Mario Party 9

Mario Party 9 is an upcoming game for the Wii. It is the fifteenth installment of the Mario Party series, eleventh in the main series, and second for the Wii. The logo was shown at the end of Nintendo's E3 2011 Conference. 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.

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

Playable Characters

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Princess Peach
 * Princess Daisy
 * Wario
 * Waluigi
 * Yoshi
 * Birdo
 * Toad
 * Koopa Troopa (New)

Unlockable Characters

 * Shy Guy (New)
 * Kamek (New)

Mid-Bosses

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

Bosses
There are a total of 12 boss battles in Mario Party 9.
 * Wiggler
 * Big Bob-omb
 * King Boo
 * Blooper
 * Chain Chomp
 * Bowser

Other Characters

 * Donkey Kong
 * Diddy Kong
 * Goombas
 * Dry Bones
 * Whittles
 * Piantas
 * Thwomps
 * Bloopers
 * Wigglers
 * Bullet Bills
 * Cheep-Cheeps
 * Bob-ombs
 * Urchins
 * Boos
 * Yellow Toad
 * Green Toad
 * Blue Toad
 * Dolphins
 * Magikoopa
 * Mecha-Koopas
 * Piranha Plants
 * Spinies
 * Sushi
 * Huckit Crabs
 * Seagulls
 * Swoopers
 * Monty Moles
 * Hammer Bros.
 * Buzzy Beetles
 * Penguins
 * Spikes
 * Mr. Blizzards
 * Fishbones
 * Deep-Cheeps

Confirmed Boards
Mario Party 9 is confirmed to have a total of seven playable boards.
 * Toad Road
 * Bob-omb Factory
 * Boo's Horror Castle
 * Blooper Beach
 * Magma Mine

Unlockable Boards

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

Confirmed minigames
Mario Party 9 will have over eighty Minigames in six confirmed 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.
 * Shell Soccer
 * Launch Break
 * Speeding Bullets
 * Skyjinks
 * Mecha Choice
 * Growing Up
 * Polar Extreme
 * Pizza Me, Mario
 * Goombas Go-Go
 * Rain of Thorns
 * In Just Part
 * Flinger Painting
 * Don't Look
 * Tuber Tug
 * Plunder Ground
 * Pianta Pool
 * Billistics
 * Manor of Escape
 * Twist Ending
 * Logger Heads
 * 10 to Win
 * Goomba Village
 * Snow Go
 * Buddy Bounce
 * Pinball Fall
 * Toad and Go Seek
 * Smash Compactor
 * Goomba Spotting
 * Ballistic Beach
 * Fungi Frenzy
 * Pier Pressure
 * Upward Mobility
 * A minigame involving the competitors dodging six Thwomps.
 * A minigame where the players climb a cliff, pressing, , and.
 * A minigame where the players try to discover a spinning pot design.
 * A minigame involving the competitors dodging incoming Spiked Balls.
 * A minigame where the players attack each other, in order to push the adversaries out of a platform.
 * A minigame involving the adversaries jumping on White-Green Checkered Block.
 * A minigame where the competitors play jump rope pressing a set of buttons in eight turns.
 * A minigame involving the players riding Dolphins.
 * A minigame involving the players on a raft float on a poison river, while infinite Bob-ombs fall from the sky.
 * A minigame where the competitors control disks to roll a ball to touch highlighted spaces.
 * A minigame where the players attack each other in the sky.
 * A minigame involving the competitors pushing giant balls down a slope.
 * A minigame involving players running inside a room filled with conveyor belts.
 * A minigame where the players must choose fishing rods to fish, avoiding Urchins.
 * A minigame involving players jumping into manholes to not lose.

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
 * A minigame where the solo player must take an American football to the goal. The team tries to hit him or her three times.
 * A minigame where the solo player takes blocks from a side to the other, avoiding the boulder that the trio push toward him or her.
 * A minigame where the solo player draws circles in the sand to trap the trio.
 * A minigame where the solo player hits the blocks platform where the team is on to make Spiked Balls roll into them.
 * A minigame where the characters hit buttons to move their vehicles.

Bowser Jr. Minigames
There are a total of 10 Bowser Jr. minigames in Mario Party 9.
 * Crossfire Caverns
 * A minigame where the duo chase Bowser Jr. in legged vehicles.
 * A minigame involving two players pushing Bowser Jr. inside a electricity circle.
 * A minigame where the players race through a level with Bowser Jr.
 * A minigame where the players shoot fireballs at Bowser Jr.
 * A minigame involving two characters using a Pinwheel-like platform to cross a pit.
 * A minigame where the players Ground Pound panels to make the sand blocks where Bowser Jr. is on disappear.

Boss Minigames
There are a total of 14 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
 * A minigame where the players shoot cannonballs at a giant Blooper that jumps out of the water.
 * A minigame involving the player selecting numbers to turn a platform where Whomp attacks.
 * A minigame where the players must pound a Wiggler's body segments.
 * A minigame involving the players hit Blocks so their face faces up to damage Bowser, with a Chain Chomp involved.
 * A minigame where the players select cards to hurt a giant Dry Bones.
 * A minigame involving a fight with Bowser Jr.

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 puzzles.
 * Hexapuzzle: this minigame involves combining various small colored hexagons.

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.