Editing Ztar

{{distinguish|Dark Star}}
{{item infobox
|image=[[File:ZtarMP5.png|200px]]
|first_appearance=''[[Mario Party]]'' ([[List of games by date#1998|1998]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Super Mario Party Jamboree]]'' ([[List of games by date#2024|2024]])
|effect=Subtracts one Star from the player's Star count
}}
{{quote|I'll give you a Ztar star because you're so lucky!|Bowser|Mario Party 5}}
'''Ztars''', also known as '''Shadow Stars''' in ''[[Mario Party 6]]'', '''Dark Stars''' in the North American version of ''[[Mario Party 7]]'', and '''Z-Stars''' in the PAL versions of ''Mario Party 7'', are black counterparts to [[Star (Mario Party series)|Star]]s found exclusively within the [[Mario Party (series)|''Mario Party'' series]]. They serve various functions from game to game but usually take away one Star from the player's possession. The Ztars' name comes from a corruption of "Star" and is spelled with a "z" instead of an "s." "Z" can be interpreted as a backwards "s," referencing how Ztars are meant to be the opposite of Stars. In ''[[Mario Party 9]]'', ''[[Mario Party 10]]'', or ''[[Mario Party: Island Tour]]'', while Ztars do not appear, [[Mini Ztar]]s do instead, where they deduct from the current number of [[Mini Star]]s a player has.

==History==
===''Mario Party''===
[[File:MP1 Bowser Ztar.png|thumb|Bowser giving a Ztar to [[Mario]]]]
The first appearance of Ztars was in ''[[Mario Party]]'', where they are the [[Bowser's bogus items|bogus item]] for [[Mario's Rainbow Castle]]. They appear as black stars with white eyes. [[Bowser]] forces the player to buy a Ztar for 40 [[Coin]]s, but it does not have an effect on the player's Star count. Upon the player purchasing it, the usual Star acquisition fanfare plays but becomes darker-toned at the end. This is Bowser's most expensive bogus item in the game.

===''Mario Party 2''===
Ztars, known as '''Shining Stars''' in-game, next appear in ''[[Mario Party 2]]'' during the "Bowser's Multiplying Toads" event. If a player lands on a [[Bowser Space]] and triggers this event, Bowser makes two [[Toad (species)|Toad]]s appear on the board: One is real, and the other is really a [[Koopa Kid|Baby Bowser]] in disguise. Each Toad offers to sell the player a Star for 20 Coins. While the real Toad sells the player a genuine Star, the fake Toad actually sells the player a Ztar, then reveals himself as Baby Bowser. Like in the first game, Ztars do not affect the player's Star total, and they serve only to waste their Coins. To find the real Toad, the player needs to either be lucky or use one of two items: The first is a [[Genie Lamp|Magic Lamp]], which always brings them to the real Toad, while the second is a [[Bowser Bomb (item)|Bowser Bomb]], which, when used at the end of the turn, causes the fake Toad to reveal himself.

===''Mario Party 3''===
Ztars make a cameo appearance in ''[[Mario Party 3]]'' in the minigame [[Cosmic Coaster]]. The star on the goal looks like a Ztar until a team reaches it, at which point it changes to look like a Star and starts rocking from side to side. If a team is close to the goal but loses the [[minigame]], it remains a Ztar and can be seen falling slightly askew.

===''Mario Party 4''===
[[File:Welcome to Extra Room MP4.png|thumb|A Ztar in ''Mario Party 4'']]
In ''[[Mario Party 4]]'', Ztars make a few cameos in the Extra Room. A Ztar can be seen flying under the boards in [[Mega Board Mayhem]] and [[Mini Board Mad-Dash]] from [[Thwomp's Backroom Ball]]. Also, after every minigame has been unlocked, a Ztar appears in the Extra Room. Selecting it starts [[Beach Volley Folly]], which the Ztar hosts.

From this game forward in the series, the Ztar's eyes look angry.

===''Mario Party 5''===
If a player lands on a [[Bowser Space]] in ''[[Mario Party 5]]'' and has at least one Star, Bowser occasionally gives the player a Ztar, which subtracts one Star from the player's current total unless they’re at zero. In [[Card Party]], players can uncover a Ztar Star Card that has the same effect but can make their Star count go below zero. Ztar Star Cards are hidden within Star Cards, so it is based purely on chance whether the player receives a Ztar or a Star. Additionally, some Star Cards transform into Ztar Star Cards after being revealed and vice versa.

In [[Super Duel Mode]], a Ztar can be seen as the power source for the Ztar Engine engine part.

===''Mario Party 6''===
[[File:Tricky Tiers 6.png|thumb|The Shadow Stars' appearance in Tricky Tires]]
Ztars were renamed Shadow Stars in ''[[Mario Party 6]]''. In [[Clockwork Castle]], when [[Bowser]] encounters a player, he gives them a Shadow Star if they have one or more Stars. Shadow Stars serve the same purpose as in ''Mario Party 5''. If the player has no Stars, Bowser gives them a Special Shadow Star, which takes away 20 [[coin]]s instead. Bowser also gives the player a Shadow Star if they land on [[Bowser's Battle Yacht]] in [[Castaway Bay]].

Shadow Stars also make minor cameos in the comparison quiz section of [[Speak Up]] and on the floor in [[Tricky Tires]].

===''Mario Party 7''===
In ''[[Mario Party 7]]'', Ztars are renamed Dark Stars (or Z-Stars in PAL versions), but they still have the same effect. At one of the [[Green Space]]s in [[Grand Canal]], the player must choose a [[treasure chest|chest]] from a group after the chests have been shuffled by a [[Blooper]]. One of the chests holds a Dark Star. If the player chooses this chest, they must take it. In [[Neon Heights]] during [[Bowser Time]], Bowser sometimes puts a Dark Star in one of the chests. If the player pays [[Koopa Kid]] for this chest, they are forced to take the Dark Star inside. Unlike in ''Mario Party 6'', if the player has no Stars, they do not lose 20 coins.

===''Mario Party DS''===
In ''[[Mario Party DS]]'', Ztars are once again so called, and they occasionally appear in [[Hidden Block (Mario Party series)|Hidden Block]]s. If a player is unfortunate enough to get a Ztar, they lose one Star. A player cannot get a Ztar from a Hidden Block if they do not have any Stars. Also, a figure called Ztar appears at the same time the Star figure appears.

===''Super Mario Party Jamboree''===
[[File:SMPJ Waluigi Ztar.png|thumb|[[Waluigi]] obtaining a Ztar]]
In ''[[Super Mario Party Jamboree]]'', Ztars appear again as items sold forcibly in [[Mario's Rainbow Castle]] returning from ''[[Mario Party]]''. This time, they are sold by [[Fake Bowser|Impostor Bowser]] for 20 coins.<ref>{{cite|author=Turners064|date=October 11, 2024|url=x.com/turners064/status/1844613340447883305|title=2: The Ztars are back from Mario Party 1. But it only takes 20 coins, instead of 40. But the cutscene is really good|publisher=X|accessdate=October 11, 2024}}</ref> On [[Rainbow Galleria]] in the [[Party-Planner Trek]], where it is given to the player by a [[Shy Guy]] on the first floor if given his shopping bag, the Shy Guy describes it as "a total impulse buy". The player can then bring it to a [[Snifit]] Janitor on the second floor to dispose of it and get 1 [[Mini Star]]. In this game, they are made of painted cardboard, as described by the Snifit.

==Profiles and statistics==
===''Mario Party DS''===
{{MPDS collectible table
|figurine1=Ztar
|image1=[[File:ZtarFigureMPDS.png|80px]]
|description1=This dark, gloomy icon oozes with sadness and regret. Unfortunately, where there is light, there is dark. Where there's a Star, there's a Ztar!
|unlock1=Win 40,000 MP Points.
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Dark Star Given.png|''Mario Party 7''
ZtarMPDS.png|''Mario Party DS''
</gallery>

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jap=ズター
|JapR=Zutā
|JapM=Ztar
|Fre=Etoile Z
|FreM=Z Star
|Ger=Z-Stern
|GerM=Z-Star
|Ita=Fosca
|ItaN=up until ''Mario Party 7''
|ItaM=Feminine of ''fosco'' ("dark")
|Ita2=Allets
|Ita2N=''Mario Party DS''
|Ita2M=From ''Stella'' ("[[Star (Mario Party series)|Star]]"), spelled backwards
|Kor=가짜스타
|KorR=Gajja seuta
|KorM=Fake Star
|SpaA=Ztar
|SpaE=Eztrella
|SpaEM=From ''Estrella'' ("Star") with a "z" replacing the "s"
|SpaE2=O. Paca
|SpaE2M=Pun on ''opaca'' ("murky") and the name "Paca"
|SpaE=Eztrella
|SpaEM=From ''Estrella'' ("Star") with a "z" replacing the "s"
|SpaE3=Estrella negativa<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gF8Jr8v2ko&t=9733s</ref>
|SpaE3M=Negative Star
|SpaE3N=''Super Mario Party Jamboree''
}}

==Trivia==
[[File:MP8-ztar.png|thumb|Unused Ztar model from ''[[Mario Party 8]]'']]
*In ''[[Mario Party 8]]'', there is an unused music clip that is a more menacing variation of the "You Got a Star!" jingle.<ref>RadiatorRampardos (October 3, 2011). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVjjKSosiFo Mario Party 8 Soundtrack - You Got a Star (Alternate Version)]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved September 7, 2024.</ref> Additionally, there is an unused model of a Ztar in the game's files, suggesting they were cut from the final game.<ref>https://tcrf.net/Mario_Party_8/Unused_Graphics_and_Models#Unused_Models</ref>

==References==
<references/>

{{Stars}}
{{MP}}
{{MP4}}
[[Category:Hosts]]
[[Category:Stars]]
[[Category:Mario Party items]]
[[Category:Mario Party 2 items]]
[[Category:Mario Party 4 species]]
[[Category:Mario Party 5 items]]
[[Category:Mario Party 6 items]]
[[Category:Mario Party 7 items]]
[[Category:Mario Party DS items]]
[[Category:Super Mario Party Jamboree items]]
[[de:Z-Stern]]
[[it:Allets]]