Saucer Swarm

Saucer Swarm
Appears in	Mario Party 8
Type	Battle minigame Duel minigame
Time limit	30 seconds
Initial record	20 points
Music track	Feelin' Cyber
Music sample

Saucer Swarm is a Battle and Duel minigame in Mario Party 8, as well as a single-player minigame in Test for the Best.

Introduction

A large UFO is seen overhead, releasing many smaller UFOs from underneath it. As the camera zooms down, the first player is shown riding a laser blaster as the aliens touch down on the ground in front of them. The screen then splits to reveal all players.

Gameplay

The many small UFO-like aliens are trying to home in on the players' blasters and attack, so the players must shoot them to keep them at bay. Each UFO alien the player shoots is worth a point. An additional golden UFO alien who floats around erratically in the background is worth two points if shot. If an alien gets too close to the player, the latter is electrocuted and momentarily stunned. Whichever player(s) shoot(s) the most aliens win(s). If both players have the same score in the Duel variant, it ends in a tie; if they break the current record while doing so, it counts as a new record even though neither player won. This also applies to Swing Kings.

Ending

Luigi watches Wario get abducted.

Winners perform their victory poses, while losers get abducted by the alien spaceship. Winners then watch the spaceship fly off. In the Battle variant, if everyone has the same score, everyone wins, and no one is abducted. In case of no one scoring or both players tying in the Duel variant, all the players are abducted by the alien spaceship.

Test for the Best

In Test for the Best, the player plays alone in this minigame and must shoot as many aliens as possible within 30 seconds. The scores required to earn a certain point total are as follows:

Grade	Points earned	Score required in minigame (NTSC)	Score required in minigame (PAL)	Title
A+	1,000	52 saucers	50 saucers	Titanium Defender
A	900	48 saucers	46 saucers	Silver Defender
B	800	44 saucers	42 saucers	Iron Defender
C	700	40 saucers	38 saucers	Average Defender
D	600	36 saucers	34 saucers	Sleepwalking Shooter
F	0	N/A	N/A	Spaced-out Shooter

Controls

• Wii Remote: Pivot
• Buttons
  • – Shoot

In-game text

• Rules – "Shoot more of the incoming invaders than your rivals!"
• Hint – "An invader will stun you for a few seconds if it hits your base. Keep pivoting to survey the whole field!"

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	たおせインベーダー[?] Taose Inbēdā	Invader Killing
French	Vaisseaux Spéciaux[?]	Special Ships (pun on vaisseau spatial (spaceship))
German	Kampf den Untertassen[?]	Battling the Saucers
Italian	Invasione UFO[?]	UFO Invasion
Korean	침략자를 물리쳐라 ![?] chimlyagjaleul Mullichyeola !	Defeat the Invaders!
Spanish	Enjambre de platillos[?]	Saucer Swarm

Trivia

• The giant UFO model used in this minigame was reused in Wii Play: Motion in the UFO stage of the Trigger Twist mode.