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67-488: Mario Party is a party video game series featuring characters from the Mario franchise in which up to four local players or computer-controlled characters (called " CPUs ") compete in a board game interspersed with minigames . Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto ,and directed by Kenji Kikuchi, the games are currently developed by Nintendo Cube and published by Nintendo , being previously developed by Hudson Soft . The series

134-424: A die (Dice Block) and progresses on the board, which usually has branching paths. Coins are primarily earned by performing well in a minigame played at the end of each turn. On most boards, players earn stars by reaching a star space and purchasing a star for 20 coins(traditionally). The star space appears randomly on one of several pre-determined locations and moves every time a star is purchased, usually occupying

201-691: A blue space. On some boards, the star location is fixed. Every Mario Party game contains at least 50 to 112 minigames with a few different types. Four-player games are a free-for-all in which players compete individually. In 2-vs-2 and 1-vs-3 minigames, players compete as two groups, cooperating to win, even though they are still competing individually in the main game. Some minigames in Mario Party are 4-player co-op, even though it doesn't say it. In most situations, winners earn ten coins each. Battle minigames first appeared in Mario Party 2 . These games are like

268-532: A boss), and Extra. 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, constellations , vehicles , difficulties, and sounds in the museum . Mario Party 9 features 12 playable characters, 10 of whom are available from the start: Mario , Luigi , Princess Peach , Princess Daisy , Wario , Waluigi , Yoshi , Birdo , Toad , and Koopa Troopa . Two characters— Shy Guy and Kamek —can be unlocked through Solo Mode. Additionally,

335-456: A capsule machine, a talking robot vending machine that gives the player passing it a random capsule at no charge of coins, on the board. In addition to giving the player who uses it an advantage over the other players, capsules can also allow the player to set up traps for other players by throwing them at a space in front of them. These traps include forcing the player who lands on the capsule space to only be able to roll numbers from one to five on

402-416: A larger focus on the gameplay than they did in the previous game. However, the minigames don't appear after everyone moves, but only when a player ends up on any of the spaces or events that triggers a minigame. A person can play on solo mode to unlock the final stage, as well as two playable characters . Another new feature is that each board culminates in a boss battle that is played with all players in

469-741: 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 their colour by winning minigames in Mini-Game Wars. In Mario Party 6 and onward, there is one game in Minigame mode intended for single player. The following characters appear in all twelve console Mario Party games and, except where noted, all five handheld instalments: The first four games also add Donkey Kong to this roster. In Mario Party 5 , he

536-420: A minigame to battle him. If they successfully defeat him, both players will receive five Mini Stars. If not, then Bowser Jr. will take five from each player. Mario Party 9 also introduced a car mechanic. In Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10 , every player navigates the board in a car rather than move independently of one another. Mario Party 9 has a lesser focus on strategy, and its minigames do not impact

603-406: A mixed reception for its linear boards and emphasis on luck. Following the format of previous Mario Party titles, Mario Party 9 sees two to four players compete in an interactive board game , moving around a virtual game board and playing minigames . A new gameplay element in all of the boards is that all four players move around together in one car. The number of spaces the player moves

670-463: A new feature called “Jamboree Buddy”, where players can earn that character from winning a Showdown Minigame. Each character has a different ability like buying Stars and items at half price. In addition, players can earn double the benefits or penalties with the Jamboree Buddy. Super Mario Party Jamboree features the most minigames in Mario Party history with 112. In most Mario Party games, at

737-468: A place in the game where one player can trade stars for prizes and other valuables, including new difficulty levels and rare minigames. Mario Party 6 features two new characters as its hosts: Brighton and Twila, who depict the sun and the moon, respectively. It also featured 82 new minigames. This marked the last appearance of the "autoplay" function where the game plays itself in Party Mode. Mario Party 6

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804-577: A series of individually-selectable minigames. In 1995, You Don't Know Jack was released, the first of the You Don't Know Jack franchise and the precursor to the Jackbox Party Pack collection in 2014. In 1998, Mario Party was released on the Nintendo 64 . Its launch eventually brought about the rest of the Mario Party franchise , in wake of the game's success across markets. Mario Party 2

871-523: A total of 44 different parts that can be used to customize a vehicle. To unlock all the parts, the player must play all the tournaments and beat certain opponents. IGN praised the multiplayer elements of the game, as usual, but criticized its "spotty" single-player mode. It called it "the perfect drinking game for college dorms ... and at the same time a great game for kids to enjoy with their siblings." It called Mario Party 5 "likely as good as mini-game party games get." GameSpot criticized how

938-472: A year before Mario Party 4 . Game Revolution also noted the game's improved visuals while explaining that they were not representative of what the GameCube can achieve and criticized the game's textures, noting that they were not greatly detailed. Game Revolution did, however, praise its "happy" music but criticized the minigames, saying, "none really stand out". IGN , however, praised the improved visuals of

1005-443: Is determined by a roll of the dice block found within the game. Instead of trying to collect coins to buy stars, players receive Mini Stars if they pass by them. Whoever collects the most Mini Stars wins the game. While doing that, players must also try to avoid Mini Ztars, which deduct their current amount of Mini Stars. Mini Stars and Mini Ztars are replaced with bananas and Z-bananas on the board "DK's Jungle Ruins". Minigames have

1072-611: Is famous for its introduction of a day–night cycle system implemented for boards and minigames. This is a concept that had previously only been seen in Horror Land, a board in Mario Party 2 . Mario Party 6 is the first and only game in the series to feature a day–night cycle system for all boards and minigames. IGN noted that the graphics, sound, and minigames of the game are "just good enough", further explaining, "But when put together, Mario Party 6 still manages to generate that glee of unexpectedly trouncing your opponent because you're

1139-446: Is hosted by Toad, who guides the characters on their journeys throughout each board. In addition to the standard Party Mode, the game also features a single-player mode called Mini-Game Island, where the player's goal is to navigate an island and beat all 50 minigames as supplied. The player starts with four lives and loses a life every time they fail at a minigame. Winning a minigame gives the player coins, and collecting 100 coins grants

1206-412: Is known for its party game elements, including the often unpredictable multiplayer game modes that allow play with up to four, and sometimes eight, human players or CPUs. After the development of Mario Party 8 , several of Hudson Soft's key designers left to work for Nintendo subsidiary NDcube, developers of Wii Party . Starting in 2012 with Mario Party 9 , NDcube has taken over development of

1273-664: Is relegated to the Super Duel Mode, and he was omitted from subsequent games as a playable character until Mario Party 10 . The default sorting is by first appearance, then by number of appearances. For alphabetical order, click on "Character". A yellow tick ( [REDACTED] Y ) means that the character is an unlockable character and is not available from the start. These characters were included or excluded in home console releases, starting with Mario Party 4 . These characters were included or excluded in portable console releases, starting with Mario Party DS . Mario Party

1340-476: Is the first in the series. It was released in 1998 and 1999 for the Nintendo 64 . Its roster of playable characters includes Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong (referred to as DK in-game), Yoshi, and Wario. It features 50 minigames, ten of which are single-player -only. Mario Party ' s standard game mode, Party Mode, lets up to four players play on a board interspersed with minigames. The game features eight different boards with varying difficulties. It

1407-452: Is the sequel to Mario Party and was released in 1999 and 2000 for the Nintendo 64. While Mario Party 2 is similar to the original game, it introduced a variety of new gameplay elements, such as collectible items that players can buy from item shops and three new minigame types: "Battle", "Item", and "Duel". Toad returns as the host in Mario Party 2 . The game also has 15 more minigames than

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1474-438: The Mario Party franchise. Over the course of the Mario Party series, gameplay has changed to suit the technology of the hardware. There are several game modes available in each of the games, each of which provides its own rules and challenges. Every game in the main series has a standard Party Mode in which up to four players play through a board, trying to collect as many stars as possible. In every turn, each player rolls

1541-546: The Wii . The ninth main installment in the Mario Party series, it was announced at E3 2011 and released in Europe, North America, and Australia in March 2012, followed by Japan a month later. It was the first game in the series not to be developed by Hudson Soft , which was acquired and dissolved by Konami on March 1, 2012, the day before the game's European release. Instead, development

1608-436: The 2002 GameCube game Super Mario Sunshine , is the host of Mario Party 7 . The game also features 88 new minigames. Former IGN author Matt Casamassina wrote in a review for Mario Party 7 , " Mario Party 7 is still entertaining, but I'd be a liar if I wrote that I'm not growing bored with new iterations of the same old formula." He further noted, "To its credit, the title delivers some fun new boards and mini-games, and

1675-525: The Dice Block or forcing them to move ten spaces forward on the board. Mario Party 5 also introduces a new mode, Super Duel Mode. This mode is a one-versus-one battle mode where two players face off against each other using custom-assembled vehicles (called "machines" in-game). In this mode, players buy machine parts using points—awarded by playing minigames in either Party Mode or Minigame Mode—and build battle machines to use in different tournaments. There are

1742-493: The GameCube. It was the series' last instalment on the GameCube. The microphone integration returns from the previous game, and the game introduces a new mode that allows up to eight players to play together. It features the same roster of playable characters with the exclusion of Koopa Kid and the addition of Birdo and Dry Bones as unlockable characters. Toadette is now unlocked from the start. Rather than Mario Party 6 ' s Brighton and Twila, Toadsworth , who first appeared in

1809-469: The Mario Party world, Hudson's dedication to solid, addictive puzzle gaming that makes for a wholly enjoyable multiplayer experience is apparent." HonestGamers criticized the game's boards, noting, "They're just not much fun." It further explained, "Some of them are, to be fair." It also criticized the game's options and menus, stating that it is difficult to even begin a new game. Additionally, it censured

1876-422: The board designs, noting, "While the board designs are new, they're no more inventive in design than what we've seen before, and they certainly don't look any better." It further criticized the game and its developer, noting, "... we can't shake the feeling that Hudson will continue riding the same graphical technology for as long as it can still sell copies." Mario Party 7 was released in 2005 and 2006 for

1943-452: The board game in ways that the previous Mario Party games did. Critics heavily censured the car mechanic; Destructoid noted, "An over-reliance on random chance over strategy can quickly derail the experience when things go awry at the worst possible time ..." The car mechanic was kept in Mario Party 10 , although Super Mario Party finally lets players move individually on the board again. Super Mario Party Jamboree introduced

2010-410: The buyer considers themselves a "Mario Party fanatic". IGN rated the game a 7.9 out of 10, further noting that the sequel was better than the original but that it did not "offer enough new to warrant a higher score". It recommended the game only to those who did not own the original. Mario Party 3 was released in 2000 and 2001 for the Nintendo 64. It features the same cast of playable characters as

2077-495: The characters then reunite to witness the Mini Stars once again, and the story concludes with the ending sentences: "And so the adventure came to an end. Rescued by (the character that the player chose), the Mini Stars were free to glitter in the night sky forever." Mario Party 9 received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . In Japan, four critics from Famitsu gave

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2144-427: The end of a board game, bonus stars can be awarded to players. Three specific stars are awarded in the first six games. All later games have six possible bonus stars, but up to three of those stars are awarded per game. These stars add to the player's overall total. If there’s a tie in coins and stars, then a Dice Block tiebreaker will determine the game's final ranking. In addition to Party Mode, every Mario Party has

2211-612: The exclusion of Donkey Kong and addition of Toad , Boo , and Koopa Kid. Rather than Mario Party 4 ' s large number of hosts, Mario Party 5 features the Star Spirits, known as the Star Guards in this game, who first appeared in the 2000 Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64. The game also features 78 new minigames. One of the most major changes that Mario Party 5 made to the series was replacing collectible items with "capsules" (called "orbs" in later games), which players receive from

2278-427: The final course, Bowser Station, the character must defeat both Shy Guy and Kamek en route to defeating Bowser. Bowser's machines trapping the Mini Stars are destroyed, and all the Mini Stars will return to the sky. The player character will wave goodbye to the stars as they depart for the night sky. Bowser and Bowser Jr. are seen flying in their Clown Cars, their plan to decorate their castle with Mini Stars foiled. All

2345-555: The first two Bumper Ball Mazes. Mario Party received praise for its unique party and social elements; however, IGN criticized the slow pacing of the game and the lack of enjoyment when played alone. GameSpot said, "The games that are enjoyable to play in multi-player are nowhere near as good in the single player mode. Really, it's that multi-player 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." Mario Party 2

2412-449: The form of minigames . These experiences may be played singularly or in a group, and usually feature several players competing simultaneously. The first party video game is thought to be Olympic Decathlon , releasing in 1980. In 1983, Party Mix was released for the Atari, and consisted of an anthology of five multiplayer games, which began the format of party video games releasing as

2479-465: The four-player games, but instead of winners earning ten coins each, each player contributes a randomly selected number of coins (or all coins if the player falls short of the pot amount). The winner of the minigame receives approximately 70% of the pot, the second-place winner receives the other 30%, and a random player occasionally gets coins left over from rounding. Duel minigames debuted in Mario Party 2 , and were omitted in Mario Party 4 (although

2546-407: The game a "mixed bag", criticizing its music, slow pace, and lack of originality. It noted that the game "can be a laugh" if "played with the right group" but also noted, "there are far better things to do with your time, your GameCube, and such marvelously entertaining friends", saying, "Western gamers are quite right to ignore this." Gaming Trend praised the replay value of the game but criticized

2613-449: The game a total score of 34 out of 40. German magazine N-Zone gave Mario Party 9 a 75% score for single player mode, and 85% for multiplayer mode. Nintendo Power said that "the majority of the game's 82 activities are fun", while commenting that "some may be discouraged by the game's radical changes". IGN praised the game's graphical improvement and its control style. Like previous Mario Party games, IGN strongly criticized

2680-406: The game and noted, " Mario Party 4 is exactly how you would envision it on GameCube: all-new mini-games and better visuals". IGN also called the game "an absolute must-rent if you have a few friends over for the weekend" and "definitely an 'everybody' title". Mario Party 5 was released in 2003 for the GameCube. It features the same playable character roster as the previous two instalments with

2747-409: The game provides seven boards: Toad Road, Bob-omb Factory, Boo's Horror Castle, Blooper Beach, Magma Mine, Bowser Station, and DK's Jungle Ruins. Both Bowser Station and DK's Jungle Ruins are unlockable. The game's story mode begins with the player selecting one of the ten starting playable characters. One night outside of Princess Peach's Castle, the characters gather to watch the Mini Stars glitter in

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2814-420: The game", being "largely recycled from Mario Party 4 ." It also criticized its music that it noted was "almost painfully cheery tunes that are basically riffs from a few classic [ Super ] Mario Bros. themes." GameSpot said that it was "hard to recommend" the game to owners of the previous game in the series but recommended it to casual fans who had not already played a Mario Party game. Eurogamer called

2881-406: The game's "down-to-the-wire games", stating, "it's almost impossible to keep stars you win unless you're guarding them very carefully." It further explained that mostly, a player's threat is not their human opponents but rather the computer-controlled players, describing how computer-controlled opponents will quickly steal the player's stars after they get them. Mario Party 4 is the first game in

2948-403: The game's graphics had not been improved from the previous game in the series and said, "the boards are looking a little bland, with some inconsistent texture quality". It further noted, "The minigames, while not terribly visually enticing, tend to do their jobs well enough, without slowdown or glaring visual faults." It also criticized the voice work for, "while generally fitting the cheery tone of

3015-426: The game's new story mode, noting that the player was forced to watch computer-controlled opponents for too long and too often, even while they were playing minigames on their own. It also noted that moving around the board in this mode quickly became tedious and boring. The review author further asserted, "I think it'd be better be classified as a tutorial mode." GameSpot noted, "While pure innovation may not be king in

3082-505: The host. Like Mario Party 2 , the game features all new boards, with some boards referencing the boards of the previous game and reusing their gimmicks. Mario Party 3 is also the first game in the series to feature a single-player story campaign . The game's story mode features " battle royal " boards and "duel" boards, where players fight one another for items called "Star Stamps". Like Mario Party 2 , IGN criticized Mario Party 3 for not having enough new content. It also criticized

3149-514: The luck-based factor of the game. GamesRadar praised Mario Party 9 for being balanced, but criticized the predictability of the boards. Ashton Raze of GameSpot said that the game is too "predictable" and "much too familiar". However, he praised the game's wide variety of fun mini-games and cheerful, colorful visuals. As of September 2012 , Mario Party 9 had sold 2.24 million copies worldwide. As of December 31, 2020, worldwide sales had reached 3.11 million units, making Mario Party 9

3216-503: The most accomplished entry in the series yet", while further noting, "While more accomplished gamers may find some of the minigames too simplistic, this accessibility ensures that Mario's party is one that just about anyone can enjoy." It also mentioned the improved graphics of the game while further noting that the character models of the game were more simplified compared to their counterparts in Super Smash Bros. Melee , released about

3283-590: The multiplayer experience is as robust and enjoyable as ever." He then went on to criticize the game's single-player mode: "But it in contrast dishes out a worthless single-player mode marred by tediously slow computer-controlled character interactions. And the overall presentation of the story, cut-scenes and real-time achievements is only passable." He called the game "a decent sequel to an aging franchise", noting, "the only people that should truly be interested in it are those dedicated to multiplayer parties. Everybody else can either make due with last year's version or avoid

3350-404: The new boards. Mario Party 2 features a mode called Mini-Game Land, where players can buy minigames that the player can play freely from a tree character called Woody. GameSpot praised Mario Party 2 ' s minigames, noting that they were a lot more fun than those of the first game. IGN noted that the game is "more of the same" and said that the game might not be worth its price unless

3417-430: The only one who knew that you used more capsules and thus deserve another star." GameSpot noted, "The fundamental formula isn't so different, but it's different enough that even if you've played all five previous Mario Party games, there's still something new for you." It further criticized the game's graphics, comparing it to Mario Power Tennis , which was released a month before Mario Party 6 . It further criticized

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3484-474: The original game, with a total of 65 minigames (or 88 if one counts the different courses in some of the minigames). Mario Party 2 features the same characters as the original game with no additions; however, each character dresses according to the theme of the board. Mario Party 2 is the only Mario Party game where this occurs. Mario Party 2 does not reuse any of the original game's boards but does have references to them and reuses some of their gimmicks in

3551-529: The player one additional life. Mario Party also features Rumble Pak support, which lets players know when their turn has started. Upon completing Mini-Game Island, a Bumper Ball Maze is awarded, a single-player minigame playable in the Mini-Game House. The player can unlock two additional Bumper Ball Mazes by completing all 50 minigames in Mini-Game Island and, respectively, setting new time records in

3618-411: The previous game also return, such as the ability for players to team up in Party Mode and the ability to hold up to three items at a time. Mario Party 4 is also the first game in the series to feature boards fully rendered in 3D , although the navigational board space layout remained 2D until Mario Party 5 . As usual, GameSpot praised the minigames of Mario Party 4 . It called the game "arguably

3685-470: The previous two games with the addition of Princess Daisy and Waluigi . The most notable difference in this game compared to the previous two games in the series is that each player can hold up to three items instead of only one. It also has 71 minigames, compared to Mario Party 2 ' s 65. Mario Party 3 ' s story revolves around a new character called the Millennium Star, who replaces Toad as

3752-458: The repetitive nature of the game. Mario Party 6 was released in 2004 and 2005 for the GameCube. It is the first game in the series to make use of the GameCube's microphone peripheral that was packaged with the game. It features the same cast of playable characters as the previous game with the addition of Toadette , although she has to be unlocked by buying her for thirty stars in the Star Bank,

3819-439: The same old Mario Party all over again." He further declared, "this compulsive level of sameness is counterbalanced by the fact that (besides the Mario Party series) there are not a lot of other games like this on the GameCube these days—or anywhere else, for that matter." Party video game Party video games generally consist of short-term experiences which may be played in succession, and are sometimes characterized in

3886-407: The series altogether." Former GameSpot writer Ryan Davis criticized the game's lack of originality, as he usually does when reviewing Mario Party games, but he commended the game's new eight-player multiplayer mode, noting, "The addition of eight-player minigames is really the only new feature worth considering buying the game for, as the rest of the changes are token gestures. So it's otherwise

3953-607: The series from Hudson Soft. The first instalment in the series on the Nintendo Switch , Super Mario Party , was released on October 5, 2018. The series received generally favourable reception in the beginning, but as the series has progressed, the reception has become more mixed until the Switch era, where it became improved. The series holds the record for the longest-running minigame series. As of September 2024, Nintendo reported cumulative worldwide sales of 77.9 million game copies in

4020-455: The series to appear on a console other than the Nintendo 64. Mario Party 4 was released for the GameCube in 2002. Mario Party 4 features the same roster of playable characters as Mario Party 3 and does not feature any new playable characters. It does, however, feature a new team battle system that allows players to team up in pairs in Party Mode, the standard game mode of the series. This game

4087-554: The sky, only for the stars to be sucked away on a spacecraft by Bowser and Bowser Jr. . The player character leads a charge with the others to defeat the Bowsers and save the Mini Stars, with Shy Guy and Kamek following from behind as part of Bowser's plan. The player character travels through all six courses to recover the Mini Stars, fighting off two henchmen selected by Bowser. They must defeat Shy Guy and/or Kamek on each course, assisted throughout by randomly assigned ally characters. In

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4154-409: The story minigames are all duels) but return again in Mario Party 5 . Duel games pit two players against each other. In Party Mode, one player initiates the duel, wagering coins or even a star against another player. The winner of the duel receives all coins or stars wagered. Starting with Mario Party 7 , the player no longer chooses the wager in a duel, rather, the duel takes place and the prize to

4221-408: The vehicle. There is also a boss battle at the halfway point of a board. There are 81 minigames in Mario Party 9 , divided into five categories: Free-for-all (where all players compete against each other), 1-vs.-Rivals (where a team of 2 or 3 players competes against a solo player), Bowser Jr. (where two players compete against Bowser Jr.), Boss Battle (where the players compete in the battle against

4288-493: The winner, if any, is randomly determined. Bowser minigames are introduced in Mario Party 4 in which players try to avoid being burned by Bowser's fire breath if they lose. When this happens, players must give up coins, stars, or items . In Mario Party 7 , a single-player version of the games was introduced and only one person can play. Mario Party 9 introduced a new set of Bowser Jr. -related minigames. In these minigames, Bowser Jr. challenges two players to compete in

4355-447: Was released in 1999, and Mario Party 3 was released in 2000. The launch of the Wii in 2006 led to the creation of Wii Play , a minigame collection that was bundled with certain copies of the Wii console. Mario Party 9 Mario Party 9 ( Japanese : マリオパーティ9 , Hepburn : Mario Pāti Nain ) is a 2012 party video game developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo for

4422-932: Was taken over by Nintendo studio NDCube (who remains the developer of the series to this day). This was also the final Mario game to be released on the Wii. Mario Party 9 was the second and last game in the series released for the Wii, and was followed by Mario Party: Island Tour for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, and Mario Party 10 for the Wii U in 2015. It was also one of the last official first-party Wii games released in North America, followed by Project Zero 2: Wii Edition and Kirby's Dream Collection . Mario Party 9 includes seven game boards , twelve playable characters , and more than eighty minigames . The game received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with praise for its gameplay, graphics, multiplayer, minigames, and content, considering it an improvement on its predecessor. However, its overhaul of mechanics received

4489-482: Was the last game to feature Donkey Kong as a playable character up until Mario Party 10 for the Wii U . Instead of the Millennium Star, Mario Party 4 features multiple hosts, including Toad and a Koopa Troopa . The game also featured 60 new minigames. Mario Party 4 is the first Mario Party game to include side-collectibles, which are in the form of presents. It also introduces the ability for players to create their own custom minigame packs. Elements introduced in

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