Mario Party 8 (マリオパーティ 8, Mario Pāti Eito) is a video game for the Nintendo Wii. It was announced during Nintendo's press conference on September 14 2006. It is the 8th game in the series (eleventh in Japan) and the first to be released on Nintendo's Wii console. The first videos and screenshots for the game were revealed during the Nintendo World event in Japan on November 3 2006.
| Mario Party 8 | |
|---|---|
| File:Mario Party 8.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Hudson Soft |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Wii |
| Release |  May 29, 2007[1] June 22, 2007 July 13, 2007[2]  July 19, 2007[3] TBA, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Party |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
Story
In Mario Party 8 the Star Carnival rolls into town, and Ballyhoo, (the main host and possibly the owner of the Star Carnival) along with Big Top, Ballyhoo's talking top hat, challenges everyone to the "Star Battle" which the winner is crowned Superstar and wins a year's worth of candy with a relic called the Star Rod. Bowser comes along to steal the Star Rod, and it is up to the player's character to save the Star Carnival.
Minigames
The demonstration at Nintendo World previewed six minigames with themes such as lassoing barrels (1 vs 1), shaking cans of soda pop (4 player), catching marbles in jars (1 vs 1), a flag-raising race (1 vs 1), jet skiing (4 player), shooting targets and recently shown on the commercial a jump-rope game where three jump and one spins the remote to simulate turning. Another is a tightrope walking minigame in which the Wii Remote is held sideways and balanced. These minigames appear to make extensive use of the Wii Remote; for example, the Wii Remote is spun like a lasso in the lassoing minigame. Also, one video shows Mario, Birdo, Boo, and Dry Bones on a conveyor belt with a bunch of wrecked cars being crushed by a machine with blades and hammers at the end of the belt.[4]
Nintendo Power issue 217 of July 2007 confirmed some minigames such as an obstacle course game (1 vs 1), a baseball game (1 vs 1), and a balloon-popping fight (4 player).
Playable Characters
- Yoshi
- Wario
- Daisy
- Waluigi
- Toad
- Boo
- Toadette
- Birdo
- Dry Bones
- Blooper (Unlockable) (new)
- Hammer Bro. (Unlockable) (new)
Miis are also playable in the Extra Zone. They can also be seen doing varous things in the Free Play Arcade.
Modes
- Party Tent - Players can play on boards.[5]
- Minigame Tent - Players can play minigames that they have unlocked from the Party Tent and star battle arena mode.[5]
- Fun Bazaar - Players trade their Carnival Cards for prizes like characters, collectibles, etc. [5]
- Star Battle Arena - A single-player story adventure that takes a character and pits them against one computer controlled opponent on all five boards, then faces Hammer Bro or Blooper on Bowser's Warped Orbit
- Extras Zone - Players may use their Miis as playable characters in 8 minigames.[5]
Boards
Six boards are in the game. They are:
- DK's Treetop Temple: Players move around the board until you get to the star space.
- Goomba's Booty Boardwalk: Players must go to the end of the board to get a free star. Piantas are often seen, the girls are selling candies, and the boys are fishing. Dolphins will also give players rides..[6]
- King Boo's Haunted Hideaway: A giant maze. There are rooms that could lead to King Boo, or a pitfall trap. If a player finds King Boo, he'll sell a star for 10 coins, but he also changes the board. If a player gets into a pitfall trap, they're back to the start.[7][8]
- Shy Guy's Perplex Express: A train-themed board. Players travel through a train run by a Shy-Guy. When they reach the front of the train, the Shy-Guy Conductor will sell a star for 20 coins. Then, the player must travel back to the caboose, but on top of the carts. If a player lands on a DK or Bowser space, the Engine cart changes. If DK is the new conductor, you will get a star free when you reach him. If Bowser is the conductor, then star will be taken away, In Star and Duel battles, you ned to reach Holly Koopa with 50 coins to get a star and win the game. [9]
- Koopa's Tycoon Town: Very much like the Windmillville in Mario Party 7, but a bit different. The players obtain stars by doing Real Estate. All of the hotels start at one star. If 20 coins are deposited(this means all of the players' coins combined, not just one persons' coins), then it becomes worth 2 stars. If 50 coins are deposited, then it becomes a 3 star hotel.[10]
- Bowser's Warped Orbit: A Bowser-themed board. Players must use Bullet Candy, and Bowser Candy, to steal other player's stars. (This board is only playable after completing the Star Battle for the first time.)[11]
Each board has their own special yellow "Lucky" space. When a player lands on this space, they are transported to an area not seen on the regular map. Here, players take a shorter walk with all blue spaces with 3 bonus coins on each space. When the have reached the end, they are rewarded with a star, and they are sent back to the main board. Items awarded from a lucky space varries with each board. When a player lands on a DK Space, good things happen; if they land on the Bowser space, bad things happen.
Reception
After its North American release on May 29, 2007 the game sold 314,000 units in the United States in three days, making it the best-selling home console game in that country and the second best-selling game overall that month.[12]
Currently, the game's score average is 69% in GameRankings. [13] The game has been critized by Ryan Davis of GameSpot for its high end GameCube graphics and that the fact that the game is played too much on luck instead of skill. Matt Casamassina of IGN has called the single-player mode "a torture" and the visuals outdated.
See also
References
- ^ "Mario Party 8". Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- ^ "Mario Party 8". Nintendo Europe. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
- ^ "Mario Party 8". Nintendo Australia. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
- ^ Anoop Gantayat (2006-11-03). "Hands On: Mario Party 8". IGN. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
- ^ a b c d "Everyone's invited to Mario Party 8". Nintendo.
- ^ when you get to captain goomba, you also need 50 coins.Mario Party Scan
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ "May Video Game Sales – Nintendo PWNS Everyone Again". TeamXbox.com. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/935598.asp
- ^ http://www.gamespot.com/wii/puzzle/marioparty8/review.html?sid=6171668&tag=topslot;title;2&om_act=convert&om_clk=topslot
- ^ http://wii.ign.com/articles/792/792495p1.html
- ^ http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3159905
- ^ http://gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=3394
- ^ Nintendo Power July 2007 volume 217
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