Mario Party 2

Mario Party 2 is the sequel to the original Mario Party for the Nintendo 64. The objective is simple and similar to the previous Mario Party: obtain stars and defeat Bowser. This game introduces the first use of collectible items in Mario Party's history; the first game had items, but they simply added optional rules or game modes to the game. Each board has its own tricks and turns, and the playable characters, as well as Bowser, wear different outfits based on the theme of the board.

Battle, Item, and Duel minigames are introduced in Mario Party 2. Battle Minigames give every player a chance to win 70% of the stocked Jackpot taken from players (usually a set amount). The top two get a 70/30 share, while the bottom two get nothing; a leftover coin is given randomly. Additionally, players can no longer lose coins in normal minigames.

Story
The game opens on a stage where Toad comes out to welcome guests and introduce the story of the play.

The story, from the instruction booklet:

Story: The Legend of Mario Land Mario and Luigi, Wario and Peach, DK and Yoshi all gathered in speech. Sharing their wishes for all they had seen, saying "Let's make a world built on all of our dreams!" Combining their talents, they sweated and strained, completing that world, Mario Land by name...

Alas, but Wario stepped forth and said, "This world should be named for a Super Star, instead. Wario Land is a far better name!" And so they all argued the depth of their fame, "Peach Land is better!" And "My name is best!" Toad could not believe the words of the rest!

But as they debated who was more grand Bowser invaded that Mario Land!!! "There's no time to argue and no time to fight! "The task is before us," Toad said with a fright, "This land shall be named for the Super Star who defeats evil Bowser and saves us all, too!"

So Mario and friends took on this new quest, to defeat the King Koopa and prove who's the best! They went deep into space, met ghosts and pirates, bust always on Bowser their keen sights were set. No adventure more trying, no reward more grand... So speaks the legend of Mario Land!

One day Mario and friends (save for Wario) decide to create a new world. They name this new world Mario Land. But Wario is unhappy with that name, and introduces his own name; Wario Land. Thanks to Wario, an argument breaks out on what to call this new world. Peach suddenly interrupts the group claiming she has a name they can all agree on. She reveals her name to be Peach Land and the characters double over in irony. As the group continues to argue, a sinister event is taking place on the other side of the unnamed world.

Bowser has set his sights on this new land, and quickly begins taking it for himself because the group is still arguing. A lone Koopa sees his invasion and then arrives to warn the group about Bowser's plans. However, since they are fighting they do not hear him. Toad then gets everyone's attention by saying whoever can beat Bowser will have the new land named after them. The cast quickly runs off to defeat Bowser and claim their prize.

The story then takes the characters across six lands ending in Bowser Land. Bowser meets the group in a showdown showing his Metal Bowser power up and claims he is invincible. The character (depending on who won the board) then fights Bowser and with the power of the stars, is able to throw him into orbit.

The game then resumes to the stage format with Mario and friends triumphantly standing over a defeated Bowser. Toad exclaims that they live in peace in the new Mario Land (which does not change depending on the character). The curtain falls and each character comes out for one final bow, followed by the whole cast.

Items
Items can be bought at item shops. The offer of the shop varies with the number of turns played and the current rank of the player. Items are also procured by playing item minigames.

Unlike future Mario Party titles, a player can only carry one item at a time.

Mini-Game Land
Here players can buy minigames from Woody to play them. They can play freely or in the Mini-Game Stadium. The player can also participate in the Mini-Game Coaster, which can unlock Item and Battle minigames in the Free Play mode.

Game Director

 * Kenji Kikuchi

Programmers: Mini-Games

 * Isao Kobayashi
 * Hiroyuki Makabe
 * Satoshi Ezaki
 * Atsuko Koike
 * Yoshikazu Kita
 * Yukio Ohde
 * Akira Matsumoto
 * Norifumi Hira
 * Kazuhiko Hagihara
 * Tetsuma Yoshida
 * Hidekazu Matsunouchi
 * Norio Suzuki
 * Tomohiko Shiraishi

Music

 * Hironao Yamamoto
 * Syohei Bando
 * Kazuhiko Sawaguchi
 * Yasunori Mitsuda

Reception
Mario Party 2 received mostly positive reviews from critics. It was praised for its additions to the original game's foundation and generally considered a moderate improvement. This praise, however was somewhat offset by the unchanged formula from the first game - in particular, the somewhat important factor of luck and lack of enjoyment playing alone.

GameSpot gave the game a 7.8/10, stating that it has much more replay value than the previous game, and that the minigames are much less annoying. IGN rated the game 7.9/10 (the same score they gave the first game), saying that while the game had more content, and it "sticks with the same winning formula...there really isn't enough new here to warrant another purchase."

Nintendo of America sent the gaming magazine Game Informer a sarcastic certificate over the publication's negative review of Mario Party 2 and its predecessor.

Mario Party 2 is the 14th best selling game for the Nintendo 64, selling even more copies than its predecessor, having sold 2.33 million copies worldwide, 1.26 million in the US, 1.07 million in Japan, as of December 31, 2009.

Trivia

 * This is the first Mario Party in which the characters can hold an item. In later games, characters can hold more items, usually three.
 * This is the first Mario Party game to not feature minigames that involve rotating the Control Stick. This is because the first Mario Party gave many players blisters on their hands from playing these types of minigames.
 * The Goomba House shows up on every map in the game.
 * This is the only Mario Party game where characters dress according to the theme of the board.
 * This is the last Mario title, excluding remakes and ports, to refer to Peach as "Princess Toadstool" until Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, released almost 15 years later.
 * The coin-collecting mini-games (Deep Sea Salvage, Quicksand Cache, and Magnet Carta) do not show up until the last 15 turns.
 * Mario Party 2 is the only Mario Party game released on the Virtual Console for Wii. It is unknown why Mario Party 1 and Mario Party 3 were unreleased.