Mario Party DS

Not to be confused with Mario Party (Wii/DS).

Mario Party DS
North American game cover. For alternate box art, see the related gallery.
Developers	Hudson Soft CAProduction Nintendo SPD Group No. 4
Publisher	Nintendo
Platforms	Nintendo DS, Virtual Console (Wii U)
Release dates	Nintendo DS: November 8, 2007 November 8, 2007 November 19, 2007 November 19, 2007 November 23, 2007 December 6, 2007 May 22, 2008 July 2009 Virtual Console (Wii U): April 21, 2016 April 21, 2016 April 21, 2016 April 27, 2016
Languages	English Japanese French (Europe) German Italian Korean Spanish (Europe)
Genre	Party
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone[?] CERO: - All ages[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] USK: - All ages[?] ClassInd: - General audience[?] GRAC: - All ages[?] ACB: - Parental guidance[?]
Modes	Single-player, Multiplayer (single card)
Format	Wii U: Digital download Nintendo DS: Game Card
Input	Wii U: Wii U GamePad Nintendo DS: Gamepad Stylus Microphone
Serial codes	NTR-A8TJ-JPN NTR-A8TE-USA NTR-A8TP-EUR NTR-A8TE-AUS NTR-A8TK-KOR

Mario Party DS is the fourteenth installment in the Mario Party series. It was released for the Nintendo DS in late 2007 as the last Mario Party game by Hudson Soft before Nintendo Cube took over starting from Mario Party 9. Mario Party DS was also the last Super Mario game developed by Hudson Soft before their dissolution in 2012. The game was later released for the Wii U Virtual Console in April 2016.

Story

From the instruction booklet:

The Mario crew's adventure begins late one night when five Sky Crystals fall to earth. Mario finds one, then shows it to all of his friends!

Just then there's another surprise. Bowser sends party invitations to the whole crew: "Hey, chumps! I'm throwing a Big Bowser Bash to apologize for being such a big jerk!"

Of course, they're all suspicious! But free eats can't be beat, so everyone goes to Bowser's Castle to get first crack at the snacks. And, of course, it's a trap! Bowser steals the Sky Crystal, then shrinks everyone with his new Minimizer. So tiny in such a big world!

Bowser doesn't want Mario and company in the way, since he has four more Sky Crystals to find. So he flings them to the far side of the kingdom!

And there our party begins, with our wee heroes lost in a world full of gigantic challenges...

Bowser traps the characters in a cage before shrinking them

One night, five Sky Crystals fall down to the Mushroom Kingdom. When a Sky Crystal lands near Mario, he proceeds to tell his friends the next day. Suddenly, Kamek flies overhead, dropping invitations from Bowser to a feast at his castle to apologize for his wrongdoings, which Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong also receive unintentionally. The apology was insincere, as upon their arrival, Bowser and Bowser Jr. drop a cage on Mario and his friends, trapping them. Bowser steals Mario's Sky Crystal to power the Minimizer and shrink the characters down to a very tiny size. Mario and the others are thrown far away as Bowser goes searching for the remaining Sky Crystals. Mario and his friends all went to get back at Bowser and return to normal size, but they compete for the Superstar at various boards along the way.

Wiggler is the first to ask for help, as Wiggler's Garden has been overrun by a Piranha Plant. When the Superstar defeats the Piranha Plant, Wiggler gives the characters the first Sky Crystal. At the next destination, Toadette's Music Room, the characters are asked by Toadette to get rid of a destructive Hammer Bro. When the Superstar defeats Hammer Bro, Toadette gives the characters the second Sky Crystal. At the third destination, DK's Stone Statue, Diddy Kong informs the characters that Dry Bones had turned Donkey Kong into a statue. When Dry Bones is defeated, Donkey Kong returns to normal and Diddy gives the characters the third Sky Crystal. The fourth destination, Kamek's Library, has a Koopa Troopa who informs the heroes that his grandfather, Koopa Krag, has been imprisoned into a book. The Superstar defeats Kamek at the end of a long hallway, freeing Koopa Krag, and the heroes receive the fourth Sky Crystal. Lastly, the characters arrive at Bowser's Castle, but as they attempt to ambush him, they forget that they are still shrunken. They are then put into a pinball machine by Bowser and Bowser Jr. By the time the prevailing character becomes the Superstar, Bowser attempts to shrink them again, but Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong arrive, expecting a banquet. Donkey Kong accidentally knocks the Minimizer outside of Bowser's hands and breaks it, reverting the characters to normal size.

For the final battle, Bowser takes out the Megamorph Belt to become Blockhead Bowser, battling the Superstar of Bowser's Pinball Machine. Upon defeating Bowser, the Superstar reclaims the last Sky Crystal, and all five of them combine to form the crystal DS, allowing play of Triangle Twisters. Bowser apparently wanted to have the Sky Crystals to try the challenge for himself, but the characters allow him and Bowser Jr. to play as well. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong feel satisfied, having finished the feast all by themselves.

Gameplay

Each of the boards in Story Mode

Mario Party DS plays like the home console entries of the Mario Party series. Up to four players take turns to roll a Dice Block from 1 to 10, deciding how many spaces they can move. Each player tries to get the most Stars by the end, depending on the condition set by the board. After all players have had their turn, the type of minigame determines the type of minigame that will be played, such as one player landing on a Red Space (including a Bowser Space) and others on a Blue Space initiating a 1 vs. 3 minigame. Whoever wins the minigame is rewarded ten coins, and the next turn starts. In the Final 5 Frenzy event, when the last five turns have begun, Bowser allows the player in last to spin a roulette for a prize, as well as changing all Friend Spaces to Duel Spaces.

A Battle Minigame may occur, in which case a set number of players' coins are taken from them, with no penalty for players with an insufficient number of coins. When the minigame concludes, players 65, 30, 5, or 0 percent of the coins, depending on their ranking. The number of coins that each player has to pay is determined by the current turn number multiplied by two.

Once the set number of turns are over, the game ends, and the total number of Stars and coins collected by players are tallied, the winner is announced, especially over how many Stars they have collected. In Party Mode, three Bonus Stars can be rewarded to any players for excelling at certain criteria the most: Mini-Game Stars for anyone who has won the most minigames; Green Stars for whoever has landed on the most ? Spaces; Running Stars for whoever has moved the most spaces; Item Stars for whoever has used the most items; Hex Stars for whoever used most Hexes; and Friendship Stars for anyone who has landed on the most Friend Spaces.

Spaces

Image	Space	Description
	Blue Space	The most common space, Blue Space gives three coins when landed on. A Hidden Block can appear here.
	Red Space	The opposite of a Blue Space, where the player loses three coins.
	Green Space	An event occurs, depending on the board and its position. The top screen interface gives that player a green background, flashing randomly to red or blue before a minigame begins.
	Friend Space	The player receives five coins, as well as an opponent of choice. The top screen gives that player a green background, like Green Spaces.
	Duel Space	Replacing Friend Spaces in the Final 5 Frenzy, Duel Spaces allow the player to choose an opponent for a Duel minigame then spin a roulette to determine the prize for winning. The top screen gives that player a green background, like Green Spaces.
	Bowser Space	Bowser arrives to cause an event at the player or players' disadvantage: Gimme Coins! has Bowser takes away 20 of the player's coins (10 if they have fewer or all if they have even fewer); Gimme Stars!, has him take away one Star; Gimme Charity! has Bowser forcing the player to give 10 coins to all opponents (or just the opposing team in Team Battle); and Gimme Equality! has Bowser give all players the same number of coins.
	Star Space	When a player makes it here, they can pay 20 coins for a Star. It is the only space that is not counted by the dice roll. There is only one Star Space available per board.

Items

The Item Shop of Mario Party DS

Items can help players. The normal type is usually bought from Item Shops, while the introduced Hexes are found at Hex Areas. Either way, only up to three of either type can be carried at once.

Normal items

Regular items can be bought at Item Shops run by a Monty Mole. Players can decide to purchase more than one item, unlike previous Mario Party games, provided that they have enough coins.

Image	Name	Description	Price
	Double Dice Set	The player rolls two Dice Blocks.	3 coins
	Triple Dice Set	The player rolls three Dice Blocks.	7 coins
	Halfway Dice Block	The player can roll only between 1 through 5.	1 coin
	Warp Dice Block	The player warps some place random before starting their turn.	2 coins
	Snag Bag	The player steals a random item from an opponent of choice.	8 coins
	Star Pipe	The player starts their turn from the Star Space.	15 coins
	Block Sensor	The next space that is landed on contains a Hidden Block.	20 coins
	Grab Bag	Rewards a Star Pipe, Block Sensor, and Triple Dice Set, getting rid of any previous items in their inventory.	25 coins

Hexes

Main article: Hex

Daisy is about to pass a Hex Area.

Hexes can be placed as traps on certain spaces by other players, similarly to Character Spaces from earlier Mario Party titles. A majority of Hexes negatively affect the opponent when landed on (except the Coin Block and Star Block). They can be replaced by a different Hex and dissipate after being used.

Image	Name	Description
	10-Coin Hex	The opponent gives 10 coins to whoever placed the Hex.
	20-Coin Hex	The opponent gives 20 coins to whoever placed the Hex.
	Coin Swap Hex	Swaps the opponent's number of coins with whoever placed the Hex.
	1-Star Hex	The opponent gives 1 Star to whoever placed the Hex.
	2-Star Hex	The opponent gives 2 Stars to whoever placed the Hex.
	Space Swap Hex	The opponent switches positions with whoever placed the Hex.
	Star Block	Whoever lands on the Hex can receive one to three Stars, depending on which number they hit on the block.
	Coin Block	Whoever lands on the Hex has to hit the block as much as possible to gain the most possible coins within 10 seconds.

Characters

Playable characters

There are eight playable characters.

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Board hosts/bosses

Each board has a host and a boss.

Board	Wiggler's Garden	Toadette's Music Room	DK's Stone Statue	Kamek's Library	Bowser's Pinball Machine
Host	Wiggler	Toadette	Diddy Kong	Kamek	Bowser
Boss	Piranha Plant	Hammer Bro	Dry Bones

Supporting cast

These characters have only a minor role.

• Donkey Kong (appears in DK's Stone Statue)
• Koopa (appears in Kamek's Library)
• Koopa Krag (appears in Kamek's Library)
• Bowser Jr. (appears in Bowser's Pinball Machine)

Minigame enemies

• Goomba
• Scuttlebug
• Cheep Cheep
• Boo
• Shy Guy
• Whomp
• Bob-omb
• Monty Mole

Boards

Board		Star acquisition	Boss	Boss Mini-Game
		The Star moves elsewhere on the board after being bought for 20 coins.	Piranha Plant	Feed and Seed
		Players have to purchase Stars from Music Notes for 5-30 coins.	Hammer Bro	Hammer Chime
		The Star is always just before the space at the top left. Players with a sufficient number of coins can purchase as many as desired at 20 coins each.	Dry Bones	Hexoskeleton
		There are three magic jars with random contents: one with a Star; one 5 coins; and the other returning the player to the start. The jars change positions once the Star is obtained.	Kamek	Book Bash
		Same as Wiggler's Garden.	Bowser	Bowser's Block Party

Team names

Every combination of playable characters in Tag Battle has their own team names:

	Mario	Luigi	Peach	Daisy	Wario	Waluigi	Yoshi	Toad
Mario		Mario Bros.	Fan Favorites	Flower Players	Foe Bros.	'Stache Stars	Old Buddies	Fungus Friends
Luigi	Mario Bros.		Green Peaches	Shy Sidekicks	'Stache Clashers	Lean Meanies	Green Machines	Green Mushrooms
Peach	Fan Favorites	Green Peaches		Power Princesses	Rotten Peaches	Black Peaches	Sweetie Pies	Peachy 'Shrooms
Daisy	Flower Players	Shy Sidekicks	Power Princesses		Wilted Flowers	Skinny Stars	Cutie Pies	Button Mushrooms
Wario	Foe Bros.	'Stache Clashers	Rotten Peaches	Wilted Flowers		Bad Boys	Unlikely Pals	Poison Mushrooms
Waluigi	'Stache Stars	Lean Meanies	Black Peaches	Skinny Stars	Bad Boys		Purple Dinos	Bad Mushrooms
Yoshi	Old Buddies	Green Machines	Sweetie Pies	Cutie Pies	Unlikely Pals	Purple Dinos		Star Supporters
Toad	Fungus Friends	Green Mushrooms	Peachy 'Shrooms	Button Mushrooms	Poison Mushrooms	Bad Mushrooms	Star Supporters

Modes

Story Mode (1 Player)

A single-player mode where the player character has to go through the five boards, each requiring them to become the Superstar of a Battle Royal match, and then defeat its boss in a minigame before continuing. The opponents cannot be chosen, and the boards always have only ten turns and no Bonus Star awards. If a CPU player wins, they lose the boss minigame, forcing the player to restart the board all over. If there is a tie with a CPU character, the player always wins. The player can unlock expert difficulty for CPU players by clearing the board.

Party Mode (1-4 Players)

The player competes against either several players, whether humans or CPUs, on a board in either a Battle Royale, Tag Battle or Duel Battle.

Minigame Mode (1-4 Players)

The player plays can play unlocked minigames in a variety of challenges, again either human or CPU players.

Step It Up

“Be first to reach the top of the steps! Minigame victories get you there!”

—In-game description, Mario Party DS

Step It Up in Mario Party DS

Step It Up involves four players competing to win a number of randomly selected minigames, going up one step of a staircase upon winning. The player can decide upon 4-player, 1-vs-3 and 2-vs-2 minigames, or a mix of all three. For 1-vs-3 and 2-vs-2 minigames, teams are determined from the start but randomized if all three types of minigames are used. Whoever wins 3, 5, or 7 minigames first (as decided by the player) is the winner.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	かちぬきバトル Kachinuki Batoru	Tournament Battle		[?]
French	Montée des marches	Staircase run		[?]
Italian	Scala del Successo	Ladder of Success		[?]
Korean	승자진출전 Seungjajinchuljeon	Winner Entry Game		[?]
Spanish (Latin America)	Escalera hacia el éxito	Stair to success		[?]
Spanish (Europe)	Poco a poco	Little by little

Battle Cup

Battle Cup

“Welcome to Battle Cup! In Battle Cup, you'll play five preselected minigames in order... And whoever wins the most of them is the victor!”

—Narrator, Mario Party DS

Battle Cup involves four players competing to win the Cup Course, featuring a collage of five consecutive minigames chosen by either the player or the game. Only 4-player and Battle minigames are available. If multiple players win the most minigames by the end, the final winner is determined by each victor rolling a Dice Block.

• In-game description:
  • English:
    Choose a specific minigame course, then battle to come out ahead!

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	バトルカップ Batoru Kappu	Battle Cup		[?]
Italian	Punta alla Coppa	Go for the Cup		[?]
Korean	배틀컵 Baeteul Keop	Battle Cup		[?]
Spanish	Torneo por victorias	Tournament by victories		[?]

Score Scuffle

Score Scuffle

“Welcome to Score Scuffle! In Score Scuffle, you'll blast through 10 minigames. Results will be converted to points. The player with the highest final score wins!”

—Narrator, Mario Party DS

Score Scuffle involves players playing through ten minigames, in the order of Rail Riders, Domino Effect, Cherry-Go-Round, Study Fall, Get the Lead Out, Whomp-a-thon, Hedge Honcho, Pedal Pushers, Hanger Management, and Raft Riot. Each time a player wins, they earn points (up to 1,000 points, except Get the Lead Out, where the maximum is 999 points), and whoever has the most points by the end is the winner. Score Scuffle has a default high score of 0 points.

• In-game description:
  • English:
    Compete in a series of minigames to earn as many points as possible!

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	スコアアタック Sukoa Atakku	Score Attack		[?]
Italian	Arraffapunti	Grab Points		[?]
Korean	스코어어택 Seuko'eo Eotaek	Score Attack		[?]
Spanish	Torneo por puntos	Tournament by points		[?]

Boss Bash

Daisy playing Boss Bash

“Welcome to Boss Bash! You're going to battle five bosses! How quickly can you defeat them? Bash them fast to win!”

—Narrator, Mario Party DS

Boss Bash is a single-player minigame where the player faces bosses in their minigames, always in the order of Piranha Plant (Feed and Seed), Hammer Bro (Hammer Chime), Dry Bones (Hexoskeleton), Kamek (Book Bash), and Bowser (Bowser's Block Party). The player is given the objective the minigames as fast as possible because each one is timed. If the player is defeated at any point, the mode ends, and their scores are not recorded. Each minigame has a default high score of 5:00:00, making 25:00:00 the best time overall.

• In-game description:
  • English:
    Take on the boss minigames to get the best time you can!

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	ボスタイムアタック Bosu Taimu Atakku	Boss Time Attack		[?]
Italian	Sfida ai Boss	Challenge at the Bosses		[?]
Korean	보스타임어택 Boseu Taim Eotaek	Boss Time Attack		[?]
Spanish	Enemigos finales	Final enemies		[?]

Rocket Rascals

Rocket Rascals

“Welcome to Rocket Rascals! Reach the rocket first! Build a bridge to the center before your rivals do!”

—Narrator, Mario Party DS

Rocket Rascals has four players compete to win minigames to acquire and place bridge pieces on the square 5x5 grid to make their way to the rocket at the end. Each turn starts with a roulette deciding which bridge piece the winner of a minigame will receive. The bridge piece can be placed on any unoccupied space of the grid, ending the turn. Rarely, the roulette will select a crosspiece, which can be placed on top of another piece. If either multiple or no players win the minigame, nobody gets the bridge piece. If it is not possible to make a route to the rocket, the obstructing pieces are removed. If multiple players reach the rocket at the same time, the winner is determined by whoever rolls the highest number on a Dice Block. If no one makes it to the rocket within 20 turns, no one wins.

Bowser Jr. sometimes appears after placing a bridge part and does one of five actions, decided by roulette: Crosspiece Crisis, where players play for a crosspiece every turn; Turnaround Madness, where Bowser Jr. scatters the bridge parts randomly; Tiebreaker Trouble, where Bowser Jr. places the piece if a tie occurs; Bridge Breaker, where Bowser Jr. steals all of the pieces, effectively restarting the mode; and Final Five Frenzy, which skips to the last five turns.

• In-game description:
  • English:
    Build a bridge to a rocket! Win your pieces by playing minigames!

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	ミニゲームブリッジ Minigēmu Burijji	Minigame Bridge		[?]
German	Raum-Randale	Space riot		[?]
Italian	Tutti al Razzo	Everyone to the Rocket		[?]
Korean	미니게임브릿지 Minigeim Beuritji	Minigame Bridge		[?]
Spanish	Carrera espacial	Space Race		[?]

Puzzle Mode (1-2 Players)

Triangle Twisters

One or two human players can play six puzzle-action games. The first five return from earlier Mario Party games, in the order of Mario's Puzzl