional content too. In the case of the latter, the newly added goodies focus on making use of the new camera peripheral as well as the mouse mode option from the Joy-Con 2.
I got the chance to try out a bunch of minigames that used both new features, Bowser Live mode having us looking like fools in front of the camera. With Bowser as host, we were split into two teams of two, where we then took part in a small handful of minigames. The first had us using our fists and punching in an upward motion to hit as many coins out of a Question Mark Block as possible while the second using our heads to try and stack the tallest pile of Goombas atop. It was a relatively straightforward affair, albeit a silly fun time capped off with each pairing trying to make as much noise and move as much as possible in order to appease Bowser. Smiles were definitely raised upon seeing ourselves amidst a cheering crowd or popping out of a warp pipe in-game.
Trying out Bowser Live mode definitely had me thinking back to the days of Microsoft’s Kinect device, players relying on their bodies to interact with the game (essentially turning you into the controller). For many, this will likely wind up a brief distraction, its segmentation away from the main modes likely meaning it won’t pop up in a standard round. For kids and families, though, I’m sure there will be far more mileage had.
While Bowser Live proved to be a silly but entertaining burst of shouting, waggling fun, it was the two-on-two minigames that made use of the Switch 2’s mouse mode that I found myself enjoying most of all. Aside from being super simple to pick up, I can see them being an excellent addition to the already strong treasure box of minigames featured in the main game.
Perhaps the most straightforward (but strangely satisfying) minigame involved players sorting digital files on a Toad’s computer, those with Bowser stamps heading to the trash bin while others into their respective folders. In what essentially felt like sorting out your untidy desktop, it proved highly competitive racing against the opponent and proved a great way of showing just how accurate and responsive the Switch 2’s mouse controls really are.
After that, we moved onto spray painting Bob-ombs, this again using the mouse controls to aim your can on screen as well as requiring a gentle shaking of the Joy-Con to refill your paint. A little more manic but nonetheless still enjoyable.
Domino Effect, meanwhile, required a more delicate approach as the teams tried to promptly (but carefully) lay out a series of dominoes toward a flower pot the fastest. Stuffie Stacker, too, was less about being quick and instead had you stacking blocks and plushies in order to build the tallest stack. This one proved particularly tense, especially as your fragile heap had to remain standing for the final three-second countdown, something ours failed to do as it tumbled down resulting in a measly score of a few yards.
Perhaps my best of the bunch, however, was essentially a game of air hockey, mouse mode working so well in simulating the addictive arcade pastime. In a neat touch, with a camera set up, whoever wound up scoring a goal would see their face plastered on the big screen in-game.
The Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV update looks to deliver a further dose of multiplayer fun. While one could argue the camera’s implementation is a little gimmicky, it fits perfectly in the world of Mario Party. Better still, playing minigames in mouse mode offers a tantalising tease of how this new method of control will hopefully be used in the future.
Super Mario Party Jamboree Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV will be released at retail and digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch 2 worldwide on 24 July 2025.
