Mario Party

For the series, see Mario Party (series).

Mario Party
Information
Developer(s)	Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Series	Mario Party
Release date	Nintendo 64: December 18, 1998 February 8, 1999 February 8, 1999 / March 9, 1999 Nintendo Switch Online: November 2, 2022 November 1, 2022
Genre(s)	Party
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Ratings	ACB: General ESRB: Everyone
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch Online (Nintendo Switch)
Navigation
Successor	Mario Party 2 (1999)

Mario Party sometimes called Mario Party 1 (マリオパーテ, Mario Pāti) is a video game for the Nintendo 64. It is based on various board games, such as Monopoly, and is the first and titular installment within the series of the same name. In this game, choose one of the six characters to play as, choose a board to play on and then play and move around it. As you progress, you can collect Coins and various items to help during your quest of finding stars. The game's successor was Mario Party 2. This was released in 1998 for Japan and 1999 for other countries. It was later re-released for the Nintendo Switch Online service (through the Expansion Pack) in November 2022.

Plot

One morning day, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario and Donkey Kong begin debating about who in their group is the superstar based on their personal abilities. Wario states that a Super Star must be strong, to which Donkey Kong suggests that he is also strong himself. Both get into an argument over who is stronger. The narrator says that maybe Mario would make a good superstar, or Princess Peach, or even the energetic Yoshi. The gang starts to close in on Toad, who shouts out that he has an idea of what they should do. Toad, who is literally at the center of their discussion, suggests the six of them determine who is the superstar through a series of games placed on maps resembling board games. He also warns that the road will be dangerous and that being the Super Star requires not only strength, but courage, wisdom and kindness. Luigi (who had been pushed around by Wario and DK, being in the middle of their argument) bravely agrees first to this plan and sets off to find the warp pipe. Whoever acquires the most Stars in these games will be crowned the superstar. With that incentive, Mario and the rest of the group agree and race him to enter the warp pipe and the game begins.

Basic Info

As the first of the Mario Party series, this game set the stage for one of the most popular games ever to be released by Nintendo, with emphasis on the mini-game stages and the simple board game style of play. The gameplay setup has remained mostly the same throughout the series. The game has six starter boards, two the players can unlock, and one found at the mini-game house.

Characters

Playable

• Mario
• Luigi
• Yoshi
• Peach
• Donkey Kong
• Wario

Non-playable

• Toad
• Bowser
• Koopa Troopa
• Goomba
• Baby Bowser

Boards

• Mario's Rainbow Castle
• Luigi's Engine Room
• Wario's Battle Canyon
• DK's Jungle Adventure
• Peach's Birthday Cake
• Yoshi's Tropical Island
• Bowser's Magma Mountain (unlocked by buying it for 980 coins in the Mushroom Shop)
• Eternal Star (unlocked by collecting 100 stars)

Controversy

In 2000, parents and Nintendo were sued. Parents were complaining about their children playing some of the mini-games in Mario Party 1 (that is, such as Tug o' War, Pedal Power and Paddle Battle primarily). In the said minigames, players must rotate the analog stick to win. Many people --from ages kids to adults-- burned (and/or blistered) their palms and were forced to be hospitalized. So Nintendo decided to give out gloves to every Nintendo 64 owner and trade $80,000,000 (plus tax) for the hospital's funds. (Both parents and Nintendo were forced to trade the hospital funds $80,000,000 plus tax. That is, from the hospitalized children who were playing this game and blistered their palms.) This was the reason why this installment (the original Mario Party) and Mario Party 3 were never released on Virtual Console for Wii and/or Wii U. And only Mario Party 2 made it to Virtual Console. As a result, Mario Party 2 is the only home console game in the Mario Party series that saw Virtual Console release. Only Mario Party 2 saw VC release and the original game didn't.

Mario Party 2 was released in VC (for Wii in Dec. 20, 2010 and Wii U in Dec. 22, 2016), Mario Party Advance was released on VC (for Wii U in Dec. 25, 2014), and Mario Party DS was released on VC (for Wii U in Apr. 21, 2016). So Mario Party 2, Advance, and DS are the only three installments in the series which you can get on VC. That is, with Mario Party 2 being the only home console game you can get on VC.

Trivia

• In this game, the ground-pound was renamed to "Hip Drop." This is because there is a minigame that is also called Ground-Pound.
• This is the only installment in the Mario Party series:
  • In which the title screen changes depending on which character wins a board.
    • That is until much later with Mario Party Superstars that does a similar concept.
  • Which has more boards than playable characters.
    • In this installment, there are six playable characters (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Donkey Kong, and Wario) and eight playable boards (Mario's Rainbow Castle, Luigi's Engine Room, Peach's Birthday Cake, Wario's Battle Canyon, Yoshi's Tropical Island, DK's Jungle Adventure, Bowser's Magma Mountain, and Eternal Star). The six boards (Mario's Rainbow Castle, Luigi's Engine Room, Peach's Birthday Cake, Wario's Battle Canyon, Yoshi's Tropical Island, DK's Jungle Adventure) are starters and the other two (Bowser's Magma Mountain and Eternal Star) are unlockables.
• This is the only installment in the first five installments of the Mario Party series to not have all the boards use the classic Mario Party series formula. (That is, by passing a Star Space and trading 20 coins for a star.)
  • While the boards Luigi's Engine Room, Wario's Battle Canyon, DK's Jungle Adventure, and Bowser's Magma Mountain use the classic Mario Party series formula, the other four (Mario's Rainbow Castle, Peach's Birthday Cake, Yoshi's Tropical Island, and Eternal Star) has unique ways of getting a star.
    • Mario's Rainbow Castle has the cycle switch between Toad and Bowser (where Toad gives the player a star for 20 coins and Bowser steals 20 coins by giving the player a Ztar), Yoshi's Tropical Island switches between Toad and Bowser via Happening Spaces (where Toad gives the player a star for 20 coins and Bowser forces the player to buy a Bowser Tube for 30 coins), and Eternal Star is hosted by Koopa Kid. In the latter board Eternal Star, the player rolls a Dice Block (with only the numbers 8, 9, and 10), while the Koopa Kid rolls a Dice Block (with all the numbers). If the player's number is higher than Koopa Kid, they get the star. But if Koopa Kid rolls higher than the player's, the player loses the star and ends up wasting 20 coins (to get a star) for nothing.
• With the exception of Mario Party Advance, all the characters --but Donkey Kong-- have been playable characters in all future installments (home console and handheld games). That is, including Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, and Wario.
  • For playable protagonists, newcomers Waluigi and Daisy made their first playable appearance in both Mario Party 3 and 4. Birdo was in Mario Party 7 and all future home console games after that (except for Mario Party 10 and Super Mario Party), Rosalina was in Mario Party 10 and all future home console games after that, Diddy Kong was in Super Mario Party, and --the remaining protagonist newcomer-- Pauline makes her first playable appearance in (the new home console game) Super Mario Party Jamboree. Toad and Toadette have been playable in all home console games after Mario Party 4 (except for Super Mario Party and Mario Party Superstars). (However, Toad began with Mario Party 5, while Toadette began with Mario Party 6.) All antagonists are newcomers and have been playable characters since Mario Party 5. Koopa Kid was playable in the first two future home console games (Mario Party 5 and 6), became a space character in Mario Party 7, lost all his statuses in Mario Party 8, and was succeeded by Bowser Jr. (who became a playable character in the latest two home console games Super Mario Party and Super Mario Party Jamboree). Boo has been playable in all home console games starting with Mario Party 5 (except for Mario Party 9, 10, and Superstars). Dry Bones has been playable in all home console games since Mario Party 7 through Super Mario Party (except for Mario Party 9, 10, and Superstars). Hammer Bro is playable in Mario Party 8 and Super Mario Party. Blooper is only playable in Mario Party 8. Kamek is only playable in Mario Party 9. Shy Guy and Koopa Troopa are playable in Mario Party 9, Super Mario Party, and Super Mario Party Jamboree. Spike is playable in Mario Party 10 and Super Mario Party Jamboree. Pom Pom is only playable in Super Mario Party. Goomba and Monty Mole are playable in both of the latest two home console games (Super Mario Party and Super Mario Party Jamboree). And the remaining playable antagonist newcomer Ninji makes his first playable appearance in Super Mario Party Jamboree.
    • Mario Party 5 is the first future installment overall to have playable antagonists. (Boo and Koopa Kid/Bowser Jr. are the first two antagonists to be playable characters in the series.)
  • However, all the characters from the "Original 6" --Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong-- have been playable in all of the latest future home console games (Mario Party 10, Super Mario Party, Mario Party Superstars, and Super Mario Party Jamboree). (That is, starting with the home console game Mario Party 10.)
• If more than one character wins a minigame, it will be shown with an error, with the singular "wins" being used instead of "won." This was fixed in subsequent games.
• Not counting Bowser boards in the Mario Party series games, this is the one of the two installments --in the series (if counting just the home console games)-- to have boards belonging to playable characters and serve as home stages (the other one of the two being Mario Party 3). In this installment --the original Mario Party-- all six playable characters have their own playable boards (Mario's Rainbow Castle, Luigi's Engine Room, Peach's Birthday Cake, Wario's Battle Canyon, Yoshi's Tropical Island, and DK's Jungle Ruins). In the latter installment --Mario Party 3-- only one character --that being Waluigi-- has his own playable board (Waluigi's Island).
  • Daisy is the only characters from the "Original 8" (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Wario, Waluigi, and Daisy --herself-- in the 8) to not have a board in the series for her home stage. Instead, she may share the same home stage with Peach which is Peach's Birthday Cake (as it returns in Mario Party Superstars. Unique to the newcomers Waluigi, he is the only newcomer --overall-- to have a home stage (Waluigi's Island in Mario Party 3). Rosalina may use Space Land from Mario Party 2 (as that board is a reference to Super Mario Galaxy and returns in Mario Party Superstars). Diddy Kong --as he is normally Donkey Kong's default partner-- may share the same board with Donkey Kong DK's Jungle Adventure (despite not returning in a future installment). Toad and Toadette --the remaining two protagonist characters-- use Eternal Star (despite not returning in a future installment). The remaining three protagonist characters (Birdo, Pauline, and --the first non-Mario characters to appear as a playable character in the series-- Miis) do not have a home stage. Characters who are antagonists including Bowser Jr. --the successor to Koopa Kid (from the first seven installments from the original game through Mario Party 7)-- and Mario Party 8's Boo, Dry Bones, Hammer Bro, and Blooper may use the board Bowser's Magma Mountain from the original game for their home stage (despite not returning in a future installment). (Boo is the first playable antagonist to appear as a playable character in series. And he is the only playable antagonist who has returned as a playable character in all future installments --counting the home console games-- after Mario Party 5. Koopa Kid was a playable character in the said future installment and Mario Party 6, became a space character in Mario Party 7, did not return in Mario Party 8, and was succeeded by Bowser Jr. in the home console games Mario Party 9 and 10. Now Bowser Jr., he is a playable character beginning with Super Mario Party and Super Mario Party Jamboree.)
• This game, along with Mario Party 2, are the only two installments in the series which use a unique picture/icon for a difficulty on the difficulty setting. Easy uses a Super Mushroom for its icon, Normal uses a plain circle, and Hard uses a star.
  • In Mario Party 3, all difficulties use a star --colored stars-- for all difficulties (Easy, Normal, Hard, and the highest difficulty --unlocked after the player completes Story Mode on Hard-- Super Hard). Mario Party 4 through 8 uses colored words instead of a unique picture icon or colored stars. Mario Party DS uses colored boxes with the name of difficulty on white letters in them. And in the home console games from Mario Party 9 and onward, the difficulties --on the difficulty setting-- just uses boxes (with the name of difficulty on white letters in them).
  • This is the only Mario Party game in which the player loses coins if they are on the losing side of a 2-vs.-2 or a 1-vs.-3 minigame.

Gallery

To view Mario Party's image gallery, click here.