You're right that present perfect is also OK, and often is the correct choice. Many students overuse the present perfect simple which is not that common in English.
In this case, "started" has more the function of an adjective which describes the party. This meaning of "start" is not transitive and so it can't take a passive form.
Most adjectives which are also past participles can only be used predicatively, not attributively ("a started party" is wrong).