I feel that this game is criminally underrated. I remember not liking it much when it released back then because the graphics seemed underwhelming and it was missing the orb system from the previous two entries, but let me just tell you how much I love this game nowadays! It's the Mario Party with the best game boards - I mostly only like 2 or 3 boards tops in every Mario Party, while in this one, every board with the exception of the Bowser board is really really good! There's something for everyone. The mini-games are also great with only a few duds. I especially love how they reworked many 4-Player-Minigames as 1vs1-minigames, making this Mario Party the one with the highest amount of duel mini-games.

Also, I will be in the minority for saying this, but: I like the semi-realistic graphical style. It's so weirdly "not Mario". Mario games all look the same these days, but back then they tried something new. Use the "Disable Low-Poly Models" Gecko code to make the character models look good, too. The only really negative thing about this game is the lack of a real 16:9 mode. Only the menus and the title screen are 16:9; the rest of the game runs with borders on both sides which really sucks.

Give this game a try again on the Dolphin emulator.

Personally I grew weary of Mario Party after the first game, but on the Wii, the ultimate party console, the series gets some life breathed into it. The minigames are typical for the series, and while the Wiimote does add to the fun, I feel it could have been integrated more creatively to really give this entry a Wii feel. While the minigames are fun, the board game segments are still the same dull chore they've always been. This aspect of the game greatly needed the overhaul it got in Mario Party 9. I found it to be a decent game for a family game night but if you want a really fun party game for the Wii try Mario Party 9, Mario Kart or WarioWare.

Makes you rage a lot if you play with friends, like all the Mario Party games it is fun, the mini games are good and the boards are great.

"Mario Party 8" offers a wide variety of fun mini-games, either controlled the classic way with a sideways Wii-Remote or controlled with the unique features of the motion sensor. MP8 also introduced a new graphical style which can be described as "more realistic" than the previous Mario Party games, however, the character models unfortunately lack details, they looked better on the previous MP installments. The new "candy system" is a step backwards of the "capsule system" from the previous installments, but it is still fun.
Bottom line: High quality mini-games, a good character roster and greatly designed boards makes this a fun game which can be enjoyed alone or with friends!