Spike Strike

This article is about the minigame in Mario Party 9. For one of Luigi's precision weapons in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, see List of weapons in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle § Spike Strike. For Spike's Special Shot in Mario Tennis Aces, see Special Shot (Mario Tennis Aces) § Spike Strike.

Spike Strike
Appears in	Mario Party 9
Type	Boss minigame
Music track	Tough Enemy Now You've Done It!
Music sample First phase: Second phase:

Spike Strike is a boss minigame in Mario Party 9.

Introduction

The players are on a magma flow, standing near the bottom of a stone platform with two to four ramp-like slopes. A couple of seconds later, Spike drops on the round top of the platform and spits out a giant Spiked Ball at the top of each slope.

Gameplay

The players have a short time to pick one of the objects shown on the screen to defend themselves from Spike's Spiked Balls. If a player chooses a hammer, they bat the Spiked Ball back at Spike. A regular hammer earns the player one point, but a golden hammer deals more damage to Spike and gives the player three points. If a player ends up picking a branch or does not choose anything within the allotted time, the Spiked Ball flattens their character, costing them a point (unless that player has no points).

The number of items varies depending on how many players are present, but during the very first round, there are always enough hammers for everyone (with only one being golden). As Spike's health drops, however, the number of hammers to choose from starts to decrease, ensuring that at least one player loses a point per round. In a two-player game, there are always enough hammers for both players during the first half of the minigame.

When Spike's health reaches its midway point, he gets angry and ground-pounds the platform. Afterwards, the magma rises, forcing the players to move closer to Spike, giving them less time to choose an item. Additionally, the number of hammers to choose from decreases even further, being reduced to only one hammer in a two-player game and two hammers in a four-player game. In a three-player game, only one hammer is present when Spike has less than a quarter of his health left. As usual, players who deliver the finishing blow to the boss receive three additional points, and the player with the most points after the battle wins.

Ending

Spike falls on his back and explodes, revealing Mini Stars in Party Mode and Solo Mode.

In-game text

• Rules – "Grab a hammer as fast as you can to knock the rolling Spiked Balls back at Spike! Gold hammers are worth three points, iron hammers are worth one, and branches aren't worth anything!"
• Controls – "Hold the Wii Remote vertically. Quickly point at a hammer, and press to choose it. Be careful you don't pick a branch by mistake!"

Gallery

• 

  Players who choose the hammers can attack.

• 

  After Spike loses half of his health, the magma rises.

• 

  During the second half, players have less time to choose their weapons.

• 

  Mario and Luigi deliver the final attack.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	ガボンの早押しハンマーバトル[?] Gabon no Hayaoshi Hanmā Batoru	Spike's Quick-Press Hammer Battle
Chinese	加邦鐵鎚反應戰[?] Jiābāng tiě chuí fǎnyìng zhàn	Spike's Hammer Reaction Battle
French (NOA)	Éclipsez Spike![?]	Outshine Spike!
French (NOE)	Strike sur Spike[?]	Strike to Spike
German	Spikes Hammerjammer[?]	Spike's Hammer Lament
Italian	Un Martello per Spunzo[?]	A Hammer for Spike
Spanish (NOA)	Martillos para Escupicos[?]	Hammers for Spike
Spanish (NOE)	¡Pincha a Spike![?]	Spike Spike!

Trivia

• If the player picks a branch, the character icon will have a sad expression that is not seen anywhere else in the game.
• This is one of three boss minigames in Mario Party 9 where at least one player character is bound to get hurt, the others being Whomp Stomp and Chain Chomp Romp, due to there being too few hammers to deflect the Spiked Balls after the first round.