Mario Party 9 (Wii)

Product Information

You and up to three of your friends and family can hone your skills at any minigame in Free Play mode, or try the Extras mode that includes Goomba Bowling and the puzzle-based Castle Clearout.

Who knew when the very first Mario Party hit N64 in 1998 that, 14 years later, we'd be staring at the 11th — 12th if you count Mario Party-e — instalment in the series? In this mode, players compete against each other in six or twelve boss minigames to see who can receive the most points at the end of the game. During a party, there are two board events that are required to occur before advancing: Captain Events and Boss Battles. Like the previous Mario Party titles, two to four players move around a virtual board and play minigames. In Mario Party 9, players travel across game boards together in a vehicle, rather than individually.Bowser is enraged but summons two of his minions to stop the group before they can take all the Mini Stars. Includes 80 outrageous new minigames that find players making pizzas, escaping haunted mansions, and racing snowmobiles. The game's story mode, Solo Mode involves the players traveling across all six boards to defeat Bowser and save the Mini Stars.

I've played Mario Party from the beginning and I would easily put this up there with Mario Party 3 and Mario Party DS. However, its overhaul of mechanics received a mixed reception for its linear boards and emphasis on luck. But every party will always be subverted by this entry's reliance on randomness to "shake things up," as Bowser puts it when he is about to do something awful to you. They then do their victory animation and the losers, as well as the yellow and blue Toad, applaud the winner.If the player shakes the Wii Remote on the title screen, the stars with the characters on them move faster and their voice clips play. In these minigames, once a player completes the goal, the minigame ends; in other modes, other players are still active even after the goal is completed. This is especially irksome for me because I can envision what Mario Party 9 could be -- a clever, strategic board game with mini-games interspersed would be truly awesome. The game was released on March 2, 2012 in Europe, in Australia on March 8, 2012, in North America on March 11, 2012, and in Japan on April 26, 2012.

Birdo's 2nd and 4th place animations are reused as her "neutral" and losing animations respectively, and her artwork is reused from this game. Not that I enjoy all the luck at times, but , it does make it more fun for everyone, instead of just hardcore gamers. Bowser is enraged, but confidently summons two of his minions to stop the group before they can take all the Mini Stars. The POW Space can only be used by one player per turn, and is first active when everyone has taken their first turn.

While the Mario Party boxart style is probably a bit busy for other games, I've also found the recent "white background" Mario Kart boxarts to be quite bland. Adobe Flash) • Bill Bounce (2004, Adobe Flash) • Mario Party 7 Bon Voyage Quiz (2005, Adobe Flash) • Super Mario Strikers Advergame (2005, Adobe Flash) • Dr. Mario Party 9's single-player mode places you in a dreary slog through all of the boards -- on the heels of suspiciously high-rolling computer-controlled characters.