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• Mario Party series

Mario Party: Island Tour

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Mario Party: Island Tour is a Mario Party game for the Nintendo 3DS . It is the twelfth installment (seventeenth in Japan) in the  Mario Party  series and the third installment for a handheld console that was made by Nintendo. This is the second  Mario Party  game to be developed by Nd Cube. Just as in  Mario Party DS , it is possible for up to four people to join in wireless mode using only one single game card.

It was released in North America & Brazil on November 22, 2013, in China & Hong Kong on January 10, 2014, in Europe on January 17, 2014, in Australia on January 18, 2014, and in Japan & Korea on March 20, 2014.

• 1 Development
• 5 Mini-games
• 10.1 Perilous Palace Path
• 10.2 Star-Crossed Skyway
• 10.3 Rocket Road

Development [ ]

This game was announced at Nintendo Direct and is confirmed to be released on November 22, 2013, in North America, which is also the same release date for the Wii U game Super Mario 3D World , which is a sequel to 2011's Super Mario 3D Land . It has been confirmed that the release date for Mario Party: Island Tour in Europe, had been moved to 2014.

During story mode, Bowser sets up a tower full of challenges for Mario and friends. Inside, they face off against bubbly clones of themselves in many different minigames. Eventually they climb to the top and battle Bowser.

Gameplay [ ]

It is shown in a trailer that Mario Party: Island Tour will go back to the turn-based system. This will mean the four players will compete separately, instead of being in one vehicle together, like in Mario Party 9 . Players will also use cards instead of regular items. Like with Mario Party DS , Mario Party: Island Tour makes use of the Stylus for when playing certain mini-games, although a few Mario Party: Island Tour minigames make use of the Nintendo 3DS's gyro controls. Players must roll a dice block labelled 1-6, also like Mario Party 9 .

Characters [ ]

• Bowser Jr.  (newcomer) (unlockable)

These characters are non-playable, and appear in minigames and as board features.

• Banzai Bill
• Bone Goomba
• Bone Piranha Plants
• Bony Beetle
• Bubble Clones
• Bullet Bill
• Buzzy Beetle
• Chain Chomp
• Cheep Cheep
• Cheep Chomps
• Fishing Lakitu
• Mattermouths
• Para-Biddybud
• Piranha Plants
• Prickly Plants
• Scaredy Rats
• Stone Spikes
• Super Dry Bones

Mini-games [ ]

• Goomba Tower
• Mr. Blizzard
• King Bob-omb
• Perilous Palace Path
• Rocket Road
• Shy Guy's Shuffle City
• Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain
• Star-Crossed Skyway
• Kamek's Carpet Ride
• Bowser's Peculiar Peak
• Dash Space  - If the player lands here, they will leap forward (2, 3, 4, or 5) spaces.
• Back Space  - When the player lands here, they go back the number of spaces on it.
• Item Space - Landing on this space earns the player an item.
• Green Space - A normal space. Nothing special happens when the player lands here.
• Piranha Plant Space - If the player lands on this space, a Piranha Plant will throw them back a random amount of spaces (1-6).
• Lucky Space - If the player lands here, something good will happen.
• Duel Space - These trigger a minigame battle for items/Mini Stars.
• Bowser Space - A random act of fiendishness will happen if the player lands here.
• Unlucky Space - Something bad will happen if the player lands here.
• Dead-End Space - The player will be forced to stop in this space for an event.
• Goal Space - The final space on the board.
• Safe Space (only on Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain) - A space where the player cannot get hit by a Banzai Bill.
• Danger Space (only on Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain) - A space where the player might get hit by a Banzai Bill.
• Switch Space - If the player lands here, Banzai Bill will launch from a new location.
• Banzai Bill Space - This space launches Banzai Bill.
• Booster Space (appears only on Rocket Road) - Gives the player one Booster.
• Warp Space - Swaps your space with a random player's space.
• Kamek Spaces (appears only on Kamek's Carpet Ride) - Causes a random event to happen, usually affecting most, if not all players, and not just the player who landed on it.
• Just-Right Space - (appears only on Kamek's Carpet Ride) - Either sends the players to the second half of the board, granting the player who landed on it a Power Precision (2) card, or finishes the game, with the player landing on it winning.

Dice Blocks [ ]

• Gold dice block - Adds 1 to 6 spaces to the player's roll. Awarded to 1st place after a minigame.
• Silver dice block - Adds 1 to 3 spaces to the player's roll. Awarded to 2nd place after a minigame.
• Bronze dice block - Adds 1 or 2 spaces to the player's roll. Awarded to 3rd place after a minigame.
• Custom dice block - Allows the player to roll any number.
• Bowser dice block - Same effects as a normal Dice Block. The player can remain where they are as long as they get the roll doubled with another Bowser Dice Block.
• 1-6 Bowser dice block - Adds 1 to 6 spaces to the player's roll. The player can remain where they are as long as they get the roll doubled with another Bowser Dice Block. Awarded to 4th place after a minigame.
• 1-3 Bowser dice block - Adds 1 to 3 spaces to the player's roll. The player can remain where they are as long as they get the roll doubled with another Bowser Dice Block. Awarded to 3rd place after a minigame.
• 1-2 Bowser dice block - Adds 1 or 2 spaces to the player's roll. The player can remain where they are as long as they get the roll doubled with another Bowser Dice Block. Awarded to 2nd place after a minigame.
• Random card - Randomly decides how many spaces the player will move.
• Precision card - Move the player the number of spaces written on the card.
• Power Precision card - Moves the user forwards by the number written, while the others move backward by the same amount.
• Bowser card (Appears only on Shy Guy's Shuffle City) - The player who holds this card after 3 turns will receive a Bowser Penalty, along with being a losing factor in

Board-specific items [ ]

Perilous palace path [ ].

• Setback Shell - Sends an opponent back 2 spaces.
• Backwards Bill - Sends an opponent back 5 spaces.
• Blooper Chopper - Cuts an opponent's roll in half.
• Lightning Score Striker - Subtracts 3 from an opponent's roll.
• Lakitu Leech - Steals 1 item from an opponent.
• Dash Mushroom - Adds 3 to your roll.
• Golden Dash Mushroom - Adds 5 to your roll.
• Super Star - Doubles the player's roll.
• Crazy Kamek - Switches the user's place with an opponent.
• Chaos Kamek - Switches everyone's places.

Star-Crossed Skyway [ ]

Rocket road [ ].

• Boosters - Multiplies the Dice Block roll.

Gallery [ ]

An error on the Nintendo eShop listing Mario Party: Island Tour as a Nintendo Entertainment System game.

• This is the first Mario Party game for the Nintendo 3DS. The second is Mario Party: Star Rush and the third is Mario Party: The Top 100 .
• This is the first (and currently only)  Mario Party  game to not have a category of 1 vs 3 minigames.
• This is the first  Mario Party  game to use Dice Blocks to break ties in minigames.
• For a time, the Nintendo 3DS eShop mistakenly stated  Mario Party: Island Tour  to be a title on the  Nintendo Entertainment System , with the game also lacking the price.
• Bowser Jr. also replaces Koopa Kid from the previous Mario Party games.
• This marks Rosalina 's debut in a Mario Party game, but she wouldn't become a playable character until Mario Party 10 .
• This is the second Mario Party game where Donkey Kong does not appear, the first being Mario Party Advance .
• Only Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Boo, Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser Jr. have official artwork for this game.
• Coincidentally, Super Mario 3D World is a sequel to Super Mario 3D Land , a Nintendo 3DS game.
• This is the first time that Boo has been playable in the Mario Party series since in Mario Party 8 , he didn't appear and was only in Mario Party 9 as an enemy.
• If the player chooses Bowser's Tower as Bowser Jr., there will be extra dialogue at the beginning when Toad joins him, after each boss battle, preparing to fight Bowser, and when Bowser knocks the player away telling them to try again.
• However,  Mario Party: Island Tour is also known as  Mario Party 3DS .
• Several characters have their voice clips reused from Mario Party 9 .
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Mario Party: Island Tour

Important information, video: mario party: island tour.

Get ready for a portable party in the palm of your hand – the ultimate minigame experience has arrived with Mario Party: Island Tour, only on Nintendo 3DS family systems!

Step into a board game with a twist and face off against your opponents in madcap minigames! Whether you're playing solo or with friends, seven new game boards, 80 new minigames and a host of unique modes make the first Mario Party game on Nintendo 3DS the most exciting yet! Combining easy-to-grasp gameplay with Download Play* that allows four players to party together using just one Game Card, Mario Party: Island Tour really is a game that absolutely anyone can play!

When a letter trapped in a bubble arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom inviting Mario and his friends to a party in the clouds, how can they say no? Soon enough, all your favourite Mushroom Kingdom characters are travelling up to Party Island in bubbles, ready to enjoy a whole host of exciting games and challenges... and you're invited too!

*Please note: Download Play requires each player to have a Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL or Nintendo 2DS system, sold separately.

Nintendo Selects

This game is now available as part of the Nintendo Selects range, a series of top-notch software that offers varied gaming experiences! Find out more about Nintendo Selects on Wii U , Nintendo 3DS family systems and Wii .

Find more Mario games at the Super Mario hub!

This description was provided by the publisher.

What you need to know

This content is sold by Nintendo of Europe AG. The payment will be made with Nintendo eShop funds usable through the Nintendo Account used to complete the purchase.

This content is sold by Nintendo of Europe AG, payable with Nintendo eShop funds usable through your Nintendo Account. The Nintendo Account Agreement applies to the purchase of this content.

This content may be purchased by users who have registered a Nintendo Account and accepted the respective legal terms. To be able to purchase content for Wii U or Nintendo 3DS family systems, a Nintendo Network ID is also required and your funds usable through the Nintendo Account must be merged with the funds tied to your Nintendo Network ID. If the funds have not yet been merged, you will have the option to do so during the purchase process. To start the purchasing process, it is necessary to sign in with the Nintendo Account and the Nintendo Network ID. After signing in it will be possible to review the details and complete the purchase.

To be able to purchase content for Wii U or Nintendo 3DS family systems, your funds usable through the Nintendo Account must be merged with the funds tied to your Nintendo Network ID. If the funds have not yet been merged, you will have the option to do so during the purchase process. You will be able to review the details and complete the purchase on the next screen.

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After your payment has been processed, the content will be downloaded to the applicable system linked to the respective Nintendo Account, or respective Nintendo Network ID in the case of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS family systems. This system must be updated to the latest system software and connected to the internet with automatic downloads enabled, and it must have enough storage to complete the download. Depending on the system/console/hardware model you own and your use of it, an additional storage device may be required to download software from Nintendo eShop. Please visit our Support section for more information.

In the case of games that use cloud streaming technology, only the free launcher application can be downloaded.

Please make sure you have enough storage to complete the download.

After your payment has been processed, the content will be downloaded to the applicable system linked to your Nintendo Account, or your Nintendo Network ID in the case of Wii U or Nintendo 3DS family systems. This system must be updated to the latest system software and connected to the internet with automatic downloads enabled, and it must have enough storage to complete the download. Depending on the system/console/hardware model you own and your use of it, an additional storage device may be required to download software from Nintendo eShop. Please visit our Support section for more information.

The details of the offer are displayed based on the country settings of your Nintendo Account.

The Nintendo Account Agreement applies to the purchase of this content.

The use of an unauthorised device or software that enables technical modification of the Nintendo console or software may render this game unplayable.

This product contains technological protection measures.

Content not playable before the release date: {{releaseDate}} . For pre-orders, payments will be taken automatically starting from 7 days before the release date. If you pre-order less than 7 days before the release date, payment will be taken immediately upon purchase.

Please note: for games that support 3D images, you can only appreciate the 3D effect of Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL on the system itself. Game visuals display in 2D on Nintendo 2DS and New Nintendo 2DS XL. All screenshots and game footage on this site are captured in 2D mode.

© 2013 Nintendo. Mario Party and Nintendo 3DS are trademarks of Nintendo.

Multiplayer

Mario Party: Island Tour is great fun when you're playing alone, but it's even better when you're playing it with friends! You can enjoy many of the modes with mates, and thanks to the wonders of Download Play, all you need is one copy of the game for a rip-roaring four-player party!*

Dive headlong into Party mode and compete with your friends on all of the exciting game boards, or pick out your favourite minigames and challenge each other to see who's the best. Test your friends with tricky puzzle games and even discover who's the AR* game champion… the fun never ends!

Even when you're all by yourself, you're never playing alone thanks to StreetPass Minigames! Pass by other players with your Nintendo 3DS to exchange data and bring their Mii characters into your game, where you can challenge them in solo play! Up to ten other players can be stored at once and challenged to a randomly-selected minigame – have you got what it takes to beat everyone you meet?

*Please note: Download Play requires each player to have a Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL or Nintendo 2DS system, sold separately. AR minigames require the ? AR Card that comes packaged with every Nintendo 3DS family system.

Mario Party: Island Tour takes the famous Mario Party formula and gives it a twist to offer even more modes than ever before! Whether you're a veteran Mario Party fan looking to roll dice, travel the board and emerge as the victor or a newcomer out to challenge yourself against masses of minigames, you're guaranteed to find something that'll keep you partying!

Put the Mario Party gameplay you know and love into the palms of your hands with Party mode! Pick your favourite Mushroom Kingdom character, then go it alone or face off against friends on seven different game boards, each with their own unique rules and quirks. Collect stars, grab items, roll dice or play cards, all while competing in loads of new minigames. It's the ultimate Mario Party!

If you're short on time but still fancy a challenge, then head into Minigames mode and have a go at any of the 80 new minigames on your own terms! You'll find a variety of ways to enjoy the minigames of Mario Party: Island Tour here, including:

Time Attack – How quickly can you win ten minigames in a row? Test your skills against the clock and try to clear the minigames as fast as you can in this single-player challenge!

Balloon Race – The more minigames you win, the higher your hot-air balloon will soar. Win more games than the opposition and fly off into the sky for the win!

Puzzles – Pit your wits against a trio of challenging puzzle-based minigames. Match falling items before the grid fills up completely in Fall into Line, use your stylus to slide patterned panels around to clear the board in Chain Challenge, or box in stars to make them disappear in Starlight Connection.

AR Games – Use the ? AR card that came with your Nintendo 3DS family system to enjoy two amazing Augmented Reality minigames. Take aim at a horde of Goombas and shoot them down in Goombas Galore, or clamber up the walls of a tower – before it sinks down into the lava below – in Towers and Infernos.

Balloon Race

Fall into Line

Chain Challenge

Starlight Connection

Goombas Galore

Bowser's Tower

A Mario Party wouldn't be complete without Bowser… but no-one expected him to crash it with his own tower! Exclusively single-player, Bowser's Tower challenges you to make it up all 30 floors and meet the king of the Koopas at the top. Choose from two random minigames on each floor and beat three ghostly doppelgangers to continue on up, then defeat one of Bowser's crew in a boss battle on every fifth floor. Can you get to the top and defeat Bowser himself? There's only one way to find out!

Collectibles

As you play Mario Party: Island Tour and complete various tasks – playing on game boards, winning multiplayer games, defeating StreetPass opponents and so on – you'll earn Mario Party Points. These can be used in Collectibles mode to unlock all kinds of goodies and keep the party going!

StreetPass Minigames

Notch up StreetPass hits with other Mario Party: Island Tour players and you'll be able to challenge them to a head-to-head minigame battle! Up to ten players can be stored at any one time – pick one out to play against, then see who'll become the StreetPass champion and win a heap of Mario Party Points into the bargain!

Game Boards

In Party mode, there are all kinds of exciting experiences to be had depending on which game board you choose to play on. Each one has its own unique rules and playing style – combine that with the massive range of minigames available and no two games will ever be the same! Which one will be your favourite?

Perilous Palace Path

How quickly can you reach Princess Peach's palace? Race against your friends by throwing the dice and using items to either help you or hinder them. The more minigames you win, the better your chances will be!

Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain

Think that racing up the mountainside is easy? Think again – you could get caught by Banzai Bill! Take risks by moving along the path or play it safe by hiding in the caves – it's up to you. Just make sure you're not in the way when someone gets a Banzai Bill!

Star-Crossed Skyway

There's only one winner on the Star-Crossed Skyway, and it's the player with the most Mini Stars! Race to Star Stages before your friends to earn more Mini Stars, but avoid the pesky Mini Ztars that'll reduce your total instead.

Rocket Road

It's a race… a race through outer space! Collect boosters as you move through the starry skies and use them to increase the numbers you can roll on the dice. Be careful not to roll a zero though, or your rocket will run into engine trouble!

Kamek's Carpet Ride

The only way to win here is to play your cards right…literally! Use numbered cards to decide how many spaces you can move, and try to land exactly on the goal! Don't use all your best cards at the start though – the trick is knowing when to trump your friends!

Shy Guy's Shuffle City

Using your own cards is one thing, but this game board sees you swapping cards with your opponents before making your move. Try to keep all the best cards for yourself, but don't be left with the dreaded Bowser Card!

Party, Board Game

Multiplayer mode

Simultaneous

Motion Controls , Nintendo Selects , StreetPass

More information

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Release date

English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Russian

Download version (Nintendo 3DS)

English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian

Download size

1968 blocks

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Mario Party: Island Tour Review

• First Released Nov 22, 2013 released

Port-a-party.

By Heidi Kemps on November 22, 2013 at 11:44AM PST

When you hear "minigame collection," the first game that usually springs to mind is Mario Party. The series has been responsible for hilarious memories and strained relationships since the Nintendo 64 era, though the series hasn't always set a good example: some of the installments, like the miserable Mario Party Advance, have dragged you to the dregs of party hell. Fortunately, Mario Party: Island Tour is a raucous portable entry in the series that adds some refreshing new elements.

Island Tour adheres to the same structure as many of the other Mario Party games: two to four human or AI players move around a traditional board-game-style map in a competition, playing minigames for prizes and attempting to hinder other players throughout. Most Mario Party games have focused on the collecting of coins and stars to determine a winner at the end of a game, but Island Tour's boards feature different objectives and modes of play. Some, like Perilous Palace Path, simply require that you be the first to reach the goal, while others have you collecting items to see who can end the game with the most stuff. Even if the boards have a similar objective, there are other factors at play that alter gameplay significantly: Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain might let you summon a giant bullet that sends everyone in its path back several spaces, while Kamek's Magic Carpet Ride forgoes dice and assigns movement to an inventory of numbered cards, making your selections about how far to advance a strategic consideration. There's a nice bit of variety here, and the game helpfully gives ratings to luck, skill, and minigame categories when you're choosing a board to play on (though their accuracy is debatable). Most of the boards don't take too long to run through, but that's probably for the best given that the 3DS is a battery-based console, and nothing kills a party like running out of juice mid-game.

It's pretty easy to get things hopping, thanks to the 3DS Download Play feature. Much like Mario Party DS, Island Tour allows up to three additional players to access and enjoy the full game in multiplayer, even if they don't have their own copy. It takes a few minutes to send the game to other 3DSs--and, of course, they can't keep it once the host disconnects--but after the wait is over, the players have access to the entire game (though the host player controls all the settings and selections). It's a nice way to ensure that there's always an opportunity to get a party started as long as everybody has a system. Unfortunately, there's no way to play online. Yes, Mario Party is more fun in a local, group setting, but the omission of any sort of online option is puzzling, especially given that the 3DS supports friends lists and voice chat.

If you've got a party of one, however, Island Tour has a special single-player mode called Bowser's Tower. In this mode, your chosen character scales a tower, playing a minigame on each floor and winning to proceed. On every fifth floor, you face a boss character, and these fights are minigames in themselves. Compared to the single-player story mode in Mario Party DS, Bowser's Tower is weak: there's no variation on events depending on character choice; it takes a long time to complete a runthrough (and, if you're really unlucky, a bad roulette spin can send you back to the start); and you have to finish it more than once to unlock everything. Yet Bowser's Tower is a nice diversion, and as you play and complete board runs, Bowser's Tower, and individual minigames in either single- or multiplayer, you earn points that you can spend on unlockable content.

But the meat of any Mario Party is its minigame menagerie, and Island Tour has more winners than duds in its mix. While you have the expected minigames of the "collect stuff," "knock other players off a platform," and "dodge things coming at you" varieties, there are some more inventive offerings that make good use of the 3DS hardware. Since the 3DS offers a variety of control methods--controller, buttons, stylus, microphone, and gyroscopic motion--the minigames can use one or more of these elements to make more interesting snack-size experiences. This leads to some neat outings, such as Buzz a Fuzzy (a motion- and circle-pad-controlled archery minigame) and Match Faker (a memory-type game that lets you use the stylus to take notes). The game takes advantage of the fact that each player has their own display, resulting in things like the third-person, arena-based blasting in Tanks a Lot and the hyper-gliding ice racing in No Traction Action. There are even a few auxiliary minigames that use the oft-forgotten 3DS AR cards. Unlike in Wii Party, where only one player could use the GamePad, everybody is on equal footing with the same controls and view, and many of the minigames do a good job of both recognizing and taking advantage of that in their design.

But there are still some stinkers in the mix. Strictly luck-based minigames turn up in the rotation frequently, and they're not any fun. A few others feature sluggish controls that hamper your ability to move well. (In minigames that involved moving the system along with another control method, I found that the game had an obnoxious tendency to lose calibration when it shifted back to motion controls, which required an experience-interrupting recalibration.) Though you can switch between preset standard and easy minigames and turn mic-using games on or off, you still can't disable individual minigames or make a custom set, which is a disappointing oversight.

It's not a perfect party by any means, but some good design considerations, better-than-average variety, and always-enjoyable Mario thematics put Mario Party: Island Tour a few notches above your average video game bash-in-a-box. It's nicely portable, uses the hardware well, and has a mostly good minigame mix, making this the easy-to-play multiplayer vacation you've been looking for.

• Leave Blank
• Fully featured four-player local download play is great
• Some great minigame designs that use 3DS features well
• Offers a unique single-player mode
• A few bad games in the bunch
• No online play

About the Author

Heidi Kemps

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Mario Party: Island Tour

Mario Party: Island Tour is the first Nintendo 3DS entry in the Mario Party series. It is also the second Mario Party game developed by NDcube, the same people who started using cars in Mario Party.

• 1.1 Test Maps
• 2.1 Test Models
• 3.1 Test Textures
• 4.1 Diddy Kong
• 5.1 Level Select
• 5.2 Model Viewer
• 6 Dummy Files

Unused Areas

Found in RomFS\sample\sample_mgm\sample_mgm_pack.zdat is a file called stage.bmdl . This file contains a map with a unique cardboard cutout art style, it seems to contain a wild west theme, with a background that doesn't match the theme or art style of the props and buildings present.

Found in RomFS\sample\mg_action_test\mg_action_test_pack.zdat is a file called actionmap.bmdl . This file contains a strange model encased in a blue gradient skybox. There is a long gray beveled rectangular prism with an extruded green top that has rectangular platforms and a hill on it.

Found in RomFS\sample\chr_view\chr_view_pack.zdat is a file called stage.bmdl (yes, it's exactly the same name). This file contains a map that is seen in screenshots of Mario Party: Island Tour's model viewer.

Found in RomFS\sample\stencil_shadow_test\stencil_shadow_test_pack.zdat is a file called stencil_shadow_test_bg01.bmdl . This file contains a map with a grass floor and a ground patch, interestingly the textures used are all labelled as tests.

Unused Models

Test models.

Found in RomFS\sample\localize_test\localize_test_pack.zdat is a file called cube.bmdl . As the model name says, it's a cube, a fancy cube with a checkered pattern.

Unused Graphics

Test textures.

Found in RomFS\sample\stencil_shadow_test\stencil_shadow_test_pack.zdat is a file called stencil_shadow_test_bg01.bmdl , inside this file is a texture called test_flower . This flower texture has 3 flower colors; blue, yellow, and pink. Every flower in the test map it's found in uses the exact same texture, thanks to UVs each flower can be unique.

Found in RomFS\sample\stencil_shadow_test\stencil_shadow_test_pack.zdat is a file called stencil_shadow_test_bg01.bmdl , inside this file is a texture called test_ground01 . This ground texture is brown with pentagons making up the texture of the ground, it's used in the test map it's linked to as a patch of dirt.

Found in RomFS\sample\stencil_shadow_test\stencil_shadow_test_pack.zdat is a file called stencil_shadow_test_bg01.bmdl , inside this file is a texture called test_ground02 . This texture is similar to ground01, it's a single color with shapes making up the detail, this time it's circles. This texture is used in the test map it's linked to as the base ground texture.

Unused Characters

Located in RomFS\sample\mg_action_test\mg_action_test_pack.zdat is a bin file named mg_action_test_strings.bin . In this bin file is strings referencing Diddy Kong's model and 2 animations named diddy_kong_idle , and diddy_kong_throw

Level Select

Due to the limited amount of images, full documentation of this level select is not possible at this time.

Model Viewer

Until there is videos, we can only say that the model viewer seems to contain animations, all character models, key binds to rotate the model (or camera), zoom in and out, and play the animation selected.

Dummy Files

Found in RomFS\sample\localize_test\localize_test_pack.zdat is a file called test.txt . This 0kb file is completely empty, that's all there is to say about this file.

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Mario Party: Island Tour – Secrets and Unlockables

Mario Party: Island Tour features several unlockables:

How to Unlock Bowser Jr.

Play through and complete Bowser’s Tower to unlock Bowser Jr.

How To Bowser’s Peculiar Peak

Play through all the boards, excluding Shy  Guy’s Shuffle City, to unlock this board.

List of Mario Party: Island Tour minigames

Mario Party: Island Tour has a total of eighty-one minigames . The following is a list of all of them:

• 1 General minigames
• 2 Boss minigames
• 3 Puzzle minigames
• 4 Extra minigames

General minigames [ edit ]

Claiming the Cube

Rope a Slope

Tragic Carpet Ride

Stretch Run

Grid is Good

Color Me Fast

Musical Snares

Buzz a Fuzzy

Cannonball!

Goomba to Maneuver

Kabob and Weave

Tanks a Lot

Xylophone Home

Mild Gunman

Spin the Bubble

Rat-a-tat Flat

Hide 'n' Splat

Sub Trouble

Garden of Eatin'

Peep a Peepa

Puzzle Pronto

Truckin' and Cluckin'

Color Correction

Slip 'n' Slip

Pachinko Wizard

No-Traction Action

Blown Hover

Spin and Bear It

Fisticlouds

Starring Artist

Pokey Corral

Great Bars of Fire

Paddle Skedaddle

Fuel Me Once

Git Along, Goomba

Cheepers Keepers

Drive for Show

Hop Till You Drop

Helter Shellter

Meteor Melee

Bumper Thumper

Horror Harriers

Cheep Diamonds

Trounce 'n' Bounce

Mad Ladders

Squish You Were Here

Go with the Floe

Amp My Style

Shrub Hubbub

Quickest Cricket

Diamond a Dozen

Bob-omb Aplomb

Gyro for the Gold

Point 'n' Shoot

Match Faker

Sky'd and Seek

Utter Nonsense

Boss minigames [ edit ]

Goomba Tower Takedown

Chain Chomp's Lava Lunge

Mr. Blizzard's Snow Slalom

King Bob-omb's Court of Chaos

Dry Bowser's Brain Bonk

Bowser's Sky Scuffle

Puzzle minigames [ edit ]

Three House

Emergency Hexit

Extra minigames [ edit ]

The Choicest Voice

Sinking Feeling

• Mario Party: Island Tour
• Mario Party: Island Tour minigames

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Video Game / Mario Party: Island Tour

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Mario Party: Island Tour is a video game developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS . Uniquely, in a first for the series, the game was initially released on North America in November 2013, and then all other regions (including Japan and South Korea, where in fact it arrived last ) during early 2014. It's the third handheld installment in the Mario Party series.

True to its name, this game takes place on the floating islands known as the Party Islands, with various play modes. The story begins as Mario and his friends receive a letter inviting them to said islands, and they accept. Bowser, realizing that he was left out once again , builds a tower named after himself and encourages anyone to join his evil side; in the meantime, he uses a bubble machine to create bubbles imbued with evil magic to lock the fun in the Party Islands. Indeed, whereas the standard Party Mode takes place in the paradisial floating islands, Story Mode pits a player-chosen character onto Bowser's Tower in order to challenge Bowser and stop his evil plans. Blue Toad and Yellow Toad serve as the game's hosts.

In terms of gameplay, Island Tour is a mix of the classical style that was prevalent in most previous games and the style first seen in Mario Party 9 . Players move across the boards independently, but the boards themselves have each a linear design and the objective in each of them is to fulfill a specific objective by the time one character reaches the finish line (for example, one of the boards consists of gathering as many Mini-Stars as possible while avoiding the Mini-Ztars, much like in the Mario Party 9 boards; in fact, this board also provides an exception to the general rule of finishing the party session, as it requires all characters to reach the finish line for a conclusion).

Being programmed for the Nintendo 3DS, the game supports StreetPass . This allows players to receive data from other players and, depending on their stats and overall performance, the characters representing them can be challenged as CPU rivals in minigames, though this can only be done once with that character unless the system is tagged with the same person the following day. Another feature is that, much like in Mario Party DS and 9 , the player will earn Mario Party Points by playing the various modes in the game as well as minigames, and they can be used to purchase recordings of character voices as well as music tracks from boards, menus and minigames, thus encouraging the player to assemble a Sound Test . Some of them are available from the start, but others have to be unlocked first (thus enforcing a Double Unlock ).

A few minigames employ Depth Perplexion to take advantage of the system's stereoscopic 3D feature, which the game is compatible with; there are even two special minigames that makes use of the system's Augmented Reality capabilities. A major oddity is that 1-vs.-3 and 2-vs.-2 minigames do not exist in this game.

Lastly, this game marks the playable debut of Bowser Jr. in the Mario Party series, after having appeared beforehand as an NPC (in DS ) and later as a boss (in 9 ). Per series tradition for newcomers, he has to be unlocked first so the player can play as him.

This game provides examples of:

• 15 Puzzle : The minigame Tile Savvy has each character to slide the pieces of a scrambled puzzle in order to reveal an image, and doing so will reveal the next puzzle to solve. The first character to solve three tile puzzles wins.
• Augmented Reality : The minigame Ka-Goomba has the player use the 3DS to aim at Goombas that appear around an AR card (or an official image of them downloaded and displayed on a tablet or handheld phone) and shoot them to score points (the normal ones are worth one point each, while the gold ones are worth three). Near the end of the minigame, a Whomp appears and has to be hit from the back (for which the player has to move around carefully without losing focus on the AR card or image) until its HP is fully depleted. When the Whomp is defeated, the minigame ends.
• The Bad Guy Wins : Managed to beat Bowser Tower? Too bad, the real Bowser says the player managed to only beat a bubble copy of himself in the final boss minigame, and then he will always knock you right off his tower, asking the player can always come back to challenge Bowser in the tower.
• Big Boo's Haunt : Kamek's Carpet Ride. True to its name, the board is played as characters ride magical carpets to move through the spaces, instead of walking. The first part takes place above a small forest village (inhabited by Whittles and Wigglers) next to a lake during night, and then forks between two haunted mansions (one being a library, and the other being an alchemy lab). The objective is to land on certain spaces (Just-Right Spaces) by using numbered cards; because of this, winning a minigame will allow the player to choose a card out of a selection, giving them the chance to grab the best (whereas the ones second, third and fourth in said minigame will have them choose among the remaining cards. Landing on a house's Just-Right Space will send all character to its interior, and then whoever lands onto the next Just-Right Space will be the winner.
• Bullfight Boss : Chain Chomp, the second boss fought in Bowser's Tower, will frequently charge at the player's character. At one point, it'll perform a big leap to try to land onto the character to harm it. The character can trick it into hitting one of the four chainlink-made tiles of the floor, making it so it touches part of the lava when it completes its Ground Pound (as the battlefield will briefly sink at that moment). This tactic has to be repeated until the Chomp's HP depletes in full, though when it goes under half it'll charge faster at the character and the ground pound will be so strong that lava will splash upward from all chainlink-made tiles, potentially hurting the player's character if they aren't careful.
• Car Fu : The minigame Bumper Thumper takes place at the top of a colorful column in the middle of an amusement park, and has the players clash against each other while driving round bumping vehicles to see who gets knocked off. The borders are covered by pink walls, so these have to be removed with the pushes and clashes so there's a hole to push someone away. The last player standing wins, though more than one can win if they resist during 60 seconds (of, if they're human, agree to get a tie).
• Casino Park : The board Shy Guy's Shuffle City takes place on a giant casino table. This mode can only be played with two or more human players. Each character moves across the board by drawing cards, and can trade cards with other players, but possessing the Bowser Card after three turns causes something bad to happen to the player .
• Conveyor Belt o' Doom : The minigame Hop Till You Drop has the characters hop between many boxes and objects that are being transported to the left by a gigantic conveyor belt. The characters have to keep moving to avoid staying behind, as the left side leads to a pit. And because the transported objects are big, falling onto the conveyor will make it impossible for the affected character to climb back, so they'll be doomed to get dragged into the pit. Further complicating matters is that some objects have on their tops rotating cylinders that also act as conveyors.
• Corridor Cubbyhole Run : Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain. There are two segments of the board that are each in the line of fire by a Banzai Bill's cannon; and if a character throws their dice and gets the side of a Bill, then the Banzai will fire away from the cannon it's currently positioned and knock off anyone in its trajectory; a character can avoid the large enemy by hiding on one of the many caves that act like safe zones. If a character lands onto an Event Space located between the two segments, the Bill will stop occupying its current cannon to reappear into the other.
• Death Mountain : The board Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain takes place near the top of a brown mountain, and the objective is to reach a fortress located at the top of a gray mountain's peak. The problem is that the lower and upper areas of the brown mountain are respectively guarded by two Banzai Bill cannons, in one of which a Banzai stands ready to be shot; and if a character uses their dice and get the image of a Bill Banzai, they'll shoot the Banzai and make it knock off anyone in its way (there are caves that serve as safe zones one can enter to be safe).
• Demoted to Extra : After having been playable in the previous 3 games, Birdo is reduced to a minor NPC in this game.
• Developer's Foresight : Extra dialogue is added to the Bowser's Tower should the player be playing as Bowser Jr. For example, Bowser expressing how proud he is of his son's progress.
• Even Evil Has Standards : In Bowser's Tower, Bowser will occasionally give out random "punishments" through a roulette wheel once you reach certain floors. One of these punishments is to send you back down to the first floor, which, if chosen, Bowser will outright say "That's just cruel, even by my standards!" and won't follow through with it. He also won't take any of your Mario Party Points if "Lose all your Mario Party Points" is chosen.
• Evil Knockoff : Bowser uses a clone machine to create bubble clones of the main characters. When one of the real characters enters the tower, they'll be challenged by these evil clones, who have to be defeated in minigames so the reacl character can proceed. Bubble clones appear in each floor of Bowser's Tower.
• Evil Tower of Ominousness : Bowser's Tower, which is placed by the evil Koopa king in front of Party Islands out of spite for being left out. It's a tall, cylindrical tower from which Bowser encourages everyone to come and complete his challenges. Its floors are guarded by evil clones of characters, made of bubbles and who will obstruct progress until they're defeated in minigames. Powerful bosses also lurk the tower.
• Excuse Plot : The characters have fun in the boards of Party Islands. Bowser wasn't invited, so he built a tower in front of them and creates evil clones of them with bubbles, so one of the good guys has to go to the tower to stop the Koopa king's plans.
• First-Person Snapshooter : The minigame Point 'n' Shoot has the four players stand respectively in front of four green cameras aiming at a rural town, where many mooks live. Each players aims with their camera by moving their Nintendo 3DS, and the game will show three pictures, each showing a mook that has to be taken a picture of. Each mook can only be photographed by one character, so inevitably someone will be left without taking any pictures. In the next round, other three mooks are shown so the characters attempt to take pictures of them. After three rounds, the character who took the most pictures wins.
• Fishing Minigame : The minigame Cheepers Keepers has all characters stand on a pier to capture Cheep Cheeps with fishing rods. For each character, a button is shown in the screen, indicating the one that has to be pressed repeatedly to reel the rod's line. The score each character receives in each round will depend on how many Cheep Cheeps are captured in a row, which in turn will depend on how much the characters reeled. Whoever captures the most Cheep Cheeps after three rounds wins.
• Gimmick Level : Most boards share the central idea of reaching the goal line first, with a few variations in each case to keep the idea fresh. However, Star-Crossed Skyway stands out because reaching the end won't be enough: the objective for each player is to gather more Mini-Stars than the rest (much like in the boards of Mario Party 9 ). Another exception is Bowser's Peculiar Peak, where the objective is to be the last player to reach the goal line, since the ones reaching first will be punished by Bowser (this also requires losing the minigames to the fullest extent possible).
• Green Hill Zone : The board Perilous Palace Path, which is the first board but ironically it's also the longest to complete in a typical party session (closely followed by Star-Crossed Skyway, which is the third). It's a path in a grassland that features elements like a river, some bridges, a castle, and a volcanic zone named after Bowser. During the course of the journey, the characters find a Thwomp that is obstructing a bridge, a tower of Goombas holding an arrow sign in a road fork, and a Whomp that has to be defeated. The first character to reach the finish line wins.
• Ground Pound : In the minigame Claiming The Cube, the characters are located in a minuscule cube-shaped planet, and each of its faces has four panels. When the minigame starts, some of the panels will begin glowing, and the objective is to stomp them with a ground pound while they're in that state. Each character earns points by pounding these panels, though they can also squash other characters to sabotage them. After 30 seconds, the character who earns the highest score wins.
• Guerrilla Boulders : Played with in the minigame Mad Ladders, which takes place in a tall mountain with numerous ladders that can be used to climb it. The intro cutscene shows the player that the enemies who drop the spiked rocks downward are Spikes, but the characters are placed too deep in the mountain's foot to notice them . Thus, when the minigame starts, the characters have to climb the ladders and switch sideways between them in case one of the Spikes' rocks is falling right onto them (if the character is hit, they'll be stunned for a brief while and waste time). The first character to reach the top wins.
• Herding Mission : The minigame Hare Today has the characters grab gray rabbits that exit from the holes of a grassy crater's surrounding walls, and place them in the circular pen placed in the center. Golden rabbits appear as well, and placing one to the pen will yield three points. After 30 seconds, the character with the highest score wins.
• Hot Potato : The minigame Bob-omb Aplomb has the four players stand respectively on four rocky platforms erected over a sea of lava. Bob-ombs will begin falling from above, and each character has to kick away the ones landing onto their platform, whether aiming at the lava or at the other characters' platforms. If a Bob-omb standing on a platform explodes, it will destroy it and the character onto it will fall onto the lava. The last player remaining wins, though more than one can win if they can resist for 60 seconds.
• Hover Board : The minigame Blown Hover has all characters drive hoverboards across a straight-lined racetrack build above the clouds. The speed the hoverboards can reach as they accelerate is high, so the characters have to keep an eye on the obstacles they're approaching, and depending on the case they have to either jump over them or move beneath them (clashing will deplete a big part of the speed, making the character waste a lot of time recovering and making the hoverboard regain speed). Whoever reaches the goal first wins.
• Human Cannonball : The aptly-named minigame Cannonball! has the four players crank their respective cannon's handles as quickly as possible during four seconds. They then hop onto the cannons to be shot. The faster they cranked the handles, the farther will they be shot. The player who lands onto the farthest spot wins.
• I Fell for Hours : In the minigame Diamond A Dozen, the players stand in front of five holes that all lead to an ancient chamber built way below, likely hundreds of meters. Each hole, however, has a specific amount of diamonds, and before the minigame starts we can see the holes' tall track and the diamonds found in them. Each character has to choose the hole, hoping it's the one with the most diamonds, and then fall onto it to gather them. Once they reach the chamber at the bottom, the game counts how many diamonds each one has, and the one with the most wins.
• It's All Upstairs From Here : In Bowser's Tower, as the player's chosen character and their companion Green Toad defeat the bubble clones created by Bowser in his evil tower, they run upstairs in a spiral pattern to move bwteen floors and reach the top. However, because of how tall the tower is, this will require clearing multiple floors.
• Jet Pack : In the minigame Fuel Me Once, each character has to fill up a jetpack with just enough gas so they can equip it and fly to a round green platform above a lake that has some dark tiles in the middle segment, positioned exactly 100 meters away from the characters' launch site. Filling the jetpack with too little gas will make a character descend into the water before reaching the destination, while filling the jetpack with too much gas will make the character fly past the platform and thus fall onto the water as well. Making things trickier is that, when the minigame starts, the gas gauge's hand will show that the fill-up speed is designated randomly , and the gauge itself will be covered shortly after the fill-up itself begins, thus forcing the character to time the exact moment when they have to stop the gas input. The character who lands closest to the 100-meter spots wins.
• Jump Rope Blunders : The minigame Great Bars of Fire has the players stand onto specific spots that surround a pair of misaligned Fire Bars. When the minigame starts, the two Fire Bars begin spinning, so the characters have to duck to avoid the upper Fire Bar, and jump to avoid the lower one. To increase the difficulty, the Fire Bars gradually change their speed, and they don't do it simultaneously, which makes the timing for the ducks and jumps much trickier. A character is eliminated when hit three times, and the last one standing wins (however, more than one can win if they resist during 60 seconds).
• Knows the Ropes : The minigame Git Along, Goomba has the characters stand respectively on round wooden platforms that surround a large stand with Goombas. Each character has to spin a lasso and then throw it at the stand to capture as many Goombas as possible (the more a character spins their lasso, the bigger its diameter will be, giving them the chance to capture a larger Goomba crowd). After 30 seconds, the character who captured the most Goombas will win.
• Leaning Tower of Mooks : The Goomba Tower that appears halfway through the board Perilous Palace Path, and also the first boss fought in Bowser's Tower. In the latter, groups of five Goombas appear in tower formation to attack the main character, who has to throw apples onto them to defeat them one by one; when a group is completely defeated, the next appears and the player has to repeaat the process until their collective HP depletes in full (though when half of it is depleted, the Goombas will come in groups of six and some of the falling objects will be spiky fruits that must not be touched).
• Lethal Lava Land : Bowser's Peculiar Peak is the last board unlocked in Party Mode, available when all other boards are played at least once each, excluding Shy Guy's Shuffle City (this is because that board cannot be played with only one human player available). It takes place in a precarious volcanic landscape, and the objective is to avoid reaching the goal line (since the "winner" will have to roll 3 or lower with a dice to keep surviving, or else they'll be knocked off by Bowser and lose the party). Winning the minigames is also crucial, as the ones who perform worse will receive Bowser Dice Blocks that add to the number of steps they walk when hitting the standard Dice Block, potentially getting closer to Bowser. The player farthest away from Bowser wins.
• Level in the Clouds : The board Star-Crossed Skyway takes place in an idyllic, paradisial landscape located upon large clouds in the skies, and featuring elements like overgrown beanstalks, checkered pink pavements, large bodies of grassy rock where some flowers have grown, and a spooky forest with purple (likely toxic) water. The objective in this board is to collect as many Mini-Stars as possible before reaching the end, much like in the boards of Mario Party 9 ; they can be earned by winning minigames, playing board events, or landing onto certain spaces. There are also Mini-Ztars, which have to be avoided.
• Luck-Based Mission : The minigame Pachinko Wizard has each character try to guess where a Spiny Egg from Lakitu will fall, and then choose a different spot to stand in the hopes that the falling object won't hit them. Since one of the rows of spherical obstacles is waving left and right, it's almost impossible to predict where the Spiny Egg will fall, so it's ultimately a matter of being lucky. Whoever gets hit will be disqualified, and the remaining three characters have to repeat the procedure until only one remains (and as fewer characters remain, so will the number of spots, which will therefoew grow bigger in width and thus make the predictions riskier). The last remaining player wins.
• This is the means of navigation for the characters in the board Kamek's Carpet Ride.
• In the minigame Tragic Carpet Ride, the characters stand onto a huge flying carpet that is being devoured by hovering Mattermouths, though the eaten portions materialize again after a brief while. The characters have to avoid falling down and stand onto the carpet while avoiding both the holes and the skeletal heads. The last player standing wins, though it's possible for more than one character to win if they can resist during 60 seconds.
• In the minigame Color Correction, the characters are riding color-coded carpets above a large area whose floor has many special circular tiles. When a character hover above one such tile, it will glow with a color matching that of the character's carpet. Thus, the objective for all characters present is to move around the area to make several tiles glow with their associated color (any character can also override the color of a tile where another already passed by). After 7 seconds, the most common color among all tiles will declare its character the victor.
• Misère Game : The main objective of the board Bowser's Peculiar Peak is to be the last player to reach the goal line, since the ones reaching first will be punished by Bowser (this also requires winning the minigames to the fullest extent possible).
• Monument of Humiliation and Defeat : Bowser builds a huge tower as a monument to his awesome power and locks all the fun of the other Party Islands away.
• Paranormal Investigation : The minigame Peep a Peepa takes all characters onto a haunted ghost ship overrun by Peepas. The objective is to move the 3DS to look around the ship and illuminate the appearing Peepas to defeat them. The longer a character exposes a Peepa with light for, the more points they'll receive. After 30 seconds, whoever scored the highest wins.
• Promoted to Playable : Bowser Jr. becomes a playable character after his first appearance as a non-playable character in Mario Party DS .
• Puzzle Boss : King Bob-omb, the fourth boss of Bowser's Tower, is a literal case. The boss throws a bomb at the player's character, who then has to move left or right the parts of the floor that have different patterns of conveyor belts. The idea is to build with them a circuit for the bomb to be transported at a cannon to shoot it at King Bob-omb, inflicting damage to him; the exact damage dealt will depend on whether the bomb is taken to the standard black cannon (small) or the golden one (big). The player has to hurry, or else they'll take damage when the bomb explodes close to them after 20 seconds. The tactic is repeated until the boss runs out of HP, though when it goes under half he'll enlarge the circuit's number of movable parts from three to four, and occasionally modify the non-movable part of the circuit to force the bomb to only go to the less powerful black cannon.
• The minigame No-Traction Action has the players drive karts in an oval racetrack whose floor is not only slippery, but becomes even harder to deal with due to the poor mobility and control of the karts themselves. The first character to complete three laps wins.
• The minigame Paddle Skedaddle has the characters drive canoes to travel across a creek that in turn flows across a mountain, then a desert, then a grassland and finally a beach (where the creek leads to). The first player to cross the goal line wins.
• In the minigame Quickest Cricket, the characters are riding grasshopper-shaped vehicles that move around with leaps, like the insects they're modeled after. When the minigame starts, the characters have to hop forward to reach the goal while avoiding rocks, Piranha Plants and Wigglers. The first character to finish the race wins.
• Recycled Soundtrack : The game reuses tracks and sound effects from Mario Party 9 , which was created by same developers as this one. This also means Island Tour is the first game in the series to reuse a theme for the minigame instructions instead of having its own.
• Rise to the Challenge : In the minigame Sinking Feeling, the player use AR Cards (or downloaded images of them in tablets or handheld phones) to summon a metallic tower that is sinking into a body of lava that is displayed on the 3DS. They have to control their character to climb the tower, which gradually earns new parts as the old ones sink, to avoid lava for as long as possible. while some of the incoming parts are climbable in all their areas, some have obstructions that are impassable, so the character has to be guided through the climbable parts. If the minigame is played solo, the minigame ends when the character is caught by lava, and the height climbed is shown (if the character climbs high enough, the'll be able to break the current record). If it's played between two or more people, then the last one standing wins.
• Roaring Rapids : The minigame Slip Not takes place in a very large grotto with four cascades that descend onto a large moat with many green crystals (a few fully-vertical cascades can be seen as well, but they're just part of the scenery); the cascades are also surrounded by a deep pit. Each character has to surf through one of the cascades, and as they progress the cascades not only bend more often, but also get narrower, thus increasing the risk of the character's premature fall. The characters who reach the end win, but if all of them end up falling down, then the one who got closer to the goal will be the winner.
• Rooftop Confrontation : Bowser, the Final Boss of his mode (Bowser's Tower), is fought in the topmost peaks of his evil tower. He's driving his Koopa Clown Car and shoot fireballs at the player's character, who has to hit some Dice Blocks to acquire cannonballs to later use them as projectiles when a cannon appears (after running out of ammo, the player has to move onto a new spot and repeat the process). When Bowser's HP falls below half, he'll add new attacks like shooting a longer and quicker succession of fireballs, shooting fireballs upward so the fall onto the player's character like a volcanic rain, and performing a Ground Pound with his vehicle; lastly, the Dice Blocks will vary their numbers, thus also varying the number of cannonballs the player receives upon hitting them. After Bowser is defeated, it's revealed that he was just a copy and the real Bowser kicks the character out of the tower, encouraging them to climb the tower once again .
• Rump Roast : Very prominent in Bowser's Peculiar Peak, a board that forces everyone to run around with their butts on fire, every single turn.
• Sand Is Water : In the minigame Pokey Corral, the characters stand onto an enormous geyser made of rising sand, though the top's surface has the sand flow away from the center. Due to this, the characters have to move in order to stay in the geyser's top and avoid falling down; some Pokeys rise from the geyser's interior, and being touched by one will stun the affected character, putting them at the risk of being dragged away. Lastly, the geyser's diameter will gradually shrink as well. The last player standing wins, though more than one can win if they resist for 60 seconds.
• Secret Character : Bowser Jr. is unlocked as a playable character after the player clears Bowser's Tower for the first time.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story : When the character reaches the top of Bowser's Tower, Bowser will reveal that the destroyed Bowser was a decoy and then proceed to knock the character off the tower, saying that they can come back any time . Yes, this even includes Bowser Jr. .
• Shell Game : The minigame Cheep Diamonds starts when four Cheep Chomps stand together in a river and open their mouths in order to receive and eat diamonds that fall from above (though one of them won't receive any); they then close their mouths and begin swimming in different patterns and speeds, and each player has to choose one Cheep Chomp and hope they chose the one who ate the most diamonds. Each diamond is worth one point. In the second round, five Cheep Chomps appear and the sequence repeats (though two of them won't get to eat any diamonds); and in the third, six appear (once again, two won't receive any diamond). When the minigame ends, the player who earned the most points wins.
• The minigame Mild Gunman has all characters play a Western-themed target practice. Each target will appear rapidly in front of the characters, and the letter written on it indicates the button the characters have to press in order to shoot it. The score each character gets will depend on how fast they shoot (from fastest to slowest: 9, 6, 3, 1; whoever presses the wrong button or takes too long to shoot will get 0 points). The target is then moved away and the next one appears. After three targets are hit, the character with the highest score wins.
• In the minigame Buzz a Fuzzy, there's a large swarm of Fuzzies hovering in the air, while the players stand close to them in a wooden platform. When the minigame starts, each player has to move their 3DS to aim at the moving rows of Fuzzies and shoot at as many of them as possible in succession with one round-headed arrow (the shot is done by pulling and then releasing the gyro stick). The projectile won't kill the hit targets, but simply push them away from the swarm. When all characters do their shot or 20 seconds pass, the next round begins so the characters can aim and shoot again. After three rounds, the character who shot at the most Fuzzies wins.
• The minigame Drive For Show has the players hit golf balls with clubs to shoot at clue-colored targets hovering in the air to score points, with some targets being worth more than others. The catch is that, after being hit a few times, certain targets will flip into red-colored sides, and they must not be hit or else the offending character will lose points. After 30 seconds, the character that scored the highest wins.
• Slide Level : In the minigame Deck Hunt, the characters are skating through a moderately angled road. As they do so, they have to gather coins while avoiding Spiny Eggs (clashing against one will result in a 3-coin toss, giving the chance to the other characters to steal them). After the characters reach the bottom of the slope, whoever has the most coins wins.
• In the former, the characters are standing onto a very slippery square iceberg, and some penguins will being crossing it to move from an off-limits snowy area to another. The characters have to avoid falling onto the cold water (as doing so will freeze them), which is made harder by the iceberg tilting frequently because of the characters' weight as well as that of the penguins that pass by. The last character standing wins, though more than one can win if they survive for 45 seconds.
• In the latter, the characters are located in an icy cavern with a river where multiple chunks of ice pass by. The characters are tasked to bring penguins from a spot in the south to the one in the north where a mother penguin awaits; the catch is that the river's chunks of ice are slippery and moving at different speeds, so care is required to succesfully reach the other side while transporting each penguin. After 45 seconds, the character who delivered the most penguins wins.
• Snowball Fight : Mr. Blizzard, the third boss of Bowser's Tower, is placed at the end of a snowy descent, throwing large snowballs at the player's character. To defeat him, the main character has to engulf themselves into a snowball to being rolling with it and, while dodging the ice crystals which are remnants of Mr. Blizzard's fallen snowballs, collect special coins that increase the size of their own snowball; this way, upon landing onto Mr. Blizzard, the damage inflicted will be bigger. If the character is hit by one of the ice crystals or one of the falling snowballs, they'll take damage and their forming snowball will have its size reduced, thus reducing the attack power when it hits the boss. The tactic has to be repeated until Mr. Blizzard's HP depletes in full, though when it falls under half he'll throw snowballs more quickly and more often.
• Socialization Bonus : There are StreetPass Minigames where, as the name implies, you play minigames against other players of the game by StreetPassing them. It must be done 50 times for 100% completion. Additonally, playing the Utter Nonsense minigame and the Shy Guy's Shuffle City board, both of which require playing with another 3DS user (the latter even requiring a third user), are also required for 100% completion.
• Space Zone : Rocket Road is a Super Mario Galaxy -themed board that goes through a rainbow-colored linear path (similar to the Rainbow Road tracks of Mario Kart fame), and where players acquire Booster items to race to the finish line. The Boosters can be obtained in many ways, including winning minigames.
• Sphere Factor : In the minigame Musical Snares, the characters are maneuvering onto rubber balls on top of a giant drum, and have to collect musical notes (the silver ones are worth one point each, while the gold ones are worth two). As a character collects the notes, their rubber ball will grow bigger. After 30 seconds, whoever got the highest score (and thus stands onto the largest ball) wins.
• Spring Jump : The minigame Trounce 'n' Bounce has the characters jump very high thanks to some checkered yellow blocks placed in a grassy ground. With each jump, some of these bouncy blocks begin disappearing and the characters have to punch each other to claim a block to land onto for a new jump, and whoever ends up falling onto the grass will be eliminated. At latest, only one bouncy block will remain, which ensures that only one character will be able to jump again and make the others land onto the grass. That remaining player will be the winner.
• In the minigames "Hide and Go Splat" and "Squish You Were Here", failure to escape the Tox Boxes or closing walls will squash your character. In addition, the "Squish You Were Here" minigame squashes you vertically.
• It doesn't only happen in minigames. The Perilous Palace Path board does this twice - once on the bridge challenge if you press the incorrect button, and second if you fail to destroy the Whomp at the end.
• Stargazing Scene : In the minigame Starring Artist, the characters stand onto a balcony and look upward to see the starry sky. When the minigame starts, some lines connecting certain stars will be shown, and each character has to use the touch screen of the 3DS to draw within those lines to reveal a constellation (modeled after a classic Mario enemy). The characters who draw faster will receive more points (the one who takes the longest won't get to finish the drawing, and thus won't earn anything). After three rounds of drawing, whoever scored the highest wins.
• Start My Own : Bowser, unhappy for not being invited to the Party Islands whereas Mario and his friends were, decides to place an ominous tower in front of them called Bowser's Tower, hoping to draw more attention and also creating evil bubble clones from a machine.
• Swarm of Rats : In the minigame Rat-a-tat Flat, the characters face an incoming group of Scaredy Rats which pop out of mouse holes located in the surrounding walls. The objective is to splat as many of them as possible; the white ones are worth one point, while the golden ones are worth three. After 30 seconds, the character who scored the most points wins.
• Tennis Boss : Dry Bowser, the fifth boss of Bowser's Tower, can only be defeated by throwing back his bone projectiles at him with a hammer. The catch is that, for each swing, a sequence of buttons has to be pressed so the player's character can successfully redirect the incoming projectile; right before Dry Bowser throws a bone, the player has three seconds to memorize the sequence of button presses, and after the bone's throw the buttons will be hidden. At first, each sequence consists of only three buttons; but when Dry Bowser's HP falls under half, the sequences will increase to four buttons each, and when the HP is next to zero Dry Bowser will throw a huge bone that requires a sequence of five buttons to be shot back.
• Vehicular Combat : The minigame Tanks A Lot has the characters duke it out against each other in a colisseum while driving miniature tanks. There are large bricks that can be used as a cover, though they're breakable. Hitting a character yields one point, and makes the shot character respawn in their starting point. The first character to score three points wins.
• The Walls Are Closing In : There's a minigame called "Squish You Were Here", players have to avoid closing walls for 60 seconds or until one player does not get squashed flat by finding a wall that will not close completely. The walls reopen, get faster and have less safe spots each time.
• Your Princess Is in Another Castle! : When the character reaches the top of Bowser's Tower, Bowser will reveal that the destroyed Bowser was a decoy and then proceed to knock the character off the tower, saying that they can come back any time .
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3DS Mario Party: Island Tour - World Edition

Purchase options and add-ons, about this item.

• USA NTSC version game with World Edition packaging as pictured. No Region Restrictions.
• Join 4 players locally in new multiplayer modes.
• Seven new game boards, each with different rules and characteristics.
• New boards and modes that take just minutes, ideal for portable play.
• 80+ minigames exclusive to Nintendo 3DS.

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USA NTSC version game with World Edition packaging as pictured. No Region Restrictions. Face off against friends and family in an all-new Mario Party game for the Nintendo 3DS system. Connect up to 4 players* via local wireless and take on 7 new game boards, new modes, and 80 new minigames, all perfect for portable play. In this ultimate showdown you can take on the road blaze through the 7 new game boards, some of which take just minutes to play. Wrangle goombas and blast out of cannons as you tilt, tap, and draw through new minigames harnessing the unique functionality of Nintendo 3DS. Compete in new multiplayer modes including mind bending puzzles, minigame challenges, or enter a whole new reality with AR Card play for up to 4 players*. Whether in single or multiplayer, this is a portable party that never ends.

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Every Mario Game on the 3DS, Ranked

There were numerous Mario games on the 3DS. Here's how they compare in terms of sheer quality.

• Mario's handheld adventures on the 3DS offered some of his most unique journeys and experiences in multiple genres.
• Nintendo's faith in the 3DS led to high-profile Mario games, including Mario Party: Island Tour and Mario Sports Superstars .
• 3DS hosted standout Mario games like Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Mario Kart 7 , showcasing Nintendo's commitment to quality on the platform.

Ever since Nintendo transitioned from making toys and playing cards into the home console market, Mario has been a consistent presence in their arsenal. From the original Super Mario Bros . , all the way to his greatest adventure in Super Mario Odyssey , the little guy has called multiple consoles home. But it goes without saying that some of Mario's greatest success has been on the handheld systems , where he has been the star of not just platformers, but conquered numerous different genres and styles of games.

Mario: 10 Best Spinoff Titles (According To Metacritic)

From sports games to traditional platformers, all the way to racing games and some excellent puzzle games, Mario's time on the 3DS was truly something special. No other handheld Nintendo console boasts as many Mario games as the 3DS, with a library of fascinating releases. While Mario's home console efforts have often redefined and perfected the 3D platformer, his handheld adventures have seen some of his most unique journeys come to life.

Updated on April 10, 2024, by Maddie Fisher: The 3DS was a system that Nintendo continued to support even when it didn't seem logical, as they launched several high-profile games on the platform when the Switch was beginning its ascent. It was a massively successful device, as proven by the staggering number of Mario games. This list of the best Mario 3DS games has been updated to showcase that, adding multiple new entries and expanding on some of the previous ones. Mario's handheld games have shown to be some of the most popular in the franchise, and his 3DS titles are easily some of the best that Nintendo has ever made for their long-standing mascot.

14 Mario Party: Island Tour

Metascore: 57.

• Platform(s): 3DS
• Release Date: November 22, 2013
• Developer: NDCube

Nintendo's die-hard faith in their handheld platforms was never more obvious than when they would put the next mainline title in a long-standing series on the system, as Mario Party: Island Tour is the 12th game in this storied franchise. But one of the best aspects of Island Tour is the way it offers new systems, breaking from some Mario Party traditions in some very cool ways.

Every Mario Party Game, Ranked

Where previous Mario Party games pit players against each other on a looping board full of traps and Bowser spaces in order to buy stars, Island Tour built its concept on linear, race-type boards. On the way to the finish line, the inherent drama came from high rolls and winning mini-games. It was a unique spin on the Mario Party formula that sadly has not been revisited, as modern titles in the series could take a few cues from this forgotten entry.

13 Mario Party: The Top 100

Metascore: 59, mario party: the top 100.

Mario Party has been one of the most consistently well-made spin-off titles in Nintendo's arsenal, as this genre-defining multiplayer game has routinely delivered some spectacular experiences over the years. One of the main reasons for its success has been the mini-games, where Nintendo has shown a wonderful ability to create a huge range of unique competitions. And in Mario Party: The Top 100 , they celebrated that by compiling the best and most popular mini-games in the entire franchise.

As just throwing 100 mini-games onto a cart may be a bit boring, Nintendo wraps the whole presentation into a jaunt through an island with a chosen character. It's not perfect, and it misses a few key games, but it does allow players to experience some of the best ones in the franchise. Games like Hotel Goomba, Booksquirm, Trace Race, and Later Skater are just a few of the exceptional games that show just how inventive and clever this franchise is.

12 Mario Sports Superstars

Metascore: 62.

• Release Date: March 24, 2017
• Developer: Bandai Namco, Camelot Software Planning

Mario and his friends are certainly no strangers to sports , as they have come together to compete in golf, football, and tennis in a number of fantastic games. But with Mario Sports Superstars , Nintendo opted to showcase multiple different events. Offering everything from horse racing to tennis, Mario Sports Superstars is one of the more underrated 3DS titles.

5 Mario Sports Games Nintendo Should Make (& 5 They Shouldn't)

Superstars also features a fantastic range of characters, including Mario, Yoshi, Diddy Kong, Rosalina, and Daisy. The events feel great to play, and the classic Nintendo charm is just as wonderful as it ever was. This terrific sports extravaganza is one of the more overlooked Mario 3DS games and is due for some sort of revival on the Switch.

11 Mario Party: Star Rush

Metascore: 68.

• Release Date: November 4, 2016

The Mario Party series was well-supported on the 3DS, which was also the place where Nintendo would often take more chances with the franchise. And with this entry, Nintendo changed the formula once again by offering new and fun ways to experience this multiplayer romp.

In Mario Party: Star Rush , the main method of play is called Toad Scramble. Instead of picking icons from the world of Nintendo , players control a squadron of Toads that roll dice together in order to move along the board and collect the characters themselves to combat fierce bosses. It's a quirky and unique title that is still a ton of fun today and one that Nintendo would be wise to revisit on the Switch today.

10 Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars

Metascore: 70.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars

The handheld nature of the 3DS made it a perfect landing spot for the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series, where the bite-sized nature of the level design was a perfect fit for portable play. Initially presented as a tech demo of the Nintendo Web Framework at the 2014 Game Developer's Conference, Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars eventually made its way to 3DS in 2015.

The charming art of the Mario Mini Toys is a great fit on the 3DS, with ample use of the bottom touch screen to connect bridges and girders, as well as boasting an absolutely stellar soundtrack. It also features a workshop mode, where players can create and share custom levels, a precursor to Super Mario Maker's arrival on 3DS the following year.

9 Super Mario Maker For Nintendo 3DS

Metascore: 73, super mario maker for nintendo 3ds.

Somehow, Nintendo was able to take a game that seemed like it would translate horribly from a home console to a handheld and produced a spectacular way to play Mario Maker on the go. Although it lacks some of the scope of its bigger brothers on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch, Mario Maker on 3DS is still a great way to spend some time being creative.

Despite missing a few items and course objects, the 3DS version of Nintendo's beloved creation suite still maintains all the charm, fun, and joy of making your own Mario levels. It is just as addictive and engaging as its console counterparts, and it also features 100 levels in a mode called Super Mario Challenge. Altogether, it's a fantastic package of play and creation.

8 Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Metascore: 75, paper mario: sticker star.

As the first handheld entry in the Paper Mario line, Sticker Star had a lot of ambition to live up to . Following the critical acclaim bestowed upon the original Paper Mario on the N64, as well as the popular Thousand-Year Door on GameCube and equally praised Super Paper Mario on Wii, there was a bit of anticipation for the first one to hit the 3DS.

While maintaining all the charm, wit, and humor found in the previous Paper Mario games, Sticker Star also made some noise by adding the sticker mechanic, as they are used for puzzles and combat. It was a bold decision, but one that paid off as it brought all the joy and heart from the console Paper Mario games to the handheld arena.

7 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Metascore: 76, mario & luigi: paper jam.

Despite his status as a haven for pitch-perfect platforming action , Mario has also found his way into some pretty spectacular RPGs over the years. Ever since Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on the SNES, Nintendo has cultivated a hearty stable of role-playing adventures for the Mushroom Kingdom crew.

Every Mario Game Genre, Ranked

As per usual with Mario RPGs, it is filled with quirky humor, delightful writing, and the same great battle system previous entries had. It also has a lovely element of featuring the original Paper Mario sprite as a playable character alongside 3D Mario and Luigi, something that feels quite at home in today's era of multiverses.

6 New Super Mario Bros. 2

Metascore: 78, new super mario bros. 2.

Among the many different forms that Mario took on the 3DS, he never strayed too far away from his platformer roots. Though the New Super Mario Bros . line has been somewhat forgotten by Nintendo these days, NSMB2 was able to satisfy the seemingly never ending need for a great 2D Mario platformer.

The Best 2D Super Mario Games, Ranked

It features some delightful boss battles against the Koopalings, specifically the fights against Iggy and Morton, but the final battle against Dry Bowser is a key highlight. It features a phenomenal sense of scale, as well as having one of the best final boss tracks one can find in the franchise.

5 Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Metascore: 81, mario & luigi: dream team.

Released during Nintendo's infamous Year of Luigi in 2013, which saw other brilliant titles like Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and New Super Luigi U , Mario & Luigi: Dream Team put Mario's brother at the forefront of this adventure. Despite Luigi's push to the front, it remains one of the most heartwarming tales involving the two brothers .

Every Super Mario RPG, Ranked

While retaining all the brilliant aspects of previous Mario & Luigi games, Dream Team also featured some fun changes to the battle system. Shifting in and out of Luigi's dream world, Mario and his brother will transition between 2D and 3D screens, complete with some fabulous boss battles and a killer soundtrack.

4 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

Mario & luigi: superstar saga + bowser's minions.

Among the many subseries' in the franchise, it's safe to call the Mario & Luigi line one of the more consistent collections of titles that have managed to maintain a level of quality, humorous writing, and incredibly solid RPG systems. Mario& Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions is a remake of the original Gameboy Advance release from 2003, launching for Nintendo 3DS in 2017.

This enhanced remake features updated graphics and music, as well as a brand-new story called Bowser's Minions . Shown as a cute little play in Yoshi Theater, the story begins not long after Mario and Luigi defeat their first enemy and is a brilliantly funny experience.

3 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey

Metascore: 84, mario & luigi: bowser's inside story + bowser jr.'s journey.

This remake of one of the Gameboy Advance's best RPGs was released roughly two years into the lifespan of the Switch. If anything, it proved that despite the Switch being well on its way to becoming the monstrous success that it's become, Nintendo was somewhat justified in its continued support of the 3DS.

This release features arguably the funniest and wittiest script in the Mario & Luigi series, as well as a second story called Bowser Jr's Journey . Taking place while Bowser is busy in the main story, it focuses on Bowser Jr and the Koopalings. It's easily the best Mario & Luigi game, a fabulous package that is one of the little plumber's finest works to date.

2 Mario Kart 7

Metascore: 85, mario kart 7.

Nintendo's faith in the 3DS was something to behold, as they weren't shy about throwing mainline entries of their popular franchises on it. And it was with Mario Kart 7 that Nintendo was able to produce not just one of the best entries in their long-running series but also to create one of the greatest handheld racing games ever made.

Mario Kart 7 features some of the best tracks in the franchise, with courses like Neo Bowser City, Daisy Hills, and the spectacular new revision of Rainbow Road being some highlights. Additionally, the roster boasts the likes of Mario, Rosalina, Yoshi, and Bowser and also marks the debut of Shy Guy as a playable racer for the first time.

1 Super Mario 3D Land

Metascore: 90, super mario 3d land.

If there's one thing that Nintendo knew about Mario's handheld adventures, it was that he was most at home on a platformer. Setting the tone for Super Mario 3D World to release on the Wii U a couple of years later, 3D Land is easily one of the finest 3D platformers on the system and a fabulously designed game from start to finish.

The stages were built around building up multiple mechanics within a single level. They would be established, refined and then done away with as a way to keep the player engaged. This unique system paired with Nintendo's usual flair for colorful worlds and sound design was a perfect fit for one of Mario's most incredible releases.

Every Mario Game On The GameCube

The 15 worst 'Mario' video games

Posted: April 24, 2024 | Last updated: April 24, 2024

The 15 Worst 'Mario' video games

The Super Mario video game empire is the most enduring franchise and the biggest universe in the gaming industry. It's so big that even people who don't play video games can identify Mario and Luigi. Sure, the giant "M" and "L" on their hats are a pretty big clue but go ask your grandparents if they know how Mario and Luigi are, and then ask them if they could pick Sly Cooper or Crash Bandicoot out of a lineup.

The franchise started in 1981 with Nintendo's arcade classic Donkey Kong , in which Mario, or Jumpman, served as the game's protagonist. Two years later, Mario got his own arcade game with Mario Bros.  Three years later, Mario became the flagship game for Nintendo's new console with Super Mario Bros . The addictive sidescroller launched Nintendo into a video game behemoth, followed by a long line of Mario games. Unfortunately, some of those titles didn't jump high enough to meet the high standard set by those games. Some of them couldn't even get off the ground. 

Below are the 15 worst.

'Mario Bros.' (Atari 2600)

The Mario Bros. arcade game only takes place on one screen, but the action is just as fast as any other Super Mario game. The Brooklyn plumber brothers are attempting to clear plagues of critters from an underground sewer by punching the level ground below them and jumping on platforms to knock them off the screen. Nothing looks the way it's supposed to in this Atari cartridge port. The enemies look nothing like Koopa Troopas, and the crabs look like bits of driftwood with legs. The "POW" block is just...well, a block. Worst of all, the controls and movement play more like one of those LCD handheld games from the '90s.

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'Donkey Kong Hockey'

Nintendo's first foray into video games started in 1980 with the Game & Watch series. These little LCD games weren't as complex as their pixelated offspring, but they were as fast and challenging as they were portable. This two-player attempt is the only one that really doesn't cut any ice (no pun intended). Donkey Kong Hockey looks like a test version of the forthcoming NES offering two GamePad controllers attached to a main LCD screen. Players try to shoot a puck with Donkey Kong or Mario into their opponent's net across an icy field of obstacles that can change their shot's trajectory. The game is barely a step above Pong if Pong moved 10 times slower. 

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'Golf'

Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Bart gets caught shoplifting a copy of his favorite game, Bonestorm , and his mother forgives him by buying him a copy of Lee Carvalho's Putting Challenge ? Golf is the real-world version of that. This blackbox NES title is barely a golf game. The challenge and courses are about as boring as the game's unimaginative title. The sound effects are literally one note and sound like they came from an early prototype for Electronic Battleship .

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'Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels'

The launch of the Super Nintendo in 1990 brought some all-time classics into our living rooms and presented some old favorites with a new coat of paint. The Super Mario All-Stars cartridge came with the first three Super Mario Bros. games with new, flashy 16-bit graphics and a dud called The Lost Levels . The  Lost Levels is actually Japan's Super Mario Bros. 2 instead of the  Super Mario Bros. 2 that American players got in 1988. 

If you tried to play the SNES version, you'd understand why. For starters, the game has power-ups like poison mushrooms that can shrink or straight-up kill you (which doesn't make them power-ups) and warps that take you back to previous levels instead of ahead of the game. The levels are frustrating because they are designed to be three times as hard as the first game. Worst of all, it doesn't add anything new to the game. It's like playing some super psycho's Super Mario Maker level. 

'Mario is Missing!'

Educational games and Nintendo go together like mayo and bubble gum: Their purposes cancel each other out, and the result is a bland, sticky mess. Mario Is Missing!  applied the adventure game formula to the Mario universe in which Bowser kids Mario and players are forced to (shiver) learn geography by traveling the globe to save his little brother. The SNES version is almost unplayable since there don't seem to be any solid instructions besides just making poor Luigi wander around a 2D world with no apparent purpose. Plus, educational games just don't work on the Nintendo unless the game element is WAY higher than the gaming part. Playing it after school just felt like the teacher found a way to cram more homework into the machine. 

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'Mario's Time Machine'

The other educational game in the Mario library focused on history knowledge because nothing makes for a better Mario game than remembering the dates of human tragedies. This time, players control Mario, who must go back in time to rescue his pal Yoshi and retrieve vital historical artifacts that Bowser has stolen, forever changing the breadth of human history. It's basically Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego? if the game didn't have the fun of obtaining character traits of the thief to get a warrant and if the end goal was to save a dinosaur that can't be sated. In other words, boring. 

'Mario Teaches Typing'

To be fair, pretty much every major video game franchise of the '90s had a typing tutor spinoff for PC and/or Mac. It's not like today, where everyone owns a keyboard and learns how to type before they can speak. 

However, Mario Teaches Typing barely works as an engaging tutor game. The formula is typing letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and words fast enough to make Mario, Luigi, or Princess Peach break blocks and avoid incoming enemies. The animations are wooden and move like a hand-drawn flipbook. The menu animations of a motion capture Mario look and sound like something out of one of David Lynch's nightmares. The worst part is how it reminds you that you're stuck at school and aren't home where you could play a much better Mario game.

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'Hotel Mario'

The most horrifying Mario animations live in the CD of this barely played title for Philips' doomed CD-i system. For some bizarre reason, Nintendo allowed Philips to obtain a license to make a Mario and Zelda game for its CD system. The game boasted full animations of your favorite plumbers because if there's one thing Mario games needed up until now, it's endless cutscenes you can't skip. The story is even stranger. For some reason, all of Bowser's kids have gone into the hotel business, and Mario closes levels of doors in each hotel as Goombas and Koopa Troopas open them. That's it. That's the whole game. Hotel Mario turns one of gaming's most beloved experiences into a part-time job. 

'Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy'

This entire feature could be filled with games from Nintendo's biggest console bomb, but since we only have time for one, Mario's Tennis  stands out (or down). Even if you look past that it's not the kind of Mario game players wanted back then, Mario's Tennis feels like watching a tennis game if you burned out your retinas and can only see red. The Virtual Boy attempted to stay ahead of competitors by offering a "virtual" headset with 3D graphics that didn't require a TV, but it put Nintendo way behind, and Mario's Tennis was a bare-bones tennis game, except you could play as Mario characters. A Mario game on the Virtual Boy where your favorite characters work as office temps would be more engaging and original than a forced perspective tennis clone. 

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'Dr. Mario 64'

The first Dr. Mario on the NES gave Mario a whole new dimension to play in with a challenging, color-matching puzzle game. It introduced players to new game genres through their favorite characters. However, the one Nintendo made for the Nintendo 64 stopped the good doctor in its tracks. 

This version of Dr. Mario does offer more modes for single and multiplayer matches and even a story, but they all feel like the original game. The only addition is a slightly higher level of graphics and sound effects. It's the video game equivalent of Cedric the Entertainment's film remake of TV's The Honeymooners . When you're experiencing it, you wonder, "Do we really need this?"

'Mario Pinball Land'

Remember Sonic Spinball on the Sega Genesis, where that wily Sonic the Hedgehog is trapped in one of Dr. Robotnik's puzzling layers with conveniently placed flippers? That makes sense. Sonic is fast and can roll into a ball, so a pinball game fits the character. Now, try explaining the concept of a pinball game with Mario. This Game Boy Advance title looks better than the average Mario game but barely functions as a pinball game. The playing fields are almost barren, negating the whole concept of creating a pinball game. Fortunately, you won't be playing on them long because you constantly have to reset, and a glitch keeps erasing your saved games. 

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'Mario Party 10'

It's hard to make a game that becomes a best-selling franchise. It's even harder to make a whole new franchise within a gaming franchise, but the Mario Party games did just that for nine whole games. Then, this one came along. 

The Mario Party games are precisely what the title implies. They are party-style games where players move various Mario characters around a board to rack up coins with a mix of lucky die-rolling and a ton of super fun mini-games. Then, for some reason, the makers of Mario Party 10 decided the whole concept needed to be reinvented for the failing Wii U console.

Sure, you could use your Amiibo figures to plug them into the game, but whether you use your own or the game's roster of characters, there's not much for them to do since the gameboard are so boring, and the mini-games feel like a copy and paste of the coding into new settings and formats. 

'Mario Party Advance'

The whole reason for the Mario Party games' success is its inclusion. They are accessible for kids and grownups. Anyone can play the games on an even field, sit together, and root for each other in a party setting. The word "party" isn't just in the title because it's catchy. 

So, it's bewildering that anyone thought a Game Boy Advance version of Mario Party would work even on a logistical level. It loses the party atmosphere the other games can create by shrinking the action to a portable device. It also didn't help that moving the game to a 2D platform limits the sights and sounds that go into making a successful party on any console, big or small. It also didn't help that some mini-games included with the cartridge offer some of the worst gameplay in the entire series. 

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'Mario Party: Island Tour'

Unfortunately, the Mario Party games didn't improve when Nintendo upped its portable game with its 3DS series. Since it failed to learn that the other portable party games wouldn't work on a console you can fit in your pocket, it goes even further. The game has some of the worst controls of any Mario game in history and even blander mini-games that feel like they were designed for preschool kids still developing their hand-eye coordination. The multiplayer connections are improved, but they don't go online, and there's really nothing for four people to do at all, let alone one player with no friends. 

'Super Mario Run'

Just before Nintendo climbed back to the top of gamers' Christmas lists with its Nintendo Switch console, it tried to take one more stab at making its games' portable by producing a series of smartphone apps, starting with this tired Super Mario clone for iPhones. 

Super Mario Run plays like a traditional Super Mario game, but it does the running for you. You can control when Mario or Luigi jumps or throws fireballs, but that's it. Super Mario Run turns the Mario game experience into a boring puzzle game where you don't care what the final picture looks like because you'd rather someone just ported all the original Mario games to your phone instead. 

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