Mario Party 3 is an update to the previous games, but its main style of play remains the same. 4 players compete via a board game and mini-games to collect the most stars. No matter what, the game requires four players to take part in the game. So if you don't have enough people playing the computer will control the other characters. After choosing characters and the number of rounds the game will last (20, 35, or 50 are the default selections) each person hits the rotating dice to see who gets to go first. A round expires when each player has had a turn to move on the game board. A 20 round game typically lasts about an hour and a half.

There are a total of five different boards to choose from, each one brand new to the game. Each board has its own unique features, but there are some common traits present in all of them. All of the players will start out with 10 coins. As the players move around the board they will land on colored spaces. The blue spaces will reward the player with three coins, but the red spaces take away three coins. These coins will be used to buy stars at 20 coins a pop (the person with the most stars at the end of the game wins) as well as to buy items. The star's current location is always shown to the players by Tumble, the magical die. Each time the star is bought, Tumble will reappear and move the star to a new location on the board. Items can be purchased at key locations on the boards from either Toad or Baby Bowser. Each player is allowed to hold a maximum of three items. The items can really help out a player and even change the entire outcome of a game so it's essential to try and buy (or find) some helpful items. Items can only be used prior to a player hitting the die on his or her turn. Items such as the mushroom will increase the number of dice used so you can move more spaces whereas the poison mushroom will hamper the movement of a rival to 3 or less spaces. There are many new items in this sequel, but the really good ones are hard to find and a matter of luck.

The board is littered with other types of spaces. There are always spots where Boo resides. Upon encountering him you will have the chance to try and steal coins from another player (at a cost of 5 coins to you) or if you're rich and have 50 or more coins you can steal a star from another player. Other spaces, like exclamation marks, question marks, mushroom icons, Bowser symbols, Goomba spaces, and Shy Guy spots will each result in a different activity. As you can tell, the board is very active and there is almost never a moment that passes by where something isn't happening to at least one of the players.

The "meat and potatoes" of the game is served up in multiplayer mini-game style. After each player has had a turn, a mini-game is played where the four contestants must compete to gain coins. These games are always picked at random and with over 70 different ones to play, the action almost never becomes tedious. Each game is completely separate from the other and thus each one has its own rules and game controls. Before each game the basic rules are given on how to play and then the action starts. If all four players reside on the same colored spaces then the game played will be a free-for-all with each person against the other. If one player is on a different colored space from the other three then that one player will be forced to play alone against the other three players. Likewise, if two players are on red spaces and two are on blue, then it's two vs. two. There is a huge variety in these games and it will probably take some serious game time to finally play all the different games.

Graphically Mario Party 3 looks good. The boards are very colorful and almost have a high-resolution look to them. All of the characters retain a decent polygon count and most of the mini-games, while simple in execution, retain an above average quality to them. There really aren't any cool graphical effects like lighting or reflections, but this type of game really doesn't need too much in the special effects department anyway. Really the game doesn't stand out from its older prequels, but the game looks far from bad. Yet again, I question the reasoning of Nintendo not supporting the Expansion Pak. Just make an optional mode for those that own the add-on. Make the purchase worth our money!

I was quite surprised with the music in the game. There are quite a few music tracks in the game that are above average for the N64. The one stage that has particularly catchy music is Deep Bloober Sea. For some reason Nintendo continues to forsake consistency in the character voices. Wario just doesn't sound like he should and many of the characters just don't sound as good as in Mario Golf or Mario Kart. I know that different development studios are making these games, but it would be nice to use the same actors for the voices.

Mario Party 3 should absolutely not be bought for the one player mode. There's simply too much watching and not enough playing in that mode. The game's true potential only becomes evident when four players duke it out. If you own previous incarnations of the game I really can't recommend shelling out another $50 for practically the same game. There are some unique features added to the game to liven it up, but it's nothing earth shattering. For those that are looking for a fun multiplayer game, this one certainly fits the bill. It's easily the best Mario Party game yet with more events and mini-games than ever before. If you've never played a Mario Party game or have yet to purchase one then this is the one to get. If you don't meet that criteria, then by all means save your money for a game that will offer a new experience.