A place for those who "Trust the Fungus"

Well, I tried to get a copy of MP3 off eBay but you're right--the prices are ridiculous. Don't want to pay over $30 for it, really.

However, I'm pretty sure that one of my colleagues at work has a copy of this. I will see if I can borrow it and give it a go. Still, I'll only be able to play with my wife, so do you think it won't be enjoyable with only two human players? Should we play with just us or with the AI characters?

Overall, would you say that although MP3 isn't a "classic," it did a lot of things to expand the formula, but some of those changes weren't implemented in the best way?

Only being able to enjoy it with three or four players was only my experience; I'm sure once you and your wife get into it you'll find it enjoyable in your own ways. It's just a game that requires more dedication and more than one board to get a proper impression as it's not as casual as the second or even first game.

Speaking of Mario Party 1, I've actually been playing it recently. I happened to regale my brothers with tales of how utterly broken the game is and how easily you can screw over the other players and he just had to experience it. Really, there's certain boards where you can easily rig it in such a way that everyone else is trapped with Bowser and unable to leave.

But, you know what? It's not that bad a game. Each board is completely unique and, unlike Mario Party 2 or 3, follows its own set of rules and mechanics. There's fun to that if you can accept it. However, it's also difficult for the game to really engage you as it expects so little of you. You can very easily lose everything in a single turn through the plentiful Chance Time spaces and the coin-taking minigames, while there's no way to fight back against Boo. You have so little control that it's just a matter of playing through each round.

Worth playing back in '99, but now it's good for a nostalgia trip of only a board or two.

The first Mario Party is pretty important because it essentially created that kind of party game genre. In that way it's much like Super Mario Kart--it's not the best in the series but it introduced us to the idea of that kind of game and it's fun now for nostalgia's sake. I remember how different and revolutionary it felt upon renting it upon it's release in 1999 and playing it with friends. I do remember how insane some of the minigames got with the "spin the analog stick" mechanics.

I'll have to try it again sometime. I've gotta hand it to Redstar--until he started this topic, I didn't really realize how much I like this series. And I've only played 1,2, -e, and 9. I'm tempted to try and collect the series and keep this topic going for quite a while. I'm just not sure if it's better to get each game in order, or get them as I find them out of order and experience it that way.


And with that, I've got some thoughts to wrap-up my experience with Mario Party 9:

Final Mario Party 9 Observations

Picking up where I left off--the last board you can unlock is DK's Jungle Ruins. Unlike the other boards, you collect bananas instead of mini-stars, and you have Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong as your bosses. It's a fun change of pace from the other levels, but I don't think it's one I'd pick over any of the "regular" boards. Bowser Station also kind of falls into that category as well.

I ended up unlocking all of the levels while playing co-op with my wife, so I didn't get around to playing the solo mode until after that. It's the only way you can play the game by yourself, and while it's fun, you can't really choose one board at a time or anything--you go through all of the levels in order. Also, it's worth mentioning it's the only way to unlock the Magikoopa and Shy Guy characters.

Beyond the main board game modes, there are actually quite a few additional gameplay modes. Some of them (like Step Up or Garden Battle) give you different ways of playing sets of minigames if you don't want to go through using a board. I didn't really play any of these but they looked interesting.

The unlockable Boss Rush mode is actually pretty cool. It's a great way to showcase the boss levels in the game, which in my opinion are one of the best new additions that MP9 added to the series.

For those who didn't find much challenge in the main game, there's Time Attack mode. You get a list of 10 minigames which you have to beat within an overall timeframe. Each minigame also has a bonus challenge goal which will take time off your overall total if you meet the challenge requirements. Very cool.

Then, the Extras menu has lots of additional games that either don't fit the structure of the rest of the game, or are slight tweaks on existing games. Castle Clearout is a fun, standalone puzzle game, while Shell Soccer and Goomba Bowling are fun but short diversions. My favorite mode from the Extras menu is "Perspective Mode" which allows you to replay 10 select minigames from a different view--and they all completely change how those games are played and the strategies you must use to beat them.

And there's the Museum in which you can put all of those party points you've earned to good use! Constellations are kind of a throwaway unlockable, but there are 100 of them so that adds quite a bit of replay value. Most of the other unlockables are worth it though, such as new boards (like the DK one), vehicles, harder AI difficulty, the Boss Rush mode, etc.


Overall, Mario Party 9 did for me exactly what I hoped it would--serve as a great jumping-on point for a series that had been stagnant for a while. Technically speaking, it's got some killer graphics considering it's on the Wii--and I know how hard some of that stuff is to pull of on that hardware. Pick it up if you get a chance. And if you don't have a Wii by now, then dang get one.

I was lucky to get a copy of 3 when it first came out, lol. Have never parted with it.

My friend's favorite games are Game Guy's.

lalalei2001 wrote:My friend's favorite games are Game Guy's.

When my brothers and I play we've always considered Game Guy to be a last resort. Gambling away all of your coins for the chance of doubling it is a risk really only worth attempting when you're in the last five turns of the game with no other option to lock into first place.

My favorite would have to be Mario Party 2. I think it has the best selection of mini-games and maps, and I have had a lot of fun memories playing this game with my brother and friends. One of my favorite mini-games would have to be the fire-jump-roping one. It really gets my heart racing and palms sweating! (Haha...eww...) My favorite item was always the boo bell. Collecting those extra stars and coins is always very helpful!

For my favorite map, Horror Land! The wizard/witch costumes that the players wear, the music, the layout and alternating day/night option makes it my fav. My favorite character in all Mario games is Wario! Sure he's a greedy slob, but he still has my vote. And again my favorite song/music is the Horror Land track! I love how eerie and spooky it is. What do you guys think?

If you're someone who doesn't appreciate Mario Party 9, at least appreciate the box art. Man that is a stunning cover.

Well, I was finally able to give Mario Party 3 a shot after borrowing a copy from a friend. I didn't want to do two players with just me and my wife, so I waited until another friend could come over so we could do a three-player game.

And it was still pretty terrible. We did a "short" 20-turn game but it still felt like forever. I really didn't like the pauses in the game for things like single-player "item mini games." And it seemed like at least 75% of the regular mini games we played involved water in some fashion. And there didn't seem to be a whole lot of skill involved, although that's par for the course for Mario Party.

Overall, we just didn't like it--especially compared to Mario Party 9. I think MP9 improves on the formula a lot.

Told you! It just seems like they were trying to do too much with the game, perhaps in trying to make it really stand out on the system. I think if they cut out a lot of the cosmetic details it would be more enjoyable.

The funny thing is that many fans of the series seem to consider Mario Party 3 to be the height of the series, or at least of the N64 era. I honestly don't know what they see in it. It's almost balanced to a fault and that just makes it overbearing and long.

Overbearing I think is a really good word for it. It's just too cumbersome and technical for its own good.

IMO, MP2 is definitely the best of the N64 games. MP1 is a good introduction, and MP2 improved and enhanced that formula. MP3 seemed to ignore the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" principal and just didn't have the kind of heart the previous two did.

I played Mario Party 9 a couple nights ago for the first time and I really enjoyed it. Having gone from Mario Party 2 and 3 to this entry I can say that it's much more balanced, making for a more fun experience. It's also just so easy! I dominated our party on our run through Boo's Haunted Mansion. I'd play again.

I played it as well, although I didn't enjoy it as much. It was fun, but I prefer having to fight and be competitive for shit in the earlier entries.

I was there with Clous and Marla and I would have to say that my impression borders on both of their opinions, although I didn't play. We only had time to do a playthrough of Boo's Haunted House, which gave me an idea of what the game is about.

Although I am apprehensive about moving as a single party, I still like the concept. What really struck me was the fact that areas are no longer boards, but courses. You move towards a designated end, battling bosses along the way. That was very refreshing. I think I could give the game another chance in the future.

Well I think you need to give it a *first* shot and actually play it : )

The courses with everyone taking the "same" turn just makes the game feel more efficient and gives everyone a more finite goal. It also puts more emphasis on the mini-games.