Mario Party 5

Overview

Mario Party 5 is the fifth game in the Mario Party franchise and the second to be released for the Gamecube. Mario Party 5 was released on November 10, 2003 in North America, on November 28, 2003 in Japan, and on December 5, 2003 in PAL regions. The game was developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube.

Mario Party 5 was generally well-received by critics. Reviewers found that the new mini-games were fun and interesting, but due to the few original aspects of the game, it was criticized. However, Mario Party 5 still became a Player's Choice title in 2004. Mario Party 5 has an average rating of 71% on Game Rankings and of 69% on Metacritic.

Story

Mario Party 5 is set in the world of Dream Depot, a world that contains seven different game boards. The single-player story modes involves the player in a variety of games against the Koopa Kids, who have been dispatched as part of Bowser's plot to take over Dream Depot.

Gameplay

Mario Party 5 retains the traditional Mario Party gameplay. Each "level" is a game board, with the objective to gain the most stars by the end of the game. Stars are usually available for purchase for 20 coins (if the player doesn't have enough coins, they just pass by and must wait until the next time they pass the designated space). Coins are earned by landing on certain squares or winning minigames.

Minigames all have varying goals, with several different types of minigames. There are four player minigames, that have all of the players playing against each other. One versus three minigames have one player (usually with a large advantage) against three others. Two versus two has two teams of two against each other. Battle minigames having varying goals. A Donkey Kong minigame has goals relating to collecting coins. A duel minigame is a minigame between two randomly selected players. Bowser minigames are minigames that Bowser presents near the end of the single-player game. In all there are 75 in the game (a 50% increase from Mario Party 4's minigame count, which was 50).

Mario Party 5's multiplayer mode is called Party Mode. Up to four players can compete on any of the game boards. Before playing a game, the players can select difficulty of computer controlled opponents, as well as the amount of turns in the game, ranging from 10-50. There are ten playable characters in the game (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Daisy, Waluigi, Toad, Boo, and Koopa Kid). Donkey Kong is no longer a playable character, but instead is in a DK Space, which initiates a DK minigame. As always, the players start the game by hitting Dice Blocks to decide the match's turn order, then players will get ten coins for free. Next, the game will show the players where the DK Space is and place six capsule events. Then, it'll show you where the first Star of the match is located and... let's party!

Mario Party 5's biggest difference from previous Mario Party games is the capsule system. Previous games had shops where players could purchase items. In Mario Party 5, capsules can be gathered by passing a Capsule Machine. Capsules contain certain items, from injuring opponents in one's path, to extending the number of spaces moved in one turn. The player can use it on themselves for coins, or throw the capsule up to 10 spaces away from where the player character is standing.

Mario Party 5 also introduced a "Super-Duel Mode," which has players in a vehicle, combating in a variety of events. Vehicles can be custom fitted with parts that can be purchased. Once a vehicle is constructed, players can take it in matches against either computer controlled or human opponents.

Gameboards

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  Bowser Nightmare
• Future Dream
• Undersea Dream
• Pirate Dream
• Toy Dream
• Rainbow Dream
• Sweet Dream

Minigames

Four player mini-games

• Chimp Chase

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  Chomp Romp
• Coin Cache
• Coney Island
• Dinger Derby
• Dodge Bomb
• Fish Sticks
• Fish Upon A Star
• Flower Shower
• Frozen Frenzy
• Ground Pound Down
• Hotel Goomba
• Hydrostars
• Leaf Leap
• Later Skater
• Mazed & Confused
• Night Light Fright
• Pop-star Piranhas
• Pushy Penguins
• Rumble Fumble
• Triple Jump
• Vicious Vending
• Will Flower

One versus three mini-games

• Beam Team
• Big Top Drop
• Curvy Curbs
• Fight Cards
• Flatiator
• Heat Stroke
• Mario Mechs
• Mathletes
• Quilt for Speed
• Revolving Fire
• Squared Away
• Tube It or Lose It

Two versus two mini-games

• Banking Coins
• Berry Basket
• Bus Buffer
• Clock Stoppers
• Defuse or Lose
• Handy Hoppers
• ID UFO
• Manic Mallets
• Mario Can-Can
• Panic Pinball
• Rumble Ready
• Submarathon

Battle mini-games

• Astro-Logical
• Bill Blasters
• Lucky Lineup
• Random Ride
• Tug-o-Dorrie
• Twist 'n' Out

Duel mini-games

• Blown Away
• Bound of Music
• Button Mashers
• Countdown Pound
• Get a Rope
• Head Waiter
• Merry Poppings
• Piece Out
• Pound Peril
• Pump 'n' Jump
• Shock Absorbers
• Shy Guy Showdown
• Sky Survivor
• Whomp Maze
• Wind Wavers

Other mini-games

• Frightmare
• Card Party!
• Ice Hockey
• Beach Volleyball

DK Mini-games

• Banana Punch

  

• Da Vine Climb
• Mass A-Peel

Bowser Mini-games

• Cage-in Cookin'
• Rain of Fire
• Scaldin' Cauldron