Funstacle Course! is a minigame in Mario Party 7. It is a Bowser minigame, and is thus available only after someone stops on a Bowser space, provided it is the one selected on the Roulette wheel.
Gameplay[]
Hence its name, Funstacle Course! has traps that the players must avoid in their race to the finish line. The traps in order are:
- Starting from 1/7 of the way through the course, Thwomps will appear in the players' way. Any character that they crush will be booted from the competition. Fortunately, the Thwomps do not move from their spot, and there is a safe haven at the diagonals to the Thwomps' locations. (Imagine a checkerboard (though with rectangular tiles) where one colour of spaces has the Thwomps; the other spaces don't have them.)
- Around 2/5 of the way through the course, platforms that rise up and down will appear with gaps in between their locations. Whoever falls into the gaps will lose, and do to the platforms' movement, the competitors must time their jumps to cross this area.
- Starting around midway through the course, players must traverse a narrow path that twists and turns (albeit in a somewhat blocky fashion). This area ends around 2/3 of the way through the obstacle course.
- Spike bars will immediately follow the narrow path section, and must be jumped over, as they will send anyone they touch flying, eliminating that character. The bars will not change their direction, and their quick speed makes them somewhat difficult to avoid. The second bar will follow the first bar after around 1.5 seconds, then the third one after 3/4 of a second since the second one. The fourth bar will appear 1.5 second after the third bar, and the last bar will follow the fourth bar after 3/4 of a second.
During the third section and in-between the other traps, Koopa Kid and his siblings will blast fire from their tank. This flame must be avoided and will boot any player that touches it. During the final stretch after the spike bar section, the trio will instead shoot compressed fireballs from their tank; these must be jumped over like the spike bars, but their formations can sometimes leave gaps; however, getting to these gaps is nearly all luck, but the fireballs travel slow enough to give enough warning to those who are farther away from the tank. Additionally, the tank fires once every second. In the last 5% of the course, Koopa Kid and his brethren will stop firing and instead try to ram the players with their tank, making it travel slightly faster than usual; however, crossing the finish line will end the race and protect those who do so from the ramming attack.
How to Win[]
Players must cross the finish line to complete the course and win the minigame.
Cutscenes[]
Intro[]
Bowser is shown sitting on his throne during the opening cutscene to the minigame. As he points and shouts, the camera pans away from the throne to reveal Koopa Kid's tank. The competitors drop in front of the tank, which spews fire, much to their fright.
Ending[]
Competitors who completed the course will be shown celebrating their victory. Losers are not seen.
Ties[]
Cases where everyone crosses the finish line will show a scene where Bowser sulks as the competitors celebrate their victory. In the case of a tie where nobody crosses the finish line, Bowser celebrates his own victory by pumping his fist after a laugh track.
Etymology[]
Funstacle Course! is a play on the term "obstacle course," which is a course that involves physical challenges that must be navigated.
Trivia[]
- This is the only Bowser minigame from Mario Party 7 where players have to move away from Bowser's throne to win.
