Gamers of a certain age have spent many enjoyable hours playing Mario Party 2 with friends over the years. It's a dusty old classic that has long since lost the hype that accompanied its initial release, which is why fans were surprised when Nintendo recently took the time to update the official Mario Party 2 website.
Mario Party 2 has been around long enough by now that its original release in Japan occurred in the previous millennium (a US release date followed in early 2000). The franchise has seen numerous follow-up titles across relevant hardware ranging from the GameCube and Game Boy Advance to the Wii, Wii U, DS, 3DS, and Switch. A proper Mario Party ranking now includes 17 entries, and with that sort of longevity, it's difficult to imagine there won't be additional installments in the future.
This week, Reddit community members noticed that the official Mario Party 2 website in Japan has been updated to reflect a slight tweak to its text. Translated to English, a small-print revision near the bottom of the page notes: "There was an error in the appearance conditions of 'Battle Mini Game' and 'Item Mini Game'. We apologize and will correct it. (Added November 7, 2022)". It's possible the revision became necessary following the influx of traffic that likely resulted when Nintendo added Mario Party and Mario Party 2 to the Switch Online Expansion Pack a few days prior.
Nintendo's original three Mario Party games, all released for Nintendo 64, have enjoyed continued interest from gamers that the publisher has been savvy enough to reward. Mario Party Superstars features an abundance of mini-games pulled from those three initial titles, and the collection of five in-game boards on offer were also drawn from that set. Nintendo's developers finally seem to have caught on to the affection gamers of all ages have for the simpler, sometimes more welcoming experiences of yesteryear.
With the release of Mario Party Superstars on Nintendo Switch and the premium Switch Online Expansion Pack, Nintendo has more opportunities than ever to bring back content from each of the earliest Mario Party games that debuted on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube. The series arguably saw its very best content released between 1998 and 2004, and the passage of time means there now exists a fresh audience for those classic experiences. Nintendo's willingness to update an old website that many fans forgot even existed suggests the company is prepared to respond to interest wherever it may appear. Hopefully, future efforts will involve a lot more than just a quick website tweak.
Mario Party 2 is available on the Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.
Source: nintendo.co.jp (via Reddit)
