Test for the Best
Test for the Best is the only secret minigame mode in Mario Party 8. This mode is like Decathlon from Mario Party 5, 6 and 7, as well as Score Scuffle from 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).
| Minigame | A+ | A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine Assault | 00:30.00 | 00:31.50 | 00:33.00 | 00:34.50 | 00:36.00 |
| Ion the Prize | 58 | 52 | 46 | 40 | 34 |
| Kartastrophe | 00:43.00 | 00:45.00 | 00:47.00 | 00:49.00 | 00:51.00 |
| Pumper Cars | 00:14.50 | 00:15.00 | 00:15.50 | 00:16.00 | 00:16.50 |
| Rotation Station | 00:35.00 | 00:45.00 | 00:55.00 | 01:05.00 | 01:15.00 |
| 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 |
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
