Mario Party
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| Mario Party {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Hudson Soft {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | Image:Flag of Japan.svg December 18, 1998 Image:Flag of the United States.svg February 8, 1999 Image:European flag.svg March 9, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Party |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Mario Party is the first in a series of board game style video games for Nintendo platforms, featuring the popular Mario characters. It was released on the Nintendo 64 in North America on February 8, 1999 following a Japanese release on December 18, 1998. It was released in Europe on March 9, 1999. The game has spawned six sequels with Mario Party 7 as the most recent one, as well as Game Boy Advance and e-Reader versions, making a total of nine games in six years.
Contents |
Gameplay
Gameplay takes the form of a traditional board game, with players taking turns to roll the dice and move the number of spaces shown. There are six different types of spaces players can land on, each producing a different effect. At the end of each round (ie. after each of the four players have taken their turn) there is a mini game.
The objective of the game is to collect stars and coins. At the end of the game the person with the most stars is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most coins wins. Template:Mario Party series Only one star is present on the board at a time, appearing randomly on a space in the board, where it remains until it is collected by a player. After a star is collected, a new one appears on a different space. To collect the star the player must pass it's space and exchange 20 coins with Toad. Stars can also be stolen from other players by passing a Boo and paying 50 coins.
At the end of each there are three bonus stars, one given to the person who collected the most coins, one given to the person who collected the most coins in minigames, and one given to the person who landed on the most "?" spaces.
Coins are earned from landing on blue spaces, from passing the start point, and from minigames. They are lost from landing on red spaces, from passing Bowser and from minigames. They can also be stolen from other players by passing Boo.
Minigames happen at the end of each round or occasionally during a round when a player lands on bowser or 1 player minigame spaces. The minigames are generally short (less then a minute in length), and fairly simple. There are 50 of them in all and are divided into 4 different categories:
Four-player minigames are a free-for-all in which all players competed against each other. 2-on-2 and 1-on-3 minigames place players in groups, so they have to cooperate with others in the minigame to win, even though they are against each other in the main game. 1-player minigames, only occur mid round from landing on 1 player minigame spaces. They give a single player an opportunity to earn (or lose) coins depending on his or her performance in the minigame. In most situations, the winner or winners of a minigame receive ten coins. In some minigames, the losing player(s) have to pay the winner(s). Image:Mariopartycharactermontage.jpg
Playable characters
Modes
Adventure Mode
The standard mode of play, as described in Gameplay above. Up to four players play a board game interspaced with minigames, trying to collect as many stars as possible by the end of a set number of turns. The coins and stars earned in adventure mode are transferred to a fund which the player can use to unlock things in the game.
- Special Items that appear during the Adventure Mode
- Plus Block - appears randomly; adds the number rolled to the player's coins.
- Minus Block - appears randomly ; it deducts the number rolled from the player's coins.
- Slow Block - appears randomly; restricts possible rolls to 1-3.
- Speed Block - appears randomly; restricts possible rolls to 8-10.
- Hidden Block - appears randomly after landing on a space. Reveals either Boo, Bowser, or Koopa Troopa.
- Warp Block - appears randomly; switches the positions of two players.
- Spaces in Adventure Mode
- Image:Mpbluespace.gifBlue space - Adds 3 coins. (6 during the last 5 turns). Changes the player's panel colour to blue.
- Image:Mpredspace.gifRed space - Deducts 3 coins. (6 during the last 5 turns). Changes the player's panel colour to red.
- Image:Mphappeningspace.gifHappening space - Depending on the board and location of the space, its effects can vary. Changes the player's panel colour to green.
- Image:Mpchancespace.gifChance Space - Takes the player to Chance Time: There are three spinning blocks which the player must stop. The first and the last show characters while the middle shows some exchange of stars or coins between the two. The outcome can sometimes go against the player who lands on it, but i eat cock is automatically enforced. Changes the player's panel color to blue.
- Image:Mpmushroomspace.gifMushroom space - A double or nothing chance where you'll be able to get another turn with a regular mushroom on the spot or lose a turn with a poisonous one. Changes the player's panel colour to blue.
- Image:Mpstarspace.gifOne Player Minigame space - Appears blue with a white star upon it, but is not to be confused with spaces where s fuck me in the arse tars can be purchased from toad. The person who lands on it has to play a 1 player minigame. Changes the player's panel colour to blue.
- Image:Mpbowserspace.gifBowser Space - A variety of events:
- Bowser Revolution - Everyone's coins are divided evenly.
- Coins for Bowser - The player that activated the Bowser Space lose coins.
- Bowser's Face Lift - Same as Face Lift only the losers lose coins.
- Bowser's Tug o War - Same as Tug o War only the losers lose coins and cunt.
- Bowser's Chance Time - Same as regular chance time only one of the blocks has already been stopped with his face on it. It's up to the players to decide who loses coins and how much.
- Bowser's Balloon Burst - Same as Balloon Burst but the losers lose coins, while the winner gains none.
- Changes the player's panel colour to red.
The type of mini-game (4 player, 1 vs. 3 and 2 vs. 2) are determined by what colour the players' panels are. If all four players have the same colour panels, a 4 player game is selected. If there is one blue panel and 3 red panels or vice versa, a 1 vs. 3 game is selected. If there are 2 panels of both colours, a 2 vs. 2 game is selected. If there is a green panel, the color will switch to either red or blue.
- Boards in Adventure mode
Mario Party contains the greatest number of boards in the series (discounting the duel boards in Mario Party 3). The boards in the game are non linear, they contain many different paths, and things that can be interacted with to provide the player with an advantage. After finishing a game, the winner fixes a trouble that was happening on the board in the ending celebration.
- Mario's Rainbow Castle - Mario
- Luigi's Engine Room - Luigi
- Peach's Birthday Cake - Princess Peach
- Yoshi's Tropical Island - Yoshi
- Wario's Battle Canyon - Wario
- DK's Jungle Adventure - Donkey Kong
- Bowser's Magma Mountain (Unlocked by buying at the shop) - King Bowser
- Eternal Star (Unlocked by collecting 100 stars)
Mini-game Island
A one-player mode in which the player navigates a world map and tries to win minigames in order to progress across the map. Winning minigames gives the player coins, and collecting 100 coins grants the player a life. Losing a minigame causes the player to lose a life. If the player loses all of his lives, the game ends, and the player must resume from where he last saved. The map is similar in style to that first seen in Super Mario Bros. 3.
Mini-game House
An area in which up to four players can compete by playing minigames. Players can select to play 1, 3, 5, or 7 minigames of any type in a row. At the end of the minigames, the player who has the most coins wins. Players can choose to play any minigames that they have played in Adventure mode. They can play the minigames for free if they have purchased them (by paying a once off fee varying from 100 to 500 coins), or by paying a rental charge of 5 coins if they haven't.
The Mini-game House also contains the Mini-game Stadium, a simple board map in which up to four players compete to try to earn the most coins by winning minigames. No stars are given out in this mode and no coins are gained or lost by landing on red and blue spaces.
The Mecha Fly Guy challenge, a game in which a player must rotate the control stick as many times as possible within a 10 second time period in order to make the Mecha Fly Guy fly as far as possible, is also found in the Mini-game House.
Minigames
The minigames are:
4 player
- Face Lift - (Similar to Playing with Mario's face in Super Mario 64, players try to get their face to match the face in the center. the closest match wins)
- Coin Block Blitz - (9 boxes which give different amounts of coins, gotten by jumping up at them repeatedly in classic Mario style)
- Platform Peril - (Players jump from platform to platform towards the end. Platforms fall after being landed on, so players must progress quickly to reach the end.)
- Box Mountain Mayhem - (A stack of boxes in a corner holding varying amounts of coins. Players break open boxes to reveal coins.)
- Mushroom Mix-up (jump in the mushroom whenever Toad picks up the colors)
- Musical Mushroom - (Players run for the chest on the mushroom in the centre as soon as the music stops with directions mixed up.)
- Balloon Burst - (Players pump up and down to burst a bowser shaped balloon. Rhythm is important)
- Hot Bob-omb - (A bob-omb is passed between players until it explodes. Whoever holds the bob-omb when it explodes loses.)
- Skateboard Scamper - (Players rapidly tap B to skate along and A to jump over obstacles in a race to the finish)
- Crazy Cutter - (Players must direct their characters to follow an outline displayed on the screen)
- Treasure Divers - (Players dive to gather treasure chests holding varying amounts of coin, and seek to bring them to the surface. They must avoid sea creatures in the way. If they hit one they are stunned and drop their chest if carrying one)
- Grab Bag - (Players steal other players coins by running behind them and rapidly pressing B)
- Bumper Balls - (Players balance on balls on a small island and seek to knock the other players off. Winner is the last one left on the island.)
- Tipsy Tourney - (Players tilt a platform with their weight to move a shell across it. The objective is to move the shell across every square on the platforms grid. Winner is the first person to accomplish this.)
- Bombs Away - (All four players are on a topsy turvey island while a ship in the distance fire cannonballs at it. Players must survive until time runs out. If one is left before time runs out, they are the winner.)
- Mario Bandstand - (One character conducts and the other three play the violin, trumpet, and snare drum. Players must follow commands displayed on screen.)
- Cast Aways - (Players cast out fishing rods to reel in treasure varying from one coin to ten coins until the time runs out.)
- Hammer Drop - (Lakitu drops coins and hammers onto a platform. Players try to collect the coins while avoiding the hammers.
- Shy Guy Says (A Shy Guy holds two signs in each hand. One for "A" and one for "B". Players have to press the button matching the sign he holds up. As the game progresses, Shy Guy will fake out, and even hold both signs up at once. The last player remaining wins)
- Key-pa-Way (A co-operative game. All four players work together to get the key to the lock at the top of the screen. They must avoid letting the spike koopas get the key or they lose.)
- Buried Treasure - (Treasure is located somewhere unknown on the screen and players dig towards it. Arrows may also be revealed which indicate where the treasure lies.)
- Running Of The Bulb (One player carries the bulb to the end while the other three seek to protect him from ghosts by punching them. If touched by ghosts players become infected and seek to hinder this goal. Infected players can be released by punching.)
- Hot Rope Jump (Players press A in time to jump over the skipping rope, which gradually speeds up. If anyone touches the flame, the game is over, and the person loses 15 coins which are divided amongst the other three. If all players survive, they all win.)
- Slot Car Derby - Players accelerate by pressing forward analogue stick, but if they go too fast around a corner they spin and lose time. First person to reach the finish line wins.)
1 vs. 3
- Pipe Maze - (Quick overview of maze like pipe structure is given at start. The single player drops a chest into one of four pipes at the top. The chest then takes a predetermined route along the pipes to the bottom and out to one of the four players at the bottom.)
- Bash 'n Cash - (The single player gets their coins stolen by the others by hitting him. Single player's goal is simply to avoid getting hit.)
- Tug 'o War - (Rotate the control sticks rapidly to try and pull the other player(s) into the pit. Similar to the Tug of war.)
- Bowl Over - (Single player bowls a Koopa shell, and attempts to knock down pins including ones representing each of the other players. Other players can move their pins a small amount. If their pin is knocked down they lose 5 coins to the single player.)
- Paddle Battle - (Both teams try to force the paddle boat to the opposite side of the river by rapidly rotating control stick and thus force the other team to lose coins.)
- Coin Shower Flower - (Single player is on top of a flower collecting coins that fall from the sky. The other three are on leaf boats left to collect what the player lets fall from the bottom)
- Piranha's Pursuit (Single player skates to avoid the chasing piranha plant. Other three player stomp on a cloud to water the plant and make it go faster. If plant catches the player they lose. If player makes it to the end, they win.)
- Tight Rope Treachery - (Single player walks a tightrope while the other three are in boats firing cannonballs at the player in an attempt to knock them off.)
- Coin Block Bash - (Single player has a hammer, other three do not but can steal the players hammer. There are 9 blocks, which take many jumps to break or one hit from the hammer. Once broken they reveal coins to be collected.)
- Crane Game - (Single player is the crane and the other three are objects representing themselves the player can pick up. If the one player is able to drop one of the other players into the pipe, they lose 1/3 of their coins.)
2 vs. 2
- Handcar Havoc - (Racing Mine carts, both players must cooperate with timing and leaning to beat the other team to the finish line)
- Deep Sea Divers - (Players work in teams, one player dives on a line for treasure, while the other player reels him in after getting the treasure.)
- Bombsket Ball - (A Bob-omb serves as the basket ball in this game. Whichever team gets the bomb into the net wins coins.)
- Bobsled Run - (The launch involves rapid button pressing to get a quick start. Then players must guide their bobsled as fast as possible to the bottom)
- Desert Dash - (Players tap left and right use the respective feet to push a board along. If two player press different directions, they collapse and lose time. First team to the finish wins.)
1 player
- Memory Match - (Typical memory game, where players must reveal pairs by stomping on cards before time runs out.)
- Knock Block Tower - Thwomps and crates are stacked atop each other with a chest on top. In order to reach the treasure the player must destroy the crates without hitting the thwomps. If a player hits a thwomp they lose.)
- Limbo Dance - (Player presses B to limbo forward, slightly lowering their character. If they press B too many times in quick succession they fall. If they hit one of the limbo sticks they fall. Player must reach the end within time limit without falling.)
- Slot Machine - (A typical slot machine, player must reveal three matching symbols to gain various amounts of coins. This is much similar to the casino games.)
- Pedal Power - (Player must ride a bicycle as fast as possible by rotating control stick in order to charge a light bulb before time runs out and boo catches player.)
- Whack A Plant - (Player jumps on plants to get coins before plants disappear back down warp pipes. More and more plants gradually appear each time.
- Shell Game - (Four shells, one of them has coins. They spin around and are shuffled. Player must guess the correct shell after shuffling to win.)
- Ghost Guess - (Player is surrounded by a circle of ghosts and must hit the ghost that moves first to win. The ghost's shadows give away the answer.)
- Ground Pound - (Player must pound all the flat stumps into the ground while avoiding the spiked ones. Stumps are covered with butterflys to make telling them apart impossible.)
- Teetering Towers - (Player must jump from falling tower to falling tower to reach the other side.)
The following minigames do not appear in adventure mode:
- Bumper Ball Maze 1 (players receive this game as a reward for completing Mini-Game Island; player must guide their character on a ball along a narrow path to the end of the maze, without falling into the sea)
- Bumper Ball Maze 2 (players receive this game as a reward for completing ALL mini-games on Mini-Game Island - A fork in the road makes it possible to finish the Mini Game Island, without completing all the mini-games; gameplay same as Bumper Ball Maze 1)
- Bumper Ball Maze 3 (players receive this game after completing Bumper Ball Maze 2; gameplay same as Bumper Ball Maze 1 & 2.)
Development
In May 1998 Nintendo and Hudson entered into a strategic partnership to design and develop games together for both N64 and Game Boy. Mario Party was the first of these games to be released. It also marked the start of a move by Nintendo to franchise off the Mario series to other developers, including Camelot Software Planning. Hudson, the people behind the Bomberman series, were seen to be strongest at multiplayer games, and so were given Mario Party to develop. The game was developed quickly, without much of the hype that traditionally followed Mario titles, with Perfect Dark and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time soaking up most of the attention that year.
Impact
Reception
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| <center>31 of 40 | |
| <center>IGN.com | <center>7.9 of 10 |
| <center>EGM | <center>8.6 of 10 |
| <center>GameSpot | <center> 7.2 of 19 |
| Compilations of multiple reviews | |
| <center>Game Rankings | <center>76 of 100 (based on 11 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| <center>Metacritic | <center>79 of 100 (based on 16 reviews)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Mario Party met mixed, though mostly positive reviews upon release, with most reviewers noting it must be played with friends to be truly enjoyed. There were some worries before it's release about it being a lazy cash in, but these were largely swept away after the game was published. The main critisism of the game was that it wasn't much fun in single player mode. Gamespot accounts for this succinctly: "the games that are enjoyable to play in multiplayer are nowhere near as good in the single-player mode. Really, it's that multiplayer competitive spark of screaming at and/or cheering for your friends that injects life into these often-simple little games, and without it, they're just simple little games."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> IGN took a similar line saying it was the interaction between players rather than the interaction with the game that made it fun. They also warned of the damage inflicted to controls by the more demanding games, humourously noting: "If you love your controllers, have your friends bring theirs when they come over to play this game."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another criticism leveled at the game, was that it depended more on luck than on skill, but this was felt by most to add to the party atmosphere, with players who were winning comfortably suddenly finding themselves in last over the course of one or two turns. Despite it's poor Single player mode, it scored reasonably high reviews, with most reviewers rating it between 7 and 8 out of 10. The game was reasonably successful comercially too, though this was to be expected, given the Mario name. It did prove particularly successful in the rental charts. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mario Party 3 confusion
Mario Party is sometimes confused with Mario Party 3 because on the box there is a die with the number 3 displayed directly below the title.
Stick rotation controversy
After the release of the game, it was investigated by the Office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, over claims that the minigames that involved analog stick rotation caused blisters and other hand injuries due to a technique where one would use the palm of their hand to rotate the stick at a much faster rate than possible just using one's thumb. In March 2000, Nintendo reached an agreement wherein it would provide up to four padded gloves to each owner.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Subsequent versions of the Mario Party series did not include the stick rotation games, but instead, games that required players to rapidly press the A button.
Sequels
Mario Party has spawned six sequels with Mario Party 7 as the most recent one, as well as Game Boy Advance and E-Reader versions, making a total of nine games in six years, including at least one every year. The frequency of the sequels, has led to some criticism regarding the games being unoriginal (First, play Mega Man Anniversary Collection then have your say on this), however they continue to sell well, whilst staying true to its winning formula. It should be noted that some Mario Party games still receive critical acclaim. The GBA version of Mario Party was awarded with a decent rating, and a game of the month award on IGN.com. Additions to the game in sequels include:
- Addition (first seen)
- The use of items ingame (Mario Party 2)
- Duels between individual players for stars and coins (Mario Party 2)
- A story mode in which a player starts a campaign through every board. (Mario Party 3)
- Team Play (Mario Party 4)
- Introduction of the Orb item System (Mario Party 5)
- Day and Night phases (Mario Party 6)
- Use of Microphone (Mario Party 6)
- Up to 8 players (Mario Party 7)
Notes
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