The 'Shroom:Issue XXII/Fangamer Review

Review by

Hello, fellow wikians. Welcome to “Review Corner”. I’m your host, Storm Warrior, and today, we are going to be reviewing one of the most recent Mario Party games, #8. Some of you might have thought it was the worst Mario Party ever, but is it really that bad? Let’s find out. This review contains a few spoilers though, so skip the over-all if you haven’t beaten Star Battle Arena yet.

Boards

This game has 6 boards. 5 of them are already there in the start, but 1 needs to be unlocked. DK's Treetop Temple is the only “ordinary” board in this game. As usual, you have to find the star, pay 20 coins for it, and it’s yours. Then, another star arrives. Why can’t most boards be like this? Goomba's Booty Boardwalk, unlike what Captain Goomba says, is not harder to walk than a greased plank. It’s way easier, thanks to the dolphins and the free stars. This is actually the one that beginners want to do. King Boo's Haunted Hideaway is the most luck-based board. (How come all the cool-theme boards have to be luck based?!) You’ll have to take chances and experiment with this board, because it’s not like the last time you played it. Shy Guy's Perplex Express is my favorite board in this game, but it sucks having to go 1 path and have to go a path twice as longer to get another star. Koopa's Tycoon Town is similar to Monopoly, except it’s takes a less amount of time, and you don’t put houses or hotels on the board. And finally, Bowser's Warped Orbit is like Pyramid Park from the previous game, except it has crueler ? spaces, and you steal things with 2 candies.

Minigames

Overall, most minigames, like Boo-ting Gallery, are good, while others, like Cut From the Team, are bad because of the player’s need for luck. Come on Nintendo! Not everybody is lucky!

Candy

Personally, I’ll prefer items and orbs than candy. It’s nice to do things like steal coins on the start of the turn, but putting traps on spaces is a bit more fun. It builds up suspense when you have landed on a space that your opponent put an orb, item, etc. on. And we also get 5 coins when we land on our hexed spaces! I’m glad they put hexes in Mario Party DS. And besides, eating candy is bad for your teeth.

Star Battle Arena

Like most Mario Party solo modes, you play on a smaller version of the board with a few different rules. You play against 5 people, hoping to win a year’s supply of candy. When you “beat” the Arena, McBallyhoo shows you your real reward, the Star Rod. However, Bowser steals it, and the only way to get it back is to beat his minion. After you do that, he gives it back to you and you start a fight with him. Beat him and you officially win. I think it has an OK story, mostly because the last mini is a bit fun.

Over-all

Unfortunately, this is the worst Mario Party because they removed some great stuff from the last parties, especially Bowser/DK minigames! However, it doesn’t mean it has lost its fun. I like using the motion control for the minigames. I rate this game a 6.5.