Mario Party 9

Mario Party 9
European box art
Developer(s)	Nd Cube[1]
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Composer(s)	Toshiki Aida Ryosuke Asami
Series	Mario Party
Platform(s)	Wii
Release date(s)	EU March 2, 2012[2] AUS March 8, 2012[3] NA March 11, 2012[2] JP April 26, 2012[2] HKG June 29, 2012 KOR April 11, 2013
Genre(s)	Party, Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Distribution	Wii Optical Disc

Mario Party 9 (Japanese: マリオパーティ9, Hepburn: Mario Pāti Nain) is a party video game for the Wii.^[4] It is the second Mario Party game for the Wii, the ninth in the home consoles, and the twelfth overall. It was officially announced at E3 2011 and was released on March 2, 2012 in Europe, on March 8, 2012 in Australia, on March 11, 2012 in North America, on April 26, 2012 in Japan, on June 29, 2012 in Hong Kong and on April 11, 2013 in Korea. It is the first Mario Party game in the series to be developed by Nd Cube, as they took over development of the series from Hudson Soft. Hudson Soft was absorbed by Konami on March 1, 2012. Mario Party 9 is followed by Mario Party: Island Tour.

Gameplay

Thwomper Room, one of the free-for-all minigames in Mario Party 9.

Like previous Mario Party titles, two to four players move around a virtual board and play minigames. A new gameplay element in all of the boards is that all four players move around together in one vehicle.^[5][6] The number of spaces the player moves is determined by a roll of the dice block found within the game. Instead of trying to collect coins to buy stars, players receive Mini Stars (bananas in "DK's Jungle Ruins") if they pass by them. While doing that, players must also try to avoid Mini Ztars (Z-bananas in "DK's Jungle Ruins"), which deduct their current amount of mini stars or bananas (in DK's Jungle Ruins)

Minigames have a larger focus on the gameplay than they did in the previous game.^[7][8] However, the minigames don't appear after everyone moves, but only when a player ends up on any of the spaces or events that triggers a minigame.^{[citation needed]} A person can play on solo mode to unlock the final stage, as well as two playable characters.

Another new feature is that each board culminates in a boss battle that is played with all players in the vehicle.^[9][10] There is also a boss battle at the halfway point of a board. There are 82 minigames in Mario Party 9, divided into five categories: Free-for-all, 1-vs.-Rivals, Bowser Jr., Boss Battle, and Extra.^[11]

At the end of each stage, the number of Mini Stars (bananas in "DK's Jungle Ruins") the player collects is converted into Party Points, which can be used to buy new stages, constellations, vehicles, difficulties, and sounds in the museum.

Playable characters

Mario Party 9 features twelve playable characters, with two unlockable.

• Mario
• Luigi
• Princess Peach
• Princess Daisy
• Wario
• Waluigi
• Yoshi
• Birdo
• Toad
• Koopa Troopa
• Shy Guy (unlock in single-player mode)
• Kamek (unlock in single-player mode)

Plot

One night outside of Peach's Castle, Mario and his friends come to watch the Mini Stars glitter in the sky. As Mario searches through the telescope, he notices that the stars suddenly begin to get sucked through a vortex. It is then revealed to be Bowser and Bowser Jr. on a spacecraft, who are using a vacuum-like machine to suck the stars in the sky. Upon witnessing this, Mario and the gang set out to defeat them and save the Mini Stars. After they start their journey, Shy Guy and Kamek are seen coming out of the woods and start following them, as part of Bowser's plan.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 75.05% Metacritic 73/100 Review scores Publication Score IGN 7.0/10[12][13] Nintendo Power 8/10[14] NintendoLife [15] GameSpot 6/10 Destructoid 7.5/10[16] Nintendo World Report 8.5/10 Joystiq [17] Computer and Video Games 8/10[18]

Mario Party 9 has received mixed to positive reviews from critics. It has an aggregate score of 73 on Metacritic based on 44 reviews and an aggregate score of 74.69% on Gamerankings, based on 27 reviews.^[19][20]

German magazine N-Zone gave Mario Party 9 a 75% score for single player mode, and 85% for multiplayer mode.^[21] Nintendo Power gave it an 8/10, saying that "the majority of the game's 82 activities are fun", while commenting that "some may be discouraged by the game's radical changes".^[14] Nintendo World Report gave the game a score of 8.5/10.^[22] Gaming magazine Famitsu gave the game a score of 34/40.

IGN gave the game a 7.0 "Good" rank, praising its graphical improvement and its control style. Like previous Mario Party games, IGN strongly criticized the luck-based factor of the game. UGO Entertainment gave the game an A-, criticizing the game's single player mode, but praising its multiplayer and improvement from previous titles.^[12][13]

MyNintendoNews gave the game an 8.5/10, criticizing the game for not having an online mode, but stated that the game is "immensely entertaining" and an improvement from past Mario Party games.^[15][23] GamesRadar gave the game a score of 8/10, praising Mario Party 9 for being balanced, but criticized the predictability of the boards.^[24] NintendoLife gave the game a score of 8/10.

On the less positive side, Ashton Raze from GameSpot awarded the game a 6/10, stating that the game is too "predictable" and "much too familiar".^[25]

As of September 2012, Mario Party 9 has sold 2.24 million copies worldwide.^[26]

Book: Mario video games

References

• Magrino, Tom. "Kirby Mass Attack leads Nintendo release updates". GameSpot. 

External links

• (Japanese) Japanese official site
• Mario Party 9 North America Official Website
• Mario Party 9 on MarioWiki