Mario Party 3
Mario Party 3 | |||||
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For alternate box art, see the game's gallery. | |||||
Developer | Hudson Soft CAProduction | ||||
Publisher | Nintendo | ||||
Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 | ||||
Release date | Template:Release | ||||
Language(s) | English (United States) French (France) German Spanish (Spain) Japanese | ||||
Genre | Party | ||||
Rating(s) |
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Mode(s) | Single-player, Multiplayer | ||||
Input | Nintendo 64:
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Mario Party 3 is the third installment of the Mario Party series, and the last one for the Nintendo 64. The game is centered around the Millennium Star, who replaces Toad as the host alongside Tumble. One notable change is that players can now hold up to three items instead of just one. The game includes 70 new minigames, as well as a feature unique to the Mario Party series: duel boards, on which two players fight each other using partners. In addition to the six characters from the previous Mario Party games returning, two new characters are introduced: Daisy and Waluigi. The game is the first game in the Mario Party series to have a solo mode story campaign, as well as the first to have mini-games that can be unlocked and played anytime without purchasing them first, a system that has become standard and would continue to be used in future installments. This is also the final Mario game to be released for the Nintendo 64 in all regions except Australia, where that title goes to Paper Mario.
Story and objective
From the Mario Party 3 instruction booklet:
A Star is Born: In the center of the vast universe, a remarkably bright star was born. It was the star that is born only once in a thousand years, the Millennium Star. According to the legend, whoever possessed the mystical star was destined to become the Superstar of the universe. However since the Millennium Star was but a newborn, it fell from the starry sky.
Around that time, Mario and his friends were all happily relaxing when suddenly the Millennium Star came crashing down. Mario and his friends soon began arguing about who should keep the Millennium Star.
Suddenly, the Millennium Star gave off a brilliantly bright flash of light. And with that bright flash, Mario and his friends were transported into a toy box!
"Greetings. I am the Millennium Star. You must pass my test to prove yourself worthy of possessing me. You must journey across many lands and collect the Star Stamps. If you can collect all seven, I shall accept you as the top Superstar in the universe."
Who will collect the seven Star Stamps and become the universe's top Superstar?
Game and Story Mode introduction:
In the center of the vast universe, a remarkably bright star was born. It was the star that is born only once in a thousand years, the Millennium Star. According to the legend, whoever possessed the mystical star was destined to become the Superstar of the universe. However since the Millennium Star was but a newborn, it fell from the starry sky.
Around that time, Mario and his friends were all happily relaxing when suddenly the Millennium Star came crashing down. Mario and his friends soon began arguing about who should keep the Millennium Star.
Seeing this, Lakitu came flying in, dangling a toy box from his rod.
That's right! They could play "Mario Party" to see who the biggest Superstar was!
Suddenly, the Millennium Star gave off a brilliantly bright flash of light. And with that bright flash, Mario and his friends were transported into a toy box!
"Greetings. I am the Millennium Star. You must pass my test to prove yourself worthy of possessing me. You must journey across many lands and collect the Star Stamps. If you can collect all seven, I shall accept you as the top Superstar in the universe."
In Battle Royale Mode, players have to get as many Stars as possible. Stars can normally be obtained at a cost of 20 coins.
In Duel Mode, players have to defeat their opponent with their partners. Each player starts with five heart pieces.
In Story Mode, a single player must battle their way towards the rank of Super Star. To do so, they must fill their stamp card with Star Stamps. The Star Stamps are Wit, Kindness, Strength, Love, Courage, Beauty, and Mischief. The trend the game follows is Battle Royale, Duel, Battle Royale, Duel; and this continues until the player's next objective is to earn the Beauty Star Stamp. At this point, the player plays a Duel against Daisy, followed by a final Battle Royale on Waluigi's Island.
Star Stamp | Battle Royale board | Duel board | Opponent |
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Wit | Chilly Waters | Gate Guy | WarioA |
Kindness | Deep Bloober Sea | Arrowhead | YoshiA |
Strength | Spiny Desert | Pipesqueak | Donkey KongA |
Love | Woody Woods | Blowhard | PeachA |
Courage | Creepy Cavern | Mr. Mover | MarioA |
Beauty | Not present | Backtrack | Daisy |
Mischief | Waluigi's Island | Not present | Waluigi and two other random characters |
A - If the player is using this character, that opponent is replaced with Luigi
For the Millennium Star, his original plan was to have a straight run-through of seven (since there are seven Star Stamps) Battle Royale Boards. However, when the Millennium Star is about to stamp the player's stamp card, another character bursts from the castle, saying they deserve this. The two argue, and Millennium Star decides to go to a Duel Board. The player wins (they must to continue) and the other character runs away in disappointment. After the stamp is received, the next Star Stamp is shown and another Battle Royale begins.
After a Star Stamp has been received and the player is ready to move to the next Battle Royale board, Bowser appears with two Baby Bowser cohorts, attempting to get the Star Stamps for himself, but he always shows up late. The first two times, when trying to get the Wit and Kindness Star Stamps respectively, the player, the Millennium Star and Tumble already left to the next board. When trying to get the Strength Star Stamp, Bowser does arrive before the player, the Millennium Star and Tumble left, but they straight up ignore him and continue to the next board. When trying to get the Love Star Stamp, Bowser and the Baby Bowsers managed to surround the three, but when Tumble politely asks them to get out of the way, Bowser does let them go, and after they left, breathes fire, frustrated at his own foolishness.
When the Beauty Star Stamp is revealed though, Daisy makes a sudden appearance before a Battle Royale could even begin. The Millennium Star mentions it, but Daisy strikes a pose causing the Millennium Star to fall in love with her and offers her the Beauty Star Stamp. The player says it is not fair and the two argue. The Millennium Star regains consciousness and says they will go to Backtrack to settle it. Suddenly, Bowser appears and tries to take the stamp but Daisy swats him away in one blow. After the player defeats Daisy, she mopes and runs away. Tumble states Daisy said she has never lost, not even to her father. The player then receives the Beauty Star Stamp.
The Mischief Star Stamp is then revealed, but then Bowser appears and unknowingly sends it flying into the castle, declaring the player must battle him to earn it. Everyone notices it is gone, and Waluigi comes out of the castle with the stamp trapped in a cage. Waluigi and Bowser fight each other, but to everyone's surprise, Waluigi wins. He tells the player they will go to Waluigi's Island. Bowser tells the player to avenge him for what happened. Although long time foes, the player silently agrees and chases after Waluigi. After the battle is over, Waluigi is pounding the floor in frustration yelling he will not forget what happened. The Millennium Star gives the player the Mischief Star Stamp.
Despite winning all the stamps, the Millennium Star declares there is one person left the player must battle. The player is seen thinking hard of who could it be. Both the player and Tumble are surprised when the Millennium Star exclaims the player must defeat him in Stardust Battle to win. When the player defeats him, they ask to be the greatest superstar in the universe (although ownership of the Millennium Star was the original offer). The Millennium Star startles everyone admitting he is not the real Millennium Star and flies away in shame. The player drops to the ground in disappointment, unable to believe it was all for nothing.
Suddenly, Tumble begins glowing and his dice head opens to reveal a small white star. He explains he is the real Millennium Star, and was watching the player the whole time. After returning the castle and the grounds to its normal state, he promises the player he will make them the superstar of the universe. The credits roll. In the final scene, set in front of the castle, Mario is lying on a folding chair, Luigi and Peach are talking to each other nearby, and Donkey Kong is sitting near the three just watching. In the back, Wario and Waluigi are apparently arguing, Daisy is sitting and watching the butterflies, and Yoshi is in the far back chasing a butterfly. The closing scene is a table with a box with the words "Mario Party" on it. A die (the same color as Tumble's head) is thrown onto the table and the word "END" appears on the lower right corner.
Modes
As in all Mario Party games, there are always other modes to play:
- Mini-game Mode: Players can play all the mini-games that they have collected here, even secret mini-games, organized by type.
- Battle Room: A bonus game mode where players can compete in a random set of minigames. Players can choose how many points are needed to win, along with which minigame type is used.
- Game Guy's Room: Another bonus game mode for one player, in which they consecutively plays Game Guy's minigames. At the start of a game the player is given 10 coins, and the player decides how many coins they are going to risk before each minigame starts. After each minigame the player's balance is increased or decreased according to the game's result. The game is successfully completed once the player's balance reaches 1,000 coins. However, losing all of the coins occurs a game over. Completing the challenge unlocks Mario's Puzzle Party Pro, one of the three rare minigame. The Story Mode must be beaten with at least eight S rankings for this room to be unlocked.
- Story Mode: A single player can go through the storyline. It is set what boards have to be completed in what order. There are Battle Royale and Duel boards. After each Battle Royale board, the player has to fight a certain character on a duel board for a Star Stamp. If the player is to duel with the character they are playing as, they battle Luigi instead. Unlike Party Mode and Mini-game Mode, Princess Daisy and Waluigi are unplayable in this mode, instead acting as NPCs.
- Party Mode: A multiplayer that can go through Battle Royale, Duel Mode, and can also go through settings.
Playable characters
The game brings back the original six playable characters from the last two Mario Party games and introduces two new characters, Princess Daisy and Waluigi. However, they are only playable in Party Mode and Mini-game mode.
White | White | White | white | ||||
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Partner | Koopa Troopa | Partner | Goomba | Partner | Toad | Partner | Boo |
Favorite Item | Golden Mushroom | Favorite Item | Skeleton Key | Favorite Item | Plunder Chest | Favorite Item | Warp Block |
Star Stamp | Courage | Star Stamp | Any but Beauty and Mischief* | Star Stamp | Love | Star Stamp | Kindness |
White | White | White1 | White1 | ||||
Partner | Bob-omb | Partner | Whomp | Partner | Snifit | Partner | Piranha Plant |
Favorite Item | Dueling Glove | Favorite Item | Reverse Mushroom | Favorite Item | Cellular Shopper | Favorite Item | Poison Mushroom |
Star Stamp | Wit | Star Stamp | Strength | Star Stamp | Beauty | Star Stamp | Mischief |
*Luigi steps in as the opponent if the player is playing as the specified character.
1Character is not playable in Story Mode.
Boards
Just like Mario Party 2 did for Mario Party, Mario Party 3 references and takes gimmicks from Mario Party 2's boards to use in its own boards. For example, Waluigi's Island uses the main gimmick from Space Land, along with a gimmick from Luigi's Engine Room from Mario Party; in one island, when a total of five Happening Spaces have been landed on, all players lose all of their coins (Space Land), and all islands and routes contain Red Warp Pipes that lead back to start, at the Green Warp Pipe (Luigi's Engine Room). On each board, there is at least one cloud with eyes present.
Board | Description | Difficulty | |
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This ice-themed board has the players get twenty Coins for them to purchase a Power Star from the Millennium Star. While the players are trying to complete this task, they are faced with the two most prominent features of this board; the Action Time, and the icy five-way junction in the middle. The Action Time on this board is triggered if a player lands on a Happening Space on either the board's leftmost column, or on the board's uppermost row; it may also be triggered if a player passes by Mr. Blizzard on the uppermost row. If a player manages to meet Mr. Blizzard when passing by, he asks the player to pay him five Coins for him to initiate the Action Time. The Action Time of this board includes Mr. Blizzard rolling a snowball leftwards (then downwards), or rightwards (then downwards). If the player hits in time, they jump over the snowball; however, if they do not, they are chased by the snowball. If two players are standing on the icy five-way junction at once, then the ice cracks. When the ice cracks, the players who are standing on the cracking ice flee to the southeast corner of the board. | |||
This undersea-themed board has the players get twenty Coins for them to purchase a Power Star from the Millennium Star. There are three notable features of this board; the two Action Times, and the two Happening Space-heavy pathways in the middle. One of the Action Times on this board is triggered when the player is trying to pass by the junction placed in the middle-left part of the board. When it is triggered, the player has to choose from an assortment of four buttons. If the player chooses the incorrect one (the incorrect one is randomized), they have to take the path they did not choose; however, if the player chooses a correct button, they are permitted to go on the path they originally chose. The other Action Time is triggered when a player lands on one of the Happening Spaces that are on the top-left corner of the board. When it is triggered, an arrow rotates to select a random direction. After that, the player has to escape being sucked in by an anglerfish by repeatedly pressing . If the player fails, then they are launched in the direction the arrow is pointing. When a player lands on a Happening Space on one of the two Happening Space-heavy pathways in the middle, they are grabbed by Blooper. Blooper then places the player on the other pathway that is parallel to the pathway that the player was on. | |||
This desert-themed board has the players collect twenty Coins for them to purchase a Power Star from the Millennium Star. The most prominent feature of this board is the fact that there are two Millennium Stars: one that is a mirage (a fake), and one that is real. There is no way to differentiate the two from each other. When a player passes by the mirage, it vanishes. Another notable feature of this board is the two quicksand pits that are located on the lower-middle part of the board and the upper-middle part of the board. When a player lands on a Happening Space that is located around the perimeter of either quicksand pit, the quicksand pit inhales all players standing on said perimeter. The other quicksand pit then ejects said players so they land on its perimeter. The Action Time of this board is triggered if a player chooses to pass the path with two cacti. The player has to hit with correct timing in this Action Time. If the player fails at doing so, then either cacti sends the player bouncing away in another direction. | |||
On this forest-themed board, players have to procure twenty Coins for them to purchase a Power Star from the Millennium Star. The most prominent event on this board is the arrows that are in three of the junctions in the forest. Whenever a player passes such junction, they are forced to walk that way. At the end of every turn, Monty Mole changes the direction of all the arrows on the board. A way for players to manipulate the arrows is to pass by one of his army-like huts and pay him five Coins for him to flip all arrows on the board. Another way for players to manipulate the arrows is to land on a Happening Space that is placed directly before a junction with an arrow. This only flips the arrow in front of the player. The Action Time of this board is Woody. When a player lands on the Happening Spaces in front of him, they are given five seconds to choose from either a Plus Coin Fruit (which gives the player five Coins), or a Plus Block Fruit (which makes the player roll the Dice Block a second time). Action Time also happens when a player lands on a Happening Space at the Evil Woody. He makes the player choose from one of these two fruits: a Minus Coin Fruit, which takes away five Coins from the player; or a Reverse Block Fruit, which makes the player roll a Dice Block and go in reverse. | |||
On this cavern-themed board, players have to collect twenty Coins in order for them to purchase a Power Star from the Millennium Star. The most prominent feature of this board is Whomp. He is located at the middle of the board, blocking a passage to the upper part of the board via the middle-most path. There are two ways for players to make Whomp turn around: giving an Item - randomized each time - to him when passing by; or by landing on a Happening Space that is in front of him. Another notable feature of this board is the two horizontal railways. When a player lands on a Happening Space that is located on one of those railways, a mine-cart appears. Any players who are placed on said railway are chased by said mine-cart until the railway ends. Action Time in this board happens when a player passes a Thwomp that is located beside a railway, and pays him five Coins. The event includes the player jumping on a mine-cart (with ) and then riding to the end of the railway, subsequently moving any players who are on the same railway. | | ||
This isle-heavy board has the players collect twenty Coins for them to obtain Power Stars when purchased from the Millennium Star. The two most notable features of this board are the circle at the bottom-middle part of the board, and the island at the top-left corner of the board. The circle at the bottom-middle part of the board has a number, which always is at five at the start. For this number to decrease, players have to land on the Happening Spaces that are placed on the circle. When this number reaches zero, it causes an explosion that covers the entire circle. Any players that are caught in the explosion lose all of their Coins. The spaces that are on the island located at the top-left part of the board always show what the rest shows, minus the Bank Space. However, instead of always being one type of space, the type of space shown changes from turn to turn. Action Time in this board is triggered when a player is at the four-way junction at the center of the board. The event has the player press to jump on the pad. After landing on the pad, the player is forced to go the way the arrow that is lit-up shows. | |
Spaces
Image | Space | Description | Rarity |
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Blue Space | If a player lands on this space, they obtain three Coins. The amount of Coins gained are doubled during the Last Five Turns Event. | Common | |
Red Space | If a player lands on this space, they lose three Coins. The amount of Coins lost are doubled during the Last Five Turns Event. | Semi-Common | |
Item Space | When a player lands on this space, an Item minigame is played. Toad or Baby Bowser may appear. They ask the player a question and, depending on the answer, they may give the player Items or not. | Uncommon | |
Happening Space | When a player lands on this space, an event happens. The event that happens depends on the board. | Uncommon | |
Star Space | When a player passes by this space, they are asked by Millennium Star if the player trades 20 coins for a star. | One per board (two in Spiny Desert: a real and a fake one) | |
Bowser Space | If this space is landed on, then Bowser appears. He usually try to steal Coins and Stars from players. He may give players certain Items. | Semi-Rare | |
Battle Space | When a player lands on this space, a Battle minigame is played. The amount of Coins that the players pay is decided by a roulette. | Semi-Rare | |
Bank Space | Whenever players pass this space, Koopa makes players pay five Coins. If a player lands on this space, all previously paid Coins is given to that player. | Two per board | |
Chance Time Space | Players who land on this space initiates Chance Time. | Rare | |
Game Guy Space | Players who land on this space have to pay all of their Coins to Game Guy. After this, a Game Guy minigame is played. If the player succeeds at it, then they receive double the amount of Coins (or more, depending on the minigame). If the player fails, they lose all of their Coins. | Rare |
Duel boards
Duel boards can be played in Duel Mode and Story Mode. Duel Mode can be selected by selecting the red star in the main menu. Duel boards can only be played with two characters. The objective is to defeat the opponent by attacking them with partners. Each player has a heart gauge, consisting of five segments. The game is over when 20 turns end (when '20 turns' is selected in game length) or when one player's heart gauge is empty. If 20 turns have finished, the player with the most hearts is the winner. If heart counts tie, then the player with the most coins wins, but if that count also ties as well, the match is a tie.
Players start with one partner and can gain another (or replace one) when they reach their start space, which also gives them ten coins. Partners are given to the player at random using a roulette (on every third return, the player gets a "Lucky Roulette", which slows the roulette, allowing the player to more easily obtain a desired partner). When the partner is between the player and their opponent with the opponent facing the direction of the partner, the partner will automatically attack them. Each partner has a salary where they are paid when the player's turn starts. If a player cannot afford to pay the salary, the partner(s) leave(s).
In the middle of every board is Belltop, a mechanical toy. Every time a player passes him, the numbers on his hat goes down by one. Whenever the hat reaches 0, all players go to him and play a duel mini-game. After the winner receives his/her coin prize, the timer is reset to 5.
In Story Mode, after a Battle Royale map, the player's character is about to receive a Star Stamp when another character emerges from the castle and says they deserve it. To settle this dispute, both characters are sent to a Duel board (with the exception of Waluigi, who challenges the character to his Battle Royale board, Waluigi's Island). The winner receives the Star Stamp. (Note that Luigi's board can be anyone except Backtrack.)
Board | Description | Opponent | |
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This board's main gimmick is the two Gate Guys. When players pass by one of them, they are asked to pay an optional fee of five Coins. If the player decides to pay, then they are able to use the middle-most path as a short-cut to get to the other side of the board. | Wario | ||
The main gimmick of this board is the Arrowheads. When players pass by them from the outer perimeter of the board, they may choose to go directly to a Start Space, essentially creating a short-cut from a Start Space to the next. | Yoshi | ||
The main gimmick of this board is the four Warp Pipes. (Hence the name "Pipesqueak") There is one Warp Pipe in each corner of the board. Players may choose to enter a Warp Pipe when they pass it. When they do that, they are taken to a random Warp Pipe that is not the one the player chose to enter. | Donkey Kong | ||
This board's main gimmick is the Blowhard in the middle. When players pass by it, it sends the players and their partners up in the air. This changes the position of any partners the player has (if a partner is in front, then that partner switches to the back and vice versa). | Peach | ||
This board's main gimmick is Mr. Mover. At start, it is colored blue, which means that it takes players stepping on it to the left. Every turn, Mr.Mover's colors switch between blue and red. When Mr. Mover is colored red it takes players stepping on it to the right. | Mario | ||
The unique feature of this board is the Reverse Spaces. When a player lands on one on this board, it does not make that player go backwards with another Dice Roll; it changes the direction which is moved, and it also changes the positions of the partners. | Daisy |
Spaces
Image | Space name | Description | Rarity |
---|---|---|---|
Basic Space | When a player lands on it, it becomes that player's space. When the opponent lands on the "owned" space, they must pay an amount of Coins to the player who "owns" the space. The amount of Coins paid depends on what turn it is. If the "owner" lands on it, then they obtain Coins. | Very common | |
Power-up Space | When a player lands on this space, their partners' attack, health, and salary is doubled. The effect wears off when the player returns to start, or if they get the "Power Down" event from a Happening Space. | Rare | |
Reverse Space | If a player lands on this space, then they have to roll the Dice Block again. The amount of steps shown is then traveled backwards. In Backtrack, the direction which players move change and so does the position of all partners. | Semi-rare | |
Minigame Space | When a player lands on this space, a Duel Minigame is initiated. | Semi-common | |
Happening Space | If a player lands on this space, a roulette rolls. The player gets to stop the roulette. The effect decided by the roulette then happens. | Semi-rare | |
Game Guy Space | When a player lands on this space, then they must pay all of their Coins to Game Guy. After this, the player plays a Game Guy minigame. | Rare |
Partners
Duel Mode partners | ||||||||
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Partner | Attack | Stamina | Salary | Default Partner | Other Unique Abilities | In-game Blurb | Moves | |
Koopa Troopa | 1 | 2 | -1 | Mario | N/A | His attacks aren't very powerful, but he has decent stamina. His low pay is a plus. | Standard: He withdraws and launches himself forward. Powered Up: He withdraws, spins for a second creating a yellow effect around him, then attacks. | |
Goomba | 2 | 1 | -2 | Luigi | N/A | This familiar, funny guy really packs a punch. | Standard: He kicks the opponent. Powered Up: He jumps, spins in the air creating a yellow effect around him, and then kicks the opponent. | |
Toad | 1 | 1 | -1 | Princess Peach | If a player lands on an opponent's Basic Space, no coins are lost. | His ability to prevent coin theft is more helpful than you might think. | Standard: He hits the opponent with his hammer. Powered Up: He does two fake swings, then hits the opponent, creating multicolored stars as an effect. | |
Bob-omb | 1 | 1 | -3 | Wario | Jumps over an opponent's partner and attacks them directly; disappears after only 1 attack, since it explodes. | This explosive specialist can jump over your opponent's helpers for a direct attack! | Standard: It lights itself and then jumps onto the opponent and explodes. Powered Up: It glows hot pink, then jumps onto the opponent and explodes. | |
Boo | 2 | 1 | -3 | Yoshi | If attacked, will counter-attack for equal damage before disappearing. Will not attack back if hit by a Chain Chomp in its multi-attack if it is not directly in front of the attacking Chain Chomp. | This frightening fiend returns any damage you've taken back to your opponent. | Standard: It floats toward the opponent and then tackles them. This move creates a heart effect. Powered Up: It appears on the opponent's left, right, and back sides alternately, then tackles with a large heart effect. | |
Whomp | 0 | 4 | -3 | Donkey Kong | Unable to attack since he has zero attack. | This defensive pro has more than enough stamina, but he lacks attack power. | Instead of attacking, regardless of whether or not he is powered up, Whomp will make a struggling animation and grunt twice. | |
Snifit | 2 | 2 | -5 | Princess Daisy | Can sometimes give the player two to four coins at the start of a turn. | He has well-balanced abilities and can even collect coins, which can be a big help. | Standard: He shoots a bullet at the opponent. Powered Up: He shoots a large, blue orb of electricity at them. | |
Piranha Plant | 3 | 1 | -5 | Waluigi | Can sometimes offer extra dice. These dice allow the player to move up to 3 more spaces. | He has the strongest attack, and he can sometimes move up to three extra spaces using a special die. | Standard: He whips the opponent with one of his vine-like legs. Powered Up: He revs up for a second and then crunches the opponent, creating an effect of a bunch of stars. | |
Chain Chomp | 1 | 2 | -6 | None | Attacks opponent and all partners simultaneously. | This monster's mighty attack damages all members of the opposing team. | Standard: It charges through the opponents very quickly. Powered Up: It grows to the size of a Shark Chomp, jumps up, and then body slams all opponents. | |
Thwomp | 0 | 2 | -4 | None | Although it has zero attack, it can attack partners and defeats them instantly; but does nothing to the opposing player. | He can take out your opponent's partner in one blow but won't touch your opponent. | Standard: He crushes the opponent's partner(s) by falling on them. Powered Up: Albeit redundant with the regular attack, he pounds on the opponent's partner(s) four times, with the last time creating a rainbow star effect. | |
Mr. Blizzard | 1 | 3 | -2 | None | Attacks the opponent farthest away from him. | He lobs snowballs at the most distant opponent, and his stamina makes him a reliable partner. | Standard: He lobs a snowball at the farthest opponent. Powered Up: He lobs a much larger snowball that breaks into small ice pellets that rain down on the opponent. | |
Baby Bowser | 1 | 1 | -3 | None | Sometimes changes into Bowser and does triple damage; if transformation fails, no damage is taken. The probability of transformation success is 40%. | Usually he's Baby Bowser, but he can transform into Bowser himself to cause triple damage! | Standard: If successful, he turns into Bowser and tackles the opponent. Powered Up: Bowser will breathe fire onto the opponent. |
Combinations\Pair\Duo
If the player gets two of the same partners, the Millennium Star calls them a glorious (_____) (fill the blank with the partner). It also raises the attack by one (with the exception of Thwomp and Whomp, whose salaries are decreased by one instead). The following combinations causes the Millennium Star to comment on it, but the attack does not get raised.
- Whomp and Thwomp make an earth shaking combination!
- Toad and Koopa Troopa make an economical pair!
- Mr. Blizzard and Snifit make a long-range pair!
- Boo and Mr. Blizzard make a chilling combination!
- Bob-omb and Chomp make a dangerous duo!
Items
Items appear only on Battle Royale boards. They can be bought at an item shop or obtained on an Item Space. Either Toad or Baby Bowser runs the shop, both selling different items. Some items can only be collected through an Item Space.
Mario Party 3 allows the player to carry three items at once, as opposed to the single item the player can carry in Mario Party 2.
Item | Description | Price | |
---|---|---|---|
Items Purchasable From Toad | |||
Mushroom | When used, the player can roll two Dice Blocks before moving. The results of the two rolls is then added together. The player can then move that many spaces. If the player gets two matching digits (e.g., a six and another six), the player gets ten Coins; however, if the matching digits are sevens, the player obtains twenty Coins. | 5 Coins | |
File:MP2 Warp Block.png | Warp Block | When used, the Warp Block appears above the player using it. The player then hits the block. The effect of this is that the player switches places with a randomly chosen opponent. The player can then roll a Dice Block to move normally after having warped. It is Yoshi's favorite item. | 5 Coins |
Cellular Shopper | When used, the player is able to choose to call either Toad or Baby Bowser. When the player has called, the player may shop items in the usual manner. It is Princess Daisy's favorite item. | 5 Coins | |
File:MP3 Dueling Glove.png | Dueling Glove | When used, a Goomba appears, initiating a Duel minigame. Before doing this, he asks whom the player wants to challenge, and for how many Coins that are to be battled for. The player may not choose more Coins than what the participator that has the lowest amount of Coins has (e.g., the player cannot choose to duel for twenty Coins if the other dueler only has nineteen Coins, even if the player challenging has more than twenty). This is Wario's favorite item. | 10 Coins |
Golden Mushroom | When used, the player can roll three Dice Blocks. The result of these three rolls are then added together, enabling the player to move that many spaces. If a player gets three matching digits, they receive twenty Coins (e.g., a five, another five, and another five); however, if the matching digits are sevens, the player obtains fifty Coins. It is Mario's favorite item. | 10 Coins | |
Boo Repellant | This item activates itself when a player who is carrying it around is targeted by Boo. The effect it has is that it fends off Boo. If it is used by the player before they move, the item is discarded. | 10 Coins | |
Magic Lamp | When used, the player summons the Mushroom Genie. He then escorts the player to the Star, where they may purchase it for twenty Coins. It always takes the player to the correct Star Space in Spiny Desert. | 20 Coins | |
Items Purchasable From Baby Bowser | |||
Reverse Mushroom | When used, the player using it chooses a player to target (this can also be the player who uses the mushroom). The next time the selected player moves, that player has to go backwards the amount of steps as shown on the Dice Block. It is Donkey Kong's favorite item. | 5 Coins | |
Poison Mushroom | When used, the player using it chooses a player to target (can also be the player who uses the mushroom). The next time that the chosen player moves, that player's Dice Block is only able to roll numbers from one to three. It is Waluigi's favorite item. | 5 Coins | |
Bowser Phone | When used, the player calls Bowser. Bowser then asks who is calling him, the player chooses one of the players (can be the player itself). Bowser then performs his events to that player as if the player landed on a Bowser Space. | 10 Coins | |
Bowser Suit | The player who uses this gets a costume that resembles Bowser. The player then gets to roll the Dice Block. Any players who the masqueraded player passes loses twenty Coins to the masqueraded player. | 10 Coins | |
Lucky Lamp | When used, the Mushroom Jeanie appears. She then moves the Star from its current location to somewhere else, essentially making it the counter-part of the Magic Lamp. | 10 Coins | |
Plunder Chest | When the player uses this item, the player gets to choose an opponent to steal an item from. If the designated player has more than one item, the item stolen is chosen randomly. This is Princess Peach's favorite item. | 10 Coins | |
Boo Bell | The player who uses this item summons Boo. Boo then asks who the player wants Boo to steal from and what to steal. | 15 Coins | |
Items Purchaseable From Both | |||
Skeleton Key | This item is activated automatically when any player who possesses it passes special gates. When activated, it asks the player passing if they want to use it or not. This item may be used at the start of a player's turn, during which the key asks the player if the player wants to discard it or not. This is Luigi's favorite item. | 5 Coins | |
Item Bag | When a player purchases this item, the player then gets to hit the bag that appears above the player one to three times (this depends on the amount of items the player has prior to hitting it). The player receives an item each time the bag is hit. The items the player receives also depends from which salesman the bag was bought. | 30 Coins | |
Rare Items (Obtained through an Item Space, a Hidden Block, or purchasing an Item Bag from Toad) | |||
Wacky Watch | When used, this rare item sets the game to such a time that there are five turns left. Effectively, this can either increase or decrease the time a game is played. | N/A | |
Barter Box | When this rare item is used, the player who uses it chooses an opponent. What then happens is that the player chosen and the player using the item swaps items. | N/A | |
Koopa Kard | This item activates automatically when a player who possesses it passes by a Koopa Bank. When activated, it allows the player to earn all Coins deposited in the bank thus far. | N/A | |
Lucky Charm | When a player uses this item, they summon Game Guy. Game Guy then takes all of the player's Coins, and a Game Guy minigame is initiated. This can also be used to force another player to play a Game Guy minigame. | N/A |
Minigames
- Main article: List of Mario Party 3 minigames
There are a total of 71 minigames within this game. Unlike Mario Party 2, all of the minigames are original. In keeping with the toy box theming, the minigames use stylized two-dimensional elements.
Quotes
- Main article: List of Mario Party 3 quotes
Staff
- Main article: List of Mario Party 3 staff
Pre-release and unused content
- Main article: List of Mario Party 3 pre-release and unused content
Regional differences
Differences between the Japanese and English releases
Upon failing an Item minigame in the Japanese version, the announcer says "MISS!" with said word also shown on screen. This was changed in the American, Australian, and European versions to say "GAME OVER" instead, but retaining the announcer's tone of voice from the first game.
Differences exclusive to the European version
Exclusive to the European version is a language select, which allows the game to be played in English, French, German, or Spanish. The screen first appears when turning on the game for the first time. can be held down before turning on the console to force the screen to appear after the first time.
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Party 3.
Media
- For a complete list of media for this subject, see List of Mario Party 3 media. For this subject's sound test, see Mario Party 3 sound test.
Star Lift - Used for the board map setup screen | File info 0:30 |
Chilly Waters | File info 0:30 |
Deep Bloober Sea | File info 0:29 |
Spiny Desert | File info 0:30 |
Woody Woods | File info 0:30 |
Creepy Cavern | File info 0:29 |
Begin Mini-Game - Used for the rules explanation screen | File info 0:30 |
Mini-Game End 1 | File info 0:14 |
References to other games
- Super Mario Bros.: The Underground Theme is briefly sampled in Creepy Cavern's background music.
- Dr. Mario: The minigame Mario's Puzzle Party plays similarly to Dr. Mario.
- Mario Kart 64: Toad's voice from the Japanese version is recycled from this game, as are Yoshi and Donkey Kong's sound effects.
- Mario Party / Mario Party 2: The character mugshots of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario and Donkey Kong are reused in these games. Also, in the Mini-Game Mario's Puzzle Party, these characters have the same winning mugshots from Mario Party 2 with the announcer’s voice being reused from the latter.
References in later games
- Mario Party 4: "You're the Star" is a similar song to "The Adventure Ends". Also, some of the playable characters' voice clips are reused.
- Mario Party 5: Some of the playable characters' voice clips are reused.
- Mario Party DS: The music sheets in the background of Toadette's Music Room feature the song "Let's Get a Move On" from this game.
- Mario Party: The Top 100: Ten of Mario Party 3's minigames are remastered in this game.
- Mario Party Superstars: Woody Woods returns along with 27 minigames and their respective music.
Reception
Mario Party 3 received mixed to positive reviews. It has a 74% rating from Metacritic, based on 12 reviews, and a 73% from Game Rankings based on 17 reviews. IGN gave it a 6.4 and GameSpot gave it a 7.5. In Japan, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 31 out of 40.
Reviews | |||
---|---|---|---|
Release | Reviewer, Publication | Score | Comment |
N64 | Joe Fielder, GameSpot | 7.5/10 | "While pure innovation may not be king in the Mario Party world, Hudson's dedication to solid, addictive puzzle gaming that makes for a wholly enjoyable multiplayer experience is apparent. Mario Party 3 is fun, different enough from the early games due to the duel mode, and full of enough value to make the purchase worthwhile, even if you now play the other two. Still, it's clear that Hudson has probably exhausted the possibilities for this kind of game with Mario Party 3 and that the premise is beginning to wear a bit thin. Nintendo might want to let Mario take it easy for a while--to take a break from this life in the fast lane and go back to more leisurely pursuits, like playing more golf or tennis." |
N64 | Jason Venter, Honest Gamers | 3/5 | "All things considered, Mario Party 3 is a solid entry into the franchise. It has some good innovations that almost worked, and nothing that counts against it is really a crippling blow. At this point it might be best to wait for Mario Party 4, which hopefully will fix everything to perfection. But if you find this on store shelves--and you're likely to; I still see it around--you wouldn't do badly to pick it up, especially if you like to party." |
N64 | Fran Mirabella III, IGN | 6.4/10 | "I can't say I was thrilled with Mario Party 3 at first. I made the fatal mistake of trying to give the single-player story mode a chance. It's a decent way to practice, but it's INSANE as to how much watching you do. You even WATCH your opponents play mini-games all the time. Also, moving around the board becomes very tedious and boring quite quickly. So, as far as single-player goes, I think it'd better be classified as a tutorial mode. The multiplayer mode is where all the fun lies. Gather up three guys around the office, throw in some unsaid aggression, and the fun factor immediately goes up. This is what Mario Party has always been about. So, while there's nothing really new about the franchise there are 70 brand-new mini-games. For me, it makes a very worthwhile rental with some friends. I would only consider buying this if I had three siblings who were addicted to the N64 or had a family that would benefit from it. I suggest you take the same approach." |
Aggregators | |||
Compiler | Platform / Score | ||
Metacritic | 74 | ||
GameRankings | 73.64% |
Sales
Mario Party 3 is the 26th best-selling game for the Nintendo 64, selling approximately 1.9 million copies: 1.02 million copies in Japan, 720,000 copies in North America, and 160,000 copies elsewhere, as of December 31, 2009.
Awards
Mario Party 3 won the Console Family Award from the Academy of the Interactive Arts and Sciences of 2002.
Names in other languages
Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese | マリオパーティ3[?] Mario Pāti 3 |
Mario Party 3 | |
Chinese (traditional) | 瑪利歐派對3[1] Mǎlì'ōu Pàiduì 3 |
Mario Party 3 |
Trivia
- On the game's cover artwork and wallpaper featuring the entire cast of characters that has an example of a Battle Royale Board Map which is based on Chilly Waters, the spaces illustrated are circle-shaped like the previous games, yet in the game, they are octagon-shaped.
- The instruction booklet incorrectly states that Thwomp has an attack stat of 2 instead of 0.[2]
- This is the last Mario Party game to feature multiple minigame tracks for when there is just one winner, multiple winners, and a new record.
- This is the first game in the series in which CPUs are able to break minigame records.
References
- ^ Official Chinese website for the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- ^ [1]
External links
Nintendo 64 games | ||
---|---|---|
Super Mario franchise | Super Mario 64 (1996) • Mario Kart 64 (1996) • Mario no Photopi (1998) • Mario Party (1998) • Mario Golf (1999) • Mario Artist: Paint Studio* (1999) • Mario Party 2 (1999) • Mario Artist: Talent Studio* (2000) • Mario Artist: Communication Kit* (2000) • Mario Tennis (2000) • Paper Mario (2000) • Mario Artist: Polygon Studio* (2000) • Mario Party 3 (2000) • Dr. Mario 64 (2001) | |
Donkey Kong franchise | Diddy Kong Racing (1997) • Donkey Kong 64 (1999) | |
Yoshi franchise | Yoshi's Story (1997) | |
Crossovers | Super Smash Bros. (1999) | |