Mario Party 8

MARIO PARTY 8

Here's where we start to mix things up a bit. Mario Party 8's roster all returns, exactly as they stood in the previous game, but this time with Hammer Bro and Blooper added in. The plot of the game is built around a special Star Carnival coming to town, hosted by the magical imp MC Ballyhoo and his talking hat Big Top. Bowser ends up stealing the Star Rod that acts as the final reward, and you then have to fight him for it. You know, pretty standard.

The spaces in this game are now big pavement blocks of various color instead of the little buttons from before, but they still serve the same functions, with blue, red, event, duel, challenge, Bowser, and DK spaces, alongside the new Lucky space that takes you to a special Lucky Area where every space is a blue space and a free star. Items and capsules this time are traded out with special magic candies. Red candies affect the dice block, including adding a second and third block and slowing the roll. Green candies transform the player for a single action, allowing them to spring to new areas, lets you zap opponents and make them lose coins, and turn you into a vampire to take others' coins. Yellow candies transform the player for a full turn, turning them into an 8-bit version, a tornado that blows opponents back to start, a trio of tiny clones, and a ball. Blue candies are more offense-oriented, turning them into a stone block to run through opponents, a Bullet Bill, Bowser, and a fiery version that automatically gets into duels. I think we can feel comfortable in saying what a moveset for Ballyhoo would pull from.

Our stages include: DK's Treetop Temple, a Donkey Kong-themed stage; Goomba's Booty Boardwalk, a beach stage; King Boo's Haunted Hideaway, a haunted house level; Shy Guy's Perplex Express, set on a train; Koopa's Tycoon Town, very Monopoly-inspired; and Bowser's Warped Orbit, set on a space station orbiting a sun. Outside of that, we have the carnival and the various tents within.

We have 73 minigames here this time, featuring our characters doing: graffiti, playing baseball, punching a statue, water skiing, raising a flag, cleaning a Chomp, driving karts, steering a leaf, platforming, shaking soda, setting a clock, driving a scooter, protecting an Ukiki, snowboarding, walking a tightrope, catching coins, dropping bombs, flying a plane, shooting snow, jumping rope, playing football, playing bumper cars, rowing, shooting paint, decorating a cake, playing King on the Mountain, shooting Boos, stealing plants, shooting cards, flying a flying saucer, getting a boat's attention, swinging a lasso, driving a minecart, slaloming in a space station, shooting lava, building things, balancing on a ball, blowing up King Bob-Omb, running around a Mr. I, shooting basketballs, snipping a rope to not get flung by a catapult (my favorite), trying to stay on an iceberg, stamping, and fighting Bowser.

That's about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Gimmick Rep: play music, fight in a giant bubble, run on a conveyor belt, run up a tower, collect coins, snowboard, make a picture, look for ghosts, collect honey, shoot targets, smack Pokeys with a hammer, zap opponents, drive karts, pop a balloon, stop a clock, throw darts, do math, avoid bombs, spray water, shoot balloons, avoid a spinner, drive tanks, use a flashlight, use a slot machine, use a pickaxe, bounce on a pogo stick, run on a wheel, box with a giant robot, avoid a shark, avoid Bullet Bills, fly a bug, ground pound, work through a maze, play cards, pull crops, hop around, fly, roll a ball, shoot Piranha Plants, match puzzle pieces, shoot Piders, fly helicopters, avoid getting smacked by Monty Mole, get through a maze of pipes, drive a boat, avoid Cheep Cheeps, squash Goombas, run from Ukikis, jump across platforms, make smoothies, row a kayak, jump rope, throw hammers, ride rocking horses, fix pipes, play hot potato with a bomb, jump over barrels, climb vines, slide down a slide, collect bananas, roll on barrels, avoid Mechakoopas, open treasure chests, climb a wall, play air hockey, fight Bowser, capsule, spacesgraffiti, playing baseball, punching a statue, water skiing, raising a flag, cleaning a Chomp, driving karts, steering a leaf, platforming, shaking soda, setting a clock, driving a scooter, protecting an Ukiki, snowboarding, walking a tightrope, catching coins, dropping bombs, flying a plane, shooting snow, jumping rope, playing football, playing bumper cars, rowing, shooting paint, decorating a cake, playing King on the Mountain, shooting Boos, stealing plants, shooting cards, flying a flying saucer, getting a boat's attention, swinging a lasso, driving a minecart, slaloming in a space station, shooting lava, building things, balancing on a ball, blowing up King Bob-Omb, running around a Mr. I, shooting basketballs, snipping a rope to not get flung by a catapult (my favorite), trying to stay on an iceberg, stamping, and fighting Bowser.

MC Ballyhoo and Big Top: second block, third block, slowing the roll, spring, zap opponents, turn into a vampire, 8-bit version, tornado, trio of tiny clones, ball, stone block, Bullet Bill, Bowser, fiery dueler.

Mario: fireball

Luigi: fireball

Peach: flower

Daisy: flower

Wario: vacuum

Waluigi: vacuum

Yoshi: egg

Birdo: egg

Toad: mushrooms

Toadette: mushrooms

Boo: magic wand

Dry Bones: magic wand

Hammer Bro

Blooper

Donkey Kong

Koopa Kid

Bowser

Stages:

MSS Sea Star

Grand Canal

Pagoda Peak

Pyramid Park

Neon Heights

Windmillville

Bowser's Enchanted Inferno

DK's Treetop Temple

Goomba's Booty Boardwalk

King Boo's Haunted Hideaway

Shy Guy's Perplex Express

Koopa's Tycoon Town

Bowser's Warped Orbit

Items:

Capsules

Candies

Thanks for reading! Next up, Mario Party 9, and, as I understand it, everyone's least favorite mechanic introduced to the franchise!