Mario Villain Roster, Updated

And here's the villain roster!

Mario Villains Roster

MARIO VILLAINS ROSTER

And over here, we've got our villains. Who ya mainin' from this list?

Full Mario Roster

And there it is, folks. The full roster of all Mario series characters with potential to be fighters in a Smash game, at least based on actual evidence in-game. If a character related to the series does not appear here, they likely appear in one of the five separate rosters, links to which will appear at the end of the roster on the theoretical character select screen. All characters are listed in exact order of appearance. That made things much more simple than trying to use any kind of logic to sort them.

Roster made using https://ersatzsquare.github.io/rosterMaker/

My question to those reading: if this roster were a real thing, and part of an actual game, who ya mainin'?

Bowser Jr.

Mario fights his way across the island, cleaning up all of Shadow Mario’s mess and coming face to face with the figure in the middle of an amusement park. After a roller coaster fight with a giant robotic Bowser, the shadowy being finally decides to reveal his true identity.

He is, in reality, Bowser Jr., Bowser’s son and heir who believes Peach to be his mother. After this first game, he becomes a permanent and constant presence in the Mario series, a built-in partner for Bowser in sports games, and a natural mini-boss throughout most adventure games. Although his relationship with the Koopalings has yet to be truly nailed down, he even found himself a nice niche working with them in the series as well.

As a character, Bowser Jr. will be constantly piloting a Klown Kar, as many of his boss battles make use of the vehicle or other vehicles like it. He will be lighter and more floaty as a result, and his moveset will pull from all of his boss battles, as well as the abilities demonstrated by the Klown Kar itself.

Likelihood rating: Already in

Mario Golf: Super Rush

MARIO GOLF: SUPER RUSH

You just couldn't do, could you, Nintendo? You just couldn't let me go without throwing me one last left-field curve ball? No, you just had to give your brand new golf game a story mode with basically a giant Mr. Blizzard as the final boss. Do you think this is funny, Nintendo? (Insert Nintendo saying "Yes" here).

Either way, Mario Golf: Super Rush is a brand new game in the Mario Golf series after seven years since World Tour. The game features a number of ease-of-life changes to the game, like lines showing you where the ball ended up, and other changes that make it a bit more exciting. For instance, speed golf has been added, a mode that lets you run to your ball, racing against your opponents, rather than just taking you directly to the ball. We also have battle golf, taking place in a big arena and everyone playing a big free-for-all.

At the moment, our roster includes Mario and Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, and Pauline, Wario and Waluigi, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, Bowser and Bowser Jr., Boo, King Bob-Omb, and Chargin' Chuck in his playable debut (just want to take the meaningless brownie points of saying "I did it first, na na na na na na!"). Each have special shots and special dashes to help them in speed golf. Mario mostly uses his super star, Luigi uses the ice flower, Peach a gymnastics ribbon and Daisy a twirling baton, Wario uses lightning mostly, Waluigi is flamboyant as usual, Yoshi uses eggs, Toad uses the giant mushroom, Donkey Kong uses punches and rolls, Rosalina mostly uses her Lumas, Pauline sings "Jump Up, Superstar!", Bowser mostly uses fire, Junior uses his Klown Kar and Bullet Bills, Boo mostly uses strings of other Boos, King Bob-Omb uses a cannon and other Bob-Ombs, and Chargin' Chuck just straight up yeets the golf ball like a football (I think he's a little confused).

We also have Miis, who star in the story mode taking after the old RPG story modes where you are a young rookie golfer working their way up through the ranks. About halfway through though, the plot veers off into a story about an evil Snow King taking over Bowser's kingdom and freezing the entire area, and your character being guided to defeat him by a disembodied voice, who grants the character fire and lightning powers (which I think can be used to garnish Plum and Kid's movesets, so there's that). Across the game, you fight three bosses, an Electric Statue that fights you with lightning attacks, the Sacred Flamebeast that fights you with fireballs, and the Snow King, who, while being guarded by Mr. Blizzards all over his course, also throws giant versions of their snowballs at you, uses Freezies, freezes whole areas, and sends off shockwaves. That, along with Mr. Blizzard's own moves like throwing snowballs, bouncing around, whipping up small flurries sometimes, and even Dr. Freezegoods skiing in the Yoshi games . . . yeah, the moveset's there. Nintendo just had to do it. I . . . I . . . I think I'm a little broken right now. I'm going to need a minute.

Anyhoo, as for our stages, we have a Rookie Course to learn the ropes; Bonny Greens, a standard grassland stage; Balmy Dunes, a desert level; Wildweather Woods, a forested area with lots of weather effects; Ridgerock Lake, a rough rocky area with some tornadoes; Bowser Highlands, a combo snow-and-lava world; and the Super Golf Stadium for the battle golf. Apparently a New Donk City-based stage will appear in later DLC.

And that's it for the currently existing games! Only took two years. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: handstand, jump, crouch, spin, spin on bar, hammer, spring, key, pick up and throw, giant, float, fly

Cat Mario: glide, swipe, climb, evil cats, throw blocks, butt bash, Giga Cat Mode

Luigi: invisible

Wario: metal, Wario Man

Yoshi: fire breath, tongue

Donkey Kong: punch, barrel, stomp, jack, grow giant, throw enemies

Donkey Kong Jr.: hop, throw switches

Pauline

Birdo: Robirdo

Bowser Jr.: paintbrush, Klown Kar, hammer

All characters appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All characters appearing in the DKC series

All characters appearing in SM64

Diddy Kong

Dixie Kong

Tiny Kong

Wizpig

Taj

Timber and the other racers

Team Captains: deny, rally, bonus block, play dead, lightning, parry, bob-omb, thwomp, face off, backup, sneak attack, shell strike, aerial, melee, long range

Best Fitness Friends: rubber bands, malatone formula, doppelganger, fire punch, barrel, spin, divebomb, screech, fire, lightning, combine, laser beam, charge, cyclone, mystery box

Poochy: run, bash through objects, spin, Poochy pups, sliding, crouching, biting a hand, eating cake, catching a ball, carrying things, catching a frisbee, pulling on a rubber band, licking things, pushing a button with his tail, rolling.

Kat & Ana

Dribble & Spitz

I8-Volt

Nabbit

Peachette

Funky Kong: surfboard

King Boo

Dry Bones

Inklings

Chargin' Chuck

King Bob-Omb

Pauline

Mr. Blizzard: snowballs, icy breeze, whirlwind, Freezie, freeze everything, shockwave, giant snowball, bounce

Golfer: fire blast, lightning, dash

Bosses:

King Bob-Omb

Goomboss

King Boo

Chief Chilly

Electric Statue

Sacred Flamebeast

Snow King

Stages:

Construction Site

Big City

Forest

Ship

Jungle

Desert

Airplane

Iceberg

Rocky-Valley

All stages appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All stages appearing in DKC series

Palm Beach

Poison Swamp

Secret Factory

Ice Area

All locations in Diddy Kong Racing

Minions Battlefield

Dribble & Spitz Rally

Kat & Ana's Sky Patrol

Jet 18Volt

World-9 Cloud

Battle Stadium

Sweet Sweet Kingdom

Dragon Palace

Lunar Colony

Wuhu Town

Luigi's Mansion

Battle Course 1

Urchin Underpass

Lake Lapcat

Mount Magmeow

Rookie Course

Bonny Greens

Balmy Dunes

Wildweather Woods

Ridgerock Lake

Bowser Highlands

Super Golf Stadium

New Donk City

Thanks for reading! Now, the brand new four (excuse me) five characters to be added, starting with Cat Mario!

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD + BOWSER'S FURY

Today, let's cover the last of our deluxe posts and one of the most recent games to release, Super Mario 3D World's port for the switch For the most part the game is the same, up until you reach the post game, which features a whole new story mode, taking place in the mysterious Lake Lapcat, a sprawling open world made up of multiple miniature areas that you slowly unlock by clearing out the evil black paint that has corrupted Bowser again (an unexpected return from Paper Mario: Color Splash). Mario has to team up with Bowser Jr. to clear the paint and save Bowser.

Mario plays much the same, but we expand on the cat suit featured in the game, giving it much more lore that it apparently had. The catsuit plays much the same, except that during certain periods, you can unlock a Giga Cat mode, which is a heck of a contender for a Final Smash if I ever saw one. In this mode you also gain a butt bash, and throw the large chunks that tend to land when Bowser's awake. Several cats also appear roaming around the lake, and turn evil and attack you whenever Bowser wakes up.

Bowser Jr. is your primary companion throughout the game, flying around in his Klown Kar and attacking with his paint brush. Plessie will also act as your ride between areas of the lake. Bowser (or Fury Bowser, I suppose) fights mostly the same, his fire breath being his core attack. Boom Boom shows up to fight you here and there as well.

The different areas kinda sorta have their own themes and biomes, despite all being part of the lake aesthetic. These are generally sorted into a Lakeside area, a Ruins area, a Wasteland area, and a Volcanic area called Mount Magmeow.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: handstand, jump, crouch, spin, spin on bar, hammer, spring, key, pick up and throw, giant, float, fly

Cat Mario: glide, swipe, climb, evil cats, throw blocks, butt bash, Giga Cat Mode

Luigi: invisible

Wario: metal, Wario Man

Yoshi: fire breath, tongue

Donkey Kong: punch, barrel, stomp, jack, grow giant, throw enemies

Donkey Kong Jr.: hop, throw switches

Pauline

Birdo: Robirdo

Bowser Jr.: paintbrush, Klown Kar, hammer

All characters appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All characters appearing in the DKC series

All characters appearing in SM64

Diddy Kong

Dixie Kong

Tiny Kong

Wizpig

Taj

Timber and the other racers

Team Captains: deny, rally, bonus block, play dead, lightning, parry, bob-omb, thwomp, face off, backup, sneak attack, shell strike, aerial, melee, long range

Best Fitness Friends: rubber bands, malatone formula, doppelganger, fire punch, barrel, spin, divebomb, screech, fire, lightning, combine, laser beam, charge, cyclone, mystery box

Poochy: run, bash through objects, spin, Poochy pups, sliding, crouching, biting a hand, eating cake, catching a ball, carrying things, catching a frisbee, pulling on a rubber band, licking things, pushing a button with his tail, rolling.

Kat & Ana

Dribble & Spitz

I8-Volt

Nabbit

Peachette

Funky Kong: surfboard

King Boo

Dry Bones

Inklings

Bosses:

King Bob-Omb

Goomboss

King Boo

Chief Chilly

Stages:

Construction Site

Big City

Forest

Ship

Jungle

Desert

Airplane

Iceberg

Rocky-Valley

All stages appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All stages appearing in DKC series

Palm Beach

Poison Swamp

Secret Factory

Ice Area

All locations in Diddy Kong Racing

Minions Battlefield

Dribble & Spitz Rally

Kat & Ana's Sky Patrol

Jet 18Volt

World-9 Cloud

Battle Stadium

Sweet Sweet Kingdom

Dragon Palace

Lunar Colony

Wuhu Town

Luigi's Mansion

Battle Course 1

Urchin Underpass

Lake Lapcat

Mount Magmeow

Thanks for reading! Now, let's cover all of the collections!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

MARIO KART 8 DELUXE

In what may be the most successful port on this list, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was released on the switch, bringing with it every character and stage that appeared in the original game, including the DLC. On top of that, we also saw the addition of Bowser Jr. (who honestly should have been in the original, if anyone), King Boo, Dry Bones, and the Inkling Boy and Girl as guest stars. Another massive change was that they apparently learned from the mistake of just using tracks as battle courses, and included real battle courses. These included Battle Stadium, a high-tech battle course; Sweet Sweet Kingdom, a candy level; Dragon Palace, a Chinese-dragon themed battle level; Lunar Colony, based on Mario Galaxy; Wuhu Town; Luigi's Mansion; Battle Course 1 from the first Super Mario Kart; and Urchin Underpass, based on Splatoon.

That's it for today! Here's what we've got:

Characters:

Mario: handstand, jump, crouch, spin, spin on bar, hammer, spring, key, pick up and throw, giant, float, fly

Luigi: invisible

Wario: metal, Wario Man

Yoshi: fire breath, tongue

Donkey Kong: punch, barrel, stomp, jack, grow giant, throw enemies

Donkey Kong Jr.: hop, throw switches

Pauline

Birdo: Robirdo

Bowser Jr.: paintbrush, Klown Kar, hammer

All characters appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All characters appearing in the DKC series

All characters appearing in SM64

Diddy Kong

Dixie Kong

Tiny Kong

Wizpig

Taj

Timber and the other racers

Team Captains: deny, rally, bonus block, play dead, lightning, parry, bob-omb, thwomp, face off, backup, sneak attack, shell strike, aerial, melee, long range

Best Fitness Friends: rubber bands, malatone formula, doppelganger, fire punch, barrel, spin, divebomb, screech, fire, lightning, combine, laser beam, charge, cyclone, mystery box

Kat & Ana

Dribble & Spitz

I8-Volt

Nabbit

Peachette

Funky Kong: surfboard

King Boo

Dry Bones

Inklings

Bosses:

King Bob-Omb

Goomboss

King Boo

Chief Chilly

Stages:

Construction Site

Big City

Forest

Ship

Jungle

Desert

Airplane

Iceberg

Rocky-Valley

All stages appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All stages appearing in DKC series

Palm Beach

Poison Swamp

Secret Factory

Ice Area

All locations in Diddy Kong Racing

Minions Battlefield

Dribble & Spitz Rally

Kat & Ana's Sky Patrol

Jet 18Volt

World-9 Cloud

Battle Stadium

Sweet Sweet Kingdom

Dragon Palace

Lunar Colony

Wuhu Town

Luigi's Mansion

Battle Course 1

Urchin Underpass

Thanks for reading! Now, let's cover Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World!

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER'S INSIDE STORY + BOWSER JR.'S JOURNEY

Today, we cover the second Mario & Luigi remake and ultimate swan song of AlphaDream studios. Many criticized their decision to skip Partners in Time in favor of this, but if AlphaDream saw the writing on the wall, and decided this was the note they wanted to go out on, I can't fault them for it. The expertly crafted, heartfelt, character-driven side story they gave us was one of the single best surprises I've stumbled upon in the course of this blog series, and I certainly won't be forgetting AlphaDream any time soon because of it. To them, I say, rest in peace, and may your developers find work in greener projects.

The Bowser Jr.'s Journey add-on plays much the same as Bowser's Minions gameplay, with a team captain commanding a squad of minions against other batches of opponents. This time, however, Bowser Jr. acts as the protagonist, heading out to try and assist his dad against Fawful and his minions, learning valuable lessons about being a true leader after his behavior and attitude alienates everyone around him and even shatters his relationships with the Koopalings at one point. The depth and nuance this story added to Bowser Jr., all seven Koopalings, and Kamek and the relationships between them all is something I could gush about all day long . . . but it's not technically what I'm here for, so I guess I must move on. However, if you have not, I strongly recommend picking up the game or at least watching a Let's Play of it.

Bowser Jr. is the only captain, but he has ranged, melee, and aerial forms using hammers, his paintbrush, and his Klown Kar respectively. All seven Koopalings and Kamek can act as his first officer, using pretty standard attacks you'd expect from them. The four captains from the original game and the Backstabber Trio can join you as well, as can Bowser in the post game. After that, your army can consist of several types of Goomba, several types of Koopa, Buzzy Beetles, Para-Beetles, Spinies, and Spike Tops, Mechakoopas, Broozers, Pokeys, Chain Chomps, Chargin' Chucks, Ant Troopers, Bob-Ombs, Bullies, Dry Bones, Lakitus, several types of Boos, Biddybuds, Swoops, Shy Guys, Fly Guys, and Spear Guys, Ninjis, Hammer, Boomerang, Ice, and Fire Bros, Piranha Plants, Spikes, Bandits, Magikoopas, and Nabbit.

While many of the major players of the story (Mario, Luigi, Starlow, Fawful, and Midbus) appear in the odd cutscenes here and there, the core of Bowser Jr.'s Journey's conflict involves Bowser's Castle being taken over by three brand new original characters working for Fawful: The Best Fitness Friends. Dieter is the ranged character and leader, mostly flicking rubber bands as a projectile, but he can also throw malatone formula to boost his allies, and he can create doppelgangers of himself. Beef is the melee fighter, who mainly uses a fire punch, and can throw barrels as well. Kaley is the aerial fighter who can spin, divebomb, screech loudly, and call down lightning and flames. In the final battle, they use Malatone formula to combine into one giant monster, who can create evil clones, punch, fire off a laser beam, charge while boosted, create a cyclone with their breath, and summon a mystery box.

That's most of the important stuff! Let's see what we've got:

Characters:

Mario: handstand, jump, crouch, spin, spin on bar, hammer, spring, key, pick up and throw, giant, float, fly

Luigi: invisible

Wario: metal

Yoshi: fire breath, tongue

Donkey Kong: punch, barrel, stomp, jack, grow giant, throw enemies

Donkey Kong Jr.: hop, throw switches

Pauline

Birdo: Robirdo

Bowser Jr.: paintbrush, Klown Kar, hammer

All characters appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All characters appearing in the DKC series

All characters appearing in SM64

Diddy Kong

Dixie Kong

Tiny Kong

Wizpig

Taj

Timber and the other racers

Team Captains: deny, rally, bonus block, play dead, lightning, parry, bob-omb, thwomp, face off, backup, sneak attack, shell strike, aerial, melee, long range

Best Fitness Friends: rubber bands, malatone formula, doppelganger, fire punch, barrel, spin, divebomb, screech, fire, lightning, combine, laser beam, charge, cyclone, mystery box

Bosses:

King Bob-Omb

Goomboss

King Boo

Chief Chilly

Stages:

Construction Site

Big City

Forest

Ship

Jungle

Desert

Airplane

Iceberg

Rocky-Valley

All stages appearing in SMB2, SMW, SMW2, and SMB3

All stages appearing in DKC series

Palm Beach

Poison Swamp

Secret Factory

Ice Area

All locations in Diddy Kong Racing

Minions Battlefield

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover the Luigi's Mansion remake!

Fortune Street

FORTUNE STREET

Fortune Street is a console sequel to Itadaki Street DS, and once again a crossover between Mario and Dragon Quest. The gameplay is mostly the same, and largely part of a different series entirely, one we will cover at a later date. All eleven characters on both sides return, plus two more for each: Diddy Kong and Bowser Jr. on the Mario side, and Patty and Stella on the Dragon Quest side (Again, don't really know who they are, but my assumption is party members). Many of the stages return with a couple of newbies: Starship Mario and Good Egg Galaxy from the Super Mario Galaxy games (I'm guessing it was a recent release at the time), and the Observatory and Alltrades Abbey from Dragon Quest.

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

Characters:

Mario: hammer, bombs, drop drum, golden hammer, pink (enemy), blue (block), yellow (metal plate), green (brick), Kanbank, throw Koopa shells, chisel, pinball, dance

Luigi: same, dance

Princess Peach

Bowser, dance

Foreman Spike: push, best option for a gimmick character, see all above

Wario: chisel, dance

Toad

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Daisy

Waluigi: dance, steal music keys

Birdo

Diddy Kong

Toadette

Toadsworth

Bowser Jr.

Petey Piranha

Koopa Troopa

Goomba

Shy Guy

Boo

Cheep Cheep

Bob-Omb

Lakitu

Pokey

Chain Chomp

Monty Mole

Ukiki

Eggplant Man: run around

Gotchawrench: run around

Slime

Platypunk

Bianca

Angelo

Jessica

Alena

Kiryl

Carver

Pudding/Princessa

Yangus

Dragonlord

Stella

Patty

Onigiri

Onnanoko

Oyazi

Dogu

Tutankoopa: float, spell

Stages:

Wrecking Crew

High Rise Building

Mario Paint

Clash House Tower

Fun Fair

Frosty Frontier

Grassy Greens

Shifting Sands

Fiery Stage

Truffle Towers

SS Brass

Corkscrew Hotel

Wario Carnival

Snowy Peak

Bowser's Castle

Yoshi's Island

Bowser's Castle

Mario Stadium

Mario Circuit

Peach's Castle

Delfino Plaza

Mushroom Kingdom

Castle Trodain

Mt. Magmageddon

Colossus

Ghost Ship

Slimenia

Alefgard

Robbin' Hood Ruins

Starship Mario

Good Egg Galaxy

Observatory

Alltrades Abbey

Items:

Hammers

Bombs

Drums

Blocks

Shells

Mahjong Tiles

Pinball Machine

Music Keys

Thanks for reading! Now, let's cover Super Mario Maker!

Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge

MINI MARIO & FRIENDS: AMIIBO CHALLENGE

Last one! Hooray! Mini Mario & Friends was sort of a departure from the standard series. All the story elements of Donkey Kong kidnapping Pauline and Mario going after him are gone, as is pretty much everything Pauline entirely. Basically the game works with amiibos, adding in Mini-versions of whichever characters you have and having them go through levels for you. Each comes with their own special move that shakes up the gameplay a little bit.

The character amiibos that work with this include Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Rosalina, Bowser, and Bowser Jr., each getting their own mini, alongside a little robot named Mini-Spek, a stand-in for any other amiibo you might have tried to scan in (Say, you tried a Link amiibo, for instance). Mario can wall jump, Luigi can high jump, Peach can float, Toad can crouch and get through small areas, Yoshi can eat enemies, Donkey Kong can climb steep slopes, Diddy Kong can grab ledges, Rosalina can perform super high jumps, Bowser can ground pound, and Bowser Jr. can fly in his Klown Kar over spikes without injury. Mini-Spek has no special moves.

The levels in this game are mostly split up into unique worlds for each amiibo. For instance, Barrel Blast Jungle is Donkey's world and features barrel cannons. Mine Cart Cove is Diddy's and features minecarts. Egg Launch Land is Yoshi's, with eggs the player can ride in. Boost Pad Bonanza is Mario's with lots of boost pads. Balloon Float Castle is Peach's with balloons that can carry you upward. Mushroom Hills is Toad's with lots of bouncy mushrooms. Moonlight Mansion is Luigi's with candles that scare off boos and reveal hidden blocks. Air Tumble Rumble is Bowser Jr.'s with fans that push you across gaps. Fire Ride Fortress is Bowser's with lots of burners everywhere. Gravity Galaxy is Rosalina's with lots of gravity wells changing things up. Finally, we have Star World, the final world after the rest are complete.

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

Characters:

Mario: jump, handstand, hammer, climb, swing on bar, pick up and throw, springs

Donkey Kong: bag, rocks, barrels, chains, buttons, giant mech, bananas, vines

Mini Marios: spring, hammer, cannon, fireballs, swing on bar, wall jump, bombs, bubble shield, coconuts, rockets, bomb block

Mini Donkey Kongs: toss, bag, ram, giant tie, lift, cannons, climb slopes

Mini Luigi: high jump

Mini Peach: float

Mini Toad: crawl

Mini Pauline

Mini Yoshi: eat enemies

Mini Diddy Kong: ledge grab

Mini Rosalina: launch

Mini Bowser: ground pound

Mini Bowser Jr.: float

Shy Guy

Piranha Plant

Ninji

Thwomp

Boo

Bob-Omb

Blooper

Snifit

Pokey

Stages:

Mario Toy Company

Donkey Kong Jungle

Fire Mountain

Spooky House

Mystic Forest

Twilight City

Mushroom Mayhem

Tropical Turmoil

Pipe Works

Magnet Mania

Lava Land

Peach's Castle

Spooky Attic

Jungle Hijinks

DK's Hideout

Mini Mayhem

Sandstone Stroll

Magnet Mania

Jungle Rumble

Rooftop

Basement

Coaster Hills

Jumpy Jungle

Teatime Twirl

Warped Mansion

Sandstorm Steps

Cosmic Adventure

Cannon Cove

Super Skywheel

Final Ferris Wheel

Rainbow Summit

Secret Storage

Mario's Main Event

Puzzle Palace

Many Mini Mayhem

Giant Jungle

Rolling Hills

Jumpy Jungle

Runaway Warehouse

Crumbling Cavern

Dashing Desert

Twilight Valley

Orbiting Observatory

Barrel Blast Jungle

Mine Cart Cove

Egg Launch Land

Boost Pad Bonanza

Balloon Float Castle

Mushroom Hills

Moonlight Mansion

Air Tumble Rumble

Fire Ride Fortress

Gravity Galaxy

Star World

Items:

Hammers

Springs

Keys

Fire Flowers

Coconuts

Bomb Blocks

Pink Blocks

amiibos

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's go over all the characters again!

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!

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.

Mario Sports Superstars

 MARIO SPORTS SUPERSTARS

Now, going off the name, you'd think this game would be a sequel to Mario Sports Mix, maybe with more sports on top of the four already featured, maybe more Mario and Final Fantasy/Square Enix characters, so on. You would be wrong. In reality, it's more like a big combination game between all of the other Mario sports franchises. You know, the ones with sequels. You have tennis, golf, baseball, soccer/football, and . . . horse racing? Where you have to raise and train your own horse? Um . . . okay. I'm not sure where that one came from, but I guess I'm not complaining. Each sport plays pretty much the way each sport was played in the series proper, with special attacks and other fantastical elements that you would have come to expect from each. The horse racing, I guess, you could compare to Mario Kart, but much slower and generally more focused on avoiding or jumping over obstacles, as well as the simple raising and training mechanics within the pasture.

Our playable characters this time around include Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Waluigi, Rosalina, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Boo, Bowser, and Bowser Jr., with Metal Mario and Pink Gold Peach as unlockable. For the team sports like football and baseball, you also have a number of sidekicks to fill up the team. These include Toads, Koopas, Magikoopas, Shy Guys, Goombas, Hammer Bros, Spikes, and Boom Boom and Pom Pom as goalies.

Each sport has four different stages that they can be played on. Tennis has a Grass Court, Hard Court, Clay Court, and a Night Court, most of which should be pretty familiar to Mario Tennis players. Golf has Emerald Woods (a standard course), Gold Links (a rougher course), Crystal Beach (a beach), and Wild Valley (the toughest course). Baseball has a Country Field, Town Park, Big Field set in a city, and a Harbor Park. Football has a Village Stadium, City Stadium, Kingdom Stadium, and a Grand Stadium. Finally, horse racing has Green Farm (where you start out), Cobalt Lake (going around a lake), Yellow Leaves Hill (set during Autumn), and Sky Peak (a mountainous course).

That's about it. Most of the items are mostly just accessories, like the balls, baseball bats, golf clubs, tennis racquets, and clothes for the horse.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: fireball, Super Mario

Luigi: green fireball, tornado, Super Luigi, vacuum

Peach: heart ball, Freeze Frame

Daisy: flower ball, Crystal Smash

Yoshi: egg ball, rainbow ball, Egg Roll, flutter jump

Birdo: weird ball, suction, Extreme Egg, egg shot

Donkey Kong: banana ball, barrel, Thunder Wham, dunk, ground pound

Diddy Kong: boomerang ball, banana, Red Card, rocketbarrels

Wario: phony ball, Gas Mask, butt bash, bomb

Waluigi: liar ball, Wall-Luigi, cyclone spin, electricity machine

Bowser: killer ball, fire breath, Fire Storm

Bowser Jr.: killer jr. ball, paintbrush, Sonic Roar

Pianta

Noki

Monty Mole: Dirt Drill

Toad: Fire Meteor, mushrooms

Toadette

Toadsworth

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Shy Guy: Bullet Bill Blast

Dixie Kong: barrel cannon

Goomba

Paragoomba

Koopa: Shell Smash

Paratroopa: fly

Boo: Possess, teleport

King Boo

Petey Piranha: Mud Slinger, act as hoop

Magikoopa

Hammer Bro: Hammer Throw

Dry Bones: Shocker

Lakitu: hold hoop

Piranha Plant

Klaptrap

Chain Chomp

Thwomp

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Baby Donkey Kong

Funky Kong

Tiny Kong

King K. Rool

Wiggler

Blooper

Kritter: goalie

Super Team: football, goalie (Robo-Kritter), electric walls, items, Super Shots, Mega Strikes, Special Abilities, metal ball

Fly Guy: electric spear

Moogle: dance, teleport

Cactuar: needles

Ninja: leaf veil, shadow clones

White Mage: holy magic, light beam

Black Mage: meteor, lightning

Mii: energy ball

Slime: duplicates

Rosalina

Boom Boom

Pom Pom

Spike

Metal Mario

Pink Gold Peach

Boss:

Behemoth

Stages:

Mario Stadium

Peach Garden

Yoshi Park

Donkey Kong Jungle

Wario Palace

Bowser Castle

Toy Field

Baseball Kingdom

Peach Ice Garden

Wario City

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Cruiser

Bowser Jr.'s Playroom

The Palace

Pipeline Central

The Underground

Konga Coliseum

Crater Field

The Battle Dome

Bowser Stadium

The Vice

Thunder Island

The Sand Tomb

The Classroom

The Lava Pit

The Wastelands

Crystal Canyon

The Dump

Stormship Stadium

Galactic Stadium

Mario Stadium

Koopa Beach

Peach Field

Sunset Beach

DK Cruiser

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Garden

Malboro Garden

Wario Factory

Jr. Street

Bowser's Castle

Glare Desert

Sherbet Land

Bloocheep Sea

Pirate Ship

Rainbow Ship

DK Dock

Toad Park

Western Junction

Bowser Jr. Boulevard

Waluigi Pinball

Ghoulish Galleon

Behemoth's Domain

Grass Court

Hard Court

Clay Court

Night Court

Emerald Woods

Gold Links

Crystal Beach

Wild Valley

Country Field

Town Park

Big Field

Harbor Park

Village Stadium

City Stadium

Kingdom Stadium

Grand Stadium

Green Farm

Cobalt Lake

Yellow Leaves Hill

Sky Peak

Items:

Bat

Glove

Green Shell

Fireball

Mini-Boo

Bob-Omb

POW Ball

Banana Peel

Lightning Bolt

Red Shell

Blue Shell

Spiky Shell

Chain Chomp

False Panel

Freezie

Mimic

Mini Mushroom

Thanks for reading! Now that we're done with all of that, let's go over our character updates one more time!

Mario Sports Mix

MARIO SPORTS MIX

Although not specifically a basketball game, Mario Sports Mix is essentially a sequel to Mario Hoops. It too was produced by Square Enix, and features most of the characters appearing in that game. The big difference, however, is that this game features basketball alongside volleyball, dodgeball, and hockey, all in one. The mechanics for the four games are about what you'd expect. Basketball has two teams trying to toss a ball into a hoop, volleyball has two teams on either side of a net lobbing a ball back and forth, dodgeball has two teams pummeling each other with surprisingly hard balls in a gruesome battle to the death, and hockey has two team playing, well, sort of basically soccer but on ice and with sticks. If you know the games, you know the games.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, and Bowser Jr. all return from the previous game, alongside the Moogle, Cactuar, Ninja, White Mage, and Black Mage of the first game. New characters include Toad, Slime from the Dragon Quest series, and Miis. Each brings with them a special shot just like before. Mario uses a fireball, Luigi uses the Poltergust, Peach uses hearts, Daisy uses flowers, Yoshi uses rainbows, Donkey Kong pounds the ground, Diddy uses a banana boomerang, Wario uses a bomb, Waluigi uses electricity, Bowser breathes fire, and Bowser Jr. uses his paint brush. Toad makes mushrooms pop up on the field, and the Miis use a generic energy ball functionally similar to Mario's fireball. On the Square end, the Moogle teleports the ball, the Cactuar fires needles, the Ninja uses Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, the White Mage uses a beam of light, the Black Mage uses lightning to shrink opponents, and the Slime creates copies of itself to stun opponents.

The stages in the game are pretty similar to the original game, but they are altered slightly for each individual sport. These include: Mario Stadium, Koopa Troopa Beach, Peach's Castle, DK Dock (similar to the raft from the last game), Toad Park (set in an Amusement Park), Luigi's Mansion, Western Junction (based on the Old West), Daisy Garden, Wario Factory, Bowser Jr. Boulevard (very similar to Times Square or the Vegas Strip kind of thing), Bowser's Castle, Waluigi Pinball, Ghoulish Galleon (a haunted pirate ship), and the flying Star Ship from the first game.

One major notable feature here is the presence of a story mode, where after you have beaten all the tournaments, a boss called the Behemoth King appears and challenges you. It is mostly a big snarling monstrosity that attacks with its tail and claws, sometimes charging at you and body-slamming you. Sometimes it uses lightning, fireballs, and meteors to attack you. You and your team have to use all the sports together to defeat it.

Finally, we have a few items to go over. We have the banana, the Bob-Omb, the coin, the Green Shell, Red Shell, and Star, all acting as you expect them to do, and the Mini Mushroom, which will shrink you down.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: fireball, Super Mario

Luigi: green fireball, tornado, Super Luigi, vacuum

Peach: heart ball, Freeze Frame

Daisy: flower ball, Crystal Smash

Yoshi: egg ball, rainbow ball, Egg Roll, flutter jump

Birdo: weird ball, suction, Extreme Egg, egg shot

Donkey Kong: banana ball, barrel, Thunder Wham, dunk, ground pound

Diddy Kong: boomerang ball, banana, Red Card, rocketbarrels

Wario: phony ball, Gas Mask, butt bash, bomb

Waluigi: liar ball, Wall-Luigi, cyclone spin, electricity machine

Bowser: killer ball, fire breath, Fire Storm

Bowser Jr.: killer jr. ball, paintbrush, Sonic Roar

Pianta

Noki

Monty Mole: Dirt Drill

Toad: Fire Meteor, mushrooms

Toadette

Toadsworth

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Shy Guy: Bullet Bill Blast

Dixie Kong: barrel cannon

Goomba

Paragoomba

Koopa: Shell Smash

Paratroopa: fly

Boo: Possess, teleport

King Boo

Petey Piranha: Mud Slinger, act as hoop

Magikoopa

Hammer Bro: Hammer Throw

Dry Bones: Shocker

Lakitu: hold hoop

Piranha Plant

Klaptrap

Chain Chomp

Thwomp

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Baby Donkey Kong

Funky Kong

Tiny Kong

King K. Rool

Wiggler

Blooper

Kritter: goalie

Super Team: football, goalie (Robo-Kritter), electric walls, items, Super Shots, Mega Strikes, Special Abilities, metal ball

Fly Guy: electric spear

Moogle: dance, teleport

Cactuar: needles

Ninja: leaf veil, shadow clones

White Mage: holy magic, light beam

Black Mage: meteor, lightning

Mii: energy ball

Slime: duplicates

Boss:

Behemoth

Stages:

Mario Stadium

Peach Garden

Yoshi Park

Donkey Kong Jungle

Wario Palace

Bowser Castle

Toy Field

Baseball Kingdom

Peach Ice Garden

Wario City

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Cruiser

Bowser Jr.'s Playroom

The Palace

Pipeline Central

The Underground

Konga Coliseum

Crater Field

The Battle Dome

Bowser Stadium

The Vice

Thunder Island

The Sand Tomb

The Classroom

The Lava Pit

The Wastelands

Crystal Canyon

The Dump

Stormship Stadium

Galactic Stadium

Mario Stadium

Koopa Beach

Peach Field

Sunset Beach

DK Cruiser

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Garden

Malboro Garden

Wario Factory

Jr. Street

Bowser's Castle

Glare Desert

Sherbet Land

Bloocheep Sea

Pirate Ship

Rainbow Ship

DK Dock

Toad Park

Western Junction

Bowser Jr. Boulevard

Waluigi Pinball

Ghoulish Galleon

Behemoth's Domain

Items:

Bat

Glove

Green Shell

Fireball

Mini-Boo

Bob-Omb

POW Ball

Banana Peel

Lightning Bolt

Red Shell

Blue Shell

Spiky Shell

Chain Chomp

False Panel

Freezie

Mimic

Mini Mushroom

Thanks for reading! Now, let's cover Mario Sports Superstars, which, despite the name, is very much not a sequel to this game!

Mario Hoops 3-on-3

 MARIO HOOPS 3-ON-3

Mario Hoops 3-on-3 is a collaboration between Nintendo and Square Enix, and the Mario series's only full foray into basketball. The basketball mechanics are pretty standard, with two teams of three vying for control of a ball that they toss into a hoop at either end of the court. The game comes with all the fixings, like dribbling, dodging, passing, and defense, with a few fantastical elements like special shots for each character and coin panels on the floor that you can dribble on to get coins.

The game starts with ten characters, standard Mario staples including: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser Jr. Unlockable characters include Bowser, Birdo, Dixie Kong, Boo, Paratroopa, and Fly Guy, alongisde five guest characters from Final Fantasy: a Moogle, Cactuar, Ninja, Black Mage, and White Mage. Mario and Luigi use fire for their shots, Peach uses hearts and Daisy uses flowers, Yoshi performs a flutter jump, Donkey Kong just dunks it very hard while Diddy uses his rocketbarrels, Wario does a butt bash and Waluigi performs a spin, and Bowser Jr. uses his paint. Bowser uses his fire, Birdo shoots an egg, Dixie shoots from a cannon, Boo teleports, Paratroopa flies it up, and Fly Guy uses an electric spear. Our guests (while we won't be covering them too much here) perform their moves by the Moogle dancing, the Cactuar uses its needles, the Ninja uses leaves to disappear, the White Mage levitates it, and the Black Mage calls down meteors.

Our stages include Mario Stadium, a basic court; Koopa Beach, a beach court with a pirate ship in the distance; Peach Field, an island with cliffs on both sides; Sunset Beach, more or less the same as Koopa Beach; DK Cruiser, a raft going down a jungle river; Luigi's Mansion, based on Luigi's Mansion; Daisy Garden, with two Petey Piranhas acting as the nets (awesome); Malboro Garden, very similar but with Final Fantasy enemies instead; Wario Factory, set in a factory; Jr. Street, a casino-themed court; Bowser's Castle; Glare Desert, a desert level; Sherbet Land, an icy level; Bloocheep Sea, an underwater level; Pirate Ship, featuring Gooper Blooper as a hazard; and Rainbow Ship, set on a flying ship.

Lightning, Mushrooms, Poison Mushrooms, Stars, Bananas, Bob-Ombs, Fake Panels, Green Shells, Red Shells, Spiny Shells, and Freezies all appear as items, acting pretty much exactly like your mental picture of them would that you just brought up. Mimics from the Final Fantasy series also appear, which will chase after the character with the ball.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: fireball, Super Mario

Luigi: green fireball, tornado, Super Luigi

Peach: heart ball, Freeze Frame

Daisy: flower ball, Crystal Smash

Yoshi: egg ball, rainbow ball, Egg Roll, flutter jump

Birdo: weird ball, suction, Extreme Egg, egg shot

Donkey Kong: banana ball, barrel, Thunder Wham, dunk

Diddy Kong: boomerang ball, banana, Red Card, rocketbarrels

Wario: phony ball, Gas Mask, butt bash

Waluigi: liar ball, Wall-Luigi, cyclone spin

Bowser: killer ball, fire breath, Fire Storm

Bowser Jr.: killer jr. ball, paintbrush, Sonic Roar

Pianta

Noki

Monty Mole: Dirt Drill

Toad: Fire Meteor

Toadette

Toadsworth

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Shy Guy: Bullet Bill Blast

Dixie Kong: barrel cannon

Goomba

Paragoomba

Koopa: Shell Smash

Paratroopa: fly

Boo: Possess, teleport

King Boo

Petey Piranha: Mud Slinger, act as hoop

Magikoopa

Hammer Bro: Hammer Throw

Dry Bones: Shocker

Lakitu: hold hoop

Piranha Plant

Klaptrap

Chain Chomp

Thwomp

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Baby Donkey Kong

Funky Kong

Tiny Kong

King K. Rool

Wiggler

Blooper

Kritter: goalie

Super Team: football, goalie (Robo-Kritter), electric walls, items, Super Shots, Mega Strikes, Special Abilities, metal ball

Fly Guy: electric spear

Moogle: dance

Cactuar: needles

Ninja: leaf veil

White Mage: holy magic

Black Mage: meteor

Stages:

Mario Stadium

Peach Garden

Yoshi Park

Donkey Kong Jungle

Wario Palace

Bowser Castle

Toy Field

Baseball Kingdom

Peach Ice Garden

Wario City

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Cruiser

Bowser Jr.'s Playroom

The Palace

Pipeline Central

The Underground

Konga Coliseum

Crater Field

The Battle Dome

Bowser Stadium

The Vice

Thunder Island

The Sand Tomb

The Classroom

The Lava Pit

The Wastelands

Crystal Canyon

The Dump

Stormship Stadium

Galactic Stadium

Mario Stadium

Koopa Beach

Peach Field

Sunset Beach

DK Cruiser

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Garden

Malboro Garden

Wario Factory

Jr. Street

Bowser's Castle

Glare Desert

Sherbet Land

Bloocheep Sea

Pirate Ship

Rainbow Ship

Items:

Bat

Glove

Green Shell

Fireball

Mini-Boo

Bob-Omb

POW Ball

Banana Peel

Lightning Bolt

Red Shell

Blue Shell

Spiky Shell

Chain Chomp

False Panel

Freezie

Mimic

Thanks for reading! Now, let's go on to the sort-of sequel to this game, Mario Sports Mix!

Mario Strikers Charged

 MARIO STRIKERS CHARGED

Mario Strikers Charged, or Mario Strikers Charged Football depending on your region, is the sequel to Super Mario Strikers, and the second Mario football/soccer game. The football mechanics in the game are much the same as you'd expect, a much more extreme version of regular football, with only five players to a team, skill shots and special abilities, high-powered electric walls around the edges of the field, and a special metallic ball that tracks how many times the ball has been passed, becoming more powerful on the fifth pass.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Waluigi all return as captains, and are joined by Bowser, Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., and Petey Piranha. Each comes with a Mega Strike, like before, but they all also come with an item-based Super Ability. Mario and Luigi can become giants; Peach can freeze the area around her; Daisy causes a bunch of crystals to burst out of the ground, clearing the area around her (don't know where she got that power from); Yoshi rolls around in an egg; Wario farts and fills the area with toxic gas; Waluigi can create a bunch of thorny vine walls to block opponents; Donkey Kong punches the ground to make a shock wave; Bowser breathes fire; Bowser Jr. lets loose a sonic boom; Diddy Kong uses a red card to remove players for fifteen seconds (alrighty then); and Petey Piranha pukes up a bunch of muck on the ground.

Hammer Bros, Toads, Birdos, and Koopas all return as teammates, alongside Boos, Dry Bones, Monty Moles, and Shy Guys. They all have special shots as well, mostly based around them and who they are. Hammer Bros smack with a hammer, Koopa turns the ball into a spinning shell, Birdo spits an egg with it, Boo possesses it, Monty Mole burrows underground with the ball to distract the goalie, and Shy Guy uses a Bullet Bill. Kritters once again act as the goalies. Sadly, the Super Team does not feature this time around, except for a single cameo at the end of the game's credits.

Our stages this time include: The Vice, a standard grassy field; Thunder Island, a stormy mountaintop; The Sand Tomb, a desert level; The Classroom, a futuristic science lab; The Lava Pit, a Bowser's Castle type stage; The Wastelands, a rough, snowy region; Crystal Canyon, a canyon surrounded by enormous crystals; The Dump, sorta similar to the Underground of the previous game; Stormship Stadium, set inside a huge spaceship; and Galactic Stadium; set on a chunk of debris floating out in the abyss of space.

All of the items from before return and perform the same basic functions.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: fireball, Super Mario

Luigi: green fireball, tornado, Super Luigi

Peach: heart ball, Freeze Frame

Daisy: flower ball, Crystal Smash

Yoshi: egg ball, rainbow ball, Egg Roll

Birdo: weird ball, suction, Extreme Egg

Donkey Kong: banana ball, barrel, Thunder Wham

Diddy Kong: boomerang ball, banana, Red Card

Wario: phony ball, Gas Mask

Waluigi: liar ball, Wall-Luigi

Bowser: killer ball, fire breath, Fire Storm

Bowser Jr.: killer jr. ball, paintbrush, Sonic Roar

Pianta

Noki

Monty Mole: Dirt Drill

Toad: Fire Meteor

Toadette

Toadsworth

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Shy Guy: Bullet Bill Blast

Dixie Kong

Goomba

Paragoomba

Koopa: Shell Smash

Paratroopa

Boo: Possess

King Boo

Petey Piranha: Mud Slinger

Magikoopa

Hammer Bro: Hammer Throw

Dry Bones: Shocker

Lakitu

Piranha Plant

Klaptrap

Chain Chomp

Thwomp

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Baby Donkey Kong

Funky Kong

Tiny Kong

King K. Rool

Wiggler

Blooper

Kritter: goalie

Super Team: football, goalie (Robo-Kritter), electric walls, items, Super Shots, Mega Strikes, Special Abilities, metal ball

Stages:

Mario Stadium

Peach Garden

Yoshi Park

Donkey Kong Jungle

Wario Palace

Bowser Castle

Toy Field

Baseball Kingdom

Peach Ice Garden

Wario City

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Cruiser

Bowser Jr.'s Playroom

The Palace

Pipeline Central

The Underground

Konga Coliseum

Crater Field

The Battle Dome

Bowser Stadium

The Vice

Thunder Island

The Sand Tomb

The Classroom

The Lava Pit

The Wastelands

Crystal Canyon

The Dump

Stormship Stadium

Galactic Stadium

Items:

Bat

Glove

Green Shell

Fireball

Mini-Boo

Bob-Omb

POW Ball

Banana Peel

Lightning Bolt

Red Shell

Blue Shell

Spiky Shell

Chain Chomp

Thanks for reading! Now, let's move on to the Mario series' foray into basketball, Mario Hoops 3-on-3!

Mario Super Sluggers

 MARIO SUPER SLUGGERS

Today, let's cover the sequel to Mario Superstar Baseball, and last full baseball game made. (Which is really a shame. I'd love to see a more modern game with Rosalina, a few Lumas, Nabbit, Pauline, Peachette, the Koopalings, a few Wario Ware characters and so on. This would be the game for it.) This game was made for the Wii, and as such made use of the Wiimote motion controls and all that, but all things considered, it was mostly the same game, same basic baseball mechanics if a little updated.

Our twelve captains all return, with much the same super moves except that Luigi now uses tornadoes instead of fire (not totally sure why, but okay), Yoshi's pitch uses rainbows, Birdo uses her sucking in and shooting abilities from her odd little mouth, Donkey Kong uses barrels now, Bowser uses his fire breath, and Bowser Jr. uses paint like in Super Mario Sunshine. All of the support characters return, alongside Baby Peach, Baby Daisy, Baby Donkey Kong, Funky Kong, Tiny Kong, King K. Rool, Wiggler, Blooper, five more Yoshis, and four Kritters.

The story mode of the game takes place in the Baseball Kingdom, an island that features all of the main fields. These include: Mario Stadium, the same from before; Peach Ice Garden, an ice rink that someone had the bright idea to play baseball on; Yoshi Park, much the same; Wario City, a big Vegas-style city fitting of Wario; DK Jungle, very similar; Luigi's Mansion, a Luigi's Mansion-themed field; Daisy Cruiser, taking place on an ocean liner; Bowser Jr. Playroom, a giant toybox playroom type of level; and Bowser's Castle, very similar to the original.

There are a few more "item" items that you can use in gameplay, including a Green Shell, a Fireball, a Mini-Boo to turn the ball invisible, a Bob-Omb, a POW "Ball," a Banana Peel, and a Lightning Bolt. Most of these function the way you would think they do in a Mario game.

That's all we've got for now! Here's what we've got:

Characters:

Mario: fireball

Luigi: green fireball, tornado

Peach: heart ball

Daisy: flower ball

Yoshi: egg ball, rainbow ball

Birdo: weird ball, suction

Donkey Kong: banana ball, barrel

Diddy Kong: boomerang ball, banana

Wario: phony ball

Waluigi: liar ball

Bowser: killer ball, fire breath

Bowser Jr.: killer jr. ball, paintbrush

Pianta

Noki

Monty Mole

Toad

Toadette

Toadsworth

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Shy Guy

Dixie Kong

Goomba

Paragoomba

Koopa

Paratroopa

Boo

King Boo

Petey Piranha

Magikoopa

Hammer Bro

Dry Bones

Lakitu

Piranha Plant

Klaptrap

Chain Chomp

Thwomp

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Baby Donkey Kong

Funky Kong

Tiny Kong

King K. Rool

Wiggler

Blooper

Kritter

Stages:

Mario Stadium

Peach Garden

Yoshi Park

Donkey Kong Jungle

Wario Palace

Bowser Castle

Toy Field

Baseball Kingdom

Peach Ice Garden

Wario City

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Cruiser

Bowser Jr.'s Playroom

Items:

Bat

Glove

Green Shell

Fireball

Mini-Boo

Bob-Omb

POW Ball

Banana Peel

Lightning Bolt

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's tackle the Mario football games, starting with Super Mario Strikers!

Mario Superstar Baseball

 MARIO SUPERSTAR BASEBALL

Take me out for a video game! Take me out for a round! Buy me a headset and controllers. I don't care if I ever get done. For it's root-toot-toot for the development team; if they messed it up, it's a sham. For it's one-two-three lives, you're dead in this old video game!

Press start!

Ahem, sorry about that. Couldn't resist. Today, we're covering Mario Superstar Baseball, one of the Mario series' two (full) forays into the sport of baseball. For the most part, the mechanics are all there, exactly what you'd expect from a baseball game. You have batters, pitchers, catchers, outfield, and infield. If you've watched a baseball game, you get the gist. Honestly, the most depressing thing here is that out of all the sports we've covered, baseball probably has the most to offer in terms of a Smash moveset but there's no real stand-out "Mario baseball" reps: no original characters like the RPG characters from the Golf and Tennis series. (That's okay though. It's not like this is the last time we'll encounter baseball in this blog series).

Speaking of characters, we have a butt-ton here, enough to make six full teams if you wanted. There are only twelve captains, each in pairs as the heads of the respective six teams. These include Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi, Birdo, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, and Bowser Jr. From there, the rest of the characters fill out each team, but can be mixed around any way you want them. On Mario and Luigi's team, we get three Piantas, three Nokis, and a Monty Mole. On Peach and Daisy's team, we get five Toads, Toadette, and Toadsworth. On Yoshi and Birdo's team, we have Baby Mario and Luigi, and five Shy Guys. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's team features a Goomba, Paragoomba, two Koopas, two Paratroopas, and Dixie Kong. Wario and Waluigi's team features a Boo, King Boo, Petey Piranha, and four Magikoopas. Finally, Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s team is filled out with three Hammer Bros. and four Dry Bones.

The captains all have special moves while pitching or batting, but most are pretty standard here. Mario and Luigi use fireballs, Peach and Daisy use hearts and flowers, Yoshi and Birdo's make it bounce around all weird (like an egg), Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong use bananas to make it rebound like a boomerang, Wario and Waluigi's make the ball go a different direction than you expect, and Bowser and Bowser Jr.'s turn the ball into a Bullet Bill. A lot of what you'd expect from most of these characters.

We have a number of stages, each correlating to a respective team. First we have Mario Stadium, a standard course that takes some inspiration from Sunshine (hence his team full of Piantas and Nokis). Then we have Peach Garden, a field set in her castle's shadow, with blocks floating in the air that disrupt the ball's course. Next is Yoshi Park, based on Yoshi games, with Piranha Plants cropping up here and there. We also have Donkey Kong Jungle, a jungle course with a river flowing through it and Klaptraps crawling out sometimes. Wario's is Wario Palace, a desert level with a Chain Chomp hazard. Finally, we have Bowser Castle, full of fireballs and lava and Thwomps that crush balls and players alike. There's also the Toy Field, a special field for practicing where you can collect coins based on where the ball lands.

There are items in the game, but they're mostly special bats and gloves you can purchase with coins rather than in-game items like in Mario Kart.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: fireball

Luigi: green fireball

Peach: heart ball

Daisy: flower ball

Yoshi: egg ball

Birdo: weird ball

Donkey Kong: banana ball

Diddy Kong: boomerang ball

Wario: phony ball

Waluigi: liar ball

Bowser: killer ball

Bowser Jr.: killer jr. ball

Pianta

Noki

Monty Mole

Toad

Toadette

Toadsworth

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Shy Guy

Dixie Kong

Goomba

Paragoomba

Koopa

Paratroopa

Boo

King Boo

Petey Piranha

Magikoopa

Hammer Bro

Dry Bones

Lakitu

Piranha Plant

Klaptrap

Chain Chomp

Thwomp

Stages:

Mario Stadium

Peach Garden

Yoshi Park

Donkey Kong Jungle

Wario Palace

Bowser Castle

Toy Field

Items:

Bat

Glove

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover the game's sequel, Super Mario Sluggers!

Character Review: Mario Golf series

MARIO GOLF SERIES

There's not too much to say here. We'll have our golf gimmick reps, which we'll cover next, but outside of that we don't even really have any specialized individual moves to talk about (which is a surprise, I would think that that kind of mechanic might go hand in hand with this series). So let's just run through them, and that will be that.

Mario and Luigi both appear, alongside Mario variants such as Baby Mario, Metal Mario, and Gold Mario. Peach has always been a mainstay, and so has Daisy, and Rosalina made her debut in World Tour. Toad, strangely, got a bit of the short end of the stick with this series, being relegated to a mere support character for most of it until World Tour. (Sounds like his Smash representation all over again, except World Tour hasn't happened yet). Toadette joined him as DLC pretty shortly after.

Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Wario have all been pretty much a constant, with their partners such as Birdo, Diddy Kong, and Waluigi following not too far behind. As for our villains, Bowser and Bowser Jr. are constants, with Bowser Jr.'s Shadow Mario form also cropping up in Toadstool Tour. Petey Piranha has shown up once, as has Nabbit, and even Kamek in a rare playable appearance. Koopas, Boos, and Paratroopas are the only enemy characters to appear as playable so far.

As for that, our only "guest" character is the Miis this time around, but at this point, they're to be pretty much expected. A number of other random characters appear here and there, mostly as background and obstacles and such (like a Thwomp in the middle of the course that will crush your ball if it lands on it), but most of that is pretty basic stuff we've seen a million times before.

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will get into our newcomer gimmick reps, starting with Plum!

Mario Golf: World Tour

MARIO GOLF: WORLD TOUR

Today, let's finish off with the final game in the Mario Golf series, thus far. After a rather long stretch of time without a game, Nintendo put out World Tour for the 3DS. The golf mechanics are pretty much standard here, except they did add in "Item Shots" which let you use items to affect what happens to the ball. The mushroom adds extra roll, the fire flower burns through trees and obstacles, the ice flower freezes the terrain, the Bullet Bill turns your ball into one, the Bob-Omb lets you ignore terrain issues, the boomerang flower alters the draw or fade of your shot, the note block creates a block for the ball to bounce off of, the tornado sucks up coins, the Ka-Bomb drops the ball straight down, and the gold flower gives you coins for every yard it covers.

As for our characters, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Birdo, and Boo all return to the game, alongside Toad (Wow, golf series? Took you that long?), Kamek (hey!), and a Paratroopa. The game also had a Mii option, naturally. DLC for the game also added in Rosalina, Toadette, Nabbit, and Gold Mario.

Stages include: Forest Course, pretty standard; Seaside Course, a beach; Mountain Course, a desert; Sky Island, a sky course; Peach Gardens, set in front of her castle; Yoshi Lake, based on Woolly World; Wiggler Park, one of those tiny-huge deals; Cheep Cheep Lagoon, an underwater stage; DK Jungle, a DK stage; and Bowser's Castle, a Bowser's castle stage. Most of the stages from the N64 version have also been brought back and updated to mirror New Super Mario Bros. U stages.

Here's what we've got!

Characters:

Gimmick rep (Plum/Charlie/Sonny/Harry/Maple): swing club, hole, sand traps, hazards, topspin, backspin, power shot, more fantastical hazards, mushroom, fire flower, ice flower, bullet bill, bob-omb, boomerang flower, note block, tornado, ka-bomb, gold flower

Kid/Sherry/Joe/Azalea (maybe the others): same

Neil/Ella: same

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Wario

Bowser

Baby Mario

Metal Mario

Daisy

Waluigi

Birdo

Diddy Kong

Koopa

Bowser Jr.

Boo

Shadow Mario

Petey Piranha

Toad

Kamek

Paratroopa

Rosalina

Nabbit

Toadette

Gold Mario

Mii

Stages:

Toad Highlands

Koopa Park

Shy Guy Desert

Yoshi's Island

Boo Valley

Mario's Star

Luigi's Garden

Peach's Castle

Marion Club

Palm Club

Dune Club

Links Club

Peach's Castle

Golf Guru's Pitch & Putt

Lakitu Valley

Cheep Cheep Falls

Shifting Sands

Blooper Bay

Peach's Castle Grounds

Bowser Badlands

Congo Canopy

Mushroom Tourney

Elf's Short Course

Coo-Coo Course

Forest Course

Seaside Course

Mountain Course

Sky Island

Peach Gardens

Yoshi Lake

Wiggler Park

Cheep Cheep Lagoon

DK Jungle

Bowser's Castle

Thanks for reading! Now, let's go over our characters once again!