Ground Pound Down

Ground Pound Down is a 4-player mini-game found in Mario Party 5.

The goal of this mini-game is to get to the bottom of the cave or tunnel before the other players. In order to do this, the player will have to, as the name suggest, Ground Pound his or her way down through rock blocks. Blocks can be either weak and made of soil (broken in a single Ground Pound) or strong, made of rock (broken after three Ground Pounds). If the player presses the A button when he or she is on top of the jump, the intensity of the Ground Pound will increase. A successful, intensive Ground Pound should break two soil blocks at the same time. This has no effect on rocks blocks.

There is a total of three columns of nine blocks each. Each column has a different amount of soil blocks and rock blocks. Players must choose one column to Ground Pound until they arrive on a new area. While Ground Pounding through one column, it is impossible to switch to a different one. The trajectory can be "divided" into three areas, depending on how far the player is from the starting point. The start of a new area can be identified because a column ends and the player is able to choose a new column. It is also identified by the sound bats (possibly, although not likely, Fangs or Swoopers) make. The areas are, from start to end:


 * Area 1: Has bright, orange blocks, most of which are breakable in a single pound. There should be, at most, two strong blocks. These blocks present fossils and stars carved or stuck on them somehow. This does not affect the block's hardness.
 * Area 2: Offers a darker orange, as well as a darker background. The blocks present paw drawings on them, as well as different fossils or stones. There should be more strong blocks, but still not a relevant amount of them.
 * Area 3: The last area offers the darkest view, as well as more exotic fossils, such as dinosaur fossils. Most of it is made of strong blocks. The last three blocks are all strong blocks. Once the player destroys all blocks in this area, he or she will fall in water and win the mini-game. The ground will shake and the winner will rise from a pipe, impulsed by the water.

The setting is inside a dark cave. When the game begins, the players will appear falling into a pipe and on the middle column. Due to the dark nature of this mini-game, and how most of the screen is filled with blocks, there's not many remarkable background elements to be noted. The designs on the blocks are certainly interesting though. It's also interesting to note that, while the player can only move in 2D (left and right), the cave seems to go on behind, having thousands of blocks of similar nature.