Mario Party 9 PAL WII-SUSHi
English | Platform: Wii | Release: March 1, 2012 | Publisher: Nintendo | Developer: Nintendo | 4.34 GB
Genre: Party
Yesterday morning IGN editor Audrey Drake and I met up with two Nintendo representatives for a demo of Mario Party 9. It's been nearly five years since Mario Party 8, and from what I played it seems the latest iteration of the franchise sticks to its trademark mix of skill and luck - neither of which I displayed during the ensuing game. Here is a play-by-play account of my first go with Mario Party 9.
10:15 a.m.: One of the representatives asks if we've played previous Mario Party titles. I tell the group that I've played every one of them, but never sober. They all get the "joke" because Mario Party games are much more fun over a few strong drinks. One of the Nintendo representatives actually offers me a drink. It's 10:15 a.m., so I decline. This is my first mistake.
10:17 a.m.: Audrey picks Yoshi and the representatives choose Mario and a green Koopa. I choose Wario before being told that there is no "taunt" button in this version. It's okay, because for the remainder of the game I'm really in no position to taunt people.
10:18 a.m.: The four of us begin a multiplayer game of Mario Party 9 and select one of seven available game boards. This board is based on a Bob-Omb factory, and that's when I notice that these are not really game boards any more, but linear tracks along which a vehicle moves. Every party-goer hops in the same car, and we roll to see who gets the first chance to drive. I roll a two and go last.
10:20 a.m.: As we roll for our first turns, one of the Nintendo representatives points out that the overall goal of Mario Party 9 is to collect Mini Stars. You can collect them during your turn by just running into clumps of five or ten on the game board. The three people rolling ahead of me have done a pretty good job of clearing the board of these tiny stars. Luckily, you can also win them in the mini-games after each round.
10:22 a.m.: We play our first mini-game. It has the players holding the Wii remote sideways like an NES controller and running around avoiding barrages of Bullet Bills. Throughout the entire party, we never once frantically waggle our Wii remotes. That's so Mario Party 8. I come in second place with my first batch of stars. This is my finest hour.
10:30 a.m.: One of the representatives explains that there are evil stars that actually detract from your overall count. A patch of these hovers four spaces in front of me. An onlooker advises me to "roll anything but a four!" I roll a four.
10:31 a.m.: We play a game where we count the number of Goombas running by the screen. We all guess within one digit of the actual 39 Goombas. Humans are amazing! Audrey's Note: It should be noted that Audrey counted 39 exactly and won this one. Amazing!
10:35 a.m.: Audrey and one of the Nintendo representatives play a mini-game in which they have to coordinate to catch Bowser Jr. in a maze. This game somewhat resembles the Chase Mii Wii U demo. If they win, they both benefit. It would seem my fellow onlooker and I can only watch and hope they don't win -- and then he begins to shout out the wrong directions, advising the hapless duo to go "Up! Up Up!" when they really should go down. The deception works magnificently and they fail. I'm not sure if I trust this guy.
10:40 a.m.: The mind games continue. One mini-game has everyone vying for four prizes of varying quality. The catch is that if two people go for the same one, neither of them get it. Do you go for the smallest prize and let the fools fight for the big one? Do you go for the big one since every one is too cautious to go for it? If I knew the answer to those questions, I would have won - but I came in last place.
10:43 a.m.: We're guessing numbers of Goombas again, but this time they are filling little mushroom houses. I come in last, and everyone has a good laugh at Wario's failure animation: He lies prone, with one limb twitching.
10:45 a.m.: Bowser shows up to shake up the rankings. He asks Audrey, who is piloting the vehicle, if she likes presents. She answers honestly, and then affirms that she likes "lots of presents." Bowser litters the remaining track with traps. A representative informs us that if she would have answered that she doesn't like a lot of presents, he would have actually provided less traps. A valuable lesson in Japanese modesty!
10:55 a.m.: With about 20 Mini Stars under my belt, I have a 40 star gap to spread by the last roll. In the final mini-game I snatch defeat from the jaws of, uhh... pretty consistent defeat, and the game ends. We all examine graphs of our progress. Mine shows a steady climb upwards with some obvious craters and then a nice, flat plateau.
10:59 a.m.: I need a drink.
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