Test for the Best

Test for the Best

Test for the Best is the only secret minigame mode in Mario Party 8. This mode is similar to the Mini-Game Decathlon from Mario Party 5, Decathlon Park from Mario Party 6, Decathlon Castle from Mario Party 7, and Score Scuffle from Mario Party DS, though this mode is for one player only. The character appears in a hot-air balloon, MC Ballyhoo and Big Top alongside him or her. He tells them that the goal is to earn points based on their performance in ten minigames (and be graded with an F, D, C, B, A, or A+, the last one automatically netting the player 1000 points); every point they earn sends them a foot into the air, and so the real objective is to fly as high as possible.

It is possible to access this mode without having unlocked all 10 minigames listed below, as long as this minigame mode is bought from the Fun Bazaar first. Any minigames played here that have not yet been unlocked will be unlocked after completing this mode.

This mode stores the best 5 total scores in this mode, as well as points earned, grade received and title earned for each minigame within each ranking.

Minigames

The ten minigames that are played are the same ones every time. However, they are played in a random order.

• Alpine Assault
• Ion the Prize
• Kartastrophe
• Pumper Cars
• Rotation Station
• Saucer Swarm
• Settle It in Court
• Snipe for the Picking
• Surf's Way Up
• Swing Kings

The games are measured either in time, or points.

Scoring

Unlike the Decathlon games in previous Mario Party games where score was the sole purpose of determing the winner, this mode also uses a grading system as it is a single-player mode, though up to 1,000 points can be earned in one minigame.

Minigame Grades

The amount of points the player earns after converting the result from the minigame will determine the grade for that minigame:

Grade	Points Awarded
A+	1,000
A	900 - 999
B	800 - 899
C	700 - 799
D	600 - 699
F	0 - 599

Each minigame also earns the player a "rank" for that minigame, which is determined by the grade earned and the name of the minigame.

Targets

The required results (in score or time) for each eligible grade are shown below. If the player does not meet the requirement for a D grade or higher (and as a result, earns less than 600 points from the result of the minigame), it will be an F (though the player can still earn points depending how close they were to the D grade).

Japanese/American version

Minigame	A+	A	B	C	D
Alpine Assault	0:30.00	0:31.50	0:33.00	0:34.50	0:36.00
Ion the Prize	58	52	46	40	34
Kartastrophe	0:43.00	0:45.00	0:47.00	0:49.00	0:51.00
Pumper Cars	0:14.50	0:15.00	0:15.50	0:16.00	0:16.50
Rotation Station	0:35.00	0:45.00	0:55.00	1:05.00	1:15.00
Saucer Swarm	52	48	44	40	36
Settle It in Court	18	16	14	12	10
Snipe for the Picking	1,500	1,300	1,100	900	700
Surf's Way Up	800	680	560	440	320
Swing Kings	20	18	16	14	12

European/Australian version

Minigame	A+	A	B	C	D
Alpine Assault	0:37.00	0:38.50	0:40.00	0:41.50	0:43.00
Ion the Prize	50	45	40	35	30
Kartastrophe	0:44.00	0:46.00	0:48.00	0:50.00	0:52.00
Pumper Cars	0:17.50	0:18.00	0:18.50	0:19.00	0:19.50
Rotation Station	0:40.00	0:50.00	1:00.00	1:10.00	1:20.00
Saucer Swarm	50	46	42	38	34
Settle It in Court	18	16	14	12	10
Snipe for the Picking	1,500	1,300	1,100	900	700
Surf's Way Up	800	680	560	440	320
Swing Kings	20	18	16	14	12

There are also factors that determine the exact amount of points the player will score in this mode. Depending on the player's performance on the minigames, it is possible to get the same grade but different amount of points on multiple minigames.

Overall Targets

At the end of all minigames, the player is graded based on their total score, and given an overall rank appropriate to the player's total score. There are 20 possible overall ranks in this mode. Aside from earning 10 Carnival Cards for playing the minigames, the total score also determines the amount of bonus Carnival Cards the player will also receive:

Overall Rank	Total Score	Bonus
Supreme Superstar	10,000	100 cards
Superstar	9,800 - 9,999	50 cards
Galactic Master	9,600 - 9,799	50 cards
Celestial Royalty	9,400 - 9,599	50 cards
Cosmic Champion	9,200 - 9,399	30 cards
Meteoric Emperor	9,000 - 9,199	30 cards
Orbital Master	8,800 - 8,999	30 cards
Stratosuperior	8,600 - 8,799	30 cards
Stratospheric	8,400 - 8,599	20 cards
High Altitude	8,200 - 8,399	20 cards
Sky Bound	8,000 - 8,199	20 cards
Elite	7,800 - 7,999	20 cards
Veteran	7,600 - 7,799	20 cards
Advanced	7,400 - 7,599	10 cards
Novice	7,200 - 7,399	10 cards
Apprentice	7,000 - 7,199	10 cards
Rookie	6,800 - 6,999	10 cards
Beginner	6,600 - 6,799	Nothing
Peewee	6,400 - 6,599	Nothing
Groundling	0 - 6,399	Nothing

Signs

Every thousand-point mark is indicated by a sign. The creatures holding the signs are listed below.

• 

  1000 Points: Two Paragoombas

• 

  2000 Points: Two Green Paratroopas

• 

  3000 Points: Two Red Paratroopas

• 

  4000 Points: One Flutter

• 

  5000 Points: One Klepto

• 

  6000 Points: One Fishin' Lakitu

• 

  7000 Points: Two Toadies

• 

  8000 Points: Two Fly Guys

• 

  9000 Points: One Magikoopa

• 

  9800 Points: Various Captain Shy Guys on the Moon