The Final Battle! is a recurring minigame in the Mario Party series. It first appears in Mario Party 4 as a Boss minigame and returns in Mario Party: The Top 100 as a Special minigame.
In Mario Party series[]
Mario Party 4[]
Once a player becomes the Party Star of every board in Story Mode of Mario Party 4, Bowser steals all of the presents. The player then enters the Final Battle Cube, Bowser's version of the Party Cube, and the minigame takes place here.
Upon clearing the minigame, Bowser returns the player's presents and gives them another present depicted in his likeness.
Opening[]
The introduction shows the player's character falling out of the sky onto the first side of the cube's platform. The player's character turns around to see Bowser with two Koopa Kids taunting the player's character in order to catch up with them.
Gameplay[]
Mario on a platform with a Fire Bar in the second part
The objective is to chase Bowser and retrieve the player's stolen presents. The player's character starts with ten hearts, each acting as units of their Health Meter. Whenever the player's character takes damage, they lose a heart. If the player's character loses every heart or the timer runs out, they lose.
The second and fourth sides of the Final Battle Cube involve hopping on platforms, some of which have Fire Bars rotating around them. The player's character has to avoid falling into lava, as doing so results in an instant loss. The second side has a path of four platforms, while the fourth side has two paths with six platforms overall. If the section can be completed within 60 seconds, the character can progress onward.
Yoshi on the fifth side of the Final Battle Cube
The third and fifth sides of the Final Battle Cube involve solving a puzzle similar to the sliding puzzle featured in Super Mario 64's Lethal Lava Land mission, 8-Coin Puzzle with 15 Pieces, especially as both depict an image of Bowser. The first has three pieces of a 2×2 puzzle, which must be ground-pounded to move. Two Koopa Kids try to hinder the character's progress by dropping flaming cannonballs and mini-tornadoes. The second puzzle has eight pieces of a 3×3 puzzle, where Bowser appears, wielding a fiery boomerang. If the puzzles are not solved within five minutes, the player loses.
The final part, featuring a boss fight against Bowser, in Mario Party: The Top 100
The sixth and final side of Final Battle Cube involves a battle with Bowser. Five buttons are located around the perimeter of the area, and ground-pounding three of them causes an ephemeral triangle to appear, lightning striking anything in it a few seconds later. The objective is to surround Bowser with the triangle and lead him into it so that he can be electrocuted. Bowser attacks using his fiery boomerang and flame breath. Later on, Bowser moves while shooting flames and charges at the player's character. Although the lightning shock can damage Bowser, the player's character has to be careful not to be affected by it. It takes five shocks to defeat Bowser. If the player does not defeat Bowser within five minutes, they lose at the minigame.
In Mario Party: The Top 100, the minigame received some differences. Bowser Jr. replaces the Koopa Kids and the player's character starts with seven hit points instead of ten. During the Bowser battle, the camera rotates to follow the player, rather than staying fixed. There is also no time limit on the second and fourth sides of the cube. The announcer now calls out "Finish!" only after the player defeats Bowser instead of when clearing a side. Bowser no longer has any dialogue, and his only sound effects consist of roars. Lastly, falling into the lava now takes away only one hit point (or none during the brief invincibility granted after taking damage) rather than cause the player to instantly lose.
Gallery[]
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To view The Final Battle!'s image gallery, click here.
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