Mario Party 8

Mario Party 8 is the latest installment of the Mario Party Series, and the first Mario Party game for the Nintendo Wii. Most of it makes use of the advantages of the Wii Remote.

Features
With motion control players can row their way through a river race, punch a statue to pieces, steer race cars, mopeds and go-karts and handle a balancing pole while walking a tightrope. By using the pointer you can shoot at Pink Boos in a haunted house, rag and drop toppings in a cake-decorating competition, select the correct answers in game show challenges. Using the Wiimote's buttons players jump and pummel their way through a football brawl, hop and run across a field of spinning platforms. Mario Party 8 also includes dozens of new minigames, six new party boards and many new game modes. You no longer look down on the board and all of the characters, instead you focus on just your character and what they're doing. Another new feature is that players can transform their character using candy power-ups.

Story
In Mario Party 8, a whimsical ringmaster named MC Ballyhoo, along with his talking hat Big Top, has invited Mario, and the rest of the crew to his carnival, the Star Carnival. It's a perfect setting for the dynamic spectacle of the Wii game play. Mario Party 8 keeps the surprises coming with minigames that draw upon the Wii Remote’s motion, pointing and button control in a variety of ways. Players always know how to jump into the action by watching an animated tutorial that shows how to use the Wii Remote.

Following tradition, Mario Party 8 takes the social, strategic game play of board games and adds breaks for quick, action-oriented minigames. In the main mode, players travel across six boards in search of Stars, landing on spaces that are helpful (example: giving coins) or a hindrance (example: sending Bowser in to mess with the player). Several variations for these boards tweak the main goals to enhance game play for solo sessions, two-player games and three- to four-player games.

Modes

 * Star Battle Arena is a solo mode in Mario Party 8. At first, MC Ballyhoo will show the prize for beating Star Battle, which is a year's supply of candy. The player then has to beat rivals in each stage. After beating the rival in Koopa's Tycoon Town, Mc Ballyhoo will reveal that the Star Rod is the real prize. However, Bowser swoops in and steals Star Rod. The player and MC Ballyhoo will fly to Bowser's Warped Orbit, where the player will battle Hammer Brother or Blooper. After beating either one of the baddies, that baddie will be up for play. After a final battle with Bowser in Superstar Showdown. After beating Bowser, Bowser's Warped Orbit will be up for play, and the Minigame Shop will be open.

Characters
Mario Party 8 has a total of 14 playable characters. All of the characters are the ones from Mario Party 7 plus two new characters join the party! Also Miis can be played in the "Extra Zone".


 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Peach
 * Yoshi
 * Wario
 * Daisy
 * Waluigi
 * Toad
 * Boo
 * Toadette
 * Birdo
 * Dry Bones
 * Hammer Bro. (new)
 * Blooper (new)
 * Miis (Extra Zone only)

It is noteworthy that the new unlockable characters both made cameo appearances in Mario Party 7.

Team Names
Debuting in Mario Party 5, returning in Mario Party 6, and being removed in Mario Party 7 players could fight in a tag-team match, were two players were paired together. Team names were choosen depending on which two characters were paired together. This is a returning feature. Here are all of the possible name combinations:


 * Mario - Luigi: Mario Brothers
 * Mario - Peach: Power Players
 * Mario - Yoshi: Fan Favorites
 * Mario - Wario: Big Starrios
 * Mario - Daisy: Flower Players
 * Mario - Waluigi: ‘Stache Clashers
 * Mario - Toad: Fungi Fun Guys
 * Mario - Boo: Soul Bros.
 * Mario - Toadette: Marionettes
 * Mario - Birdo: Super Snozzios
 * Mario - Dry Bones: BBQ Ribs
 * Mario - Blooper: ‘Stache Splashers
 * Mario - Hammer Bros.: Heavy Blow-Bros.


 * Luigi - Peach: Waltzing Brawlers
 * Luigi - Yoshi: Green Machine
 * Luigi - Wario: Green ‘n’ Greedy
 * Luigi - Daisy: Tango Tanglers
 * Luigi - Waluigi: Lean ‘n’ Mean
 * Luigi - Toad: Savage Sidekicks
 * Luigi - Boo: Scaredy Pants
 * Luigi - Toadette: Cha-Cha Chasers
 * Luigi - Birdo: Samba Smashers
 * Luigi - Dry Bones: Cry Bones
 * Luigi - Blooper: Blooper Scoopers
 * Luigi - Hammer Bros.: Longtime-Foe Bros.


 * Peach - Yoshi: Kind Hearts
 * Peach - Wario: Sugar ‘n’ Spies
 * Peach - Daisy: Damsels in Success
 * Peach - Waluigi: Sweet ‘n’ Sour
 * Peach - Toad: Loyal Friends
 * Peach - Boo: Boo-for-Teas
 * Peach - Toadette: High-Flair Pair
 * Peach - Birdo: Pink Superpowers
 * Peach - Dry Bones: Dry Thrones
 * Peach - Blooper: Royal Flush
 * Peach - Hammer Bros.: Glamour Hammer


 * Yoshi - Wario: Poached Eggs
 * Yoshi - Daisy: Tomboy Trouble
 * Yoshi - Waluigi: Scrambled Eggs
 * Yoshi - Toad: Good Buddies
 * Yoshi - Boo: Hovering Friends
 * Yoshi - Toadette: Flutter Friends
 * Yoshi - Birdo: Egg Explosion
 * Yoshi - Dry Bones: Sky Bones
 * Yoshi - Blooper: Double Dippers
 * Yoshi - Hammer Bros.: Hungry Hammers


 * Wario - Daisy: Mischief Makers
 * Wario - Waluigi: Double Crossers
 * Wario - Toad: Crazy Allies
 * Wario - Boo: Double-Dealers
 * Wario - Toadette: Double Agents
 * Wario - Birdo: Rotten Eggs
 * Wario - Dry Bones: Dumb-Skulls
 * Wario - Blooper: Drenched Stench
 * Wario - Hammer Bros.: Scammer Hammer


 * Daisy - Waluigi: Double-Facers
 * Daisy - Toad: Bloomy Shroomy
 * Daisy - Boo: High-Spirited Duo
 * Daisy - Toadette: Perfumed Shroomy
 * Daisy - Birdo: Gallopin’ Gal-Pals
 * Daisy - Dry Bones: Daisy Pushers
 * Daisy - Blooper: Bloopsie-Daisy
 * Daisy - Hammer Bros.: Barn Builders


 * Waluigi - Toad: Half-Cranked Duo
 * Waluigi - Boo: Total Creeps
 * Waluigi - Toadette: Half-Pranky Duo
 * Waluigi - Birdo: Double Scammy
 * Waluigi - Dry Bones: Boneheads
 * Waluigi - Blooper: Bloop ‘n’ Scoop
 * Waluigi - Hammer Bros.: Stench Henchman


 * Toad - Boo: Doom ‘n’ Shroom
 * Toad - Toadette: Zoomin’ Shrooms
 * Toad - Birdo: Surprise Attackers
 * Toad - Dry Bones: Short Ribs
 * Toad - Blooper: Spray Players
 * Toad - Hammer Bros.: Stealth Strikers


 * Boo - Toadette: Boo Duet
 * Boo - Birdo: Unfair Pair
 * Boo - Dry Bones: Scary Pair
 * Boo - Blooper: Creature Feature
 * Boo - Hammer Bros.: Bad Vibes


 * Toadette - Birdo: Pink Powerhouse
 * Toadette - Dry Bones: Double Trouble
 * Toadette - Blooper: Bloop-Dee-Doo
 * Toadette - Hammer Bros.: Smash Success


 * Birdo - Dry Bones: Bone Chokers
 * Birdo - Blooper: What-The-Bloop
 * Birdo - Hammer Bros.: Two Timers


 * Dry Bones - Blooper: Two-Toned Duo
 * Dry Bones - Hammer Bros.: What-The-Deuce


 * Blooper - Hammer Bros.: Blooper Bros.

Boards
There are cool new boards in the game. Here is a list for them all:


 * DK's Treetop Temple
 * Goomba's Booty Boardwalk
 * King Boo's Haunted Hideaway
 * Shy Guy's Perplex Express
 * Koopa's Tycoon Town
 * Bowser's Warped Orbit

Spaces

 * Blue Space: Gives Player three coins
 * Red Space: Takes away three coins
 * ? Space: Activates special board-specific event
 * Bowser Space: Brings Bowser in
 * DK Space: Brings DK in
 * Lucky Space: Activates some fortunate event

Candy Abilities
There are 14 different Candy power-ups in Mario Party 8. Players can obtain a candy from a Candy Shop or a Candy space on the board.

Red Candies (affects the Dice Block)

 * Twice Candy
 * Thrice Candy
 * Slowgo Candy

Green Candies (makes impact before the player moves)

 * Springo Candy
 * Cashzap Candy
 * Vampire Candy

Yellow Candies (makes impact while the player moves)

 * Bitsize Candy
 * Bloway Candy
 * Bowlo Candy
 * Weeglee Candy

Blue Candies (makes massive impact while the player moves)

 * Thwomp Candy
 * Bullet Candy
 * Bowser Candy
 * Duelo Candy

Voice Cast

 * Charles Martinet: Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi and MC Ballyhoo
 * Nicole Mills: Princess Peach, Toad and Toadette
 * Kazumi Totaka: Yoshi
 * Eric Newsome: Bowser
 * Takashi Nagasako: Donkey Kong
 * Issac Marshall: Birdo
 * Deanna Mustard: Princess Daisy

Trivia

 * This is the first Mario Party to have 4 Player, Battle, and 2-vs-2 Mini-games as Duel Mini-games as well.
 * This is the first time the Star Rod has been seen since Paper Mario, if one does not count the Kirby series' Star Rod's Super Smash Bros. appearances.
 * Instead of the player's stats of the Party Mode being in the four corners like the other 7 games, they are down a column in the top right corner.
 * This is the only Mario Party game that does not have Koopa Kid seen anywhere.
 * This is the first game to not include character colors. Player 1's color is blue, 2's is red, 3's is green and 4's is yellow. As it is with most Wii games, even the Wii Hardware itself (Like the Menu or Mii Channel etc.)
 * This is the first Mario Party game to be in development/production for two years, not one.
 * This is the second Mario Party to not include Waluigi on the box-art.

Recall
The game has had a launch plagued by difficulties in the United Kingdom. Originally scheduled for release on June 22, 2007, Nintendo announced on June 19, 2007 that the English version had been delayed to July 13, 2007, due to a 'production issue.'

Furthermore, upon the release on July 13, 2007, the game was immediately recalled. In a press release, Nintendo gave the reason for the withdrawal as an assembly error, but some retailers were reporting that it was reportedly withdrawn from shelves because some copies include the word "spastic", which is considered an offensive word in the UK. Copies without the word spastic used the word erratic instead.

The game was eventually released in the United Kingdom on 3rd August 2007.

Links

 * Official Site (USA)
 * Movie
 * Screenshots