The Star Spirits

With Super Mario RPG a success, plans were started for a sequel. However, with the partnership between Nintendo and Square breaking up at the start of the 3D era, Nintendo had to change course on their plans slightly and the result was Paper Mario, a story told as if from a book, with the characters being two-dimensional and seemingly made of paper. The story’s prologue opens up on Shooting Star Summit, a mystical fountain where stars gather under the watchful care of their seven benevolent rulers.

These are the Star Spirits: Eldstar, Mamar, Skolar, Muskular, Misstar, Klevar, and Kalmar. They will act as the game’s mcguffins, having been scattered all over the world by Bowser’s schemes and Kammy Koopa’s magic. Mario will have to travel the world, rescuing each and gaining their power.

As playable fighters, the seven Star Spirits will act as color swaps, the baby star Twink taking up the eighth spot. They will be very light, constantly floating, but powerful, their moves pulling from the powerful moves they provide Mario and his companions with when a new one is retrieved.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Koopa Kid

Firmly established in 3D, the Mario brand continued to grow even larger, this time branching out into party games where friends could come together and compete in a series of lighthearted mini-games using familiar Mario characters. While Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Wario took up the role of players, Bowser acted as a hazard in the game, frequently dropping in to challenge characters to his own brand of minigames with higher stakes. In this role, he needed a henchman to do some of his dirty work.

In the minds of the developers, the role should have fit the Koopalings all too well. The trouble was, there were seven of them, and they likely didn’t want to just single one out. So, instead, a generic version of their design was created, simply entitled the Koopa Kid. The Koopa Kid would go on to be an integral part of the Mario Party series, acting as Bowser’s faithful henchman for the first four games, before finally getting to be playable in the fifth and sixth. After that the character all but disappeared, his role swallowed up either by Bowser Jr. or overhauls in game design.

As a character, he will mostly function as an echo to the Koopalings, nodding to his origins. Unlike them, however, he will have one base stat count, being on the lighter and speedier side but with solid defense. His moves will mirror the Koopalings, but will use Mario Party versions of said moves.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Mario Party 5

MARIO PARTY 5

Alright, Mario Party, let's go! Round Five! Mario and his friends are invited to visit a special Dream Depot by the . . . Star Spirits? Like from Paper Mario? A Mario RPG character in a non-RPG Mario game? Is . . . is that allowed? And Miyamoto's head didn't explode? What is this witchcraft?

Okay, maybe that was a little mean. All jokes aside, our full playable cast from before returns, except for Donkey Kong, who got up-, um, down-, err, sideways-graded to a special space space on the board. Instead, Toad, Boo, and Koopa Kid are added to the roster, making a total of ten. Bowser and a couple of duplicate Koopa Kids act as troublemakers throughout, with Bowser getting a final battle where he breathes fire, throws balls of magic, grows into a giant, and pounds the ground. Of course, the star spirits act as your hosts.

Blue, Red, Happening, Bowser, and Star spaces all return, alongside the brand-new DK space, where Donkey Kong will appear and either give you coins, play a special DK minigame with you, or play dice roulette. Rather than regular items like the previous games, this game featured capsules containing various items and characters that would act as these items. Contents of the capsules included: Mushrooms, Super Mushrooms, and Cursed Mushrooms; Warp Pipes; Klepto, who will pick up opponents and drop them somewhere else; Lava Bubbles, that will chase an opponent ten spaces; Wigglers, that will take the player right to the star space; Hammer Bros that will hit opponents with hammers; a Coin Block; Spinies that will steal coins; Paratroopas that will make a character drop coins; a Bullet Bill that will let the player take coins from an opponent they pass; Goombas that will switch players' coins; Piranha Plants that will take half the player's coins; a Bob-Omb that will explode after being passed three times; the Koopa Bank capsule; Kamek who will shuffle all characters' capsules around; Mr. Blizzard, who will take all the player's capsules; a Magikoopa (or Toadie, I don't know why it's called that) that will swap two players' capsules; Ukiki, who will steal an opponent's capsules; Lakitu who can steal a single capsule; a Tweester that will move a star space; a Duel minigame starter; a Chain Chomp that basically takes over Boo's old role; a Bone that is basically Boo repellent; a Bowser space creator; a Chance Time space basically; and a Miracle Capsule that will take all of the player in first place's stars and give them to the player in last.

Our boards this time include: Toy Dream, basically a toy box/amusement park-style stage; Rainbow Dream, a sky stage; Pirate Dream, a pirate-themed stage; Undersea Dream, an underwater stage; Future Dream, a space-themed stage; Sweet Dream, a candy-themed stage; and Bowser Nightmare. I think you can guess the last one. Is it ever really anything different?

Alright, on to the minigames. The new way went really well last time, so I'm going to do that again. Over the course of these minigames, the characters: catch ice cream, ground pound, chase Ukikis, guide a Chomp, avoid penguins, platform on leaves, use a flashlight, watch Piranhas sing, navigate a maze, bat a baseball, speedboat, skate, will a plant back to life, triple jump, punch Goombas, catch coins, water flowers, throw bombs, fish, look under buckets, slide around, roll on a ball, roll dice, drive mechs, avoid fire, pilot flying saucers, balance on a tightrope, quilt, sled down a hill, do math, fight with cards, match a clock's hands, defuse a bomb, open a can, jump rope, catch berries, clean a bus, toss a ball, pilot a submarine, smack a mallet, play pinball, shoot Bullet Bills, play tug-o-war with Dorries, play a slot machine, avoid Amps, inflate a balloon, duel with pistols, mash buttons, pull a rope, play hot potato, shoot each other's balloons, blow a Tweester, fly planes, punch barrels, climb vines, collect bananas, and play volleyball and hockey.

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

Characters: 

Gimmick Rep (Koopa Kid/Tumble?): Happening Space, Chance Space, Mushroom Space, star space, plus block, minus block, speed block, slow block, warp block,  event block, parrot, No Koopa or No Boo sign, gameballs, digging, deep-sea diving, bomb, musical chairs, carving, messing with Bowser's face, inflating a balloon, hitting blocks, skateboarding, collecting coins, platforming, grab bag, bumper balls, tipping, instruments, Simon Says, fishing, key, lightbulb, jump rope, slot cars, hammers, bowling, tightrope, Crane Game, Tug of War, rowing, bobsledding, handcar, Slot Machine, biking, ground pound, limbo, Bank space, Mushrooms, Skeleton Keys, Plunder Chests, Dueling Gloves, Golden Mushrooms, Magic Lamp, Boo Bells, Bowser Suit, Bowser Bomb, pole-climbing, Dizzy Dancing, fruit-catching, windup Fly Guys, shell tank, sneaking, box-hitting, cake assembly, destroy a statue, sawing logs, magnet, Sky Pilots, Speed Hockey, Torpedoes, archery, Bob-omb cannon, fish relay, lightbulbs, Look Away, log-roll, blow up balloon, Bumper Balloon Cars, giant rake, Cellular Shopper,  Boo Repellent, Reverse Mushroom, Bowser Phone, Poison Mushroom, Lucky Lamp, Item Bag, Wacky Watch, Barter Box, Koopa Kard, Lucky Charm, golfing, ice-skating, parasol, rocking horses, snowball, drumming, become gigantic, cannon, hide, spotlights, causing waves, eat pizza, drawing, hydrant, chop wood, rocket, throwing Bowser, chasing chicken, popguns, swinging on vines, batting game, swinging, fortune space, mushroom space, warp space, Warp Pipe, MiniMegaHammer, Chomp Call, Boo's Crystal Ball, Gaddlight, Sparky Sticker, pull against a slime, ski, play dominoes, float with a balloon, ice skate, grabber, race in karts, giant tree stompers, soccer, run a maze, parasail, deliver food, catch butterflies, darts, puzzle, capsules, catch ice cream, chase Ukikis, guide a Chomp, avoid penguins, speedboat, will a plant back to life, triple jump, look under buckets, roll on a ball, drive mechs, pilot flying saucers, quilt, sled, fight with cards, defuse a bomb, open a can, clean a bus, submarine, pull a rope, blow a Tweester.

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Yoshi

Donkey Kong

Wario

Daisy

Waluigi

Toad

Boo: steal coins

Koopa Kid

Bowser

Koopa Troopa: give coins

Thwomp

Whomp

Bob-Omb

Goomba

Shy Guy

Snifit

Piranha Plant

Chain Chomp

Mr. Blizzard

Game Guy

Millenium Star

Star Spirits

Stages:

DK's Jungle Adventure

Peach's Birthday Cake

Yoshi's Tropical Island

Wario's Battle Canyon

Luigi's Engine Room

Mario's Rainbow Castle

Bowser's Magma Mountain

Eternal Star

Pirate Land

Western Land

Space Land

Mystery Land

Horror Land

Bowser Land

Chilly Waters

Deep Bloober Sea

Spiny Desert

Woody Woods

Creepy Cavern

Waluigi's Island

Gate Guy

Arrowhead

Pipesqueak

Blowhard

Mr. Mover

Backtrack

Toad's Midway Madness

Koopa's Seaside Soiree

Goomba's Greedy Gala

Boo's Haunted Bash

Shy Guy's Jungle Jam

Bowser's Gnarly Party

Toy Dream

Rainbow Dream

Pirate Dream

Undersea Dream

Future Dream

Sweet Dream

Bowser Nightmare

Various Mini-Games

Items:

All listed above

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's cover Mario Party 6!