Mario Party 9

Template:Justreleased Template:Infobox Mario Party 9 is the ninth home console installment of the Mario Party series and second for the Wii. The game was developed by Nd Cube. It is also the eleventh in the main series (fifteenth in Japan). It was released in Europe on March 2, 2012, and will also be released in Australia and North America in March 2012 and later on in Japan in April 2012. The host of the game is Yellow Toad for the boards while Blue Toad is the host for minigames, and Green Toad appears near the end of Boards to initiate an event similar to the Last Five Turns event from past games.

Story

On a night outside of Princess Peach's Castle, Mario and his friends came to watch the Mini Stars in the sky. As Mario peers though the telescope, he notices that the stars suddenly begin to get sucked through a vortex. It is soon revealed to be Bowser and Bowser Jr. on a spacecraft, who are using a vacuum-like machine to suck the stars in the sky. Upon witnessing this, Mario and the gang set out to defeat them and save the Mini Stars. After they start their journey, Shy Guy and Kamek are seen coming out of the woods and start following them (as part of Bowser's plan).

Gameplay

A new form of gameplay will be introduced in this game: players will move all at once through the board in a vehicle (a car in Toad Road, a magic carpet in Boo's Horror Castle and a legged machine in Bob-omb Factory, for example). Instead of trying to collect coins to buy stars, players receive Mini Stars if they pass by them. New minigames will be introduced in the Mario Party series, as well as 2 vs. 1 minigames against Bowser Jr, with one of them closely resembling one of the boss battles in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Players must try to avoid Mini Ztars, which deduct their current amount of Mini Stars. In this game, the minigames don't appear after every four turns, but only when a player ends up on any of the spaces that triggers a minigame.

Modes

Mario Party 9 has Party Mode, Solo Mode, Minigame Mode, Extra Mode and the Museum.

Minigame Mode

Birdo in Step It Up.

Blue Toad is the host of Minigame Mode.

• Free Play: In the Free Play mode, the players can play unlocked minigames freely.
• Step It Up: In this mode, players must win minigames to climb stairs. The player who reaches on the top first wins.
• Garden Battle: The players must get puzzle pieces to fill their gardens winning minigames. The player who completes it first wins.
• Choice Challenge: All the players choose a minigame from a group of five. These minigames are played and the player who get more points wins.
• High Rollers: In this mode, the players must win minigames to roll a Dice Block to pass through a panel floor. The player who gets 500 points first wins.
• Time Attack: The player must try to win 10 minigames as fast as he or she can.
• Boss Rush: The players must defeat a series of bosses to win.

Characters

Similarly to the preceding games, Mario Party 9 will introduce newcomers to the series. There are 12 characters in Mario Party 9.

Playable Characters

File:Mp9sspic3-275x237.png

The character selection screen.

Mario	Luigi	Peach	Daisy	Wario	Waluigi
File:MP9 Select Mario.png	File:MP9 Select Luigi.png	File:MP9 Select Peach.png	File:MP9 Select Daisy.png	File:MP9 Select Wario.png	File:MP9 Select Waluigi.png
Yoshi	Birdo	Toad	Koopa	File:MP9 Shy Icon.png Shy Guy*	Kamek*
File:MP9 Select Yoshi.png	File:MP9 Select Birdo.png	File:MP9 Select Toad.png	File:MP9 Select Koopa.png	File:MP9 Select Shy.png	File:MP9 Select Kamek.png
*Can be unlocked through Solo Mode. Note: Kamek is called Magikoopa in the North American version.

Bosses

There are a total of 14 boss battles in Mario Party 9.

Toad Road	Bob-omb Factory	Boo's Horror Castle	Blooper Beach	Magma Mine	Bowser Station	DK's Jungle Ruins
Mid-Bosses
Lakitu	Whomp	Dry Bones	File:MP9 Cheep Icon.png Cheep-Cheep	Spike	File:MP9 Bowser Jr. Icon.png Bowser Jr.	Diddy Kong
			File:MP9 Cheep Bust.png		File:MP9 Bowser Jr. Bust.png
Stage Bosses
Wiggler	File:MP9 Big Bob-omb Icon.png Big Bob-omb	King Boo	Blooper	Chain Chomp	Bowser	Donkey Kong
	File:MP9 Big Bob-omb Bust.png

Other Characters

Yellow Toad Green Toad Blue Toad Goombas Dry Bones Whittles Piantas Cheep-Cheeps

Bob-ombs Urchins Boos Dolphins Magikoopa Mecha-Koopas Bloopers Wigglers Bullet Bills

Piranha Plants Spinies Sushi Huckit Crabs Seagulls Swoopers Monty Moles Hammer Bros. Fire Bros. Buzzy Beetles

Penguins Spikes Mr. Blizzards Fishbones Deep-Cheeps Thwomps Scaredy Rat

Stages

Stage	Description	Captain Event
Toad Road	Toad Road is the first stage in Mario Party 9, and thus it is a simple stage with almost no gimmicks. It is designed after New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and features lush grassland, flowers and windmills. A broken bridge prevents players from moving forward, and if the Energy Meter does not add up, the players will fall to a lower route with Mini Ztar Spaces.	9 Island
Bob-omb Factory	Bob-omb Factory is the second stage in Mario Party 9. Players move around a room full of conveyor belts, and if the Captain lands on an Event Space, the conveyor belts will move the group of players around, including spaces. Bob-ombs will occasionally intrude a player's game. Whatever Captain happens to stop the Bob-omb's countdown, he or she will lose half of their Mini Stars.	Side-by-Side Zone
Boo's Horror Castle	Boo's Horror Castle is the third stage in Mario Party 9. Players move throughout a big castle, which is haunted with Boos. After a Captain passes a Boo Portrait, a Boo will come out of it. If a Captain is caught by a Boo, he or she will lose half of their Mini Stars. Boos will follow the players until they leave the current hallway, or enter an alternative room with lights. Before the players can face the boss, the Captain must roll a number higher than the specified numeral on the gate.	Scaredy Rat Race
Blooper Beach	Blooper Beach is the fourth stage in Mario Party 9. Players travel along an ocean to reach the end goal. If a Captain passes by a Dolphin, he or she will get five Mini Stars. However, Sushis will take away half of the Captain's Mini Stars. Huckit Crabs will turn all the Mini Stars on the stage into Mini Ztars if a Captain lands on an Event Space.	Sunken Treasure
Magma Mine	Magma Mine is the fifth stage in Mario Party 9. Players must escape rising magma that rises two spaces each turn, and is increased further if a Captain lands on a Magma Space. If a Captain happens to get hit by magma, he or she will lose half their Mini Stars.	Dice Block Chicken
File:MP9 Magma Mine.png
Bowser Station	Bowser Station is the sixth stage in Mario Party 9, and is unlocked after completing Solo Mode. Bowser Jr. and Bowser are the stage's only mid-boss and boss, respectively. A Jackpot Machine here will increase in Mini Stars if a Captain lands on a Jackpot+ Space. If the Jackpot Machine happens to have 20 or more Mini Stars, a Jackpot Minigame will commence. Oddly enough, this stage has no actual hazards.	Heart Star Colony Bingo Colony Speed Colony
DK's Jungle Ruins	DK's Jungle Ruins is the seventh stage in Mario Party 9, which can be purchased from the Museum for 500 Party Points. Instead of collecting Mini Stars, players collect Bananas while avoiding Z-Bananas. Players make two laps around the stage before completing the whole set. Bananas and Z-Bananas are placed on each space rather than inbetween. The actual Boss Minigames in this stage are done in form of a bonus minigame to collect Bananas. These games are supported by Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong.	Barrel Choice

Minigames

Main article: List of minigames in Mario Party 9

Items

• Dice Block
• Slow Dice Block
• 0-1 Dice Block
• 1-2-3 Dice Block
• 4-5-6 Dice Block
• 1-10 Dice Block
• Stars
• Mini Stars
• Mini Ztars
• Green Shells
• Bananas
• Banana Bunches
• Z-Bananas
• Z-Banana Bunches

Spaces

When a player lands on a space, something is going to happen. Each space has its own effect, but like in previous Mario Party games, every space is colour-coded. The colour of the space will tell what kind of event is going to happen.

• Normal Spaces
  • Blue Spaces - Triggers good events and will help the player who landed on it.
  • Red Spaces - Trigger bad events and will hinder the player who landed on it.
  • Green Spaces - Lets one or all players attend an event.
  • Yellow Spaces - Trigger minigames when landed on.
  • White Spaces - Adds Mini Stars to the Jackpot on the Bowser Station board.
• Star Spaces
  • Mini Star Spaces - Gives Mini Stars to the player who landed on it.
  • Mini Ztar Spaces - Takes Mini Stars from the player who landed on it.

If the player moves over a space with a half cross on it, he or she automatically stops at that space and an event starts. The only two spaces of this kind are the Boss Space and the Captain Event Space.

Because of the new rules in Mario Party 9, there are many new spaces introduced. Some old spaces returned as well, but some have a different effect (for example the Blue Space). With a total of 21 different kind of spaces, Mario Party 9 has the most spaces of the series. Also for the first time in the Mario Party series, some spaces are unique for a specific board. Here is a list of all the spaces in the game, with what kind of effect they have.

Space		Effect	Rarity
Appears on all boards
Green Space		This space does nothing.	Common
Dice Space	File:MP9 Dice Space.png	The Captain who lands here will receive a special Dice Block. Also has a chance to trigger a free-for-all minigame, or have Mini Stars.	Common
Event Space		Triggers an event depending on the board and sometimes the player's placement.	Uncommon
Dash Space	File:MP9 Forward Space.png	The Captain that lands here will roll the Dice Block again.	Uncommon
Back Space	File:MP9 Reverse Space.png	The Captain that lands here will roll the Dice Block again. The vehicle will move backwards depending on the number obtained.	Rare
Shuffle Space	File:MP9 Alternate Space.png	The orders of Captains change.	Semi-Common (None when playing with 2 players)
Spin Space	File:MP9 Random Space.png	Anything can happen when the Captain lands here.	Uncommon
Lucky Space		The Captain that lands here will enter a special route to gain Mini Stars, or enter a Toad House.	Semi-Common
Unlucky Space		The Captain that lands here will lose Mini Stars by entering a special route.	Rare
Bowser Space		Triggers a Bowser Event.	Uncommon (Common near the end of stages)
Mini Star Space	File:MP9 +1MiniStar Space.png	Gives the Captain 1 Mini Star.	Rare
	File:MP9 +2MiniStar Space.png	Gives the Captain 2 Mini Stars.
	File:MP9 +3MiniStars Space.png	Gives the Captain 3 Mini Stars.
	File:MP9 +5MiniStars Space.png	Gives the Captain 5 Mini Stars.
Mini Ztar Space	File:MP9 +1MiniZtars Space.png	Deducts 1 Mini Stars from the player's current amount.	Rare
	File:MP9 +2MiniZtars Space.png	Deducts 2 Mini Stars from the player's current amount.
	File:MP9 +3MiniZtars Space.png	Deducts 3 Mini Stars from the player's current amount.
	File:MP9 +5MiniZtars Space.png	Deducts 5 Mini Stars from the player's current amount.
Free-for-All Space		Triggers a free-for-all minigame.	Semi-Common
Battle Space	File:MP9 Competition Space.png	A free-for-all minigame will commence in which all players must participate. Mini Stars are distributed differently from regular minigames.	Semi-Common
1-vs-Rival Space	File:MP9 1vs2.png	Triggers a 1-vs-Rival minigame with 3 players.	Uncommon (None when playing with 2 players)
	File:MP9 1vs3.png	Triggers a 1-vs-Rival minigame with 4 players.
Bowser Jr. Space		Triggers a Bowser Jr. minigame where the Captain and a randomly-chosen ally must defeat him.	Uncommon (None when playing with 2 players)
Captain Event Space		Triggers a specific Captain Event for the board.	Rare
Boss Battle Space		Triggers a boss battle for the board. In Party Mode, the Captain chooses the minigame.	2 on each stage
Board-specific Spaces
Magma Space	File:MP9 +2 Space.png	Raises the lava level by 2 on the Magma Mine board.	Common
	File:MP9 +3 Space.png	Raises the lava level by 3 on the Magma Mine board.	Semi-Common
	File:MP9 +4 Space.png	Raises the lava level by 4 on the Magma Mine board.	Uncommon
Jackpot+ Space		Adds 5 Mini Stars to the Jackpot Machine on Bowser Station.	Common
		Adds 8 Mini Stars to the Jackpot Machine on Bowser Station.
DK Space		Causes DK to start an activity where the Captain tries to collect the most Bananas spinning in a circle around the board.	Common

Beta Elements

Main article: Mario Party 9/Beta elements

Quotes

For a full list of quotes, see here.

References to other games

• Super Mario Bros.:A extract of the overworld theme is in the minigame Speeding Bullets, also the complete theme is in Hexapuzzle, plus the music in the Mingame mode Choice Challenge is a remix of the underworld theme. The bridge tiles during Goomba Bowling are very similar to the stones in the overworld levels.
• Super Mario World:A extract from the music of the Results screen of the boards is a remix of the overworld theme. Also Bowser appears with his Koopa Clown Car.
• Mario Kart: A lightning bolt appears in King Boo's Puzzle Attack
• Super Mario 64: The music when Bowser appears to initiate a Boss Battle is the beginning of the Koopa's Road theme.
• Super Mario Sunshine: A Pianta appears in the minigame Pianta Pool.
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!!: Some voice files are reused from this game, notably King Boo's voice. The vehicle from DK's Jungle Ruins resembles the DK Jumbo.
• Mario Party Advance: The game uses a vehicle to move on the board. Also, the default vehicle from Toad Road resembles the car from this game.
• Super Mario Galaxy: The Ground Pound Switch icon appears on Wiggler's body segments and on Whomp's back. Also the music of some Bowser Jr. minigames is a remix of Bowser Jr.'s theme of the game.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Many of the environments and minigames in the game are based on the worlds of this game. Yellow Toad and Blue Toad also reappear as the hosts of the game. The design of the Ice Flower of this game appears in King Boo's Puzzle Attack Bowser Jr. appears is his Koopa Clown Car. Also some of the Bowser Jr. Minigames music is a remix of Bowser Jr.'s battle music in this game.
• Super Mario Galaxy 2: In the minigame Logger Heads, a group of Whittles appear. They also appear in the Step It Up minigame mode in the background of the tree, and they congratulate the winner when they reach the top of the tree.

Trivia

• The players' cursors when selecting options and playing minigames are the hands of their characters, similar to the hands from the first four Mario Parties.
• This is the first Mario Party in the series not to be developed by Hudson.
• This is the first Mario Party to not include Advice or Hints in the Minigame Rules Screen.
  • Also about minigames, this is the first Mario Party to not include Bonus Minigames, likely due to the abolishment of coins.

External Links

• E3 2011 trailer
• Updates
• Official Europe Site
• Official American website
• Official Australian website