I bought this game a year after its release. I returned to the Mario Party Franchise after years (I believe the GameCube version was the last I played). And I have to admit: I cannot believe they let go of the most important part of the game so horribly.
In the past, the idea was that you were playing a board-game on a virtual platform. With some goofy games, items and opportunities, it was a blast. Right now, there are so many extra's in there, it has become a maze of random events and tiles. When looking at the core Mario Party, there are only 4! boards available, which makes the core smaller than the extra content (which is fun, but is not why you buy the game). There are ! tiles, item tiles, red tiles, blue tiles, vs tiles. It seems that all the extra's they compiled over the years have cumulatively been stacked into these even smaller (!) boards. That takes away from the speed of the game, of the objective (which is to earn stars) and of the overview. And then I get to the worst part: the bonus stars. I remember in the past, you were rewarded for earning the coins you got and for winning mini-games, so that strategy and skill were actually rewarded. But now, you will receive completely random stars that reward luck. You can be the best Mario Party player and still finish dead last because of that. I understand luck needs to be a part of the game, as in any boardgame. But right now, strategy has been taken out of the game entirely (which makes you wonder why you play the game in the first place. You might as well go out to the casino). So, let's for the sake of argument say that a lot of people gravitate towards this extremely random component (although I doubt it). There is no option to take the bonus stars out of the game like there used to. Nor is it possible anymore to put your favorite mini-games in a boardgame (which makes that you cannot skip games you do not enjoy, and makes you literally 'sit' through rounds).
In my opinion, support from Nintendo for this game has become extremely poor and low. You can see that there has been a lack of resources and support for this game. Walking around in the menu is already a hassle, as you walk with 4 people in a row for no reason whatsoever. Also, changing your character in between games is tedious as you have to exit all menus to do so.
There is also an extra mode where you can apply stickers to a board (…). The added value there is basically non-existent.
Then, there are the characters playable. Where Mario Kart has over 30 characters playable, you have to do with about 15 and where they are for some reason making a staple like Donkey Kong unlockable. You can now pick any of these characters, which has a character specific dice. I would somehow like this customization per character, if not for the fact that your favorite character might be horrible. Some dice are extremely high-risk/high-reward and some are just awful if you look at chance. So whether you might want to play with Yoshi or whoever you like, they could be setting you up for failure in a game which is already stacked against you by the luck of the draw.
In the days of online gaming, you are not able to play the main part of the game online (which, in a turn based game, should not be too hard to create). I will leave this section as sorely lacking without expanding on this.
So now the last part, where there is itemization and special events. I always had a love/hate relationship with Boo stealing stars and coins, but it was a nice way of balancing people who had a tough time with people who were considerably better at the game. But now, Nintendo has overdone it by adding a Golden Pipe (which basically gives you a star), stealing of a star has become cheaper, more hidden blocks, ally calls which, if you are lucky, gives you a huge advantage for the rest of the game, more 'bad luck' spaces, etc..
Even though I have always loved the concept of the game and made me buy it, it has become extremely overwhelming. Even to my friends whose first time it is in this game, the game just feels extremely harsh and unfair. It has become too complex with small details that can alter your outcome. I wish Nintendo would take this franchise seriously, because in their 'family oriented' approach, it still holds so much potential.