Mario Party DS

Mario Party DS[4] is a 2007 party video game published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the last Mario Party game to be developed by Hudson Soft, who was replaced on the franchise by Nd Cube in 2012. It was also released on the Virtual Console for the Wii U in April 2016. Mario Party DS was followed by Mario Party 9 for the Wii.

Mario Party DS
North American packaging artwork, depicting Mario, Luigi, Toad, Wario, Waluigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi and Bowser on the stage Toadette's Music Room.
Developer(s)Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Koji Matsuura
Producer(s)Hiroshi Sato
Atsushi Ikeda
Designer(s)Yuka Sasaki
Programmer(s)Hideki Nishimoto
Artist(s)Akihiro Shibata
Composer(s)Hironobu Yahata
Shinya Outouge
SeriesMario Party
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
Genre(s)Party
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay
"Fast Food Frenzy", a 1 vs. 3 mini-game in Mario Party DS

As with most Mario Party games, an emphasis is placed on the game's multiplayer aspect. A new element to the series is the use of the Download Play functionality of the Nintendo DS to allow four people to play wirelessly using only one game card. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Princess Daisy, Toad, Wario, and Waluigi are the playable characters.[5]

The party mode game is played by using a ten-sided "dice block" and moving the player accordingly. There are many things such as "mole shops", "happening", "blue", "red" and "Bowser Time" spaces that can help or hinder game progress. There are several themed game environments. Mole Shops offer special dice, like the option to role up to 3 at once.

Mario Party DS features a total of 74 minigames, most of which utilize the unique features of the DS. While several mini-games use the buttons and control pad, others use the stylus and 4 mini-games use the microphone. For example, "Soccer Survival" involves trying to dodge soccer balls being kicked by a Goomba. "Camera Shy" involves characters taking photos of other characters and "Short Fuse" involves blowing on a fuse of a bomb in hopes to be the last player to survive. Others include "Globe Gunners", a game in which the players run around on a globe, shooting projectiles at each other, and boss minigames, in which the player battles villains from the Mario series, such as Bowser and Dry Bones. Minigame types include 4-player free-for-alls, teams of 2, 1 against 3, "battle" (in which players compete for a communal jackpot), and "boss" (in which the player fights 1 of 5 bosses).

In "Puzzle Mode", the player plays puzzle games from previous installments of the Mario Party series: "Mario's Puzzle Party" from Mario Party 3, "Bob-omb Breakers" from Mario Party 4, "Piece Out" from Mario Party 5, "Block Star" from Mario Party 6, and "Stick and Spin" from Mario Party 7. There is also "Triangle Twisters", a new game in which the player twist triangles to create a given shape. This game is unlocked after completing story mode.

Plot

The story begins with 5 Sky Crystals falling onto Earth. Mario finds one of them and then shows it to all of his friends. However, Kamek flies past dropping party invitations from Bowser, inviting everyone to a feast in his castle to apologize for his nasty deeds. They are suspicious at first, but they go to Bowser's castle, only to find that it is a trap and Bowser steals Mario's Sky Crystal. Using his new Minimizer, he shrinks everyone down to minuscule size. Bowser wants to find the four other Sky Crystals without Mario and his crew in the way and orders Kamek to fling them far away. Mario and his friends find themselves tiny in a very big world.

The crew travels to Bowser's Castle, far away while defeating a Piranha Plant in Wiggler's garden, stopping a Hammer Bro. from ruining Toadette's instruments in her music shop, helping Diddy Kong free DK after being turned to stone by a Dry Bones on the way to the feast at Bowser's castle, and freeing a Koopa's grandpa who has been trapped in a book by Kamek. Each of them gives a Sky Crystal to thank Mario and his crew. Once the friends make it to the castle, Bowser traps everyone inside his pinball machine and prepares once again to use his Minimizer. Luckily, DK and Diddy received the invitation too, and have made it to the castle in time. While looking for the food, DK bumps into Bowser and breaks the Minimizer in half, returning Mario and friends to their rightful size. However, Bowser reveals his new Megamorph Belt and challenges the superstar. After defeating Bowser, the crew takes back the stolen Sky Crystal and puts it with the others. The crystals combine into a new game (Triangle Twisters) and Bowser is meaner now because the crystals were part of a castle legend, but in a surprising move, Mario and crew invite Bowser and Bowser Jr. to play with them. They accept, and now everyone is happy, including DK and Diddy, who have eaten the entire buffet.

Reception

Mario Party DS received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of two nines, one eight, and one seven for a total of 33 out of 40.[9]

The game had strong sales the first week of its release in Japan, selling 234,708 copies.[19] As of July 9, 2008, the game has sold 1,730,191 copies in Japan, according to Famitsu.[20][21] It was the 18th best-selling game of Japan in 2008.[22] By March 2011, the game had sold over eight million copies worldwide.[23]

References
  1. "Mario Party DS scans". GoNintendo. September 12, 2007. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  2. "Mario Party DS for Nintendo DS". Nintendo. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  4. Japanese: マリオパーティDS
  5. "Nintendo - E3 2007 - Mario Party DS". Nintendo Europe. Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  6. "Mario Party DS Critic Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  7. EGM staff (January 2008). "Mario Party DS". Electronic Gaming Monthly: 95.
  8. Gibson, Ellie (December 5, 2007). "Mario Party DS". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  9. "The first review for Mario Party Ds". IGN. October 31, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  10. Vore, Bryan (February 2008). "Mario Party DS". Game Informer (178). Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  11. Ng, Amanda (January 9, 2008). "Review: Mario Party DS". GamePro. Archived from the original on January 11, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  12. Tan, Nick (December 21, 2007). "Mario Party DS Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  13. Provo, Frank (November 21, 2007). "Mario Party DS Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  14. Stratton, Bryan (November 28, 2007). "GameSpy: Mario Party DS". GameSpy. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  15. Kolan, Patrick (November 22, 2007). "Mario Party DS AU Review". IGN. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  16. Harris, Craig (November 21, 2007). "Mario Party DS Review". IGN. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  17. "Mario Party DS". Nintendo Power. 223: 79. December 25, 2007.
  18. "Mario Party DS review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
  19. Elliott, Phil (November 16, 2007). "Mario Party DS hits Japan top spot". GamesIndustry.biz.
  20. "Nintendo DS Game Charts". Famitsu. 1020.
  21. "Nintendo DS Japanese Ranking". Japan Game Charts. July 30, 2008. Archived from the original on August 8, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  22. Parfitt, Ben (January 9, 2009). "JAPANESE 2008 MARKET REPORT". MCV. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
  23. "Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2011" (PDF). Nintendo. April 26, 2011. p. 6. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
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