Hexoskeleton

Hexoskeleton
Appears in	Mario Party DS
Type	Boss minigame
Music track	Boss Battle
Music sample

Hexoskeleton is a boss minigame against Dry Bones in Mario Party DS. Its name is a portmanteau of "hex," which is a type of magic, and "exoskeleton," which is the armor-like external skeleton of insects, crustaceans, and a few other kinds of animals.

Cutscene after winning the minigame in Story Mode

Donkey Kong returns back to his normal state, and Diddy Kong gives the heroes the third Sky Crystal.

Introduction

The player looks up in surprise at Dry Bones.

Gameplay

The player must defeat Dry Bones by performing Ground Pounds on magic switches, each with a different color and pattern, located on the edges of a huge platform in the shape of an octagon. The flashing fire symbols on the map indicate which switches to hit and the order in which to ground-pound them. The player and Dry Bones have a Health Meter. The player has five lives, and Dry Bones has three. When the player ground-pounds the correct switch, Dry Bones' health is reduced. However, Dry Bones can attack by dropping berries to reduce the player's health, disabling some tiles, jumping around in an effort to squish the player, and throwing bones. The player can use the littered berries to stun Dry Bones for a while.

When Dry Bones has one heart remaining, he throws more bones, and he starts to ground-pound to create a force that can hurt the player. After that, Dry Bones starts chasing the player with normal Ground Pounds. A big Ground Pound may leave a durian, and if the player guides Dry Bones to it and he ground-pounds it, he is stunned for a slightly longer time than a normal berry would stun him. However, after recovering from a stun, Dry Bones starts to ground-pound the arena again.

After Dry Bones is defeated, the player wins and clears DK's Stone Statue, gaining the third Sky Crystal.

Ending

Dry Bones is frozen in his "taken damage" state while smoking from the magic blast, and then falls apart. Afterwards, the player celebrates.

Controls

• – Move
• – Jump
• – Punch
• → – Hit ground
• – Move camera
• – Focus on foe

In-game text

• Rules – "Search for the fire icons that appear above the magic switches, then ground-pound them all to release a red at Dry Bones!"
• Tips – "Dry Bones will soon go nuts, throwing bones and berries. If you punch a berry, it'll fly at him and he'll be stunned. Use the time to hit a switch!"

See also

• The Final Battle!

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	たいけつカロン[?] Taiketsu Karon	Dry Bones Showdown
French	En Sort et en Os[?]	Spell and Bone (Pun with the expression En chair et en Os)
German	Ein zäher Knochen[?]	A tough bone
Italian	Tartossato[?]	Dry Bones'd
Korean	대결 와르르[?] Daegyeol Wareureu	Showdown Dry Bones
Spanish	Huesitos calientes[?]	Hot Dry Bones