Mario Party 9
Template:Infobox Mario Party 9 is the ninth home console installment of the Mario Party series, the second and final installment for the Wii. The game was the first in the series to be developed by Nd Cube instead of Hudson Soft. It is also the eleventh in the main series (fifteenth in Japan). The host of the game is Yellow Toad for the boards while Blue Toad is the host for minigames, and Green Toad appears near the end of Boards to initiate an event similar to the Last Five Turns Event from past Mario Party games. This is also the twenty-fifth and the final Mario series' installment overall to be released for the Wii console.
Story
On a night outside of Princess Peach's Castle, Mario and his friends are gathered to watch the Mini Stars glitter in the sky. As Mario peers though the telescope, he is shocked as he notices that the stars are suddenly being sucked through a vortex. It is then revealed to be Bowser and Bowser Jr. on a spacecraft, who are using a vacuum-like machine to suck the stars out of the sky and into containers. 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 Magikoopa are seen coming out of the woods and start following them, as part of Bowser's plan.
Before each board, there is a cutscene that features Bowser admiring his collection of Mini Stars. Bowser Jr. then runs over to him to show his father the progression of Mario's group. Bowser is enraged, but summons two of his minions to stop the group before they can take all the Mini Stars. Eventually, however, the group reach Bowser's location, Bowser Station, and must face Bowser Jr. before battling his father.
After the final battle with Bowser, the player looks out from the stadium at Bowser's other platform, where the canisters containing all the Mini Stars burst and release them back to where they once were. As this happens, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are flying off. Bowser is mourning over the failure of his plan, which he reveals was to decorate his castle using the Mini Stars. However, upon seeing the released Mini Stars, Bowser is enraged and chases off the ones that fly near him. However, this only results in him falling out of his car; Bowser Jr. flies down to save him. Back at Peach's Castle, Mario and friends are once again gathered around the telescope to admire the Mini Stars as they glisten in the night sky.
Gameplay
In Mario Party 9, a new form of gameplay was introduced in this game, retiring the old format seen in the prior eight titles: players 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), still taking turns rolling, moving from a starting point to to an ending point. Instead of rolling a die with a 1-10 on it like in the previous games, players can only roll a dice block with a 1-6 on it; however, there are other dice blocks that can be collected, which includes a dice block that allows a 1-10 roll. Instead of trying to collect coins to buy stars, players receive Mini Stars if they pass by them. While doing so, players must also try to avoid Mini Ztars, which deduct their current amount of Mini Stars. The player who collects the most Mini Stars by the end of the game is declared the winner.
New minigame types are introduced in the Mario Party series, one example being 1 vs. 2 minigames against Bowser Jr. In this game, the minigames don't appear after every player has moved, but only when a player ends up on any of the spaces that triggers a minigame. Also, when receiving dice blocks, a minigame might pop up after as well. Unlike previous Mario Party games, where often only the winner(s) of a minigame receives a reward, all minigames are ranked from first to last place and generally all players receive Mini Stars, with players in a higher position earning more Mini Stars.
During a party, there are two board events that are required to occur before advancing: Captain Events and Boss Battles. The former occurs whenever a player arrives on a Captain Event Space. The event differs for each board, but they all allow the players to earn more Mini Stars, though the player that has started the event always has some form of control over the event, putting him or her in an advantage state. As for Boss Battles, there are two Boss Battle Spaces on every board, one near a fortress and one at the end. During the Boss Battle minigames, players must work together to defeat a boss while attempting to increase their own individual scores, as the player with the highest score wins the minigame, which gives more Mini Stars than normal.
Modes
This Mario Party installment has 5 modes in all. They are:
- Party Mode
- Solo Mode
- Minigame Mode
- Museum
- Extras
Party mode
Once again returning from previous Mario Party games, Party Mode involves the players going around the board like with the previous games, but changed due to the new gameplay mechanics of Mario Party 9. The amount of Party Points that the players will earn is determined by how many Mini Stars they have at the end of the game. However, if handicaps are used, the handicap amount will not count towards the Party Point total; for example, if a player has a 50 Mini Star handicap, and finishes with 100 Mini Stars, they will only earn 50 Party Points. Notably, should a player end a game with less than 10 Mini Stars, 10 Party Points are added regardless of how low their Mini Star count is. This is independent for each player that ends with under 10 Mini Stars (for example, a 4-player game that ends with Mini Star counts of 105, 67, 60 and 3 without any handicaps gives a total of 242 Party Points although the Mini Star total is only 235).
Solo mode
The game's story mode, Solo Mode involves the players traveling across all six boards to defeat Bowser and save the Mini Stars. Completing Solo Mode will award the player 500 Party Points, and the Mini Star grand total will also be added onto the player's Party Point amount; for example, finishing Solo Mode with a grand total of 500 Mini Stars will award the player 1000 Party Points.
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 the top first win.
- Garden Battle: The players must get puzzle pieces to fill their gardens by winning minigames. The player who completes it first wins.
- Choice Challenge: All the players choose three minigames from a group of five that they would like to play. These minigames are played and points are earned by placing in minigames: whoever gets more points wins.
- High Rollers: In this mode, the players must win minigames to roll a Dice Block to pass through a panel floor, earning points based on the sqaures they pass over. The player who gets 500 points first wins.
- Time Attack: The player must try to win 10 preset minigames as fast as he or she can.
- Boss Rush: The players must defeat a series of bosses to win, similar to Boss Bash in Mario Party DS.
Note: When finished, all game modes award 10 Party Points, except for Free Play, which awards just 1 Party Point per finished minigame.
Museum
The Museum is where the players can spend Party Points to buy various things such as Mini Star constellations, game sounds, vehicles or extra game modes. They can also watch the credits from here. Once they return a constellation into the sky, the players can go to see it in the sky.
Extras
In Extras, the player can play through various extra minigames such as Castle Clearout, Shell Soccer or an extended version of Goomba Bowling. There is also a mode called Perspective Mode, in which the player plays through ten minigames that have a modified camera angle, making them harder to win.
Characters
Playable characters
 Mario
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 Luigi
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 Peach
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 Daisy
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 Wario
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 Waluigi
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:MP9 Select Mario.png | File:MP9 Select Luigi.png | File:MP9 Select Peach.png | File:MP9 Select Daisy.png | File:MP9 Select Wario.png | File:MP9 Select Waluigi.png |
 Yoshi
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 Birdo
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 Toad
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 Koopa*
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File:MP9 Shy Icon.png Shy Guy** | File:MP9 Kamek Icon.png Magikoopa** |
| File:MP9 Select Yoshi.png | File:MP9 Select Birdo.png | File:MP9 Select Toad.png | File:MP9 Select Koopa.png | File:MP9 Select Shy.png | File:MP9 Select Kamek.png |
| *Newcomer **Newcomer that must be unlocked through Solo Mode Note: Magikoopa is named Kamek in the PAL version. | |||||
Bosses
| Toad Road | Bob-omb Factory | Boo's Horror Castle | Blooper Beach | Magma Mine | Bowser Station | DK's Jungle Ruins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-Bosses | ||||||
 Lakitu
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 Whomp
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 Dry Bones
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File:MP9 Cheep Icon.png Cheep Cheep |  Spike
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File:MP9 Bowser Jr. Icon.png Bowser Jr. | File:DiddyKong-Icon-MP9.png Diddy Kong |
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File:MP9 Cheep Bust.png | 
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File:MP9 Bowser Jr. Bust.png | File:DiddyKong-Boss-MP9.png |
| Stage Bosses | ||||||
 Wiggler
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File:MP9 Big Bob-omb Icon.png King Bob-omb |  King Boo
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 Blooper
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 Chain Chomp
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 Bowser
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File:DonkeyKong-Icon-MP9.png Donkey Kong |
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File:MP9 Big Bob-omb Bust.png | 
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|
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File:DonkeyKong-Boss-MP9.png |
| Note #1: King Bob-omb is called Big Bob-omb in the European version. Note #2: In the case of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, they are not featured in the Boss Rush and are not actual bosses, but their respective minigames (DK's Banana Bonus and Diddy's Banana Blast) are considered to be Boss Minigames for the respective board. | ||||||
Other characters
Stages
| Stage | Description | Captain Event(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Toad Road | Toad Road is the first stage in the game, and thus it is a simple stage with almost no gimmicks. It is designed after New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and features lush grassland, flowers and windmills. A broken bridge prevents players from moving forward, and if the players don't roll a certain total number, they will fall to a lower route filled with Mini Ztar Spaces. | 9 Island |
| ||
| Bob-omb Factory | Bob-omb Factory is the second stage in Mario Party 9. Players move around a room full of conveyor belts, and if the Captain lands on an Event Space, the conveyor belts will move the group of players around, but also the various spaces. Bob-ombs will occasionally intrude the players' game. Whenever the Captain happens to stop the Bob-omb's countdown, half of the their Mini Stars are lost. | Side-by-Side Zone |
| ||
| Boo's Horror Castle | Boo's Horror Castle is the third stage in Mario Party 9. Players move throughout a big castle, which is haunted with Boos. After a Captain passes a Boo Portrait, a Boo will come out of it. If a Captain is caught by a Boo, then a Boo will take away half of their Mini Stars. Boos will follow the players until they leave the current hallway, or enter an alternative room with lights. Before the players can face the boss, the Captain must roll a higher number than the specified numeral on the gate. | Scaredy Rat Race |
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| Blooper Beach | Blooper Beach is the fourth stage in Mario Party 9. Players travel along an ocean to reach the end goal. If a Captain passes by a Dolphin, he or she will get five Mini Stars. However, Sushis will take away half of the Captain's Mini Stars. Huckit Crabs will turn all the Mini Stars on the stage into Mini Ztars if a Captain lands on an Event Space, and vice versa if they land on it again. | Sunken Treasure |
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| Magma Mine | Magma Mine is the fifth stage in Mario Party 9. This stage takes place in an active volcano where players mainly travel up and out of the vent. Players must escape rising magma that rises two spaces each turn, and is increased further if a Captain lands on a Magma Space. The Captain must avoid getting hit by magma, or they will lose half of their Mini Stars. | Dice Block Chicken |
| File:MP9 Magma Mine.png | ||
| Bowser Station | Bowser Station is the sixth stage in Mario Party 9. Bowser Jr. and Bowser are the stage's mid-boss and boss, respectively. A Jackpot Machine here will increase in Mini Stars if a Captain lands on a Jackpot+ Space. If the Jackpot Machine happens to have 20 or more Mini Stars, a Jackpot Minigame will commence, with the total prize being the Mini Stars in the machine. Oddly enough, this stage has no actual hazards. | Heart Star Colony Bingo Colony Speed Star Colony |
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| DK's Jungle Ruins (unlockable) | DK's Jungle Ruins is the seventh stage in Mario Party 9, which can be purchased from the Museum for 500 Party Points. Instead of collecting Mini Stars, players collect Bananas while trying to avoid Z-Bananas. Players must make two laps around the stage to complete a game. Bananas and Z-Bananas are placed on each space rather than between them. The actual Boss Minigames in this stage are done in form of a bonus minigame to collect Bananas. These games are supported by Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong respectively. | Barrel Choice |
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Minigames
- Main article: List of Mario Party 9 minigames
Items
Instead of more traditional items, Mario Party 9's items consist entirely of Dice Blocks, allowing the user to roll a specific number more easily from a specific range of values. These can be obtained by landing on a Dice Block Space.
| Item | Image | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dice Block | File:Diceblock MP9.png | Dice Block numbered 1 to 6. The dice rolled if no items are used. |
| Slow Dice Block | 
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Dice Block numbered 1 to 6 that rolls slowly to allow for ease of rolling a specific number. |
| 0-1 Dice Block | 
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Dice Block numbered 0 to 1. |
| 1-2-3 Dice Block | File:Mp9123die.png | Dice Block numbered 1 to 3. |
| 4-5-6 Dice Block | 
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Dice Block numbered 4 to 6. |
| 1-10 Dice Block | File:Tendiceblock.png | Dice Block numbered 1 to 10. |
Spaces
When a player lands on a space, something is going to happen. Each space has its own effect, but like in previous Mario Party games, every space is color-coded. The color of the space will tell what kind of event is going to happen.
- Normal Spaces
- Blue Spaces - Triggers good events and will help the player who landed on it.
- Red Spaces - Trigger bad events and will hinder the player who landed on it.
- Green Spaces - Neutral spaces that often lets one or all players attend an event that can either help or hinder the player.
- Yellow Spaces - Trigger minigames when landed on.
- White Spaces - Adds Mini Stars to the Jackpot on the Bowser Station board.
- Star Spaces
- Mini Star Spaces - Gives Mini Stars to the player who landed on it.
- Mini Ztar Spaces - Takes Mini Stars from the player who landed on it.
If the player moves over a space with a half cross on it, he or she automatically stops at that space and an event starts. The only two spaces of this kind are the Boss Space and the Captain Event Space.
Because of the new rules in Mario Party 9, there are many new spaces introduced. Some old spaces returned as well, but some have a different effect (for example the Blue Space). With a total of 21 different kind of spaces, Mario Party 9 has the most spaces of the series. Also for the first time in the Mario Party series, some spaces are unique for a specific board. Here is a list of all the spaces in the game, with what kind of effect they have.
| Space | Effect | Rarity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appears on all boards | |||
| Green Space | 
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Nothing happens when the player lands here. | Common |
| Dice Block Space | File:MP9 Dice Space.png | The player landing here receives a special Dice Block. | Common |
| Lucky Space | 
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Something good will happen to the player landing here. | Semi-Common |
| Unlucky Space | 
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Something bad happens if the player lands here. | Rare |
| Event Space | 
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As the player lands here, a special event will occur. | Uncommon |
| Shuffle Space | File:MP9 Alternate Space.png | The players' order to become Captain changes. | Semi-Common (None when playing with 2 players) |
| Dash Space | File:MP9 Forward Space.png | The player landing here can move again by hitting another Dice Block. | Uncommon |
| Back Space | File:MP9 Reverse Space.png | The player landing here has to move backwards by hitting a Dice Block again. | Uncommon |
| Spin Space | File:MP9 Random Space.png | Something special happens to the player landing here, helping him. | Uncommon |
| Bowser Space | 
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If the player lands here, they will summon Bowser to hinder them. | Uncommon (Common near the end of stages) |
| Mini Star Space | File:MP9 +1MiniStar Space.png | The player landing here receives the number of Mini Stars over the space. | Rare |
| File:MP9 +2MiniStar Space.png | If the player lands here, they will get 2 Mini Stars. | ||
| File:MP9 +3MiniStars Space.png | If the player lands here, they will get 3 Mini Stars. | ||
| File:MP9 +5MiniStars Space.png | If the player lands here, they will get 5 Mini Stars. | ||
| Mini Ztar Space | File:MP9 +1MiniZtars Space.png | If the player lands here, they will lose Mini Stars. | Rare |
| File:MP9 +2MiniZtars Space.png | If the player lands here, they will lose 2 Mini Stars. | ||
| File:MP9 +3MiniZtars Space.png | If the player lands here, they will lose 3 Mini Stars. | ||
| File:MP9 +5MiniZtars Space.png | If the player lands here, they will lose 4 Mini Stars. | ||
| Captain Event Space | 
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Arriving at this step triggers a Captain Event. The players can't just pass over this space. | 1 on each stage except for Blooper Beach and Magma Mine, which have 2, and Bowser Station, which has 3. |
| Boss Battle Space | 
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Arriving at this space triggers a Boss Battle. This space also can't be skipped. | 2 on each stage |
| Free-for-All Space | 
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If the player lands here, everyone will compete in a minigame. | Semi-Common |
| 1-vs-Rival Space | File:MP9 1vs3.png | If the player lands here, they will trigger a 1-vs-Rival minigame with them being the solo player. | Uncommon (None when playing with 2 players) |
| Bowser Jr. Space | 
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If the player lands here, they and another randomly-chosen player take part in a Bowser Jr. minigame. | Uncommon (None when playing with 2 players) |
| Battle Space | File:MP9 Competition Space.png | A minigame will commence in which all players must participate. Mini Stars are distributed differently from regular minigames. | Semi-Common (None when playing with 2 players) |
| Board-specific Spaces | |||
| Magma Space | File:MP9 +2 Space.png | Raises the lava level by 2 on the Magma Mine board. | Common |
| File:MP9 +3 Space.png | Raises the lava level by 3 on the Magma Mine board. | Semi-Common | |
| File:MP9 +4 Space.png | Raises the lava level by 4 on the Magma Mine board. | Uncommon | |
| Jackpot+ Space | 
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Adds 5 Mini Stars to the Jackpot Machine on Bowser Station. | Common |
|
Adds 8 Mini Stars to the Jackpot Machine on Bowser Station. | ||
| DK Space | 
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If the player lands here, DK will start an activity where they try to collect the most Bananas spinning in a circle around the board. | Common |
| Jackpot Space | No Image | Gives the Captain all the Mini Stars stored on the Jackpot Machine. | Rare |
Critical reception
Reviews for Mario Party 9 have been generally positive. IGN gave it a 7/10 explaining that the graphics are good but the music is repetitive and the luck plays a big role in determining a player's fate in the game. GameSpot gave it a 6.0 explaining that it is too familiar and that Solo mode is tedious and required for unlocks.
Mario Party 9 is the 26th best selling game for the Wii, having sold 3.12 million copies worldwide, as of October 2016.
Pre-release and unused content
- Main article: List of Mario Party 9 pre-release and unused content
The design of the Toad Road board for the build presented during the E3 trailer had a somewhat simpler design. While an early version features the same layout and many of the same features, the "9 Island" seen in the final game is not present, featuring a circular island in its place. The circle island on the final board also replaces a mountain with a waterfall in an early version. The in-game font for the E3 build was based off the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! in-game font, but was changed to the font used in the newer games on the final version.
Gallery
- MP9MarioArt.png
Mario with a Star.
- Toad and Yoshi - Mario Party 9.png
Yoshi and Toad ground-pounding.
- Big Bob-omb - Mario Party 9.png
King Bob-omb, about to toss a Bob-omb, with Toad and Koopa Troopa.
- Mp9 c.jpg
Wario hitting a Dice Block on Toad Road.
- SockIttoLakitu1-MP9.png
The Boss Minigame Sock it to Lakitu.
Staff
- Main article: List of Mario Party 9 staff
Mario Party 9 is developed by Nd. Cube, the same company that has developed Wii Party. Nd. Cube consists of former employees of Hudson, a company involved in the previous Mario Party titles. Shuichiro Nishiya and Tatsumitsu Watanabe are the main directors of this game. The programming director is Shinji Shibasaki. The sound director is Hiroyuki Tsuboguchi while the music director is Chamy. Ishi. Meanwhile, NOA Product Testing has been involved in debugging the game.
Media
References to other games
- Super Mario Bros.: An extract of the overworld theme is in the song "Freshen Up!" (played in the minigame Speeding Bullets), also the song "Super-Duper Mario Bros." features the complete theme (played in Castle Clearout and Shell Soccer), plus the music in the Minigame mode Choice Challenge is a remix of the underworld theme, also a remix of the overworld theme can be heard in the Museum.. The bridge tiles during Goomba Bowling are very similar to the stones in the overworld levels, and a portrait in Boo's Horror Castle features Mario from this game jumping out of a warp pipe.
- Super Mario World: An extract from the music of the Results screen of the boards is a remix of the overworld theme. Also Bowser appears with his Koopa Clown Car.
- Mario Kart (series): A lightning bolt appears in King Boo's Puzzle Attack
- Super Mario 64: The music when Bowser appears to initiate a Boss Battle is the beginning of the Koopa's Road theme.
- Luigi's Mansion: King Boo is a boss. Also, Boo's Horror Castle resembles the mansion.
- Super Mario Sunshine: A Pianta appears in the minigame Pianta Pool.
- Mario Party 4: Some voice clips are reused.
- Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: The Barrel Roller from DK's Jungle Ruins resembles the DK Jumbo. Also, some voice clips are recycled.
- Mario Party Advance: The game uses a vehicle to move on the board. Also, Toad Mobile, the default vehicle from Toad Road resembles the car from this game.
- Super Mario Galaxy: The Ground-Pound Switch icon appears on Wiggler's body segments and on Whomp's back. Also the music of some Bowser Jr. minigames is a remix of Bowser Jr.'s theme of the game. Voice clips reused from this game include Boo's. The concept of underwater shell riding (used in the Cheep Cheep Boss Battle) is taken from this game and its sequel.
- Mario Party DS: Step It Up is a minigame mode, and it was also in DS.
- Mario Kart Wii: Some voice clips are recycled.
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Many of the environments and minigames in the game are based on the worlds of this game, including the background of the minigame Upward Mobility. Yellow Toad and Blue Toad also reappear as the hosts of the game. The design of the Ice Flower of this game appears in King Boo's Puzzle Attack. Bowser Jr. appears in his Junior Clown Car. Also some of the Bowser Jr. Minigames music is a remix of Bowser Jr.'s battle music in this game. Toad houses also appear, in the style that they did in this game. The character stances are also from this game. Also, the jumping noise is the same from this game.
- Super Mario Galaxy 2: In the minigame Logger Heads, a group of Whittles appear. They also appear in the Step It Up minigame mode in the background of the tree, and they congratulate the winner when they reach the top of the tree. The setting of the boss minigame Bowser's Block Battle is similar to the areas where Mario would meet Bowser in the game. The hammers Bowser Jr. uses in Bowser Jr. Breakdown are similar to the ones used by Megahammer.
- Super Mario 3D Land: In the minigame Goomba Spotting, the Goomba Tower enemy returns and the binoculars interface resembles the one used when Mario or Luigi looks through the binoculars. Graphics and a few elements, as well as the font used in this game are borrowed as well.
Differences from previous Mario Party games
This is the first Mario Party in the series:
- to not be developed by Hudson Soft.
- to have Mini Stars instead of coins and Power Stars.
- to change the core board gameplay by having all the players together in one vehicle.
- to not have Red Spaces, replacing them with Mini Ztar Spaces.
- to not include Advice or Hints in the Minigame Rules Screen.
- to not include a category of 2-vs-2-Minigames, and the first since Mario Party 2 to not include a category of Duel Minigames (if the 1-vs.-1 Story Minigames and/or the etc. Minigames from Mario Party 4 are counted as Duel Minigames). Additionally, it does not have the team battle mode first introduced in Mario Party 4.
- since Mario Party 2 not to have three separate save files (excluding Mario Party DS, which has two).
- to not use the usual Mario Party font for the in-game text in any way.
- to use the modern font for the in-game text, first used in Super Mario 3D Land.
Names in other languages
Trivia
- Toadette is the only playable Mario Party 8 character to not appear in this game, as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Wario, Waluigi, and Toad are playable, Blooper and Dry Bones appear as bosses, Hammer Bro hosts the battle minigames and Boo appears in Boo's Horror Castle as a stage hazard.
- This is the first and currently only Mario Party to have fewer characters than its numbered predecessor.
- This is the only Mario game on the Nintendo Wii to use the modern Mario font for the in-game text, including Mini Star counts. Click here to view.
References
External links
- Official American Website
- Official European Site
- Official Australian website
- Official Japanese website
- Official Korean website
