Mario Party series

## Mario Party 1

The original *Mario Party*, upon its release for the Nintendo 64 in 1998/1999, introduced a new aspect to multiplayer capabilities in the *Mario* franchise, most games of which 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. "Mario's Rainbow Castle"), in addition to two other boards in the game — one dedicated to Bowser, and another, the Eternal Star board, unlockable after collecting 100 Stars.

## Mario Party 2

In 1999/2000, *Mario Party 2* was released as the second game in the series. The plot centers on 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.

## Mario Party 3

*Mario Party 3*, released in 2000/2001 as the final *Mario* franchise entry for Nintendo 64, centers on a scenario where the Millennium Star, 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 Lakitu 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 Goombas and Koopa Troopas.

## Mario Party 4

*Mario Party 4*, released in 2002, transitioned the series to the new Nintendo GameCube console. The game centers around a mysterious object called the Party Cube, 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 "Beach Volley Folley" minigame: Toad, Koopa, Shy Guy, Boo, Koopa Kid, and Bowser.

## Mario Party 5

*Mario Party 5*, released in 2003 for the GameCube, is set in the world of the Dream Depot, where everybody's dreams come together. The Star Spirits from *Paper Mario*, who serve as guardians to the dreams there, invite Mario and his friends to the depot where they try to prevent Bowser and his Koopa Kids 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 the 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 capsule machines, which dispense containers called "capsules" that hold items for the player-characters to use to their advantage.

## Mario Party 6

*Mario Party 6*, 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 Brighton and Twila, 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 Toadette 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.

## Mario Party 7

*Mario Party 7*, released in 2005, was the series' fourth and 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, Toadsworth, 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. Birdo and Dry Bones are introduced as unlockable playable characters in this game.

## Mario Party 8

*Mario Party 8*, released in 2007, launched the *Mario Party* series to the Wii. A Blooper and one of the Hammer Bros. are added as unlockable playable characters. Hosted by MC Ballyhoo, 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 Star Carnival, 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 Mii 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.

## Mario Party 9

*Mario Party 9* for Wii, 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 Shy Guy and the Magikoopa Kamek are introduced as unlockable playable characters (although neither are playable in Story Mode).

## Mario Party Advance

*Mario Party Advance*, released on the Game Boy Advance 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 Gaddgets 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 *10*.

## Mario Party DS

*Mario Party DS*, released for the Nintendo DS 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.

## Mario Party: Island Tour

*Mario Party: Island Tour*, released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, was the second *Mario Party* installment to be developed by Nd Cube. 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. Bowser Jr. is playable for the first time in the series in this game.