PixlBit

Pretty sure it's Gorbachev from the Cold War-era Soviet Union. I don't know where that particular picture comes from though.

The most important thing you need to enjoy a Mario Party game is other people to play with, the more the merrier. It's rather dull as a solo affair. As for which one to play, I'm partial to the original because I played it so much as a kid (you have to set the ground rule that you won't use your palm to rotate the control stick though; that's the only game in the series that uses that mechanic) but MP7 is probably the most robust. I don't think the imprecision of motion controls do the minigames any favors in MP8 & 9, not that they ruin the games either.

I don't think anyone got excited for them anymore, which is probably one of the reasons the series went on a long break. Having a bigger gap between games would help people get excited because it becomes more of an event. And it's amazing the reactions different people have to different games. A lot of people say the New Super Mario games destroy friendships but I'm never had problems with those games.

I heard that the WarioWare devs made the excellent NES Remix for the Wii U (which is apprarently getting a sequel soon), so they're still doing stuff. We'll have to wait and see if they return to Wario any time soon.

Well, judging by your profile picture, you're a very old man. And apparently not a patient one 

I played gobs of that original game and most of the others since then. None have been bad, except Island Tour, but it all gets very samey.

I actually have a copy of this game—a physical Game Boy cartridge!—but I haven't played it yet because *ideally* I'd like to play the first game first. It sounds so cool though. I liked Wario more back in these old days. Today they've really embraced the pointless crudity for him. I want to get the other Wario Land games, especially WL4 for GBA.

I really like the first one, no doubt because I played it more than any other. I'm surprised you're not a fan of the series. Seems like it'd be right up your alley.

Collaboration was not a good addition. Those boss battles are fun though.

I lost a lot of faith in the series with Mario Kart Wii but MK7 for the 3DS did much to restore my confidence. I'm looking forward to MK8. It's certainly not for everyone—my wife is not a fan, for instance—but I think it has about as wide an appeal as a racing game could hope for.