Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi are the only four characters to be playable in every installment of the Mario Party series, excluding the card game.Mario Party takes the form of a traditional board game which players can play by directing characters on various themed game boards. Playable character rosters generally consist of major Mario franchise characters, including the main protagonist; his brother; his love interest; his sidekick; his antagonists and rivals, and; and his friends, and, among others. Each game features its own variations on the cast and storyline, with, the archnemesis of Mario and most of his friends, serving as the main antagonist in most Mario Party titles. There are several modes available for play in each game, each of which provides its own rules and challenges.Party Mode. Board gameplay from.Every game in the 'main' branch of the Mario Party series has a standard 'Party Mode' in which up to four players play through a board, trying to collect as many as possible.
In total, there are 26 Free-for-All mini-games, 12 Boss Battles, 12 Coin Chaos games, and 3 Bowser's.
In every turn, each player rolls (hits) a and moves ahead the number of shown (ranging from 1 to 10) to make progress on the board, which usually has branching paths. There are many different types of spaces players can land on, each producing a different effect.
On most boards, players earn stars by reaching a in a random location on the board, and purchasing the star for the specific amount of coins stated (usually 20). Every time the star is purchased, the Star Space moves to one of several predetermined alternate locations, almost always occupying a. In early games, players could also pay a visit to or use items with and have him steal coins or stars from their opponents for 5 or 50 coins respectively. In addition to buying the stars, coins are also necessary to purchase power-up items and to determine the game winner in the event of a tie. Players gain coins by landing on blue spaces or performing well in the minigame played at the end of each turn; and lose them by landing on or by losing certain minigames.At the end of each round of play (i.e.
After each of the four players have taken their turn), a random minigame commences. The minigames are generally short (about a minute in length), and fairly simple.
In most situations, the winner(s) of a minigame receive 10 coins for their victory; sometimes, the loser(s) have to pay the winner(s) a sum of coins. Each Mario Party features any number of minigames (ranging from 50 to 90), divided into several different categories. Four-player minigames include cooperative games, in which all four players collectively win or lose; competitive free-for-alls, in which players must compete against each other in order to win a limited number of coins; and non-competitive free-for-alls, in which players accrue coins independently of one another and one player's loss is not automatically another's gain. Other minigame categories include 2-on-2 games, which place players on teams so that they have to cooperate with others to win (though they still compete against each other in the main game); 1-on-3 games, where a lone player is placed against a team of three, and either the team or the lone player must survive for a certain amount of time while the opposition tries to take them out; and single-player games, which occur when a player lands on a special space and give them the opportunity to earn or lose coins depending on their performance. Playing in these minigame categories often depend on the color of the space players have landed on: for example, if two players land on a blue space and two players land on a red space, a 2-on-2 minigame is initiated. If a player lands on a green space, the game randomly decides where the character color is either blue or red.Three new types of minigames were introduced in.
Battle games are like the 4-player games, but instead of winners earning ten coins each, each player contributes a randomly selected number of coins. The winner of the game receives approximately 70% of the pot, the second-place finisher receives the other 30%, and a random player occasionally gets coins left over from rounding. Item games allow a single player to take a chance to collect an item, which can be used to further their board strategy.
Duel minigames pit two players against each other, with the player that initiates the duel wagering coins or even a star against their opponent; the winner receives all coins or stars wagered. Starting with, the player no longer chooses the wager in a duel, rather, the duel takes place and the prize to the winner, if any, is randomly determined.
Encountering inBowser has taken on varied roles in the gameplay of the Mario Party series. In almost all entries, he can be summoned via a special space of his own, where he tries to steal from the player. Starting in, he hosts his own minigames, where in addition to rewarding the winning player, he will try to burn the losing players with his fire breath, forcing them to give up coins, items, or even stars. Bowser's minigames originally only appeared in multiplayer format, but starting in Mario Party 7, single-player games of that category began to be featured.
His son, got his own minigames starting in, where he challenges two players to compete in a minigame with him. If Bowser Jr. Is successfully defeated, the players will each receive five Mini Stars; if not, then he will take five from each player. In, Bowser became a playable character in a mode all his own, where he, controlled by a fifth player, would challenge the other four players as they progressed through the game by trying to catch them and take away their hit points.At the end of the game, are given to the players. In the first six games, there are three Bonus Stars given out.
The Coin Star award is given to the player who collected the most coins overall during the game, the Mini-Game Star award is awarded to the player who collected the most coins in mini-games, and the Happening Star award is given to the player who landed on the most '?' In Mario Party 7, Mario Party 8, and, the roster of potential Bonus Stars was expanded to six; still, only three would be chosen, and it was random as to which ones got picked.
It is common for more than one character to be awarded the same Bonus Star; this happens if there is a tie for the category in question. The person with the most stars after the bonus awarding has concluded is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most coins wins, and if two or more players have the same number of both stars and coins, a dice block will be rolled to determine the winner. Players in the Mario Party 9 format of board gameplay.Starting in Mario Party 9, the format of the series was overhauled. Instead of trying to collect coins to buy stars, players receive ' if they pass by them. While doing that, players must also try to avoid ',' which deduct their current amount of Mini Stars.
Furthermore, Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10 had all four players moving around together in one vehicle, instead of each player having to wait their turn in a single spot on the board. The number of potential Bonus Stars was reduced to five, and in Mario Party 10 the number of stars that would be chosen was also reduced to two. At the end of each stage, the number of Mini Stars the player collects is converted into 'Party Points,' which can be used to buy new stages, difficulties, and bonus content.Most of the handheld installments in the Mario Party series features drastically different rules than their console counterparts, with the exception of. Is a more single-player oriented game that takes players through and solve various quests with characters, each having their own story arc. Has characters racing their opponents to the finish line with each board having unique rules and requirements, and has characters exploring a non-linear, grid-based layout playing as a generic Toad, collecting Mario franchise characters as they appear on the board and defeating bosses in their special minigames. Focuses entirely on minigames, where the board gameplay is secondary, vice versa to other Mario Party games' focuses on board gameplay.Minigame modeIn addition to Party Mode, every Mario Party has a minigame mode in which minigames are played without the board game. Minigame modes vary from game to game, but later games have many different variations.
In one such example from Mario Party 5, each player tries to fill a board with as many spaces as possible in his or her color by winning minigames. In Mario Party 6 and onward, there is one game in the minigame mode intended for single-player. List of games Home console TitleSynopsisDecember 18, 1998The original, upon its release for Nintendo 64 in 1998/1999, introduced a new aspect to multiplayer capabilities in the Mario franchise, of which most games before that point mainly featured a two-player versus mode, with the exceptions of a few sports spin-offs. Six characters are playable in the game: Mario, Luigi, Peach, DK, Yoshi, and Wario, with Toad being the host of the game. Each character has one board named and modeled after them (e.g. '), in addition to two other boards in the game — one dedicated to Bowser, and another, the board, unlockable after collecting 100 stars.December 17, 1999In 1999/2000, a sequel was released on Nintendo 64,.
The plot centers around the characters deciding to create their own world, which is named Mario Land, but soon arguing over a good name for the world, only to have the area invaded by Bowser who partially seizes it for himself. As the characters go through the boards to take back their world, they dress in costumes unique to the board that is being played on (ex. Pirate, astronaut, etc.), and after they have finished playing through the board, the winner gets to confront Bowser (in a board-appropriate alter ego) one-on-one and then thwart him. This was the game that introduced items to the series.December 7, 2000, released in 2000/2001 as the final Mario franchise entry for Nintendo 64, centers around a scenario where the, a star reborn once every thousand years, crashes into the grounds of Peach's castle; Mario and his friends argue over who gets to keep it; and a nearby transports everybody into a toy box which they have to navigate to save the star. This game added Daisy and Waluigi as playable characters and was the only entry in the Mario Party series to contain duels where two characters can battle each other using some of the staple enemies of the Mario franchise, such as and.October 21, 2002, released in 2002, transitioned the series to the new Nintendo GameCube console. The game centers around a mysterious object called the, which grants the wishes of its users; Mario and his friends enter this cube when Toad, Koopa, and several other characters invite them inside to celebrate birthday parties for them. As the player-characters progress through boards, they are awarded with presents; the story's climax comes in the form of Bowser, who wishes to disrupt the party with a board of his own.
This was the last Mario Party game to have Donkey Kong as a playable character until Mario Party 10, and was also the first entry in the series to grant players the ability to team up. Although this game does not introduce any new fully playable characters, Daisy and Waluigi are both playable in Story Mode (unlike in Mario Party 3). Also, there are characters exclusively playable in the ' minigame: Toad, Koopa, Boo, and Bowser.November 10, 2003, released in 2003 for the GameCube, is set in the world of the, where everybody's dreams come together. The from, who serve as guardians to the dreams there, invite Mario and his friends to the depot where they try to prevent Bowser and his from conquering and ruining the place. Toad, Boo, and one of the Koopa Kids take on roles as playable characters for the first time here (in all modes except Story Mode), and Donkey Kong is now restricted to being featured in the special 'DK Space,' which initiates an event granting the possibility of a star or coins whenever landed on. Also introduced are, which dispense containers called 'capsules' that hold items for the player-characters to use to their advantage.November 18, 2004, released in 2004, was the first game to make use of the GameCube's microphone peripheral, packaged with the game.
Every three turns, the sun will periodically set or rise, producing different effects including: spaces moving, different characters appearing, and changes to mini-games. The game features as its hosts the sun-and-moon duo of and, who are arguing over who is more popular, which Mario and his friends hope to stop by collecting stars and completing the 'Miracle Book.' This game marks the first time that is playable in the series; here, she is an unlockable character, the first player-character in the series to be unlockable.
Also, Toad, Boo, and Koopa Kid are fully playable for the first time in the series.November 7, 2005, released in 2005, was the series' last entry on the GameCube. The game again incorporates the microphone mechanic and mic-exclusive mini-game format from the previous installment, and also introduces an eight-player joystick-only game in which up to eight people can party, with two players sharing one controller. In the game's story, Peach's longtime steward, has invited his missus, Mario, and all of their friends to go on a luxury cruise around the world as a reward for their hard work. Bowser is not invited, however, and furiously vows to take revenge by turning their vacation paradise into a stress-filled madhouse, so it is up to the passengers to end this. And are introduced as unlockable playable characters in this game.May 29, 2007, released in 2007, launched the Mario Party series to the.
A and one of the are added as unlockable playable characters. Hosted by, the self-proclaimed 'master of catastrophes' with a talking top hat called 'Big Top,' the game has an assortment of mini-games utilizing the capabilities of the new console's remote. It centers around the, which comprises five areas: the Party Tent, where players can have a classic game of Mario Party; the Minigame Tent, an arcade where mini-games are played; the Extras Zone, where players can play extra mini-games with either the main characters or their avatars; the Fun Bazaar, where players can buy mini-games, items, and various other things; and the Star Battle Arena, which acts as the game's story mode. Mario and friends have been invited to the Star Carnival to party, and the winner of their game gets a year's supply of candy. However, just as one of the gang is crowned the Superstar, Bowser steals the Star Rod they were to receive, and now Mario and friends must defeat Bowser and get it back.March 2, 2012for, released in 2012, was the first iteration in the series to be developed by Nd Cube. Gameplay uses a mechanic new to the main branch of the series, in which players move around in a vehicle.
Players take turns as the captain, rolling to dice to move the vehicle. Instead of attempting to collect coins to buy stars, the players attempt to earn the most amount of Mini Stars on each board by collecting them from the board, winning minigames, and beating bosses. They must also avoid Mini Ztars, which decrease the player's current total of Mini Stars. The game also has two boss battles integrated into each board; the players try to take down a boss together, while also trying their best to increase their individual scores. The game's plot has Mario and friends looking at the night sky when suddenly, Bowser and son are sucking Mini Stars into a vortex, so Mario and friends head off to save the Mini Stars. A Koopa Troopa is added as a default playable character (being fully playable for the first time in the series), and and the are introduced as unlockable playable characters (although neither are playable in Story Mode).March 12, 2015is the only Mario Party game for the, released in 2015. The game reuses the vehicle mechanic, and players once again have the goal of collecting Mini Stars.
However, in addition to the traditional Party Mode, two new modes have been added: Bowser Party, where a player using the GamePad plays as Bowser and tries to make the heroes lose all their hearts; and amiibo Party, where players collect stars with coins using figures from the Super Mario line. Bowser's playability in his special mode and amiibo Party aside, the game also adds Rosalina as a default playable character and as an unlockable playable character. In addition, Donkey Kong returns as a fully playable character for the first time since Mario Party 4.October 5, 2018is a Mario Party game for the, released in 2018. The game goes back to the series's roots, with the return of the turn-based, linear, individually moving style gameplay from the first eight home console installments. This game brings back the ally system from Mario Party: Star Rush, as well as some boards using the non-linear style of said game in the Partner Party mode, albeit with individual turns. In addition to this, there are two other featured modes, these being River Survival and Sound Stage.
Both of these modes feature unique minigames that are exclusive to these modes, and both modes feature different gameplay from the basic Mario Party mode. The game also introduces, and as new playable characters. Later in 2018, a browser game on the website appeared called.Handheld TitleSynopsisFebruary 18, 2003is a card game released in 2003 that makes optional use of the. Many of these cards contain 'dot-codes' that, when scanned into the e-Reader, allow players to play minigames similar to those found in the regular Mario Party series.
The Mario Party-e package contains a play mat, an instruction book, and a pre-constructed deck consisting of sixty-four cards. An extra card was included as a promotion in an issue of the magazine.January 13, 2005, released on the in 2005, was the first full Mario Party release on a handheld gaming system. Instead of the multiplayer Party Mode that is traditional to the series, Advance features a new mode called 'Shroom City,' where players must collect all the minigames and that were scattered around the city by Bowser, completing quests assigned by the various inhabitants of Shroom City. Unlike other installments of the Mario Party series, this game is almost exclusively single-player.
This game introduces the mechanic of having players move around in a vehicle, which was later used in Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10.November 8, 2007, released for the in 2007, was the last iteration in the series to be developed by Hudson. It features many minigames that utilize the capabilities of the DS' touch screen and microphone, in addition to traditional minigames using the directional pad and control buttons. The story revolves around five meteorites called 'Sky Crystals' which fall onto the earth one day. While Mario and the gang are discussing this, Kamek drops them party invitations from Bowser, who has invited them to his castle for a banquet; however, once they arrive, they are all captured, shrunk to a microscopic size, and thrown outside. The player-characters must return to Bowser's castle to be restored to their normal height.November 22, 2013, released for the in 2013, was the second Mario Party installment to be developed. The game returns to the traditional individual player movement of the Mario Party series, but each board has its own unique style of gameplay. Many minigames are designed to utilize the touch screen and other unique features of the system.
Is playable for the first time in the series in this game.October 7, 2016, released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016, deviates from the normal format in its removal of turn-based gameplay in favor of the ability to move at will, simultaneous with other players, and without set paths on the game board. The main mode in this installment is 'Toad Scramble,' where all players play as Toad in one of his various color schemes, and can recruit other characters to play with them on their teams. Mario Party: Star Rush is the first handheld release in the series to be amiibo-compatible.
It is also the first game in the series to have as a playable character, after he had non-playable roles in Mario Party DS and Mario Party 9.November 10, 2017, released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, compiles 100 from past home console Mario Party games with altered graphics and controls. These minigames can be played in a variety of ways through the game's modes, such as through the single-player Minigame Island mode.ArcadeIn addition to its home console and handheld installments, the Mario Party brand has also been licensed into seven Japan-only arcade games. Six were developed by:. ('Super Mario Rolling Party of Mystery'), released in 2004. ('Super Mario Rolling Party of Mystery 2'), released in 2005. ('Mario Party Mysterious Rolling Catcher'), released in 2009.
('Mario Party Spinning Carnival'), released in 2012. ('Mario Party Mysterious Rolling Catcher 2'), released in 2013., released in 2016One was developed by:., released in 2003These games generally feature mini-games from the main entries in the Mario Party series, and can be played by up to six players instead of the normal four, except for the one-player game Dokidoki Mario Chance! Playable charactersThe Mario Party series features a total of 32 playable characters among its various installments. August 26, 2010. Guinness World Records 2011: Gamer's Edition. Guinness World Records Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4053-6546-8.
Nintendo of Europe. February 19, 2015. Amusement Journal. Retrieved June 18, 2019. TESSIN CREATE CO.,LTD.
Retrieved June 18, 2019. Guinness World Records 2011: Gamer's Edition. Guinness World Records Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4053-6546-8. Nintendo of Europe. February 19, 2015. Metacritic.
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