Mario Party 3

Mario Party 3 is the third installment of the Mario Party series and the last one for the Nintendo 64. The game is centered around the Millennium Star, who replaces Toad as the host. Mario Party 3 has 70 all new mini-games, and players can now hold up to three items. It also offers a special twist to the game unique in the Mario Party series: duel boards, on which two players fight each other using partners.

Story and Objective
From the Mario Party 3 instruction book: A Star is Born: In the center of the vast universe, a remarkably bright star was born. It was the star that is born only once in a thousand years, the Millennium Star. According to the legend, whoever possessed the mystical star was destined to become the Superstar of the universe. However since the Millennium Star was but a newborn, it fell from the starry sky. Around that time, Mario and his friends were all happily relaxing when suddenly the Millennium Star came crashing down. Mario and his friends soon began arguing about who should keep the Millennium Star. Suddenly, the Millennium Star gave off a brilliantly bright flash of light. And with that bright flash, Mario and his friends were transported into a toy box! "Greetings. I am the Millennium Star. You must pass my test to prove yourself worthy of possessing me. You must journey across many lands and collect the Star Stamps. If you can collect all seven, I shall accept you as the top Superstar in the universe." Who will collect the seven Star Stamps and become the universe's top Superstar?

In Battle Royale Mode, players have to get as many Stars as possible. Stars can normally be obtained at a cost of 20 coins.

In Duel Mode, players have to defeat their opponent with their partners. Each player starts with five heart pieces.

In Story Mode, a single player must battle his or her way to earn the rank of Super Star. To do so, they must fill their stamp card with Star Stamps. The stamps are wit, kindness, strength, love, courage, beauty, and mischief. The pattern is Battle Royale, Duel, Battle Royale, Duel and the pattern continues until the player next objective is to earn the Beauty Star Stamp. This is where the story line is "twisted up".

To make things simple the order is: (Star Stamp - Battle Royale Board - Duel Board - Opponent)

For the Millennium Star, his original plan was to have a straight run-through of seven (since there are seven Star Stamps) Battle Royale Boards. However, when the Millennium Star is about to stamp the player's stamp card, another character bursts from the castle and say they deserve this. The two argue, and Millennium Star decides to go to a Duel Board. The player wins (they must to continue) and the other character runs away in disappointment. After the stamp is received, the next Star Stamp is shown and another Battle Royale begins.

When the Beauty Star Stamp is revealed though, Daisy makes a sudden appearance before a Battle Royale could even begin. The Millennium Star mentions it, but Daisy strikes a pose causing the Millennium Star to fall in love with her and offers her the Beauty Star Stamp. The player says it is not fair and the two argue. The Millennium Star snaps out of it and says they will go to Backtrack to settle it. Suddenly, Bowser appears and tries to take the stamp but Daisy swats him away in one blow. After the battle, Daisy mopes and runs away. Tumble states Daisy said she never lost, not even to her father. The player then receives the Beauty Star Stamp.

The Mischief Star Stamp is then revealed, but then Bowser appears and unknowingly sends it flying into the castle, declaring the player must battle him to earn it. Everyone notices it is gone, and Waluigi comes out of the castle with the stamp trapped in a cage. Waluigi and Bowser fight each other, but to everyone's surprise, Waluigi won. He tells the player they will go to Waluigi's Island. Bowser tells the player to avenge him for what happened. Although long time foes, the player silently agrees and chases after Waluigi. After the battle is over, Waluigi is pounding the floor in frustration yelling he won't forget what happened. The Millennium Star gives the player the Mischief Star Stamp.

Despite winning all the stamps, the Millennium Star declares there is one person left the player must battle. The player is seen thinking hard of who could it be. Both the player and Tumble are surprised when the Millennium Star exclaims the player must defeat him in Stardust Battle to win. When the player defeats him, they ask to be the greatest superstar in the universe (although ownership of the Millennium Star was the original offer). The Millennium startles everyone admitting he isn't the real Millennium Star and flies away in shame. The player drops to the ground in disappointment, can't believing it was all for nothing.

Suddenly, Tumble begins glowing and his dice head opens to reveal the real Millennium Star, who was watching the player the whole time. After returning the castle and the grounds to its normal state, he promises the player he will make them the superstar of the universe. The credits roll. The final scene is Mario lying on a folding chair, Luigi and Peach are talking to each other nearby, and Donkey Kong is sitting near the three just watching. In the back, Wario and Waluigi are apparently arguing, Daisy is sitting and watching the butterflies, and Yoshi is in the far back chasing a butterfly. The closing scene is a table with a box with the words "Mario Party" on it. A dice (the same color as Tumble's head) is thrown onto the table and the word "END" appears on the lower right corner.

Modes
As in all Mario Party games, there are always other modes to play:
 * Mini-game Mode: Players can play all the mini-games that they have collected here, even secret mini-games.
 * Story: A single player can go through the storyline. It is set what boards have to be completed in what order. There are Battle Royale and Duel boards. After each Battle Royale board, the player had to fight a certain character on a duel board for a Star Stamp. If the player was to duel with the character he has selected for his own, he would battle Luigi instead.

Playable Characters
The game brings back all six original characters from Mario Party one and two. In addition, this game features two new characters, Princess Daisy and Waluigi. However, they can only be playable in a Mulitplayer mode. (e.g. Party Mode)

Battle Royale Boards
In Story Mode, the player's character faces three random characters on these boards to earn Star Stamps.
 * Chilly Waters
 * Deep Bloober Sea
 * Spiny Desert
 * Woody Woods
 * Creepy Cavern
 * Waluigi's Island (Unlocked after beating Story Mode)

Battle Royale Spaces

 * Blue Space
 * Red Space
 * Item Space
 * Happening Space
 * Star Space
 * Bowser Space
 * Battle Space
 * Bank Space
 * Chance Time Space
 * Game Guy Space

Duel Boards
After a Battle Royale map the player's character is about to receive a Star Stamp, when another character emerges from the castle and says they deserve it. To settle this dispute, both characters are sent to a Duel Board. (with the exception of Waluigi, who challenges the character to his Battle Royale board, Waluigi's Island) The winner receives the Star Stamp. (Note that Luigi's board can be anyone except Backtrack)
 * Gate Guy
 * Arrowhead
 * Pipesqueak
 * Blowhard
 * Mr. Mover
 * Backtrack (Unlocked after beating Story Mode)

Duel Spaces

 * Basic Space
 * Power-up Space
 * Reverse Space
 * Mini-Game Space
 * Happening Space
 * Game Guy Space

Items
Items appear only on Battle Royale boards. They can be bought at an item shop or obtained in a Item Space. Either Toad or Koopa Kid runs the shop, both selling different items.

Items that can be bought only from Toad:
 * Mushroom
 * Warp Block
 * Cellular Shopper
 * Dueling Glove
 * Golden Mushroom
 * Boo Repellent
 * Magic Lamp

Items that can be bought only from Baby Bowser:
 * Reverse Mushroom
 * Poison Mushroom
 * Bowser Phone
 * Plunder Chest
 * Lucky Lamp
 * Boo Bell
 * Bowser Suit

Items that can be bought from either one:
 * Skeleton Key
 * Item Bag

Items that are only obtained trough Item Space or buying a Item Bag from Toad:
 * Wacky Watch
 * Barter Box
 * Koopa Card
 * Lucky Charm

4P Minigames

 * The Beat Goes On might be a tribute to the duo Sonny and Cher.
 * Water Whirled spoofs Waterworld.
 * Awful Tower is a pun on the Eiffel Tower.

1-vs.-3 Mingames

 * Hide and Sneak is a pun on hide-and-seek.
 * Hand, Line and Sinker is a pun on "Hook, line and sinker".

2-vs.-2 Minigames

 * Eatsa Pizza is a pun on the pizza parlor Eatsa Pizza.
 * Log Jam is a pun on "traffic jam".
 * Pump, Pump and Away is a pun on "Up, Up, and Away".
 * Hyper Hydrants is a pun on "hyper hydration".
 * Etch 'n' Catch is a pun on a popular toy called the Etch-a-Sketch.

Duel Minigames

 * Vine With Me is a pun on the saying "Fine with me".
 * Crowd Cover may be based on "Cloud Cover".
 * Motor Rooter is a pun on a motor scooter.
 * Fowl Play is a play on "Foul play"' and "fowl"''.

Battle Minigames

 * Stacked Deck is a term usually used in card games to tell that someone cheated by stacking their deck with their best cards on the top.
 * Three Door Monty is a pun on three-card monte.
 * Merry-Go-Chomp is a pun on a merry-go-round.
 * Locked Out is a term used when someone gets locked outside a door.
 * All Fired Up is a term used when someone's excited or angry.
 * Storm Chasers is a term to describe people that follow up with storms.
 * Eye Sore is a term used to describe an ugly person.

Item Minigames

 * Hey, Batter, Batter! is a baseball taunt used when someone swings early.
 * Dorrie Dip is a pun on "skinny dip".
 * Swinging with Sharks is a pun on "swimming with sharks".

Trivia

 * For Princess Daisy, this was the third game in the overall Mario series that Daisy participated in (after her return in Mario Tennis (N64). Additionally, for Waluigi, this is the second game to feature him (after his debut appearance in Mario Tennis (N64). Daisy and Waluigi were the first two additions to the Mario Party series installments overall.
 * This was the first Mario Party game that did not include/have a Bowser-themed board.
 * Princess Daisy and Waluigi do not appear at the beginning, making it a mystery how they got into the toy chest in the first place.
 * This was the first Mario Party game where the player could hold three items at once, a system that has since become the standard for future installments.
 * This was the last Mario Party installment for the Nintendo 64.
 * In the case of Princess Peach and Princess Daisy, this was also the final installment in the Mario series overall which featured them in their classic main dresses, as well as Daisy's prior design.
 * This was the first game in the series to feature mini-games that could be unlocked and played anytime without purchasing them first.
 * This is the first Mario Party game that doesn't feature a Mini-Game Land mode, where players can play one mini-game after another with special requirements to clear.