Mario Party 9

MARIO PARTY 9

Mario Party 9 is the next game in the series, rather notorious for being the introducer of a certain very unpopular game mechanic, but more on that later. The game also tosses out the whole stepping stone roster thing it had going, shaking up and building on the previous roster every two game, with only Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Wario, Waluigi, and Toad returning, Toadette, Boo, Dry Bones, Hammer Bro, and Blooper being dropped, and Koopa Troopa, Shy Guy, and Magikoopa (or Kamek) being added in. The game follows the story of the characters watching shooting stars before they see Bowser sucking them all up and going after him to get them back.

Now for the elephant in the room. Rather than letting the characters move around the board on their own, this game introduced a special car that all four characters had to ride in together. Much and more has been said on this topic since its introduction, so I won't go into it here. The spaces are a bit different, with green, red, blue, and other such color spaces appearing, but with a slight variation on it. Blue spaces generally just mean something good for the player, reds are something bad, greens are pure neutral, yellow spaces cause minigames, and white spaces give you stars, generally speaking. While items this time are basically narrowed down to different dice blocks that help or hinder your progress.

Our stages this time include: Toad Road, a more-or-less basic Mario level; Bob-Omb Factory, a factory level; Boo's Horror Castle, a haunted house level; Blooper Beach, a water level; Magma Mine, an underground lava level; Bowser Station, an outer space level; and DK's Jungle Ruins, a more DKC Returns-themed stage. Each of these comes with both a mid-level boss and final boss: Lakitu and Wiggler for Toad Road; Whomp and King Bob-Omb for Bob-Omb Factory; Dry Bones and King Boo for Boo's Horror Castle; Cheep Cheep and Blooper for Blooper Beach; Spike and Chain Chomp for Magma Mine; Bowser Jr. and Bowser for Bowser Station; and Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong for DK's Jungle Ruins; against whom you'll have to play a specialized minigame.

Across the 78 minigames, you will: bounce on clouds, chop wood, roll balls, launch rockets, count Goombas, fly Bullet Bills, swim, climb a chain, platform, skip rope, avoid Mechakoopas, put together a jigsaw puzzle, grow vines, ride dolphins, butt bash, climb a wall, pull vegetables, play cards, hide, slip on ice, bowl, escape a haunted house, fire cannons, float in a bubble, paint, drive snowmobiles, feed Piranhas, open treasure chests, fish, balance, avoid Thwomps, look through binoculars, eat pizza, control fire jets, draw in sand, roll boulders, play football, drive cars, whack Monty Moles, sled, drive a mech, pop balloons, run a maze, climb on a cage, play Bumper Cars, and pedal. The boss minigames see Lakitu throwing Spinies, Whomp slamming down, Dry Bones playing cards?, Cheep Cheep just kinda swimming around, Spike tossing spike balls, Bowser Jr. piloting a giant robot, Diddy Kong shooting barrels, Wiggler storming around, King Bob-Omb throwing bombs, King Boo playing Bejeweled?, Blooper swimming around, Chain Chomp rolling, Bowser throwing blocks, and Donkey Kong collecting bananas. Most of that's pretty standard.

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, vehicle, bounce on clouds, chop wood, roll balls, launch rockets, count Goombas, fly Bullet Bills, swim, climb a chain, platform, skip rope, avoid Mechakoopas, put together a jigsaw puzzle, grow vines, ride dolphins, butt bash, climb a wall, pull vegetables, play cards, hide, slip on ice, bowl, escape a haunted house, fire cannons, float in a bubble, paint, drive snowmobiles, feed Piranhas, open treasure chests, fish, balance, avoid Thwomps, look through binoculars, eat pizza, control fire jets, draw in sand, roll boulders, play football, drive cars, whack Monty Moles, sled, drive a mech, pop balloons, run a maze, climb on a cage, play Bumper Cars, pedal

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, play cards

Hammer Bro

Blooper: swim

Koopa

Shy Guy

Magikoopa

Diddy Kong: barrel cannons

Donkey Kong: bananas

Koopa Kid

Bowser Jr: giant robot

Bowser: throw blocks

Lakitu: throw spinies

Wiggler: charge

Whomp: slam

King Bob-Omb: throw bombs

King Boo: play Bejeweled

Cheep Cheep: swim

Spike: throw spike balls

Chain Chomp: roll

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

Toad Road

Bob-Omb Factory

Boo's Horror Castle

Blooper Beach

Magma Mine

Bowser Station

DK's Jungle Ruins

Items:

Capsules

Candies

Dice Blocks

Thanks for reading! Next up, Mario Party 10!