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Mario Party 9

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Template:Infobox Mario Party 9 is the ninth home console installment of the Mario Party series, the second and final installment for the Wii. The game was the first in the series to be developed by Nd Cube instead of Hudson Soft. It is also the eleventh in the main series (fifteenth in Japan). It was released in Europe on March 2, 2012, Australia on March 8, North America on March 11, 2012, Japan on April 26, 2012. The host of the game is Yellow Toad for the boards while Blue Toad is the host for minigames, and Green Toad appears near the end of Boards to initiate an event similar to the Last Five Turns Event from past Mario Party games. This is also the twenty-fifth and the final Mario series' installment overall to be released for the Wii console.

Story

On a night outside of Princess Peach's Castle, Mario and his friends are gathered to watch the Mini Stars glitter in the sky. As Mario peers though the telescope, he is shocked as he notices that the stars are suddenly being sucked through a vortex. It is then revealed to be Bowser and Bowser Jr. on a spacecraft, who are using a vacuum-like machine to suck the stars out of the sky and into containers. Upon witnessing this, Mario and the gang set out to defeat them and save the Mini Stars. After they start their journey, Shy Guy and Magikoopa are seen coming out of the woods and start following them, as part of Bowser's plan.

Before each board, there is a cutscene that features Bowser admiring his collection of Mini Stars. Bowser Jr. then runs over to him to show his father the progression of Mario's group. Bowser is enraged, but summons two of his minions to stop the group before they can take all the Mini Stars. Eventually, however, the group reach Bowser's location, Bowser Station, and must face Bowser Jr. before they can reach his father.

After the final battle with Bowser, the player looks out from the stadium at Bowser's other platform, where the canisters containing all the Mini Stars burst and release them back to where they once were. As this happens, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are flying off. Bowser is mourning over the failure of his plan, which he reveals was to decorate his castle using the Mini Stars. However, upon seeing the released Mini Stars, Bowser is enraged and chases off the ones that fly near him. However, this only results in him falling out of his car; Bowser Jr. flies down to save him. Back at Peach's Castle, Mario and friends are once again gathered around the telescope to admire the Mini Stars as they glisten in the night sky.

Gameplay

Waluigi, about to lose half of his Mini Stars at Bob-omb Factory.

In Mario Party 9, a new form of gameplay was introduced in this game, retiring the old format seen in the prior eight titles: players move all at once through the board in a vehicle (a car in Toad Road, a magic carpet in Boo's Horror Castle and a legged machine in Bob-omb Factory, for example), still taking turns rolling, moving from a starting point to to an ending point. Instead of rolling a dice with a 1-10 on it like in the previous games, players can only roll a dice block with a 1-6 on it; however, there are other dice blocks that can be collected, which includes a dice block that allows a 1-10 roll. Instead of trying to collect coins to buy stars, players receive Mini Stars if they pass by them. While doing so, players must also try to avoid Mini Ztars, which deduct their current amount of Mini Stars. The player who collects the most Mini Stars by the end of the game is declared the winner.

New minigame types are introduced in the Mario Party series, one example being 1 vs. 2 minigames against Bowser Jr. In this game, the minigames don't appear after every player has moved, but only when a player ends up on any of the spaces that triggers a minigame. Also, when receiving dice blocks, a minigame might pop up after as well. Unlike previous Mario Party games, where often only the winner(s) of a minigame receives a reward, all minigames are ranked from first to last place and generally all players receive Mini Stars, players that earn a higher position earn more Mini Stars.

During a party, there are two board events that are required to occur before advancing: Captain Events and Boss Battles. The former occurs whenever a player lands on a Captain Event Space. The event differs for each board, but they all allow the players to earn more Mini Stars, though the player that lands on the space always has some form of control over the event. As for Boss Battles, there are two Boss Battle Spaces on every board, one near a fortress and one at the end. During the Boss Battle minigames, players must work together to defeat a boss while attempting to increase their own individual scores, as the player with the highest score wins the minigame.

Modes

File:MainMenu-MP9.png
The Main Menu.

This Mario Party installment has 5 modes in all. They are:

  • Party Mode
  • Solo Mode
  • Minigame Mode
  • Museum
  • Extras

Party mode

Once again returning from previous Mario Party games, Party Mode involves the players going around the board like with the previous games, but changed due to the new gameplay mechanics of Mario Party 9. The amount of party points that the players will earn is determined by how many Mini Stars they have at the end of the game. However, if handicaps are used, the handicap amount will not count towards the party point total; for example, if a player has a 50 Mini Star handicap, and finishes with 100 Mini Stars, they will only earn 50 party points.

Solo mode

The game's story mode, Solo Mode involves the players traveling across all six boards to defeat Bowser and save the Mini Stars. Completing Solo Mode will award the player 500 party points, and the Mini Star grand total will also be added onto the player's party point amount; for example, finishing Solo Mode with a grand total of 500 Mini Stars will award the player 1000 party points.

Minigame mode

File:FreePlay-MP9.png
Free Play mode.

Blue Toad is the host of Minigame Mode.

  • Free Play: In the Free Play mode, the players can play unlocked minigames freely. Each minigame rewards players "1" party point when played.
  • Step It Up: In this mode, players must win minigames to climb stairs. The player who reaches on the top first wins.
  • Garden Battle: The players must get puzzle pieces to fill their gardens winning minigames. The player who completes it first wins.
  • Choice Challenge: All the players choose three minigames from a group of five that they would like to play. These minigames are played and the player who get more points wins.
  • High Rollers: In this mode, the players must win minigames to roll a Dice Block to pass through a panel floor. The player who gets 500 points first wins.
  • Time Attack: The player must try to win 10 minigames as fast as he or she can.
  • Boss Rush: The players must defeat a series of bosses to win, similar to Boss Bash in Mario Party DS.

Note: With the exception of Free Play mode, all game modes will award the players "10" party points when finished.

Museum

File:Constellations-MP9.png
Players can purchase constellations at the Museum, and then view them in the sky.

The Museum is where the players can spend Party Points on various things such as Mini Star constellations, game sounds, vehicles, extra game modes, or watch the credits. Once they return a constellation into the sky, the players can go back and see it in the sky.

Extras

In Extras, the player can play through various extra minigames such as an extended version of Goomba Bowling, Castle Clearout, or Shell Soccer. There is also a mode called Perspective Mode, in which the player plays through ten minigames with a changed camera angle.

Characters

The character selection screen.
The character selection and boss matchup screens.

Playable characters

Mario's face icon. Mario Luigi's face icon. Luigi Princess Peach's face icon. Peach Daisy's face icon. Daisy Wario's face icon. Wario Waluigi's face icon. Waluigi
File:MP9 Select Mario.png File:MP9 Select Luigi.png File:MP9 Select Peach.png File:MP9 Select Daisy.png File:MP9 Select Wario.png File:MP9 Select Waluigi.png
Yoshi's face icon. Yoshi Birdo's face icon. Birdo Toad's face icon. Toad Koopa Troopa's face icon. Koopa* File:MP9 Shy Icon.png Shy Guy** File:MP9 Kamek Icon.png Magikoopa**
File:MP9 Select Yoshi.png File:MP9 Select Birdo.png File:MP9 Select Toad.png File:MP9 Select Koopa.png File:MP9 Select Shy.png File:MP9 Select Kamek.png
*Newcomer
**Newcomer that must be unlocked through Solo Mode
Note: Magikoopa is named Kamek in the PAL version.

Bosses

Toad Road Bob-omb Factory Boo's Horror Castle Blooper Beach Magma Mine Bowser Station DK's Jungle Ruins
Mid-Bosses
Lakitu Lakitu Whomp Whomp Dry Bones Dry Bones File:MP9 Cheep Icon.png Cheep-Cheep Spike Spike File:MP9 Bowser Jr. Icon.png Bowser Jr. File:DiddyKong-Icon-MP9.png Diddy Kong
MP9 Lakitu Bust.png MP9 Whomp Bust.png MP9 Dry Bones Bust.png File:MP9 Cheep Bust.png MP9 Spike Bust.png File:MP9 Bowser Jr. Bust.png File:DiddyKong-Boss-MP9.png
Stage Bosses
Wiggler Wiggler File:MP9 Big Bob-omb Icon.png King Bob-omb King Boo King Boo Blooper Blooper Chain Chomp Chain Chomp Bowser's face icon. Bowser File:DonkeyKong-Icon-MP9.png Donkey Kong
MP9 Wiggler Bust.png File:MP9 Big Bob-omb Bust.png MP9 King Boo Bust.png MP9 Blooper Bust.png MP9 Chain Chomp Bust.png MP9 Bowser Bust.png File:DonkeyKong-Boss-MP9.png
Note #1: King Bob-omb is called Big Bob-omb in the European version.
Note #2: In the case of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, they are not featured in the Boss Rush and are not actual bosses, but their respective minigames (DK's Banana Bonus and Diddy's Banana Blast) are considered to be Boss Minigames for the respective board.

Other characters

Stages

Stage Description Captain Event(s)
Toad Road Toad Road is the first stage in the game, and thus it is a simple stage with almost no gimmicks. It is designed after New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and features lush grassland, flowers and windmills. A broken bridge prevents players from moving forward, and if the Energy Meter does not add up, the players will fall to a lower route with Mini Ztar Spaces. 9 Island
Toad Road
Bob-omb Factory Bob-omb Factory is the second stage in Mario Party 9. Players move around a room full of conveyor belts, and if the Captain lands on an Event Space, the conveyor belts will move the group of players around, including spaces. Bob-ombs will occasionally intrude a player's game. Whatever the Captain happens to stop the Bob-omb's countdown, half of the Captain's Mini Stars are lost. Side-by-Side Zone
Bob-omb Factory
Boo's Horror Castle Boo's Horror Castle is the third stage in Mario Party 9. Players move throughout a big castle, which is haunted with Boos. After a Captain passes a Boo Portrait, a Boo will come out of it. If a Captain is caught by a Boo, then a Boo will take away half of their Mini Stars. Boos will follow the players until they leave the current hallway, or enter an alternative room with lights. Before the players can face the boss, the Captain must roll a number higher than the specified numeral on the gate. Scaredy Rat Race
Boo's Horror Castle
Blooper Beach Blooper Beach is the fourth stage in Mario Party 9. Players travel along an ocean to reach the end goal. If a Captain passes by a Dolphin, he or she will get five Mini Stars. However, Sushis will take away half of the Captain's Mini Stars. Huckit Crabs will turn all the Mini Stars on the stage into Mini Ztars if a Captain lands on an Event Space, and vice versa if they land on it again. Sunken Treasure
Blooper Beach
Magma Mine Magma Mine is the fifth stage in Mario Party 9. This stage takes place in an active volcano where players mainly travel up and out of the vent. Players must escape rising magma that rises two spaces each turn, and is increased further if a Captain lands on a Magma Space. The Captain must avoid getting hit by magma, or the Captain will lose half their Mini Stars. Dice Block Chicken
File:MP9 Magma Mine.png
Bowser Station Bowser Station is the sixth stage in Mario Party 9. Bowser Jr. and Bowser are the stage's mid-boss and boss, respectively. A Jackpot Machine here will increase in Mini Stars if a Captain lands on a Jackpot+ Space. If the Jackpot Machine happens to have 20 or more Mini Stars, a Jackpot Minigame will commence. Oddly enough, this stage has no actual hazards. Heart Star Colony
Bingo Colony
Speed Star Colony
Bowser Station
DK's Jungle Ruins DK's Jungle Ruins is the seventh stage in Mario Party 9, which can be purchased from the Museum for 500 Party Points. Instead of collecting Mini Stars, players collect Bananas while trying to avoid Z-Bananas. Players make two laps around the stage before completing the whole set. Bananas and Z-Bananas are placed on each space rather than inbetween. The actual Boss Minigames in this stage are done in form of a bonus minigame to collect Bananas. These games are supported by Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong respectively. Barrel Choice
DK's Jungle Ruins

Minigames

Main article: List of Mario Party 9 minigames

Items

Instead of more traditional items, Mario Party 9's items consist entirely of Dice Blocks, allowing the user to roll a specific number more easily from a specific range of values. These can be obtained by landing on a Dice Block Space.

Item Image Description
Dice Block File:Diceblock MP9.png Dice Block numbered 1 to 6.
Slow Dice Block A Slow Dice Block from Mario Party 9. Dice Block numbered 1 to 6 that rolls slowly to allow for ease of rolling a specific number.
0-1 Dice Block 0-1 Dice Block. Dice Block numbered 0 to 1.
1-2-3 Dice Block File:Mp9123die.png Dice Block numbered 1 to 3.
4-5-6 Dice Block 4-5-6 Dice Block. Dice Block numbered 4 to 6.
1-10 Dice Block File:Tendiceblock.png Dice Block numbered 1 to 10.

Spaces

When a player lands on a space, something is going to happen. Each space has its own effect, but like in previous Mario Party games, every space is colour-coded. The colour of the space will tell what kind of event is going to happen.

  • Normal Spaces
    • Blue Spaces - Triggers good events and will help the player who landed on it.
    • Red Spaces - Trigger bad events and will hinder the player who landed on it.
    • Green Spaces - Neutral spaces that often lets one or all players attend an event that can either help or hinder the player.
    • Yellow Spaces - Trigger minigames when landed on.
    • White Spaces - Adds Mini Stars to the Jackpot on the Bowser Station board.
  • Star Spaces
    • Mini Star Spaces - Gives Mini Stars to the player who landed on it.
    • Mini Ztar Spaces - Takes Mini Stars from the player who landed on it.

If the player moves over a space with a half cross on it, he or she automatically stops at that space and an event starts. The only two spaces of this kind are the Boss Space and the Captain Event Space.

Because of the new rules in Mario Party 9, there are many new spaces introduced. Some old spaces returned as well, but some have a different effect (for example the Blue Space). With a total of 21 different kind of spaces, Mario Party 9 has the most spaces of the series. Also for the first time in the Mario Party series, some spaces are unique for a specific board. Here is a list of all the spaces in the game, with what kind of effect they have.

Space Effect Rarity
Appears on all boards
Green Space Green Space Nothing happens when you land here. Common
Dice Block Space File:MP9 Dice Space.png Land here to receive a Special Dice Block. Common
Lucky Space Lucky Space If you land here, something good will happen. Semi-Common
Unlucky Space Unlucky Space If you land here, something bad will happen. Rare
Event Space Happening Space If you land here, a special event will occur. Uncommon
Shuffle Space File:MP9 Alternate Space.png The orders of Captains change. Semi-Common (None when playing with 2 players)
Dash Space File:MP9 Forward Space.png If you land here, you will have to hit a Dice Block to go forward. Uncommon
Back Space File:MP9 Reverse Space.png If you land here, you will have to hit a Dice Block to go backward. Uncommon
Spin Space File:MP9 Random Space.png If you land here, something special will happen! Uncommon
Bowser Space Bowser Space If you land here... Uncommon (Common near the end of stages)
Mini Star Space File:MP9 +1MiniStar Space.png If you land here, you'll get Mini Stars. Rare
File:MP9 +2MiniStar Space.png If you land here, you'll get Mini Stars.
File:MP9 +3MiniStars Space.png If you land here, you'll get Mini Stars.
File:MP9 +5MiniStars Space.png If you land here, you'll get Mini Stars.
Mini Ztar Space File:MP9 +1MiniZtars Space.png If you land here, you'll lose Mini Stars. Rare
File:MP9 +2MiniZtars Space.png If you land here, you'll lose Mini Stars.
File:MP9 +3MiniZtars Space.png If you land here, you'll lose Mini Stars.
File:MP9 +5MiniZtars Space.png If you land here, you'll lose Mini Stars.
Captain Event Space Captain Event Space Land here to start a Captain Event. This space cannot be skipped. 1 on each stage. 2 on Blooper Beach and Magma Mine. 3 on Bowser Station.
Boss Battle Space Boss Space You will automatically stop here and fight in a Boss Battle. 2 on each stage
Free-for-All Space Free-for-All Space If you land here, everybody will compete in a minigame against each other. Semi-Common
1-vs-Rival Space File:MP9 1vs2.png If you land here, a 1-vs-Rival minigame with 3 players will be triggered. The Captain is the solo player. Uncommon (None when playing with 2 or 4 players)
Bowser Jr. Space Bowser Jr. Space Triggers a Bowser Jr. minigame where the Captain and a randomly-chosen ally must defeat him. Uncommon (None when playing with 2 players)
Battle Space File:MP9 Competition Space.png A minigame will commence in which all players must participate. Mini Stars are distributed differently from regular minigames. Semi-Common (None when playing with 2 players)
Board-specific Spaces
Magma Space File:MP9 +2 Space.png Raises the lava level by 2 on the Magma Mine board. Common
File:MP9 +3 Space.png Raises the lava level by 3 on the Magma Mine board. Semi-Common
File:MP9 +4 Space.png Raises the lava level by 4 on the Magma Mine board. Uncommon
Jackpot+ Space MP9 Jackpot5 Space.png Adds 5 Mini Stars to the Jackpot Machine on Bowser Station. Common
MP9 Jackpot8 Space.png Adds 8 Mini Stars to the Jackpot Machine on Bowser Station.
DK Space MP9 DK Space.png If you land here, DK will start an activity where you try to collect the most Bananas spinning in a circle around the board. Common
Jackpot Space No Image Gives the Captain all the Mini Stars stored on the Jackpot Machine. Rare

Critical reception

Reviews for Mario Party 9, similar to most Mario Party games, have been mixed to positive. IGN gave it a 7/10 explaining that the graphics are good but the music is repetitive and the luck plays a big role in determining a player's fate in the game. GameSpot gave it a 6.0 explaining that it is too familiar and that Solo mode is tedious and required for unlocks.

Mario Party 9 is the 21st best selling game for the Wii, having sold 2.73 million copies worldwide, as of March 31, 2014.Template:Refneeded

Beta elements

Main article: List of Mario Party 9 beta elements

The design of the Toad Road board for the build presented during the E3 trailer had a somewhat simpler design. While the beta version features the same layout and many of the same features, the "9 Island" seen in the final game is not present, featuring a circular island in its place. The circle island on the final board also replaces a mountain with a waterfall in the beta.

Gallery

Template:Morepic

Staff

Main article: List of Mario Party 9 staff

Mario Party 9 is developed by Nd. Cube, the same company that has developed Wii Party. Nd. Cube consists of former employees of Hudson, a company involved in the previous Mario Party titles. Shuichiro Nishiya and Tatsumitsu Watanabe are the main directors of this game. The programming director is Shinji Shibasaki. The sound director is Hiroyuki Tsuboguchi while the music director is Chamy. Ishi. Meanwhile, NOA Product Testing has been involved in debugging the game.

Media

‎References to other games

Differences from other Mario Party games

  • This is the first Mario Party to have Mini Stars instead of coins and Power Stars.
  • This is the first Mario Party to have everyone together in one vehicle.
  • This is the first Mario Party to not have Red Spaces.
  • This is the first Mario Party in the series not to be developed by Hudson Soft.
  • This is the first Mario Party to not include Advice or Hints in the Minigame Rules Screen.
    • This is also the first Mario Party game to not include a category of 2-vs-2-Minigames, and the first since Mario Party 2 to not include a category of Duel Minigames (if the 1-vs.-1 Story Minigames from Mario Party 4 are counted as Duel Minigames).
  • This is the first Mario Party since Mario Party 2 not to have three separate files (excluding Mario Party DS, which has two).

Names in other languages

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Trivia

References


External links

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