Mario Party 9

Mario Party 9 is the ninth home console installment of the Mario Party series and second for the Wii. The game was developed by Nd Cube. It is also the (fifteenth in Japan), eleventh in the main series. It will be released in Europe, Australia, and North America in March 2012 and later on in Japan in April 2012. The host of the game is Yellow Toad for the boards while Blue Toad is the host for minigames.

Story
On a night outside of Princess Peach's Castle, Mario and his friends came to watch the Mini Stars in sky. As Mario peers though the telescope, he notices that the stars suddenly begin to get sucked through a vortex. It is soon revealed to be Bowser and Bowser Jr. on a spacecraft, who are using a vacuum-like machine to suck the stars in the sky. 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 Kamek are seen coming out of woods and following them (as part of Bowser's plan).

Gameplay
A new form of gameplay will be introduced in this game: players will 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). Instead of trying to collect coins to buy stars, players receive Mini Stars if they pass by them. It is unconfirmed whether this will be a new mode or not, however, it is shown that the traditional, individual movement of characters will not be in the game. New minigames will be introduced in the Mario Party series, as well as 2 vs. 1 minigames against Bowser Jr, with one of them closely resembling one of the boss battles in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Players must try to avoid Mini Ztars, which deduct their current amount of Mini Stars. In this game, the minigames don't appear after every four turns, but only when a player ends up on any of the spaces that triggers a minigame.

Modes
Mario Party 9 has Party Mode, Story Mode, and Minigame Mode.

Minigame Mode
Blue Toad is the host of Minigame Mode.
 * Free Play: In the Free Play mode, the players can play unlocked minigames freely.
 * 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 a minigame from a group of five. 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.

Characters
Similarly to the preceding games, Mario Party 9 will introduce newcomers to the series. There are 12 characters in Mario Party 9.

Playable Characters


Shy Guy and Kamek can be unlocked after completing Story Mode.

Bosses
There are a total of 12 boss battles in Mario Party 9.

Mid-Bosses

 * Lakitu
 * Whomp
 * Dry Bones
 * Cheep-Cheep
 * Spike
 * Bowser Jr.

Stage Bosses

 * Wiggler
 * Big Bob-omb
 * King Boo
 * Blooper
 * Chain Chomp
 * Bowser

Stages
Mario Party 9 has seven total stages, which two must be unlocked.
 * Toad Road
 * Bob-omb Factory
 * Boo's Horror Castle
 * Blooper Beach
 * Magma Mine

Unlockable Stages

 * DK's Jungle Ruins (Purchased with 500 Party Points)
 * Bowser Station (Unlocked through Story Mode)

Minigames
Mario Party 9 has eighty-two minigames in five categories; Free-for-All minigames, 1-vs-Rival minigames, Bowser Jr. minigames, Boss minigames and Extra minigames. Minigames will be played when players land on VS Space or a 1-vs-Rival Space.

Free-for-All Minigames
There are a total of 44 Free-for-All minigames in Mario Party 9. These minigames can be played with two, three or four players.

1-vs-Rivals Minigames
There are a total of 10 1-vs-Rivals minigames in Mario Party 9. They can also be played with 3 players instead of 4, turning them into 1-vs-2 minigames.
 * Ruins Rumble
 * Hazard Hold
 * Mob Sleds
 * Line in the Sand
 * Block and Roll
 * Tackle Takedown
 * Weird Wheels
 * Spike-n-Span
 * Hole Hogs
 * Pix Fix

Bowser Jr. Minigames
There are a total of 10 Bowser Jr. minigames in Mario Party 9.
 * Crossfire Caverns
 * Mecha March
 * Bowser Pop
 * Double Pounder
 * Zoom Room
 * Cage Match
 * Bumper Sparks
 * Sand Trap
 * Pair of Aces
 * Pedal to the Paddle

Boss Minigames
There are a total of 12 boss battle minigames in Mario Party 9.
 * Sock It to Lakitu
 * Spike Strike
 * Cheep Cheep Shot
 * Bombard Big Bob-omb
 * Chain Chomp Romp
 * King Boo's Puzzle Attack
 * Whomp Stomp
 * Deck Dry Bones
 * Wiggler Bounce
 * Blooper Barrage
 * Bowser Jr. Breakdown
 * Bowser's Block Battle

Other Minigames

 * A so-called Diddy Kong minigame in which the players shoot out of Barrel Cannons in a circle to collect the most Bananas.
 * A so-called Donkey Kong minigame in which the player shoot out of Barrel Cannons located on the ground to collect the most Bananas while Donkey Kong throws shining Barrel Cannons which allow the players to get larger amounts of Bananas.

Extra Minigames
These minigames can only be played in Minigame Mode or landing on a Competition Space.
 * Goomba Bowling : a minigame where the players compete in a bowling-like game, using a shell to kick a row of Goombas.
 * Castle Clearout: this minigame involves the player combining marbles of the same color.
 * Hexapuzzle: this minigame involves combining various small colored hexagons.
 * Perspective Change

Confirmed Items

 * Dice Block
 * Slow Dice Block
 * 0-1 Dice Block
 * 1-2-3 Dice Block
 * 4-5-6 Dice Block
 * 1-10 Dice Block
 * Stars
 * Mini Stars
 * Mini Ztars
 * Mushrooms
 * Treasure Chest
 * Jewels
 * Koopa Shells
 * Bananas
 * Banana Bunches
 * Unnamed Ztar-like Bananas
 * Unnamed Ztar-like Banana Bunches
 * Barrels
 * Barrel Cannons

Trivia

 * The players' cursors when selecting options are the hands of their characters.
 * The bridge tiles during the Goomba Bowling are very similar to the stones in Super Mario Bros. overworld levels.
 * This is the first Mario Party in the series not to be developed by Hudson.
 * This is the first Mario Party to not include Advice or Hints in the Minigame Rules Screen.
 * Also about minigames, this is the first Mario Party to not include Bonus Minigames, likely due to the abolishment of coins.
 * The music of some Bowser Jr. Minigames is a remix of Bowser Jr.'s theme in Super Mario Galaxy.