Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Smash Character Review: Dr. Mario Series

DR. MARIO SERIES


Today, let's go over all of the characters who appeared in the Dr. Mario series, besides those new characters who will be added to the roster. Well, there's really not much honestly. Wario played a major role as an antagonist/rival protagonist in Dr. Mario 64, stealing the Megavitamins in order to make a profit off of them (because he's Wario), and Dr. Mario World's massive cast of characters, which mostly sees said character standing in Dr. Mario's place wearing a lab coat or other medical paraphernalia. Pretty much all the regulars appear there, with the three core princesses joining the Mario Bros., Toad and Toadette, Yoshi, both Donkey and Diddy Kong, the Wario Bros., Bowser, Bowser Jr., the Koopalings, Kamek, a series of regular enemy characters like Goombas, Koopas, Shy Guys, Boos (and King Boo), Piranha Plants, and Bloopers, as well as a few more . . . friendly? . . . characters like Luma, Nabbit, and those dolphins with the goggles you see here and there in the Mario series, all alongside a few alternate forms, like the babies, Dry Bowser, an 8-bit form, and a few fire forms.

That's about it. Next up, we'll cover our four new characters, starting with Dr. Mario himself.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Dr. Mario World

 DR. MARIO WORLD


Disclaimer: as of this writing, the game still has new content added on the regular as it is a mobile app. In fact, between my initial research and now, two more playable characters have been added to the roster.

Today, let's cover Dr. Mario World, a mobile app game in the same vein as Mario Kart Tour. The game is, for all intents and purposes, a standard Dr. Mario game, except this time there are seven virus colors instead of the usual three, with green, light blue, pink, and purple added into the mix (I don't think they have distinct names the way Fever, Chill, and Weird did before. They seem to just simply be named [color] virus respectively).


The game also features a butt-ton of characters rather than just Mario and later Luigi. No, apparently Toad-prah had a free giveaway of doctorates on her show and everyone got one. That said, most of the characters just stand on the side and toss the pills like Mario or Luigi would, so I can't say I can really factor anything in. Most of them do have a special ability, but it mostly comes down to things like being able to wipe out a certain number of rows in a certain direction. Among these characters, we have: Dr. versions of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Rosalina and Luma, Toad, Toadette, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Waluigi, baby forms of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, and Wario, fire forms of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Rosalina, an 8-bit form of Mario, Bowser, Bowser Jr., all seven Koopalings, Kamek, Dry Bowser, King Boo, Nabbit, a freaking stack of Goombas, a Koopa Troopa, a Lakitu, a Piranha Plant, a Boo, a Blooper, and a . . . dolphin? What?

There are also assistants, but they mostly just give you an added effect or bonus to help the game. These include: Goombas, Bloopers, Lakitus, Cheep Cheeps, Spinies, Swoops, Bullet Bills, Paragoombas, Sumo Bros, Hammer Bros, Paratroopas, Crowbers, Buzzy Beetles, Koopas, Shy Guys, Bob-Ombs, Huckit Crabs, Piranha Plants, Pokeys, Spikes, Peepas, Spiny Cheep Cheeps, Clampies, Para-Beetles, Amps, Boom Boom, Pom Pom, Sledge Bros, Scaredy Rats, Porcupuffers, Monty Moles, Mechakoopas, Fuzzies, Thwomps, Boomerang Bros, Chain Chomps, Fly Guys, Dolphins, Octoombas, Bomb Boos, the Honeyqueen, Starbunnies, Goombrats, Wigglers, Scuttlebugs, Boos, Penguins, Dry Bones, Ant Troopers, Bony Beetles, Stingbies, Parabombs, Urchins, Yellow Shy Guys, Sushi (the shark), Fish Bones, Broozers, Galoombas, King Bob-Omb, a Banzai Bill, King Boo, and the Whomp King. Basically every possible minor enemy you can think of.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Dr. Mario: pills, Metal, miracle cures: take out pills, take out viruses, bomb, row or column, increase drop, prevent turns, reverse controls

Dr. Luigi: L-shaped pills

Dr. Peach

Dr. Daisy

Dr. Rosalina

Dr. Luma

Dr. Toad

Dr. Toadette

Dr. Yoshi

Dr. Donkey Kong

Dr. Diddy Kong

Dr. Wario

Dr. Waluigi

Dr. Baby Mario

Dr. Baby Luigi

Dr. Baby Peach

Dr. Baby Daisy

Dr. Baby Rosalina

Dr. Baby Wario

Dr. Fire Mario

Dr. Fire Luigi

Dr. Fire Peach

Dr. Fire Rosalina

Dr. 8-bit Mario

Dr. Bowser

Dr. Bowser Jr.

Dr. Larry

Dr. Morton

Dr. Wendy

Dr. Iggy

Dr. Roy

Dr. Lemmy

Dr. Ludwig

Dr. Kamek

Dr. Dry Bowser

Dr. King Boo

Dr. Nabbit

Dr. Goomba Tower

Dr. Koopa Troopa

Dr. Lakitu

Dr. Piranha Plant

Dr. Boo

Dr. Blooper

Dr. Dolphin

Wario: pills, Vampire

Viruses: Fever, Chill, Weird

Rudy: pills

Mad Scienstein: potions


Stages:

Pill Bottle

Rudy's Castle


Items:

Megavitamins

L-Shaped Megavitamins

Miracle Cures

Bombs


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's update our characters!

Monday, March 29, 2021

Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure

DR. MARIO: MIRACLE CURE


Today, let's cover Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure for the Nintendo 3DS. This one's pretty much the same basic standard as all the rest, with Dr. Luigi included, but this time it features miracle cures that you can use as basically a super move during single-player, and a means of sabotaging your opponent during multi-player. With these miracle cures, you can take out all pills or viruses of a certain color, use a bomb to blow up everything in a certain area, or take out everything in a row or column. As sabotage, you can increase your opponent's drop rate, prevent them from turning a pill, or reverse their controls.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Dr. Mario: pills, Metal, miracle cures: take out pills, take out viruses, bomb, row or column, increase drop, prevent turns, reverse controls

Dr. Luigi: L-shaped pills

Wario: pills, Vampire

Viruses: Fever, Chill, Weird

Rudy: pills

Mad Scienstein: potions


Stages:

Pill Bottle

Rudy's Castle


Items:

Megavitamins

L-Shaped Megavitamins


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover the mobile game Dr. Mario World!

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Dr. Luigi

 DR. LUIGI


This time, let's cover Dr. Luigi, a game released for the Wii U's e-shop as part of the Year of Luigi back in 2013-14. The game is basically just Dr. Mario again, except starring Luigi and featuring larger L-shaped Megavitamins that can be thrown in. It also had slightly odd-looking viruses, but for all intents and purposes, they're mostly the same.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Dr. Mario: pills, Metal

Dr. Luigi: L-shaped pills

Wario: pills, Vampire

Viruses: Fever, Chill, Weird

Rudy: pills

Mad Scienstein: potions


Stages:

Pill Bottle

Rudy's Castle


Items:

Megavitamins

L-Shaped Megavitamins


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure!

Friday, March 26, 2021

Dr. Mario Express

DR. MARIO EXPRESS


Not much to say about this one. Dr. Mario Express is a DSiWare game much in the same vein as its WiiWare predecessor. Primarily, it has been simplified down a bit for the more handheld system, lacking a multiplayer option and a few modes, but at the end of the day, it's still pretty much a Dr. Mario game.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Dr. Mario: pills, Metal

Wario: pills, Vampire

Viruses: Fever, Chill, Weird

Rudy: pills

Mad Scienstein: potions


Stages:

Pill Bottle

Rudy's Castle


Items:

Megavitamins


Thanks for reading! Next up is Dr. Luigi!

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Dr. Mario Online Rx

DR. MARIO ONLINE RX


Today, let's cover Dr. Mario Online Rx for the WiiWare. Not too much to say for this one, really. It's mostly the same basic standard as the original Dr. Mario game. But hey, if it ain't broke, right? Just an update for a new age.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Dr. Mario: pills, Metal

Wario: pills, Vampire

Viruses: Fever, Chill, Weird

Rudy: pills

Mad Scienstein: potions


Stages:

Pill Bottle

Rudy's Castle


Items:

Megavitamins


Thanks for reading! Next up is Dr. Mario Express!

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Dr. Mario 64

DR. MARIO 64


Today, let's go over Dr. Mario 64! Unlike most of the other Dr. Mario games, this one has a bit more of an in-depth story, following Dr. Mario and Wario through their own stories, as Dr. Mario tries to cure a cold epidemic in the Mushroom Kingdom, and Wario tries to steal his Megavitamins thinking he can make money off of them. (Hmm . . .) The gameplay is more or less the same as before, with the respective characters throwing megavitamins into a bottle and lining them up by color to eradicate the Chill, Fever, and Weird viruses.

Through the story, you follow Dr. Mario and Wario as they give chase to Mad Scienstein, who has stolen Mario's vitamins, leading them through a series of Wario Land 3 enemies, including: Spearhead, Webber, Silky, Jellybob, Helio, Hammerbot, Appleby, Octo, and Lump; finally leading up to a final battle with Rudy the Clown, now sized down to Mario and Wario-sized. And . . . huh . . . um, Rudy's reappearance has me looking back at Wario Land 3 . . . and maybe Wario Land 4 . . . and I, uh, may have to do something unorthodox when the character sheets come around. Stay tuned!

Here's what we've got so far!


Characters:

Dr. Mario: pills, Metal

Wario: pills, Vampire

Viruses: Fever, Chill, Weird

Rudy: pills

Mad Scienstein: potions


Stages:

Pill Bottle

Rudy's Castle


Items:

Megavitamins


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Dr. Mario Online RX!

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Dr. Mario

DR. MARIO


Freedom!!! Anyway, now on to the Dr. Mario series, a classic puzzle game series in the Mario franchise and originator of a certain alt version of Mario famous within Smash circles. The game is a pretty basic but fun game similar to Tetris, which sees a tall bottle full of viruses of different colors that you have to match up pills with to get rid of.

The game's story mostly followed that a contagious strain of viruses has broken loose from a lab ( . . . no comment) and Mario must take up the guise of a doctor and combat the viruses with his megavitamins. The characters mostly consist of Mario, or in this case Dr. Mario, and the three main types of viruses: Fever (Red), Chill (Blue), and Weird (Yellow). There's really not a whole lot more to say from there, but we'll get further in with the next few games.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Dr. Mario: pills

Viruses: Fever, Chill, Weird


Stages:

Pill Bottle


Items:

Megavitamins


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Dr. Mario 64!

Monday, March 22, 2021

Smash Character Review: Mario Party Arcade

MARIO PARTY ARCADE


What can I even say here? These weren't particularly character-centered games. For the most part, they just had the main Mario cast all over their cabinets and promotional materials, and the handful of minigames you could play on them utilized the base roster from whichever game it was pulling from, alongside the hosts of those respective games, such as the Star Spirits and MC Ballyhoo & Big Top. That's it!

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, we begin the Dr. Mario series!

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Dokidoki Mario Chance!

DOKIDOKI MARIO CHANCE!

So, this one's going to be a bit interesting. Dokidoki Mario Chance was actually the first Mario Party arcade game ever developed, and it was single-player games developed by Banpresto rather than Capcom like the others. And that's all I can say about it. I looked everywhere I could, all over the internet, for videos of gameplay online, to articles describing it, and honestly, all I found on it was simply "It existed." Frankly, about ninety percent of the time I tried to google it, it brought me to a certain other Mario-related game starting with "Doki Doki."

Here's what we've got:


Characters:

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Princess Daisy

Yoshi

Birdo

Toad

Toadette

Wario

Waluigi

Boo

Dry Bones

Hammer Bro

Blooper

Koopa Kid

Bowser

MC Ballyhoo & Big Top

Star Spirits


Stage:

Arcade Machine

Catcher Arcade Machine

Carnival Arcade Machine

Challenge Arcade Machine


Thanks for reading! Hey, hey, guess what! I'm finally done with the Mario Party series. Now I can move on to easier series to dissect!

Friday, March 19, 2021

Mario Party Challenge World

MARIO PARTY CHALLENGE WORLD


Mario Party Challenge World is the sixth arcade game in the Mario Party series, much more simplified from previous entries. Based on Mario Party 9, it is primarily a roulette wheel with some Mario Party elements.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Princess Daisy

Yoshi

Birdo

Toad

Toadette

Wario

Waluigi

Boo

Dry Bones

Hammer Bro

Blooper

Koopa Kid

Bowser

MC Ballyhoo & Big Top

Star Spirits


Stage:

Arcade Machine

Catcher Arcade Machine

Carnival Arcade Machine

Challenge Arcade Machine


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover probably the most obscure Mario Party arcade game!

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher 2

MARIO PARTY FUSHIGI NO KOROKORO CATCHER 2


Next up is the sequel to the third game in the series, once again supporting up to sixteen players, once again based on Mario Party 8, and once again a coin pusher with most of the same basic mechanics, just updated a bit for the new year. (As I understand it, it sounds like arcades put out an updated version of games each year, which is why they don't have specific release dates like console games do and just the general year they came out for. I . . . could be wrong. Again, I'm not a big arcade guy, so if I'm off a bit in my understanding, please let me know).

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Princess Daisy

Yoshi

Birdo

Toad

Toadette

Wario

Waluigi

Boo

Dry Bones

Hammer Bro

Blooper

Koopa Kid

Bowser

MC Ballyhoo & Big Top

Star Spirits


Stage:

Arcade Machine

Catcher Arcade Machine

Carnival Arcade Machine


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Mario Party Challenge World!

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Mario Party Kurukuru Carnival

MARIO PARTY KURUKURU CARNIVAL


Or Mario Party Spinning Carnival. Kurukuru Carnival is the fifth Mario Party arcade game. This one is significantly smaller, supporting only four players, but still generally runs on the same principles, and is still based on Mario Party 8.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Princess Daisy

Yoshi

Birdo

Toad

Toadette

Wario

Waluigi

Boo

Dry Bones

Hammer Bro

Blooper

Koopa Kid

Bowser

MC Ballyhoo & Big Top

Star Spirits


Stage:

Arcade Machine

Catcher Arcade Machine

Carnival Arcade Machine


Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover Kurukuru Carnival!

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher

MARIO PARTY FUSHIGI NO KOROKORO CATCHER


Today, let's cover the third Mario Party games, this time a bit updated. It's based now on Mario Party 8 and features all characters appearing there, including MC Ballyhoo and Big Top as the host, and can now support sixteen players rather than the eight players of the previous two games. That said, its still a coin pusher, and it still runs on most of the same basic mechanics.

I guess that's it. Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Princess Daisy

Yoshi

Birdo

Toad

Toadette

Wario

Waluigi

Boo

Dry Bones

Hammer Bro

Blooper

Koopa Kid

Bowser

MC Ballyhoo & Big Top

Star Spirits


Stage:

Arcade Machine

Catcher Arcade Machine


Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover Kurukuru Carnival!

Monday, March 15, 2021

Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party 2

SUPER MARIO FUSHIGI NO KOROKORO PARTY 2


There's really not much to say here. The sequel is basically the same as the first game, just updated a bit with some new games and stuff and rereleased the next year, once again, only in Japan. It is what it is. I don't know what else to say.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Princess Daisy

Yoshi

Toad

Wario

Waluigi

Boo

Koopa Kid

Bowser

Star Spirits


Stage:

Arcade Machine


Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover the game's sequel!

Saturday, March 13, 2021

Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party

SUPER MARIO FUSHIGI NO KOROKORO PARTY


Loosely translated as Super Mario's Rolling Mystery Party, this is the first of the Mario Party arcade games. Now, I've mentioned before that I'm not an arcade man, and there have been a lot of details about understanding these games that I just can't seem to grasp, but I'm going to do my best. This game is primarily a coin pusher, something that's apparently illegal here in the U.S., but the premise (as far as I can tell) is that there's a tray full of tokens toward the bottom of the machine with a sweeping mechanism that pushes the tokens forward whenever you win a game, and you keep every token that falls over the edge into the central hole. The games are a mix of a handful of games from Mario Party 5, played by all of the cast from that game, spiced up with a few rolling ball games that give you points depending on which holes they roll into, and that then affects how many times the sweeper pushes coins forward. Does . . . does that make any sense? Either way, I don't think any of this would really affect anything to do with any character's moveset or anything, so I suppose it doesn't matter.

Here's what we've got:


Characters:

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Princess Daisy

Yoshi

Toad

Wario

Waluigi

Boo

Koopa Kid

Bowser

Star Spirits


Stage:

Arcade Machine


Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover the game's sequel!

Friday, March 12, 2021

Smash Character Review: Mario Party Handhelds

MARIO PARTY HANDHELDS


Not much to say here, really. Tumble reappears but other than that, there's not really many original characters in these. Honestly, as handhelds tend to be, these games tended to just be "Lite" versions of the console games. The roster didn't go too much out from the standard of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Wario, and Waluigi, with Toad, Toadette, and Rosalina showing up intermittently, and Donkey Kong and Bowser playing major supporting roles. Outside of that, Diddy, Boo, and Bowser Jr. all had singular playable appearances.

Much like how the Golf and Tennis games had to include full RPG modes to their handheld games, this series had to cater more toward single-player options, most of the time taking the form of more linear game boards that lead up to boss fights. These boss fights often had a bunch of regulars, like Kamek, King Boo, Petey Piranha, and King Bob-Omb, as well as giant version of regular enemies like Wiggler, Goomba, Blooper, Monty Mole, and Dry Bones. Most of these generally featured the character doing things we normally tend to see them doing, or just generally playing into an aspect of the character already well-documented.

That's pretty much it for now! Tomorrow, we'll start in on the arcade games!

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Smash Universe Freebie: Top 20 Games Covered So Far

 MY TOP 20 GAMES COVERED SO FAR

Just for fun, and kind of in honor of Mario Party: The Top 100, here is my top 20 favorite games that I've covered on this blog so far. They may be from personal experience (games that I have played and have personally enjoyed throughout my life) or were games that particularly stood out during the research process and that I personally enjoyed discovering and learning about.

1.    SUPER MARIO 64: personal enjoyment, I grew up with this one, and it's just great.

2.       SUPER MARIO BROS.: not a personal experience, but its greatness can't be denied.

3.       SUPER MARIO GALAXY: actually don't have personal experience here, but, boy, was it a rush to research.

4.       LUIGI'S MANSION: personal enjoyment. My first real Gamecube game.

5.       SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY: personal enjoyment somewhat, but much too recent for it to have that same feeling as 64 and Luigi's Mansion.

6.       SUPER PAPER MARIO: personal enjoyment and one of the best stories in the Mario series.

7.       DONKEY KONG COUNTRY: TROPICAL FREEZE: not personal, much like Galaxy, a heck of a rush researching.

8.       SUPER MARIO LAND 2: 6 GOLDEN COINS: the most personal on this list. My childhood.

9.       MARIO KART 64: Personal enjoyment. It, Mario 64, and Banjo-Kazooie basically exemplified my 64 experience.

10.   DIDDY KONG RACING: Not personal, but was really fun to learn about.

11.   PAPER MARIO: THE THOUSAND-YEAR DOOR: Personal enjoyment. My introduction to Paper Mario with some of my favorite Mario characters.

12.   YOSHI'S WOOLLY WORLD: Not personal. The creativity in this one and Tropical Freeze stands out in a special way.

13.   MARIO KART DS: Personal (slightly less so than 64). Also just objectively the best Mario Kart.

14.   SUPER MARIO RPG: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN STARS: Not personal. But the research process may have turned my desire for Geno from simply proxy wish for other fans to a bit more of a personal want.

15.   PAPER MARIO: THE ORIGAMI KING: Not quite the return to form I wanted, but at the end of the day, almost as great storytelling and a really fun experience.

16.   MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER'S INSIDE STORY: Not personal, but certainly the best of the Mario & Luigi series.

17.   DONKEY KONG COUNTRY: This and the next one were my first real introduction to the Donkey Kong series during the research process.

18.   SUPER MARIO WORLD 2: YOSHI'S ISLAND: As stated above.

19.   SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD: Halfway between personal and not. Honestly, just a really fun time.

20.   WARIO WARE: GOLD: This was the game, during the research process, that made me realize just how much I had come to love the Wario Ware cast, and the series as a whole, in such a short amount of time.


Thanks for reading! I know it's weird, but I enjoyed it.

Mario Party: The Top 100

MARIO PARTY: THE TOP 100


This one's going to be simple. Do you know why? I've already covered everything. Mario Party: The Top 100 is the third Mario Party game for the 3DS, this time just a big old compilation of the most popular 100 minigames from the entire series. I don't have to cover the minigames, because I already have. There's only a basic set of boards that only exist as a gateway to the games, and the space system is almost directly lifted from Star Rush (probably was since it came out only a year later), so I don't have to cover those much either. That leaves us with our characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Yoshi, Wario, and Waluigi as they playable cast, Toad and Toadette as hosts, and Bowser and Donkey Kong as challengers in various games.

And done! Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario: fishing, hammer, running, stopping a bomb

Luigi

Princess Peach

Yoshi: eat

Daisy: mechanical bull

Waluigi: hammers, bombs

Wario: car

Toad

Toadette

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong

Rosalina

Boo

Bowser Jr.

Tumble

Professor E. Gadd

Wiggler

Kamek

Bowser

Koopa Kid

Goomba

Blooper

Monty Mole

Dry Bones

King Bob-Omb

Petey Piranha

King Boo


Stages:

Shroom City

Wiggler's Garden

Toadette's Music Room

DK's Stone Statue

Kamek's Library

Bowser's Pinball Machine

Party Islands

Perilous Palace Path

Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain

Star-Crossed Skyway

Rocket Road

Kamek's Carpet Ride

Shy Guy's Shuffle City

Bowser's Peculiar Peak

Toad Scramble Worlds


Thanks for reading! Now, let's go over any possible character updates!

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Mario Party: Star Rush

MARIO PARTY: STAR RUSH


Mario Party: Star Rush is the second Mario Party game for the 3DS. It doesn't really have a story mode, focusing much more heavily on the simple game aspects. The central mode, Toad Scramble, actually casts you as one of four Toads, who then move around the board recruiting new allies from the more regular assortment of characters, including all eight characters from DS, alongside Toadette, Rosalina, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong. Bowser, Bowser Jr., and Boo are also playable, but only in one mode when their amiibo is tapped in.

The boards are much different than normal. Spaces are more like squares on the floor and movement is far more open. Think of it a bit like the board game Clue for reference. These boards will also have features like item boxes, coin balloons, duel balloons, shops, cannons, star balloons, and boss spaces where you can face a boss to earn points. These bosses appear across all boards and include: a Mega Goomba, King Bob-Omb, King Boo, Petey Piranha, a Mega Blooper, a Mega Dry Bones, a Mega Monty Mole, Kamek, Bowser Jr. (with actual punching gloves on his Klown Kar; I was wondering where those came from), and Bowser, mostly all doing their standard thing.


The "boards" are more like worlds, with multiple stages within. World 0 is a standard grassland and tutorial world; World 1 is a tropical island; World 2 is a haunted house with Peepas that like to follow you as false teammates; World 3 is made of cake and candy; and World 4 is a Bowser's Castle stage.

The minigames this time around see our characters: collect acorns, run, decorate a cake, shoot Piranha Plants, eat cookies, jump, bowl for Monty Moles, drive Wigglers, drive boats, stamp, platform, avoid Spikes, sweep up jewels, spin around a pole, avoid Conkdors, break blocks, roll on a ball, drive cars, surf on a leaf, fish, collect coins, scuba dive, and face the bosses as they: try not to wake up Mega Goomba, shine a light on King Boo, smack Mega Monty Mole with a hammer, shoot bombs at King Bob-Omb, throw shells at Petey Piranha, toss a ball to Mega Blooper, avoid Mega Dry Bones' bone, play cards with Kamek, fight Bowser Jr., and avoid Bowser inside of Mechabowser as it shoots missiles and tries to claw you.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario: fishing, hammer, running, stopping a bomb

Luigi

Princess Peach

Yoshi: eat

Daisy: mechanical bull

Waluigi: hammers, bombs

Wario: car

Toad

Toadette

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong

Rosalina

Boo

Bowser Jr.

Tumble

Professor E. Gadd

Wiggler

Kamek

Bowser

Koopa Kid

Goomba

Blooper

Monty Mole

Dry Bones

King Bob-Omb

Petey Piranha

King Boo


Stages:

Shroom City

Wiggler's Garden

Toadette's Music Room

DK's Stone Statue

Kamek's Library

Bowser's Pinball Machine

Party Islands

Perilous Palace Path

Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain

Star-Crossed Skyway

Rocket Road

Kamek's Carpet Ride

Shy Guy's Shuffle City

Bowser's Peculiar Peak

Toad Scramble Worlds


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover the Top 100 (and then I'm almost really done (there's the arcade games but they're going to be a lot simpler to cover))!

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Mario Party: Island Tour

MARIO PARTY: ISLAND TOUR


So, for some reason, the Mario Party series decided to pump out three Mario Party games for the 3DS in a short span of time. (I guess that explains why console production suddenly slowed way down about this time). Island Tour was one of them. The game involves the characters visiting a series of floating islands and Bowser getting jealous of their good time. The roster this time is pretty much the same as DS's roster, with Boo and Bowser Jr. added in. Ah, that's nice and simple.

Spaces are more varied and item-like, similar to a console game around this period. Blue, red, event, warp, lucky, unlucky, switch-places, star, item, duel, and Bowser spaces should all be familiar, alongside back spaces that send you back a few places, Banzai Bill spaces that, well, shoot off one, booster spaces that give you a boost, dash spaces, dead end spaces that force you to stop, Kamek spaces that will cause said magician to switch everyone around, and Piranha Plant spaces that summon a Piranha that will grab you and throw you backwards. Items are pretty much just dice, except the first board which gives you shells, mushrooms, stars, lightning and stuff which mostly acts the way you expect.


We have seven boards this time around: Perilous Palace Path, a pretty standard grassland area; Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain, a mountainous region; Star-Crossed Skyway, a sky level; Rocket Road, a Mario Galaxy-themed level; Kamek's Carpet Ride, an Arabian Nights-esque level; Shy Guy's Shuffle City, a casino area; and Bowser's Peculiar Peak, a Bowser's Castle world.

Across the minigames, we have our characters: climbing rope, avoiding Mattermouths, running, coloring, jumping, shooting from cannons, leading Goombas, driving tanks, playing a xylophone, shooting paint, spinning a bubble, gliding, piloting submarines, watering plants, grabbing chickens, decorating a cake, sliding on ice, playing pachinko, hovering, hopping through space, bouncing, corralling Pokeys, catching bunnies, jumproping with fire, skateboarding, kayaking, catching Goombas, fishing, golfing, avoiding meteors, climbing ladders, avoiding Amps, racing crickets, and rolling on a ball among others.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: fishing, hammer, running, stopping a bomb

Luigi

Princess Peach

Yoshi: eat

Daisy: mechanical bull

Waluigi: hammers, bombs

Wario: car

Toad

Boo

Bowser Jr.

Tumble

Toadette

Professor E. Gadd

Wiggler

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong

Kamek

Bowser

Koopa Kid


Stages:

Shroom City

Wiggler's Garden

Toadette's Music Room

DK's Stone Statue

Kamek's Library

Bowser's Pinball Machine

Party Islands

Perilous Palace Path

Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain

Star-Crossed Skyway

Rocket Road

Kamek's Carpet Ride

Shy Guy's Shuffle City

Bowser's Peculiar Peak


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Mario Party: Island Tour!

Monday, March 8, 2021

Mario Party DS

MARIO PARTY DS


Today, let's cover Mario Party DS! This game likewise focuses more on a story, specifically that of Mario and his friends being shrunken down to toy size by Bowser so that he may search for "star crystals" unabated. Our characters must play through a series of boards and minigames to collect the crystals and return to their proper size. The characters include Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Toad, Wario, and Waluigi, with each board having a host and a boss, which we'll cover at that point.

Most of the standard mechanics return, with blue, red, event, duel, Bowser, and star spaces, plus friend spaces to make certain opponents into friends. Items include extra dice blocks, warp blocks, snag bags, warp pipes, and grab bags, as well as hexes that you can place to steal coins or stars or switch places with an opponent.


Our boards include: Wiggler's Garden, hosted by Wiggler with a Piranha Plant boss; Toadette's Music Room, hosted by Toadette with a Hammer Bro boss; DK's Stone Statue (literally Donkey Kong turned into a statue by Bowser), hosted by Diddy Kong with a Dry Bones boss; Kamek's Library, hosted and bossed by Kamek himself; and Bowser's Pinball Machine, likewise hosted and bossed by Bowser.

In the minigames, we see our characters: catch Goombas, slide down a banister, take pictures, fall, jump on dominoes, throw cherries, play soccer, bicycle, roll on a ball, blow out a candle, fish, avoid a Whomp, escape a volcano, dance, parachute, dust, surf on soap, raft, wash dishes, prepare fast food, run a race, play shuffleboard, ride rubber duckies, run on a rotisserie, luge, grab pennies, get out of mud, crush cubes, dig, cling to a hanger, climb books, brush, topple a Whomp, catch stars, blow out a fuse, and play poker.

Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario: fishing, hammer, running, stopping a bomb

Luigi

Princess Peach

Yoshi: eat

Daisy: mechanical bull

Waluigi: hammers, bombs

Wario: car

Toad

Tumble

Toadette

Professor E. Gadd

Wiggler

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong

Kamek

Bowser

Koopa Kid


Stages:

Shroom City

Wiggler's Garden

Toadette's Music Room

DK's Stone Statue

Kamek's Library

Bowser's Pinball Machine


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Mario Party: Island Tour!

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Mario Party Advance

MARIO PARTY ADVANCE


Today, let's go over Mario Party's first real, and seemingly mostly unsuccessful, foray into handhelds (probably because the Party series is, at its core, a multiplayer series and handhelds were just not there yet). The game only features four playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi. The game also sees Tumble returning from Mario Party 3 as a host alongside Toad, Toadette, and Professor E. Gadd, while Bowser and Koopa Kid act as troublemakers across the game.

As stated before, handhelds weren't particularly great for multiplayer back then, so instead, Mario Party Advance dropped the characters into Shroom City, where they had to run around and complete a number of quests by playing minigames. Completing all the quests meant beating the game, which . . . is a valiant attempt, at the very least. Most of these quests are given out by citizens around town, which are pretty much most major enemy characters you can think of: Goombas, Koopas, Bob-Ombs, Bloopers, Chain Chomps, Thwomps, Ukiki, Boos, Bullet Bills, Cheep Cheeps, Shy Guys, Wiggler, Hammer Bros, Lakitus, Monty Moles, Tiny Mousers, Mr. Blizzards, Ninjis, Penguins, Piranha Plants, Pokeys, Snifits, Whomps, even Lantern Ghosts and Slimes from the Yoshi series. Kamek even pops up. But most of this is just to give quests really.

Speaking of minigames, those that appear in this game see the characters: flee from Boos, grab rabbits, walk a Chain Chomp, platform, hide in a barrel, pop bubbles, jump over logs, slingshot themselves, play volleyball, drop bombs, fish, stack shells, avoid Bullet Bills, tend flowers, sort, rub a Whomp's back, run an elevator, drive a car, pogo stick, sled, flip across a pole, push a Thwomp, fly on a magic broom, drive a tank, saw a chain, curl, swing a giant hammer, hide from Bowser, and open trapdoors.

That's about all we've got! Here it is:


Characters:

Mario: fishing, hammer, running, stopping a bomb

Luigi

Princess Peach

Yoshi: eat

Daisy: mechanical bull

Waluigi: hammers, bombs

Wario: car

Tumble: all the party stuff mentioned above. As we've already covered more than enough on the gimmick reps and most of this would just be repeating itself, I hope you'll forgive me if I pass on getting it all down down here.

Toad

Toadette

Professor E. Gadd

Bowser

Koopa Kid


Stages:

Shroom City


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Mario Party Advance!

Friday, March 5, 2021

Mario Party-e

MARIO PARTY-E


So, Mario Party-e is not strictly a video game, just a card game that requires a Game Boy Advance e-reader to fully play. The game is played with cards, mostly coin cards or item cards of three types, all three of which you have to collect to win, as well as duel cards that you then scan with your e-reader in order to play one of eleven minigames that sees Mario fishing, smacking Goombas with a hammer, running from a ghost, and stopping a bomb, Daisy riding a mechanical bull, Yoshi eating coins, Waluigi throwing hammers, and Wario driving a car.

That's pretty much it. I figured it needed to be mentioned at least. Here's what we've got so far:


Characters:

Mario: fishing, hammer, running, stopping a bomb

Daisy: mechanical bull

Yoshi: eat

Waluigi: hammers, bombs

Wario: car


Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Mario Party Advance!

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Super Mario Roster, Updated

SUPER SMASH BROS. UNIVERSE

SUPER MARIO BROS.


Here's our next update with new characters from the Mario Party series. This time, we only have MC Ballyhoo from Mario Party 8 and his talking hat Big Top!

1. Mario
2. Fursuit Mario
3. F.L.U.D.D. Mario
4. Luigi
5. Vacuum Luigi
5e. Professor E. Gadd
6. Princess Peach
6e. Peachette
7. Princess Daisy
8. Rosalina and Luma
9. Pauline
10. Cappy
11. Toad
11e. Toadsworth
12. Captain Toad
12e. Toadette
13. Bowser
13e. Dry Bowser
14. Bowser Jr.
15. Shadow Mario
16. The Koopalings
16e. Koopa Kid
17. Wart
18. Tatanga
19. Mario Kart
20. Robo Mario
21. Wanda
22. Plum
22e. Kid
23. Alex & Nina
23e. Ace & Clay
24. Tumble
25. Brighton & Twila
26. MC Ballyhoo & Big Top
27. Perry
28 Sprixie Princess
29. Koopa Troopa
29e. Dry Bones
30. Goomba
31. Piranha Plant
32. Boo
33. Buzzy Beetle
34. Bob-Omb
34e. King Bob-Omb
35. Cheep Cheep
36. Blooper
37. Pokey
38. Lakitu and Spinies
39. Ninji
40. Monty Mole
41. Spike
42. Hammer Bro
43. Chargin' Chuck
44. Wiggler
45. Chain Chomp
46. Thwomp
46e. Whomp
47. Mechakoopa
48. Ghost
49. Honeybee
50. Nabbit
51. Boom Boom
51e. Pom Pom
52. Birdo
53. Mouser
54. Petey Piranha
55. King Boo
56. The Broodals
57. Super Team


There we go! Tomorrow, let's begin the handheld Mario Party games!

Character Sheet: MC Ballyhoo & Big Top

MC BALLYHOO & BIG TOP


So, we only have one newcomer today, who will join Koopa Kid, Tumble, and Brighton & Twila as individual reps for different aspects of the Mario Party series as a whole. Specifically, MC Ballyhoo and Big Top will represent the candy mechanic presented in, and only in, Mario Party 8, the game that they were the hosts of. Among these candies, there were four different variants: reds that influenced your dice rolls, greens that transformed the player for a very short time just to perform a specific action, yellows that transformed the player for the duration of their roll, and blues that would attack other players. The reds we probably don't have to worry about much, but for the record, one gives you an extra block, one gives you two, and one slows down your roll speed. The green candies turn the character into a spring, electrify the character to zap others, and turn the character into a vampire to drain coins from an opponent. Yellow candies turn the character into an 8-bit render of themselves that gives them a coin any time they jump, a tornado that sends opponents back to start, three mini-clones of themselves that mob an opponent to steal candy, and a ball. Finally, blue candies turn the character into a stone block of the character's head, a Bullet Bill, Bowser, and a fiery version of the character that challenges any opponent they come across to a duel. That's about it.

Here's the moveset I came up with:


Standard B: Cashzap Candy

MC Ballyhoo will become electrified for a short time and will zap anyone who he passes by, and drain a small bit of their HP, adding it to his own.


Side B: Bloway Candy

MC Ballyhoo will become a tornado and speed forward. Any character caught in the wind will be blown straight up into the air and have to come back down again.


Up B: Springo Candy

MC Ballyhoo will turn into a spring and spring straight up into the air.


Down B: Thwomp Candy

MC Ballyhoo will transform into a giant rock-version of his and Big Top's own head. This will act in a similar manner to Kirby's Stone ability


Final Smash: Duelo Candy

MC Ballyhoo will become fiery. They will be able to walk around the stage in that state until they encounter another player, at which point they will automatically challenge them to a short one-on-one minigame. If Ballyhoo wins the game, their opponent will be KO'd. If Ballyhoo loses, they . . . might be KO'd or they might simply have some significant drawback added. (We don't want the player to avoid using the Final Smash if they're afraid to take the chance, so I'm not sure there)


Entrance: MC Ballyhoo will appear in a burst of confetti.


Taunts: Up, Big Top will float up and swirl around playfully for a second. Side, Ballyhoo will check his mike, sound-checking it. Down, Ballyhoo and Big Top will turn into a ball.


Thanks for reading! Now, let's update the roster!

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Smash Character Review: Mario Party Series (Second Half)

MARIO PARTY SERIES


Today, let's go over our characters from the Mario Party series. As for gimmick reps, first of all, MC Ballyhoo and Big Top are our biggest newcomers, but as they will be representing the particularly unique aspects of Mario Party 8 specifically, most of the other stuff listed here can really be just attached to Tumble, Koopa Kid, or Brighton and Twila, but I am rather okay with how they turned out, so if you want to attach different moves to them, that's fine, but it's not necessary.

As for our playable cast, we no longer quite build on the old rosters, but we do see plenty of regulars. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Wario, and Waluigi appear in the roster in every single one. Toad and Toadette were likewise constant regulars but got demoted in the most recent game, and Bowser and Donkey Kong more often than not appeared as spaces or bosses, only joining the roster in the last two games. Rosalina and Bowser Jr. swiftly became regulars as their prominence in the Mario series rose as well. After that, Birdo and Diddy Kong had sparse irregular appearances, and the rest of the roster tended to be filled out with random enemy characters, including Koopa, Goomba, Shy Guy, Boo, Blooper, Dry Bones, Hammer Bro, Spike, Monty Mole, Pom Pom, and even Kamek (or just a Magikoopa, they're a bit loosey-goosey with that).

Koopa Kid sadly saw a demotion back to board hazard with Mario Party 7, followed by a complete and total disappearance from existence from 8 onward, especially with Bowser Jr. basically taking over his role in some of the latter games. The series also saw a number of boss characters here and there, as the series moved a bit away from free play and more towards a structured set up (especially with 9 and 10). These bosses included such faces as Wiggler, Whomp, King Bob-Omb, King Boo, Chain Chomp, Petey Piranha, Dry Bowser, and giant versions of enemies like Lakitu, Cheep Cheep, Sledge Bro, and Mechakoopa. Most of these act much as you would expect them to.

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's make a moveset for MC Ballyhoo and Big Top!

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Super Mario Party

 SUPER MARIO PARTY


Today, let's cover the most recent Mario Party, made for the Nintendo Switch. Once again the plot returns to a basic glorified joystick-measuring contest, with a bunch of character all vying to prove they're the biggest superstar of all. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser all return from Mario Party 10, with Toad and Toadette sadly being demoted back to hosts alongside Kamek once again. Koopa, Boo, Shy Guy, Hammer Bro, and Dry Bones all return from previous games as well, and Bowser Jr., Diddy Kong, Goomba, Monty Mole, and Pom Pom are added in as new players.

Blue spaces, red spaces, event spaces, versus spaces, item spaces, lucky spaces, and bad luck spaces all return, the series having gone back to a more standard Mario Party setup, the whole car gimmick thankfully being left out. You also get ally spaces, that call friends to come and help you. Items also return in their purest form, including Mushrooms, Poison Mushrooms, Golden Mushrooms, a Pipe, a Peepa Bell (replacing Boo's role with a Peepa instead), a Warp Box, and a Dueling Glove, alongside a Golden Drink that turns the player into a golden form, a Coinado that steals coins, a phone that calls allies, a ticket to summon a Fly Guy to steal stars, a Hidden Block, and a card that doubles your potential star gains. Also every character comes with a unique dice block with a number assortment suited to the character's characteristics (Mario's is balanced, Wario's is all sixes with a couple drawbacks because he's greedy to the point of stupid, Luigi's and Yoshi's can take you further because they're faster, you get it).


We have only four boards for this game, including: Whomp's Domino Ruins, kinda like those Thwomp Ruins from Mario Kart 8, more or less; King Bob-Omb's Powder Keg Mine, an underground lava stage; Megafruit Paradise, a tropical island level; and Kamek's Tantalizing Tower, a gold-plated level where the costs of stars change around. There are also other game modes, like Challenge Road, a single player level that takes you space by space through a series of minigames.

In the game's 84 minigames, we see the characters: ride tricycles, snap pictures, cook meat, catch food, roll on barrels, fly around on giant magnets, count Toads, climb, take pancakes, water plants, avoid Chargin' Chucks, shake candy, fly planes, swim, run from Broozers, avoid bananas, avoid waking up Wiggler, feed a giant fish, fish, search for buried treasure, platform, avoid lightning, collect coins, throw pies, draw faces, do math, deliver food, catch fruit, pull a rope, avoid a crab's hammers, ride a Chain Chomp, vacuum, steal packages, throw darts, shoot cannons, play tennis with bombs, sort balls, throw boomerangs, skate, play cards, row, drive giant punching gloves, play tug of war, smack with hammers, play soccer, roll around in balls, play hot potato with bombs, jump, pose, play baseball, clean windows, and ride horses.

Here's what we've got:


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, platforming, avoiding Cheep Cheeps, avoiding Peepas, balancing on a ball, golfing, avoiding spike balls, bouncing, eating fruit, counting Goombas, rolling dice, sliding on ice, matching up enemies, ground pounding, shooting Piranha Plants, inflating balloons, avoiding Fuzzies, swinging from vines, bobsledding, playing soccer, navigating a maze, playing volleyball, throwing Goombrats, stacking shapes, shooting Bullet Bills, drumming, blowing bubbles, playing Monkey in the Middle, springing, throwing bombs, playing cards, flying planes, driving tanks, ride tricycles, snap pictures, cook meat, catch food, roll on barrels, fly around on giant magnets, count Toads, climb, take pancakes, water plants, avoid Chargin' Chucks, shake candy, fly planes, swim, run from Broozers, avoid bananas, avoid waking up Wiggler, feed a giant fish, fish, search for buried treasure, platform, avoid lightning, collect coins, throw pies, draw faces, do math, deliver food, catch fruit, pull a rope, avoid a crab's hammers, ride a Chain Chomp, vacuum, steal packages, throw darts, shoot cannons, play tennis with bombs, sort balls, throw boomerangs, skate, play cards, row, drive giant punching gloves, play tug of war, smack with hammers, play soccer, roll around in balls, play hot potato with bombs, jump, pose, play baseball, clean windows, and ride horses.

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

Donkey Kong: bananas

Bowser: throw blocks, breathes fire, swings a hammer, butt bashes, climbs, spins a roulette wheel

Rosalina

Spike

Diddy Kong: barrel cannons

Bowser Jr: giant robot

Goomba

Monty Mole

Pom Pom

Koopa Kid

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

Petey Piranha

Sledge Bro

Cheep Chomp

Mechakoopa

Dry 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

Toad Road

Bob-Omb Factory

Boo's Horror Castle

Blooper Beach

Magma Mine

Bowser Station

DK's Jungle Ruins

Mushroom Park

Haunted Trail

Whimsical Waters

Airship Central

Chaos Castle

Whomp's Domino Ruins

King Bob-Omb's Powder Keg Mine

Megafruit Paradise

Kamek's Tantalizing Tower


Items:

Capsules

Candies

Dice Blocks


Thanks for reading! Now, let's go over our characters once again! Don't get too excited though, we've still got two whole sections of Mario Party games to cover after this.

Monday, March 1, 2021

Mario Party 10

 MARIO PARTY 10


Today, let's cover Mario Party 10, the second-to-last console game in the franchise. The game takes heavily after Mario Party 9, bringing back the car gimmick. Once again, the roster doesn't really build on the previous game. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Toad, and Toadette all return, while Birdo, Koopa, Shy Guy, and Kamek say goodbye. Donkey Kong returns after six games, Bowser finally upgrades to playable, and Rosalina and Spike join as the newcomers.

Our spaces are a bit different this time, with a much wider variety making them act more like the items more than anything. We have: regular advance spaces, backward spaces, Boo spaces returning Boo to his old role, Boss Battle spaces, Bowser spaces, Bowser Jr. spaces, cannon spaces that let you fight back against Bowser, change spaces to rearrange player order, coin spaces, dash spaces, event spaces, gate spaces that you have to get through, heart spaces, lose coin spaces, lucky spaces, star spaces, minigame spaces, steal spaces that let you take stars, unlucky spaces, and warp spaces.


Our stages this time include: Mushroom Park, a standard Mario grassland level; Haunted Trail, a ghostly level; Whimsical Waters, an underwater level; Airship Central, set on an airship fleet; and Chaos Castle, a Bowser's Castle level. Much like the previous game, each of these comes with a boss and a mini boss which is basically just a really big enemy character. Mushroom Park has Petey Piranha and a giant Goomba, Haunted Trail has King Boo and a giant Sledge Bro, Whismical Waters has a giant Blooper (why not Gooper Blooper?) and a giant Cheep Chomp, Airship Central has Kamek and a giant Monty Mole, and Chaos Castle has Bowser or Dry Bowser and a giant Mechakoopa. Also most character amiibos will grant access to a small simple board loosely based on said character.

Across the game's 75 minigames, we see the characters: platforming, avoiding Cheep Cheeps, avoiding Peepas, balancing on a ball, golfing, avoiding spike balls, bouncing, eating fruit, counting Goombas, rolling dice, sliding on ice, matching up enemies, ground pounding, shooting Piranha Plants, inflating balloons, avoiding Fuzzies, swinging from vines, bobsledding, playing soccer, navigating a maze, playing volleyball, throwing Goombrats, stacking shapes, shooting Bullet Bills, drumming, blowing bubbles, playing Monkey in the Middle, springing, throwing bombs, playing cards, flying planes, and driving tanks. Bowser specifically has a few minigames during which he breathes fire, swings a hammer, butt bashes, climbs, and spins a roulette wheel.

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, platforming, avoiding Cheep Cheeps, avoiding Peepas, balancing on a ball, golfing, avoiding spike balls, bouncing, eating fruit, counting Goombas, rolling dice, sliding on ice, matching up enemies, ground pounding, shooting Piranha Plants, inflating balloons, avoiding Fuzzies, swinging from vines, bobsledding, playing soccer, navigating a maze, playing volleyball, throwing Goombrats, stacking shapes, shooting Bullet Bills, drumming, blowing bubbles, playing Monkey in the Middle, springing, throwing bombs, playing cards, flying planes, and driving tanks

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

Donkey Kong: bananas

Bowser: throw blocks, breathes fire, swings a hammer, butt bashes, climbs, spins a roulette wheel

Rosalina

Spike

Diddy Kong: barrel cannons

Koopa Kid

Bowser Jr: giant robot

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

Petey Piranha

Goomba

Sledge Bro

Cheep Chomp

Monty Mole

Mechakoopa

Dry 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

Toad Road

Bob-Omb Factory

Boo's Horror Castle

Blooper Beach

Magma Mine

Bowser Station

DK's Jungle Ruins

Mushroom Park

Haunted Trail

Whimsical Waters

Airship Central

Chaos Castle


Items:

Capsules

Candies

Dice Blocks


Thanks for reading! Next up, Super Mario Party!