Mario Party: Island Tour
- This article is about the Nintendo 3DS game. For the musical theme, see Mario Party: Island Tour (theme).
| Mario Party: Island Tour | |||||||||||||||||
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 For alternate box art, see the related gallery. | |||||||||||||||||
| Developers | NDcube Nintendo SPD Group No.4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||||||||||||
| Platform | Nintendo 3DS | ||||||||||||||||
| Release dates | Original release November 22, 2013[1] January 10, 2014[2][3] January 17, 2014[4] January 18, 2014[5] March 20, 2014[6] March 20, 2014[7] June 3, 2014[8]Nintendo Selects release October 16, 2015[9] March 11, 2016[10] May 26, 2016[11] | ||||||||||||||||
| Languages | English (United States) English (United Kingdom) Japanese Dutch French (Canada) French (Europe) German Italian Korean Portuguese (Europe) Russian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Europe) | ||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Party | ||||||||||||||||
| Ratings |
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| Modes | Single player, Multiplayer | ||||||||||||||||
| Format |  Game Card Digital download | ||||||||||||||||
| Input | |||||||||||||||||
| Serial code | LNA-CTR-ATSE-USA | ||||||||||||||||
- Everyone
- All ages
- Three years and older
- All ages
- General audience
- All ages
- General
- Parental guidance
Mario Party: Island Tour is a game for the Nintendo 3DS, released first in the Americas in November 22, 2013, and the second Mario Party game to be developed by NDcube. It is the twelfth main installment (nineteenth overall) in the Mario Party series, the third installment for a handheld console, and the first Mario Party to be developed for the Nintendo 3DS. Mario Party: Island Tour has gameplay objectives unique to it compared to other entries in the Mario Party series. Rather than traveling around a board to obtain the most quantity of a particular item, either separately or together on a vehicle, players need to race their opponents to the finish in a linear, one-way board, with certain objectives in the race differing depending on the board played on. The game additionally retains several key elements from other Mario Party titles — namely, obtaining and using items to gain an advantage over opponents, and playing a wide variety of minigames.
Due to the platform being the Nintendo 3DS, some of the minigames take advantage of the system's features, such as the stereoscopic 3D, gyroscope, mic, augmented reality (AR), and the touch screen. The game additionally uses StreetPass, where players can play minigames if their system has picked up signals from other Nintendo 3DS systems that also have the game and unlock special items from doing so. Up to four people can play together either with local multiplayer or Download Play using only one game cartridge, similar to how Mario Party DS and later Mario Party installments for the Nintendo 3DS handle multiplayer.
This was the first Mario Party game to be localized in Dutch, European Portuguese, and Russian. The game was eventually released as a Nintendo Selects title in multiple regions including the Americas, Europe, and Oceania, being one of the best-selling titles for the Nintendo 3DS.
Story
After a relaxing day around Peach's Castle, Mario and the gang notice a strange letter in a bubble saying they are happily invited to the Party Islands. The gang then cheers about it but then the letter suddenly traps the gang in bubbles to carry them through the sky to the Party Islands.
While Mario and the gang are partying and playing games, Bowser shows up, feeling jealous about why Mario and his friends are invited and he was not, so he builds Bowser's Tower, saying that anyone can join him at his evil party. He begins locking all the fun from the Party Islands in bubbles. He also puts evil magic in the bubbles made by the bubble machine to make bubble clones of the gang to guard the tower. The player's selected character and a green Toad advance up the tower and defeat the bubble clones as well as various bosses. After defeating Bowser in Bowser's Sky Scuffle, the player's character then defeats the Mario bubble clones guarding the bubble machine and then destroys the bubble machine with a ground pound. Shortly afterward, Bowser reappears and boots the player's character and the green Toad out of the tower, inviting them to challenge him any time and that he won't be done.
Gameplay
Unlike the direct preceding game, Mario Party 9, where all four players travel together through a vehicle and aim to obtain the most Mini Stars, Mario Party: Island Tour uses the traditional independent four-player gameplay as seen in previous Mario Party entries. The ultimate goal of the game in most of the boards is to race opponents on a linear-designed board to the finish line, unlike other Mario Party games, where players are required to amass the most amount of a certain item to win in all boards. In order to advance through the board, players roll a Dice Block numbered from 1 to 6 to dictate their movement. Each board has its own play style with different rules from another: one board, Star-Crossed Skyway, requires players to amass the most Mini Stars, while Kamek's Carpet Ride requires players to land exactly on a particular space, called a Just-Right Space, by using numbered cards. Another feature of these boards is to replace the "6" on the Dice Block with another feature, such as a Banzai Bill icon on Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain that causes players to fall back to the halfway point or the start of the board or a 0 in Rocket Road, meaning the player cannot move at all. Prior to starting out, a yellow Toad explains the board's play style, and after players are done viewing the rules, they roll a Dice Block to determine their turn order; players who roll a higher number than others will move earlier. In this game, a Round, similar to turns from earlier Mario Party titles, is taken once every player has rolled a Dice Block and moved accordingly, and while in earlier Mario Party titles had a limited amount of turns to take until the game ends, Mario Party: Island Tour proceeds until someone (or everyone, in the case of Star-Crossed Skyway) has reached the end goal. When starting their own round, players can either opt to use an item if an item is available for use or look around the map to plan out movement. If players end the game in a tie, a Dice Block roll determines who wins the game. At the end of the game, various stats are recorded such as how many spaces a player has landed on, a line graph depicting the players' progress, and other recordings depending on the board the players were playing on.
When players land on a Space, an event occurs depending on the type of space landed. Their function and design appears to be based off Mario Party 9; for example, if players land on a Green Space, nothing occurs while if a player lands on an Item Space on a specific type of board, they receive an item from a pool of randomized items. These items can either benefit the player directly or obstruct opponents. Players can carry up to two items, and players can use only one item per round. Only a few boards have an item system, however, and the type of items players receive varies on the board selected.
Some boards have players participating in minigames, either after every turn or if a Minigame Space is landed on. These minigames are small, short activities that have players competing against each other in defined, simple rules, most of them within a time limit. Some minigames involve players surviving a horde of enemies, some involve players racing against one another, some require the player to obtain the most points within a time limit, etc. If the player performs the best in the minigame, depending on the board played on, they receive priority when deciding which prize item to take or how much items are rewarded to them. The lower the rank players are, the lower the priority for selecting items and the less of a reward they receive, with last place players either receiving nothing or the worst rewards. If minigames end in a tie, a Dice Block is used to break the tie.
Mario Party: Island Tour supports local multiplayer if players have multiple cartridges or Download Play if there is only one cartridge. Up to four players can play the game, and they can participate with the player in Party Mode and Minigames Mode.
Modes
There are five different play modes in the game.
Party
- “Party your way to the finish across a wild variety of game boards! Play time: 10-60 mins”
- —Party mode
Party Mode, hosted by a yellow Toad, is the main mode of Mario Party: Island Tour, which uses the default gameplay as described above. Up to four players can participate in this mode, and the mode allows a minimum of two players participating. Players first pick from a selection of available boards, all of which play differently from each other in terms of mechanics and goals. After that, players choose their character out of a cast of 10 playable characters, with 9 default characters and one unlockable. If there are not enough players, players can fill in empty slots with selected computer-controlled players from the remaining characters. Players can then select the difficulty of each individual CPU player, as well as the type of minigames that will be played with. Character settings are then saved the next time players access the mode, including those of CPU opponents.
Minigames
- Main article: List of Mario Party: Island Tour minigames
- “Battle for first place in a huge collection of minigames. Play time: 1-30 mins”
- —Minigames mode
Hosted by a blue Toad, players can play in one of the many minigames in Mario Party: Island Tour through this mode. Unlike most Mario Party installments, all minigames are available from the start. Minigames Mode has three ways to play: Free Play, Time Attack, and Hot-Air Hijinks. Free Play allows up to four players to participate, and like Free Play from previous installments, players have a free choice to decide which minigame to play in. Once a minigame is played on, players have the option to play the minigame again, go to a randomly selected different minigame, go back to the minigame menu, or go back to the main menu. Time Attack is a single-player mode whose objective is to clear a set amount of ten minigames the quickest. Each minigame also contains optional objectives to meet if players want to further lessen the time it takes to complete them. Once all minigames are played on, the record time is saved. These are the minigames played in Time Attack:
The last mode is Hot-Air Hijinks (Balloon Race in British English), where up to four players can participate in. Players ride a hot air balloon, and in order to rise, they must clear minigames that are randomly selected through a roulette. For settings, players can use either All or Easy minigames and if their minigames require the Mic or not. Prior to starting out, players can set their objective to win 3, 5, or 7 minigames. If a player reaches past a certain level, the last place players get to stop the roulette wheel. Whichever player reaches the mark set first wins the mode.
StreetPass Minigames
- “Take on the world in minigame battles, and unlock special items! Play time: 1-15 mins”
- —StreetPass Minigames mode
StreetPass Minigames mode takes advantage of the Nintendo 3DS's StreetPass feature. Prior to setting up, players select their character to use in the mode and the choice to turn it on. If turned on, players who own Mario Party: Island Tour can pick up tags from other players who also own Mario Party: Island Tour and have it activated. When a tag is received, the Nintendo 3DS's LED light glows green, and a green dot notification is shown on the main menu on the StreetPass Minigames tab. When the mode is selected when a StreetPass tag is active, players see the other players' characters and their skill level, which dictates how difficult the CPU opponent controlling that character will be in the minigame. Players can participate against that character only once, unless the Nintendo 3DS is tagged with the same person the next day.
Bowser's Tower
- Main article: Bowser's Tower
- “Win your way to the top of a terrifying tower! Play time: 90 mins”
- —Bowser's Tower mode
Bowser's Tower is the sole single-player-focused mode of Mario Party: Island Tour and where the main story takes place. Players need to progress up a tower, and to progress, they need to win a gauntlet of minigames. Bowser's Tower contains 30 floors, where the opponents get progressively harder the more players progress up the tower. At every fifth floor, a boss-type minigame is played. A green Toad tags along with the player character on the way, and the player faces off against bubble clones, bubble copies of the playable characters. Players beat the game when they clear Bowser's Sky Scuffle, and they unlock Bowser Jr. as a playable character.
Collectables
- Main article: List of Mario Party: Island Tour collectables
- “Purchase bubbles with Mario Party Points! Can you complete the entire collection? Play time: N/A”
- —Collectables mode
Much like Mario Party DS and Mario Party 9, players can earn Mario Party Points by playing boards, completing Bowser's Tower, or playing minigames. This points can be used to buy "Bubbles" and "Memories", respectively voice recordings or music from the various characters, boards, or minigames. These bubbles need to be bought from the gallery with various points, and not all bubbles are unlocked initially: the bubbles are unlocked when players first encounter them by simply playing the different modes and boards.
Characters
Playable
There are a total of 10 playable characters in Mario Party: Island Tour. Bowser Jr. is both the sole unlockable character and the only character newly playable to the Mario Party series, unlocked after the Bowser's Tower mode is completed for the first time. In addition, Boo is playable in the series for the first time since Mario Party 8, as well as for the first time in a Mario Party game for a handheld console.
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
_-_Mario_Party_Island_Tour.png) Mario |
The high-jumping hero wouldn't miss the party when his name is on the box. |
 Luigi |
Mario's lanky bro is always ready to roll. |
 Peach |
She may be royalty, but this princess isn't above a minigame party. |
 Daisy |
Princess Peach's friend is no wallflower—she's in it to win it. |
 Wario |
If you invite Wario to a party, you can be sure he’ll take things to extremes. |
 Waluigi |
He may not always be a people person, but Waluigi still loves a party. |
 Yoshi |
Mario's green buddy is a good egg, so he's always invited to the party. |
_-_Mario_Party_Island_Tour.png) Boo |
Add this gregarious ghost to the party to scare up some fun. |
 Toad |
Loyal to a fault, Toad is ready to put friendship aside in the minigames. |
 Bowser Jr. (new) |
He doesn't have his own tower, but you can't keep him from playing. |
Bosses
Every five floors of Bowser's Tower has a corresponding boss and boss minigame.
| Tower Floor | 5th | 10th | 15th | 20th | 25th | 30th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boss | Goomba Tower | Chain Chomp | Mr. Blizzard | King Bob-omb | Dry Bowser | Bowser |
| Minigame |  Goomba Tower Takedown |
 Chain Chomp's Lava Lunge |
 Mr. Blizzard's Snow Slalom |
 King Bob-omb's Court of Chaos |
 Dry Bowser's Brain Bonk |
 Bowser's Sky Scuffle |
