Mario Party 8

Mario Party 8 took the series to the Wii, and it was built to show off the controller. Almost every minigame asks for a different gesture with the Wii Remote: rowing a boat, twirling a lasso, shaking a fizzy drink, scrubbing a Chain Chomp, balancing on a tightrope, icing a cake. Nintendo’s own description promised games “that make full use of the Wii Remote”, and the press of the day agreed that this was the part that worked.

The board game underneath is the one Hudson had been refining since 1998, in a new costume. The Orbs of the GameCube games are replaced by Candy, sweets that are eaten before you roll and turn your character into something else for a turn: a rolling ball, a vampire, a tornado, an 8-bit sprite. As in Mario Party 7, every board has a different rule for winning Stars, from the plain 20-coin Star of DK’s Treetop Temple to the hotel-buying of Koopa’s Tycoon Town and the outright Star theft of Bowser’s Warped Orbit.

The host this time is MC Ballyhoo, the carnival’s master of ceremonies, whose top hat, Big Top, does half the talking. His carnival has a Party Tent for the board game, a Star Battle Arena for a solo run of one-on-one duels that ends with a fight against Bowser, a Minigame Tent, a bazaar where Carnival Cards buy extras, and an Extras Zone with eight larger games in which, for the first time in a Mario Party, you can play as your Mii.

It sold enormously: some 8.85 million copies, a total that by most counts only Mario Party DS and Super Mario Party have beaten within the series. It was also poorly reviewed, with critics complaining of dated graphics, a picture that fills only the middle of a widescreen television and a tedious single-player mode. And in Britain it is remembered for a stranger reason. On its first day on sale, 13 July 2007, Nintendo pulled every copy from the shops, because a rhyme spoken by Kamek on Shy Guy’s Perplex Express used a word that is a slur in British English. The story is told in full under Development.

Mario Party 8 was the end of an era in one more way. Hudson Soft made one further Mario Party, Mario Party DS, later the same year, and then the series passed to NDcube, whose Mario Party 9 in 2012 changed the rules completely.

The questions people ask most about Mario Party 8, answered briefly here and in depth further down the page.

The Star Carnival has come to town, and its master of ceremonies, MC Ballyhoo, has invited Mario and the whole crew. His top hat, Big Top, is alive and talks as much as he does. Between them they promise the winner the title of Superstar and a year’s supply of Candy.

The story proper is the Star Battle Arena, a single-player tournament. Beat five rivals on the five boards and Ballyhoo brings out the real prize, the Star Rod, at which point Bowser swoops in, steals it and makes off to his space station, Bowser’s Warped Orbit. The player follows, beats Bowser’s champion, either Blooper or Hammer Bro, and gets the rod back, only for Bowser to demand one last fight, the Superstar Showdown. Win that with the Star Rod’s power and you are crowned Superstar. Everything else, the multiplayer boards included, happens in the Party Tent.

DK’s Treetop Temple

A jungle ruin on several levels, presided over by a giant statue of Donkey Kong and staffed by Spear Guys. It is the only board that plays by the old rule: reach the Star Space, pay 20 coins, and the Star reappears somewhere else. Landing on a DK Space fires you straight towards it, and a Bowser Space moves it away.

Barrel Cannons on the lower level launch you upwards for 5 coins, and there are ladders, a chain-link fence and bouncy leaves to cross. The Green Spaces include one that sends a troop of Ukikis rolling through on barrels, a ride down the Dizzy Downspout that carries you to a lower level, collecting coins on the way, a row of Piranha Plants that cost 10 coins each, and a Spear Guy who will buy a Candy from you for coins. The Lucky Space, at the statue, opens a hidden path of Blue Spaces with a Star at the end. In a Duel Battle the first to two Stars wins.

Goomba’s Booty Boardwalk

A pirate coast of piers and islands, peopled by Piantas. The board is one long line, and at the far end stands Captain Goomba with his treasure chest. Reach him and he gives you a Star for nothing, after which a flock of seagulls carries you back to the start on a plank. It is a race, in other words, and the Dolphin shuttles along the way are the short cuts: they charge a fare that depends on your position, and the player in last place pays least.

The Green Spaces are mostly friendly. A yellow Pianta throws you further up the board, a Pianta with a fishing rod hands over a Candy, and a chest in a shipwreck holds from 5 to 20 coins. The exception is beside Captain Goomba’s ship, where his crew fire you from a cannon back to the beginning. Donkey Kong takes 5 coins for a barrel-shaking game that pays back 11 to 25; Bowser sends three Lava Bubbles that cost 10 coins a hit unless you jump them with a flick of the Remote. The Lucky Space leads to a secret island where the Goomba idols grant a Star. In a Duel Battle the Star must be bought, for 50 coins.

King Boo’s Haunted Hideaway

A mansion of twelve rooms, and you are not shown the map. Only the few spaces ahead of you are visible, the rooms are shuffled at the start of every game, and King Boo is hiding in one of several sanctums. Walk into the wrong one and Red Boos drop you through a trapdoor to the start. Find the right one and King Boo sells you a Star for 10 coins, the cheapest in the game, whereupon the whole house is rearranged and everybody starts again.

So the game is one of memory and nerve. Whomps block corridors until somebody pays them 10 coins, Piranha Plants snatch 10 coins from players standing next to them, and Magic Mirrors swap you with a rival chosen by a dart. Stop beside Mowz and you play Pickpocket Pinball for a chance to steal Candy, coins or even a Star. Rattling chests hold Candy, 20 coins or Red Boos that cost you 10. Donkey Kong gives a free Star to the first player who reaches him; Bowser takes one. In a Duel Battle the mansion doubles to 24 rooms and two Stars are needed.

Shy Guy’s Perplex Express

A board on a moving train. Players work their way forward through the carriages, and over their roofs, to the Shy Guy conductor in the locomotive, who sells a Star for 20 coins; then it is back along the roof of the train to the start. There are no junctions, and no green Candy is to be had.

The train itself is the gimmick. Land on a DK Space and the engine is swapped for Donkey Kong’s Barrel Train, where the first to arrive gets a Star free. Land on a Bowser Space and it becomes the Bad-Breath Express, where Bowser takes one. On certain Green Spaces Kamek appears and reshuffles the carriages with a spell, the chant that caused the British recall. Elsewhere Holly Koopa offers to buy one of your Candies, paying more to players who are behind; a heating vent blows you up to the roof; a detective puzzle pays 20 coins for naming the thief, Bandit or Mowz; and a Shy Guy shovels a bag of coins into the firebox, which scatters them over anyone on the roof. The Lucky Space leads to Payday Waystation, a siding of Blue Spaces with a free Star at the end.

Koopa’s Tycoon Town

A city of Koopa Troopas and Goombas where the Stars belong to hotels. Whenever you pass one you may invest coins in it, and whoever has invested most is the owner and holds its Stars. A hotel is worth one Star to begin with, two once 20 coins have gone into it and three at 50, so the number of Stars in play climbs from five to as many as 21 during a game. Outbid the owner and the Stars change hands. This is Windmillville from Mario Party 7 again, with property in place of windmills.

The Green Spaces fit the theme: a Wild Taxi that drives you to a hotel, a Bandit who robs up to 30 coins, a Koopa’s dart stall paying 10 to 60 coins, and a crane that drops 10 or 20. Donkey Kong, who arrives in a yellow convertible, adds 20 or 30 coins to one of your hotels; Bowser takes 10 coins from every investor in one chosen at random. The two Lucky Spaces lead to secret hotels that are worth three Stars from the first coin. In a Duel Battle the target is four Stars.

Bowser’s Warped Orbit

The secret sixth board is a space station orbiting a star, manned by Kamek and his Toadies. There are no Stars to find. In Battle Royale everybody starts with five, and a team in Tag Battle with ten, and the only way to gain one is to take it from somebody else with the two Candies sold nowhere else. Bullet Candy gives you three Dice Blocks and one Star from each rival you pass; Bowser Candy gives two Dice Blocks and two Stars a head.

The route is mostly a single track, with short branches that players are sent down at random. Its Green Spaces reverse the direction of travel, send you through a Warp Tube, picking up 20 coins on the way, let Kamek shuffle everybody’s Candy, or set Bowser chasing you round a loop. Donkey Kong hands out a Star from a satellite shaped like a steel barrel; Bowser takes one. Even the Lucky Space is different, leading to Shy Guy’s Space Buffet and three free Candies. In the Star Battle Arena each side starts with three Stars and plays until one has none.

The Star Battle Arena

The solo mode is a ladder of six Duel Battles. You meet five computer opponents in turn on the five standard boards, each tougher than the last, and each game is played to that board’s duel goal: two Stars on DK’s Treetop Temple and in King Boo’s mansion, a 50-coin Star from Captain Goomba or Holly Koopa on the boardwalk and the train, four Stars in Tycoon Town. Lose, or run out the 30-turn limit, and you replay the board.

The sixth duel is on Bowser’s Warped Orbit against Blooper or Hammer Bro, and the Superstar Showdown with Bowser follows. Clearing the Arena pays 200 Carnival Cards and unlocks the Warped Orbit for the Party Tent, the Minigame Wagon in the bazaar and whichever of the two newcomers you beat.

The Minigame Tent

Any minigame you have met can be replayed in the Free Play Arcade, where Miis from your console sit in the crowd. Four games are built round them. Crown Showdown is a race to three, five or seven wins. Flip-Out Frenzy is played on a six-by-six grid: win a minigame and you flip a square to your colour, along with its neighbours in the same row and column. Tic-Tac Drop is noughts and crosses with falling balls, one for each win. Test for the Best, which has to be bought first, scores one player across ten minigames.

The Extras Zone and the Fun Bazaar

The Extras Zone holds eight further games that sit outside the party, and it is the one place where you can play as a Mii, either one made on the Mii Channel or a guest. Star Carnival Bowling, Trial by Tile, Flagging Rights and Canyon Cruisers are there from the start. Table Menace, Puzzle Pillars, Chomping Frenzy and Moped Mayhem are bought in the bazaar.

The Fun Bazaar is where Carnival Cards are spent. Its Minigame Wagon sells minigames you have not yet found, the Surprise Wagon sells the extra games, sound tests, a harder difficulty and a collection of carnival figurines, the Carnival Wagon parades the figurines you own, and the Carnival Calliope plays the music.

Every board in Mario Party 8

The six boards, with the rule for winning Stars in Battle Royale and Tag Battle and the goal in a Duel Battle. The first five are open from the start.

1. 
   DK’s Treetop TempleStars: 20 coins at a moving Star Space · Duel: first to two StarsThe classic rule, in a jungle ruin of barrel cannons, ladders and rolling Ukikis.
2. 
   Goomba’s Booty BoardwalkStars: free from Captain Goomba at the end of the line · Duel: reach him with 50 coinsA straight race along a pirate coast, with Dolphin shuttles that cost least for the player in last place.
3. 
   King Boo’s Haunted HideawayStars: 10 coins from King Boo, if you can find him · Duel: two StarsA shuffled mansion with no map; wrong rooms drop you back to the start.
4. 
   Shy Guy’s Perplex ExpressStars: 20 coins from the conductor at the engine · Duel: a 50-coin Star from Holly KoopaA train whose carriages Kamek rearranges and whose engine DK and Bowser hijack.
5. 
   Koopa’s Tycoon TownStars: owned through hotels, worth one, two (20 coins) or three (50 coins) · Duel: four StarsInvest the most in a hotel and its Stars are yours, until somebody outbids you.
6. 
   Bowser’s Warped OrbitStars: everyone starts with five and steals with Bullet and Bowser Candy · unlocked by clearing the Star Battle ArenaA space station where the only way to gain a Star is to take one.

In Duel Battle and the Star Battle Arena each board uses a smaller layout, except King Boo’s Haunted Hideaway, which grows.

The rules of the board game will be familiar to anyone who played the GameCube entries. What is new is the controller in your hand, the sweets in your pocket and a proper one-on-one mode.

The Party Tent: three ways to play

Battle Royale is the standard game for four. Everyone rolls, moves and takes the consequences, and a minigame follows each round. Its type depends on where people stopped: those on Blue or DK Spaces form one side and those on Red or Bowser Spaces the other, with anyone on a green space assigned at random, so the split may be four against none, one against three or two against two. Uniquely, by most accounts, the wheel that picks the minigame shows every game in that category instead of a handful.

Tag Battle pairs the players off into two teams that share coins, Stars and up to five Candies. Each of the 91 possible pairings of the fourteen characters has a team name of its own, from the Mario Bros. to What-the-Bloop.

Duel Battle is new: a one-on-one game on a cut-down version of each board, with a goal to reach instead of a turn count to survive. Minigames happen only when someone lands on a Vs. Space or a Challenge Space, and if nobody has won after 30 turns it is a draw. The goals differ by board, and are listed with the boards below.

With five turns to go, Chump Charity hands whoever is in last place a free Duelo Candy (or 30 coins on Koopa’s Tycoon Town). At the end, if the option is on, Bonus Stars are awarded from a set of six: Minigame, Candy, Green, Running, Shopping and Red. A tie for first place is settled by a roll of the dice.

The spaces

There are eight kinds, and in a touch found in no other Mario Party, by most accounts, their artwork is redrawn for every board to suit the scenery. Blue and Red Spaces give and take 3 coins. Green Spaces trigger an event that belongs to that spot. A DK Space brings Donkey Kong with a favour that depends on the board, and then turns into a Bowser Space, which does the opposite and turns back again; Bowser never sets a minigame in this game, and if you have nothing for him to take he may give you 10 coins.

The sparkling Lucky Space opens a side route made only of Blue Spaces that leads to a free Star, or an easy one. Vs. Spaces and Challenge Spaces appear only in Duel Battle and the Star Battle Arena. The first starts a Duel minigame for the loser’s coins; the second starts one of three Challenge minigames, after which the winner flings a dart at a wheel that pays out 5, 10 or 20 coins, or nothing.

Candy: eat it and change

Candy takes over from the Orbs of Mario Party 5, 6 and 7, with one big difference: it cannot be laid on the board as a trap. You eat it at the start of your own turn, before rolling. Sweets are bought at each board’s Candy shop or picked up from the floating ? Candies along the route, and a player can hold three.

The colour of the wrapper tells you what it does. Red Candy changes the Dice Block. Green Candy transforms you for a single throw at a dart wheel, which decides who suffers or how much. Yellow Candy transforms you for the whole move; while it lasts you cannot pick up more Candy or stop at a shop. Blue Candy works the same way but is nastier. Every character has a full set of transformations: fourteen different vampires, boulders, Thwomps and Bullet Bills, and with Bitsize Candy fourteen blocky sprites in the style of Super Mario Bros.

No board stocks everything. Each sells a selection of the fourteen, Bitsize and Weeglee Candy come only from ? Candies, Duelo Candy only from Chump Charity, and Bullet and Bowser Candy exist only on Bowser’s Warped Orbit.

The Wii Remote

Nearly everything is played with the Remote alone; Flagging Rights, in the Extras Zone, also asks for the Nunchuk. Minigames use it in three broad ways. Some have you point it at the screen, to shoot, paint, scrub or pick a card. Some have you hold it sideways like an old joypad and tilt it to steer a kart, a hovercraft or a water-skier. And the rest are pure mime: crank a handle, pump a handcar, saw a plank, flick a skipping rope, twist a rudder.

The minigame instructions are no longer delivered by the host. For the first time in the series they appear on a rules screen of their own.

One oddity annoyed critics at the time. The boards are drawn in the old 4:3 shape, so on a widescreen television they sit between decorative borders, although the menus do fill the screen. The boards and results run at 30 frames a second while the menus and most minigames run at 60.

Every Candy in Mario Party 8

All fourteen, in the usual order: three red, three green, four yellow and four blue. Shop prices are not given here.

• 
  Twice CandyRed. Hit two Dice Blocks. Sold on every board.
• 
  Thrice CandyRed. Hit three Dice Blocks. Everywhere except Bowser’s Warped Orbit.
• 
  Slowgo CandyRed. A slow Dice Block numbered only 1 to 5, easy to stop where you want. Not on Goomba’s Booty Boardwalk or King Boo’s Haunted Hideaway.
• 
  Springo CandyGreen. Throw a dart to pick a rival, then spring across the board to their space. Not on Shy Guy’s Perplex Express or Bowser’s Warped Orbit.
• 
  Cashzap CandyGreen. Throw a dart to pick a victim and zap half their coins out of existence. DK’s Treetop Temple, King Boo’s Haunted Hideaway and Koopa’s Tycoon Town.
• 
  Vampire CandyGreen. Become a vampire and drain coins from the other players; a dart decides how many. Not on DK’s Treetop Temple or Shy Guy’s Perplex Express.
• 
  Bitsize CandyYellow. Shrink into an 8-bit sprite and bash a Coin Block for 3 coins on every space you cross. Found only in ? Candies.
• 
  Bloway CandyYellow. Become a tornado that blows every player in your path back to the start. DK’s Treetop Temple and Goomba’s Booty Boardwalk.
• 
  Weeglee CandyYellow. Take one Candy from each player you pass. Found only in ? Candies, on DK’s Treetop Temple and Shy Guy’s Perplex Express.
• 
  Bowlo CandyYellow. Roll up into a ball, bowl over everyone you pass and take 10 coins from each (20 in a Duel Battle). Not on King Boo’s Haunted Hideaway or Bowser’s Warped Orbit.
• 
  Thwomp CandyBlue. Become a Thwomp and smash half the coins of every player you pass. Goomba’s Booty Boardwalk, King Boo’s Haunted Hideaway and Shy Guy’s Perplex Express.
• 
  Bullet CandyBlue. Become a Bullet Bill, hit three Dice Blocks and take one Star from each player you pass. Bowser’s Warped Orbit only.
• 
  Bowser CandyBlue. Take on Bowser’s shape, hit two Dice Blocks and take two Stars from each player you pass. Bowser’s Warped Orbit only.
• 
  Duelo CandyBlue. Roll two Dice Blocks and fight a Duel minigame with the first player you meet. Never sold: it is the Chump Charity gift to the player in last place.

Mario Party 8 borrowed freely from older Mario games, and its artwork, its host and a handful of its minigames have had a long afterlife.

Prima’s official guideGuide book · Prima Games · 2007Prima Games published the official strategy guide.

Super Smash Bros. BrawlWii · 2008MC Ballyhoo and Big Top turn up as a trophy and a sticker, and this game’s artwork of a Chain Chomp and a Dice Block became stickers too.

Mario Kart WiiWii · 2008Daisy’s Mario Party 8 artwork is reused with a kart drawn in.

Mario Party DSNintendo DS · 2007Hudson’s other Mario Party of 2007. The two games share their character profile models.

Mario Party arcade gamesArcade · Japan · 2009–2013Wikipedia records three Japan-only arcade machines made by Capcom in the wake of the game: Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher (2009), Mario Party Kurukuru Carnival (2012) and Korokoro Catcher 2 (2013).

Mario Party: The Top 100Nintendo 3DS · 2017Three minigames return: Aim of the Game, At the Chomp Wash and Crank to Rank. MC Ballyhoo and Big Top have a cameo in its Series Guide.

Super Smash Bros. UltimateNintendo Switch · 2018MC Ballyhoo and Big Top are a spirit, and the fighter spirits of Luigi and Daisy use their Mario Party 8 artwork.

Mario Party SuperstarsNintendo Switch · 2021Two minigames carry the Mario Party 8 logo, Paint Misbehavin’ and Winner or Dinner, both with new arrangements of their music.

Super Mario Party JamboreeNintendo Switch · 2024Two of its motion minigames, Night Lights and Chomp Wash, are closely based on Crank to Rank and At the Chomp Wash.

Mobile gamesSuper Mario Run (2016), Mario Kart Tour (2019)Artwork of Peach and Bowser from this game is reused in Super Mario Run, and of Dry Bones and Hammer Bro in Mario Kart Tour.

Fourteen playable characters: the twelve of Mario Party 7 and two newcomers who have to be won. They all play alike. In Tag Battle every possible pair has its own team name, and a few are given here. The carnival staff and the board bosses follow.

Character	Who they are	In this game	Abilities & notes
MarioPlayable	Top of the bill, as usual.	His pixelated Super Mario Bros. self decorates the Star Battle Arena and the wrapper of the Bitsize Candy.	Team names: Mario Bros. (with Luigi), Power Players (Peach), Big Starrios (Wario). Voice: Charles Martinet.
LuigiPlayable	Mario’s brother.	His artwork for this game was later used for his fighter spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.	Team names: Green Machine (with Yoshi), Lean ’n’ Mean (Waluigi), Scaredy Pants (Boo). Voice: Charles Martinet.
Princess PeachPlayable	The princess of the party, voiced here by Sam Kelly.	Her artwork was reused in Super Mario Run.	Team names: Damsels in Success (with Daisy), Kind Hearts (Yoshi), Sweet ’n’ Sour (Waluigi). Voice: Sam Kelly.
YoshiPlayable	The dinosaur of the party.	Seen in screenshots exploring Payday Waystation and Shy Guy’s Space Buffet.	Team names: Egg Explosion (with Birdo), Fan Favorites (Mario), Poached Eggs (Wario). Voice: Kazumi Totaka.
WarioPlayable	Greed in a yellow cap.	One of the twelve characters carried over from Mario Party 7.	Team names: Double-Crossers (with Waluigi), Rotten Eggs (Birdo), Dumb-Skulls (Dry Bones). Voice: Charles Martinet.
Princess DaisyPlayable	Peach’s opposite number.	Her artwork here was reused, with a kart added, in Mario Kart Wii, and for her fighter spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.	Team names: Flower Players (with Mario), Tango Tanglers (Luigi), Bloopsie-Daisy (Blooper). Voice: Deanna Mustard.
WaluigiPlayable	Wario’s lanky partner, pictured in the official art juggling a Bob-omb.	Shown in screenshots taking the Lucky Route on DK’s Treetop Temple.	Team names: ’Stache Clashers (with Mario), Boneheads (Dry Bones), Total Creeps (Boo). Voice: Charles Martinet.
ToadPlayable	Still a contestant, not a host.	One of the twelve characters carried over from Mario Party 7.	Team names: Fungi Fun Guys (with Mario), Zoomin’ Shrooms (Toadette), Short Ribs (Dry Bones). Voice: Sam Kelly.
BooPlayable	A playable ghost in a game with a haunted house of its own.	Red Boos and King Boo, not he, do the haunting on King Boo’s board.	Team names: Soul Bros. (with Mario), Scary Pair (Dry Bones), Boo Duet (Toadette). Voice: Sanae Susaki.
ToadettePlayable	In her third Mario Party as a player.	Pictured reaching King Boo and being carried back to the train from Payday Waystation.	Team names: Marionettes (with Mario), Pink Powerhouse (Birdo), Double Trouble (Dry Bones). Voice: Sam Kelly.
BirdoPlayable	Returning from Mario Party 7, where she made her debut.	One of the twelve characters carried over.	Team names: Super Snozzios (with Mario), Pink Superpowers (Peach), What-the-Bloop (Blooper). Voice: Kazumi Totaka.
Dry BonesPlayable	The other newcomer of Mario Party 7, back again.	His artwork from this game was later reused in Mario Kart Tour.	Team names: BBQ Ribs (with Mario), Cry Bones (Luigi), Dry Thrones (Peach). Voice: Toru Asakawa.
BlooperPlayable · new to the series · unlockable	The squid from the underwater levels, playable in a Mario Party for the first time.	One of Bowser’s two champions in the last duel of the Star Battle Arena. Beat him there to unlock him.	Unlock: defeat him on Bowser’s Warped Orbit. Team names: Blooper Bros. (with Hammer Bro), ’Stache Splashers (Mario), Royal Flush (Peach).
Hammer BroPlayable · new to the series · unlockable	The hammer-throwing Koopa, also playable for the first time.	Bowser’s other champion. If you are playing as one of the pair, the other is your opponent.	Unlock: defeat him on Bowser’s Warped Orbit. Team names: Heavy-Blow Bros. (with Mario), Glamour Hammer (Peach), Longtime-Foe Bros. (Luigi). Voice: Motoki Takagi.
MC Ballyhoo & Big TopHosts	The master of ceremonies of the Star Carnival and his talking top hat.	They run every mode, explain each board’s rule, hand out the Chump Charity and follow the player to Bowser’s Warped Orbit. Later a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a spirit in Ultimate.	Voice of MC Ballyhoo: credited as Steven Weyte.
Donkey KongBoard character	The players’ friend, and landlord of the first board.	A DK Space brings a favour that differs on every board: a lift to the Star, a barrel game, a free Star, 20 or 30 coins for your hotel.	Voice: Takashi Nagasako.
BowserVillain	Steals the Star Rod and has to be beaten for it.	His space replaces a used DK Space and undoes whatever Donkey Kong did. He is the opponent in Superstar Showdown, the last minigame. Neither Koopa Kid nor Bowser Jr. is with him.	Voice: Scott Burns.
Captain GoombaBoard boss	A pirate Goomba with a chest of Stars.	Gives a free Star to whoever reaches the end of Goomba’s Booty Boardwalk; charges 50 coins in a duel.	His crew fire trespassers back to the start.
King BooBoard boss	The master of the Haunted Hideaway.	Hides in one of the mansion’s sanctums and sells a Star for 10 coins to anyone who finds him.	Refuse to pay and you are dropped down a pit.
Shy Guy conductorBoard boss	The driver of the Perplex Express.	Sells a Star for 20 coins at the locomotive. In a duel he only gives 10 coins, and Holly Koopa has the Star.	Shy Guy is voiced by Nate Bihldorff of Nintendo of America.
KamekBoard character	Bowser’s Magikoopa.	Shuffles the carriages of the Perplex Express and the Candy on Bowser’s Warped Orbit. His train spell is the line that got the game recalled in Britain.	The spell was reworded in every later pressing.

Every minigame in Mario Party 8

All 73, in the usual order: 18 for four players, 9 one-against-three, 10 two-against-two, 5 Battle, 19 Duel, 3 Challenge, the final boss and the 8 games of the Extras Zone. Eight of the four-player, team and Battle games are also played as Duels, which is why some counts give 81. “Coin” marks the three coin-collecting games. After a Duel the winner throws a dart at a wheel to take coins or Stars from the loser. Descriptions draw on GamesRadar’s 2007 guide.

• 
  Speedy Graffiti4-PlayerDraw the shape on display as fast as you can. Speed counts for more than staying inside the lines.
• 
  Swing Kings4-Player · also DuelBatting practice: swing the Remote to hit as many of a Shy Guy’s 20 pitches as you can. Timing beats brute force.
• 
  Water Ski Spree4-Player · coinTilt the sideways Remote to steer a water-skier over ramps, collecting coins and avoiding the Spiny Eggs a Shy Guy throws from the boat.
• 
  Punch-a-Bunch4-PlayerPunch a statue of Bowser to rubble, striking when your boxing glove has swollen to full size.
• 
  Crank to Rank4-PlayerWind an imaginary crank to run a flag up its pole first. In The Top 100, and the model for Night Lights in Jamboree.
• 
  At the Chomp Wash4-PlayerScrub a filthy Chain Chomp until it shines. In The Top 100, and remade as Chomp Wash in Jamboree.
• 
  Mosh-Pit Playroom4-PlayerDive into a ball pit of 200 balls and collect 50 of your own colour.
• 
  Mario Matrix4-PlayerPoint at the lit hexagon in a honeycomb grid before anybody else gets there.
• 
  Lava or Leave ’Em4-PlayerOutlast the others as fireballs leap out of the lava and split apart. Jumping on a rival slows them down.
• 
  Kartastrophe4-PlayerTwo laps of a short kart track, steering by tilting the Remote. The grass slows you down.
• 
  Rudder Madness4-PlayerTwist the Remote as a rudder to guide a lily pad downstream and across the finishing line.
• 
  Sick and Twisted4-PlayerHop across spinning platforms to the finish without being flung off.
• 
  Shake It Up4-Player · also DuelShake the Remote like a can of fizzy drink for five seconds, then open it: the highest spray wins.
• 
  In the Nick of Time4-PlayerTwist the Remote to wind the hands of a clock round to the time shown, without overshooting.
• 
  Scooter Pursuit4-PlayerThirty seconds of shooting from the saddle: steer your scooter with the sideways Remote and hit the other riders with balls, a point a time.
• 
  Flip the Chimp4-Player · also DuelFlip a monkey from side to side as it climbs to dodge falling coconuts. GamesRadar took it for a nod to Donkey Kong Jr.
• 
  Alpine Assault4-PlayerHold the Remote flat like a snowboard and turn your wrist to carve downhill between ramps and snowmen.
• 
  Treacherous Tightrope4-PlayerCross a canyon on a wire, tilting the Remote to keep your balance when the wind gusts.
• 
  Gun the Runner1-vs-3One player has 30 seconds to climb a tower of platforms and lifts while three shoot at him; every hit freezes him for three seconds.
• 
  Grabbin’ Gold1-vs-3 · coinCatch falling coins and steer clear of the Spiny Eggs that fall with them, one player against a team of three.
• 
  Power Trip1-vs-3One player in an electrified hovercraft has 30 seconds to shove three others off a grating.
• 
  Bob-ombs Away1-vs-3Three players drop Bob-ombs down a pachinko board on to the one dodging about at the bottom.
• 
  Swervin’ Skies1-vs-3One player takes aim at three fliers, who must swerve to keep their wings from being burst.
• 
  Picture Perfect1-vs-3Stop spinning panels to complete a picture. The soloist has four squares to set and the team of three has nine.
• 
  Snow Way Out1-vs-3One player in a snow machine fires snowballs at three who are skidding about a slippery rooftop, and has 30 seconds to knock them all off.
• 
  Thrash ’n’ Crash1-vs-3Three skateboarders dodge Whomps, Bullet Bills and barrels set off by the fourth player from a ship.
• 
  Chump Rope1-vs-3One turns a skipping rope at changing speeds. Three flick the Remote upwards to jump it for 15 seconds.
• 
  Grabby Gridiron2-vs-2Catch the balls and throw them into your goal, or snatch the other team’s.
• 
  Bumper Balloons2-vs-2 · also DuelDrive about bursting the balloons that match your car’s colour, and keep off the grass.
• 
  Rowed to Victory2-vs-2Each partner works an oar with the Remote in a boat race to an island, keeping in time and clear of the branches that slow you down.
• 
  Winner or Dinner2-vs-2 · coinCollect the most coins among Spinies and Piranha Plants. In Superstars.
• 
  Paint Misbehavin’2-vs-2 · also DuelSquirt paint at Goombas to turn them your team’s colour. Most after 30 seconds wins. In Superstars.
• 
  Sugar Rush2-vs-2 · also DuelDecorate a cake to match the order a Koopa Troopa chef has given.
• 
  King of the Thrill2-vs-2Kick the other team off the top of a tall pillar of rock.
• 
  Lean, Mean Ravine2-vs-2Race a hovercraft down a ravine, taking the ramps for speed and steering clear of the water jets.
• 
  Boo-ting Gallery2-vs-2Shoot the Red Boos, then turn both guns on a giant one in the basement.
• 
  Crops ’n’ Robbers2-vs-2One partner whacks the moles out of the way while the other pulls up carrots.
• 
  Aim of the GameBattle · also DuelShoot the falling cards that add up to the best score: take the 50s and the doublers and leave the ×0. In The Top 100.
• 
  Cut from the TeamBattleTake turns snipping one of ten wires. Three are live, and cutting one springs you off the platform; the last player left wins.
• 
  Snipe for the PickingBattleTarget shooting at apples, with the small pink ring worth 100 points.
• 
  Saucer SwarmBattle · also DuelMan a turret in space and shoot down the little UFO-like aliens. The gold one is worth two points.
• 
  Glacial MeltdownBattleJump-kick the others off a slippery iceberg into the sea.
• 
  Attention GrabberDuelShipwrecked: wave the Remote for all you are worth to flag down a passing ship.
• 
  Blazing LassosDuelWhirl a lasso and rope barrels. Red-striped ones score 50 and purple 30.
• 
  Wing and a ScareDuelFly a plane through the gaps in a series of walls by tilting the Remote.
• 
  Lob to RobDuelShoot the mushroom targets and spare the Goombas.
• 
  Pumper CarsDuelPump the Remote up and down with both hands to drive a handcar along a railway.
• 
  Cosmic SlalomDuelPilot a hovercraft down a tube in space, saving your three boosts to burst through the fences.
• 
  Lava LobbersDuelTwo mine carts, two cannons: lob cannonballs at each other until one of you has been hit three times and tips into the lava.
• 
  Loco MotivesDuelClick three toy trains to reverse them before they burst the balloons at either end of the track.
• 
  Specter InspectorDuelSearch a dark room with a torch to find the characters hiding in it.
• 
  Frozen AssetsDuelSmash falling icicles to get at the gems inside them. First to five gems wins.
• 
  Breakneck BuildingDuelSaw, hammer and paint with the matching movements to finish a carpentry job first.
• 
  Surf’s Way UpDuelRide a sled down a track in space, steering through the coloured goals for points. A Bowser goal wipes your score.
• 
  Balancing ActDuelCircle the Remote one way and the other to work along a course, slipping under the Thwomps as they rise.
• 
  Ion the PrizeDuelTilt the Remote to bounce coloured balls into the container that matches.
• 
  You’re the Bob-ombDuelEach player picks one of five detonators, only one of them live, until somebody’s Big Bob-omb goes off. It is all luck.
• 
  CardiatorsDuelDraw cards that deal damage to your opponent, with little say in what you get.
• 
  Rotation StationDuelA platform race to the summit of a floating course, tilting the Remote to turn the view.
• 
  EyebrawlDuelCircle the pointer round a Mr. I until it is too dizzy to stand. Bigger eyes need bigger circles.
• 
  Settle It in CourtDuelA shooting contest on a basketball court: fling the Remote forward to score.
• 
  Pour to ScoreChallengeTip the Remote like a cup and pour sand on to a scale, stopping as near the target weight as you can.
• 
  Fruit PickerChallengeMemorise where the fruits sit on a wheel, then find the right one after it has spun.
• 
  StampedeChallengeStamp your initial on sheets of paper as they pass, but not the ones with Bowser on, which cost two points.
• 
  Superstar ShowdownLastThe finale of the Star Battle Arena: dodge Bowser’s bullets, lasers and fireballs and hit back with the Star Rod.
• 
  Star Carnival BowlingExtras ZoneTen-pin bowling for up to four: hold A and swing. There from the start.
• 
  Trial by TileExtras ZonePoint out the arrangement of tiles that matches the one shown, through three levels of five. There from the start.
• 
  Flagging RightsExtras ZoneCopy a Shy Guy captain’s flag signals with the Remote and Nunchuk. Based on Shy Guy Says from the first two Mario Party games.
• 
  Canyon CruisersExtras ZoneA hovercar race for one or two through a canyon, steering with the Remote. There from the start.
• 
  Table MenaceExtras ZoneTable tennis: swing the Remote as the bat, first to 11 points. Costs 50 Carnival Cards.
• 
  Puzzle PillarsExtras ZonePick and rotate blocks to line up four or more of a kind before time runs out. Costs 50 cards.
• 
  Chomping FrenzyExtras ZoneFor one player: fire each hungry Chain Chomp the food it is asking for before it turns red. Costs 50 cards.
• 
  Moped MayhemExtras ZoneA three-lap moped race for one or two. Costs 50 cards.

The people who made it

Names and roles from the staff roll.

No developer interview about Mario Party 8 was found for this page. What follows comes from the announcements and news reports of 2006 and 2007, the credits and the game’s data.

Hudson’s last home console party

According to Wikipedia the game was announced in September 2006, at a Nintendo event, as one of the titles for the Wii’s early months, and a demo with six sample minigames was playable at the Nintendo World show that November. It came out in North America on 29 May 2007.

The team was the one that had made the GameCube games. Shuichiro Nishiya directed for the third time running, with Kenji Kikuchi as senior director, Hiroshi Sato and Atsushi Ikeda producing, and Satoru Iwata and Hudson’s Hidetoshi Endo as executive producers. The music was new, by Yoshihiro Tsukahara. Reviewers noticed how much of the GameCube remained: Wikipedia records that the 4:3 picture with borders was widely panned, and that some critics wondered whether the game had been started for the older console. No source read for this page confirms that.

It was to be the last time. Wikipedia and other references describe Mario Party 8 as the final home console Mario Party developed by Hudson Soft; after Mario Party DS the series went to NDcube.

The UK recall of July 2007

Mario Party 8 should have reached British shops with the rest of Europe on 22 June 2007. A few days before, Nintendo put the UK date back to 13 July, blaming what was reported as a production issue.

On Friday 13 July the game went on sale, and that same day Nintendo of Europe withdrew it. Its statement, as quoted by Nintendo World Report, said that “a small number of games contain the wrong version of the disk” because of “an assembly error”, that all copies were being recalled from UK retailers, and that “We very much regret any inconvenience caused.”

The real reason was soon reported. On Shy Guy’s Perplex Express, Kamek rearranges the train with a rhyming spell, which in the American script ran: “Magikoopa magic! Turn the train spastic! Make this ticket tragic!” In North America the word is generally innocuous. In Britain it is an offensive term for people with cerebral palsy. Only weeks earlier Ubisoft had recalled the game Mind Quiz from British shops over the same word, after a complaint from a member of the public.

The game came back on 3 August 2007, the date Nintendo UK’s product page still gives. Nintendo said, in a statement quoted by Engadget, that the “offending word has been replaced at code level” and the discs remade, while admitting that some copies of the first batch might remain in circulation. In the corrected European version Kamek turns the train “erratic”. Later American copies drop the rhyme altogether for “Let me use my magic to make this all a little more interesting!”

Super Paper Mario had a similar word changed before its own PAL release, and several Nintendo games afterwards had separate British and American English scripts, though whether Mario Party 8 was the cause is not known.

Regional differences

Beyond Kamek’s spell, the PAL version uses the text font of Mario Party 4 to 7 where the American one has a new font, says “Win” where the American says “Wins”, and sets easier targets in Test for the Best. In Japan the announcer shouts “Start!” instead of “Go!” and a tied minigame is a DRAW, not a Tie. The game was also translated into Korean, for a release in South Korea in November 2008.

Left on the disc

Three unused minigames survive in the files, none with an English name. One, Hammer de Pokari, is a four-player brawl on a sandcastle seen nowhere else in the game, in which you swing the Remote sideways to hit the others with a hammer; it ends when somebody has been hit five times. Koopa Kid, absent from the finished game, still has a model and a portrait in the data. An early demo also had a different title screen, built from the artwork of the returning characters.

What Mario Party 8 did first, or alone.

There are no button codes. Hidden characters and the sixth board come from the Star Battle Arena, and everything else is bought with Carnival Cards in the Fun Bazaar. Prices are from GamesRadar’s 2007 guide.

Unlock Blooper and Hammer Bro

Clear the Star Battle Arena. Your last opponent on Bowser’s Warped Orbit is either Blooper or Hammer Bro, and the one you beat becomes playable. Play through again to meet the other; if you play as one of them, the other is always the opponent.

Unlock Bowser’s Warped Orbit

Beat Bowser in Superstar Showdown at the end of the Star Battle Arena. The board is then available in the Party Tent, and the Minigame Wagon opens in the Fun Bazaar.

Earning Carnival Cards

A board game pays 20 cards for every ten turns played, so a 50-turn game is worth 100. Completing a Duel Battle earns 20, and clearing the Star Battle Arena 200. GamesRadar reckoned Test for the Best the quickest earner, at 30 cards for about ten minutes’ play.

What the Surprise Wagon sells

Fifty cards each for the four extra games (Table Menace, Puzzle Pillars, Chomping Frenzy and Moped Mayhem), Test for the Best, a Very Hard difficulty setting, the staff’s best records and each of the sound tests. The staff credits cost 100 cards and the carnival figurines 30 apiece.

Finding Duel and Challenge minigames

These never come up in an ordinary Battle Royale round. They are met in the Star Battle Arena and Duel Battle, on Vs. and Challenge Spaces, or by eating a Duelo Candy. The Minigame Wagon will sell any you are missing, but they can all be found by playing.

Use the Lucky Spaces

Each board has a sparkling Lucky Space that leads to a free or cheap Star: the hidden path on DK’s Treetop Temple, the Goomba idols’ island, an upper floor with a pipe to King Boo, Payday Waystation, and two secret three-Star hotels in Tycoon Town that cost a single coin to claim. On Bowser’s Warped Orbit it leads to three Candies that are always Bullet or Bowser Candy.

Hotel arithmetic

In Koopa’s Tycoon Town a hotel gains its second Star at 20 coins invested and its third at 50, and the owner is whoever has put in most. One hundred coins locks a hotel against further investment, though Bandit and Bowser can still take coins out of it.

Chump Charity

Being last with five turns to go is not all bad. The free Duelo Candy lets you roll two Dice Blocks and challenge the first player you reach to a Duel, with their coins or Stars at stake on the dart wheel.

The Bonus Stars

Minigame Star, Candy Star, Green Star, Running Star, Shopping Star and Red Star. Players who tie for one share it.

SLB’s own cheats page for the game is linked under Reference below.

Two third-party uploads of official material: a trailer, and the British television advert with Jamie and Louise Redknapp.

• Every one of the 91 possible Tag Battle pairings has a name. Mario and Luigi are the Mario Bros., Wario and Yoshi are Poached Eggs, Waluigi and Dry Bones are Boneheads, Daisy and Blooper are Bloopsie-Daisy, and Blooper and Hammer Bro are the Blooper Bros. The French version has 91 of its own.
• The prize at the end of the Star Battle Arena is the Star Rod, which Bowser steals at the award ceremony.
• Kamek’s train spell exists in three versions: the original American rhyme, the European one in which the train turns “erratic”, and the plain sentence used in later American copies.

• 

  Nossie, the dinosaur of Dino Dino Jungle in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, can be seen on DK’s Treetop Temple, and the face on the front of the Bad-Breath Express resembles Bowser’s kart from that game, the Koopa King.
• The Piantas of Super Mario Sunshine live on Goomba’s Booty Boardwalk. Scott Burns, the voice of Bowser, also voices the male ones.
• Sprites from Super Mario Bros. are everywhere: Mario and Bowser on Bowser’s Warped Orbit, Mario at the Star Battle Arena and on the toy box in Mosh-Pit Playroom, and the whole cast under the influence of Bitsize Candy.
• Flagging Rights, in the Extras Zone, is a remake of Shy Guy Says from the first two Mario Party games.
• The boards are shown in 4:3 with borders at the sides, even on a widescreen television, while the main menu fills the screen.
• The boards and final results run at 30 frames a second and the menus and most minigames at 60, by most accounts the only Mario Party to mix frame rates in this way.
• It is one of just two Mario Party games to show the players’ standings in a column at the top right during a board game. The other, eleven years later, is Super Mario Party.
• Koopa Kid is missing, though his model and portrait are still on the disc. Only one other Mario Party, Mario Party-e, has neither him nor Bowser Jr.
• A DK Space, once used, turns into a Bowser Space, and a used Bowser Space turns back. Bowser never sets a minigame in this game.
• King Boo sells his Star for 10 coins, half the price on DK’s Treetop Temple, and his mansion is the only board that gets bigger, not smaller, for a Duel Battle: 24 rooms instead of 12.
• The Japanese version has its own announcer again. Mario Party 6 and 7 had used different announcers in Japan and abroad, and this is the first game since Mario Party 4 to change the Japanese one.
• Mario Party 8 ranked tenth among 2008’s most-rented video games in the United States, according to a list reported by IGN.
• Nintendo UK’s page advertises “more than 60 minigames”, which matches the 65 of the main game. The Extras Zone brings the total to 73 by most counts.

• 

  In Europe the game was reissued as a Nintendo Selects budget title on 22 March 2013, a year after its own sequel had come out.

Europe has more covers than anywhere else, because the game was reissued after the recall and again as a budget Nintendo Selects title in 2013. There is also an early version of the American box.

More from the carnival and its boards.

Logos, artwork of the supporting cast, board logos and the duel layouts of the boards.

Mario Party 8 closed the Hudson Soft years. Its release history is also unusually tangled, thanks to one withdrawn launch and a long tail of late regional editions.

Every release

• Wii (North America) 29 May 2007The first release anywhere.
• Wii (Europe) 22 June 2007Mainland Europe; Spain followed on 29 June. The UK edition was held back.
• Wii (United Kingdom) 13 July 2007Released and recalled on the same day.
• Wii (Australia) 19 July 2007The Australian release.
• Wii (Japan) 26 July 2007The Japanese release, two months after America.
• Wii (United Kingdom, corrected) 3 August 2007Re-released with Kamek’s spell changed.
• Wii (South Africa) February 2008The South African release.
• Wii (Hong Kong and Taiwan) 12 July 2008The Hong Kong and Taiwan release.
• Wii (South Korea) 6 November 2008A Korean-language edition.
• Nintendo Selects (Europe) 22 March 2013Budget reissue.

After Hudson

Hudson Soft’s Mario Party DS followed later in 2007, and then the series went quiet for more than four years. When it returned, with Mario Party 9 in 2012, the developer was NDcube and the board game had been rebuilt round a single shared vehicle.

What came back

Because so many of its minigames depend on the Wii Remote, Mario Party 8 is thinly represented in the anthologies: three games in Mario Party: The Top 100 and two in Mario Party Superstars. The motion games found a better home in Super Mario Party Jamboree, whose Night Lights and Chomp Wash are Crank to Rank and At the Chomp Wash in all but name. The hotel rule of Koopa’s Tycoon Town had itself come from Windmillville in Mario Party 7. For the rest of the Wii’s Mario line-up, see Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii and New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Sales

Mario Party 8 was a hit from its first weekend. According to NPD figures reported at the time it sold 314,000 copies in the United States in its first three days and was the best-selling home console game of May 2007. On 2 July Nintendo of America announced that it had passed 550,000 and was the fastest-selling game in the series, and it ended the year as America’s tenth best-selling game with 1.82 million. In Japan, Famitsu had it at 1,153,648 copies by January 2008, when it was the third best-selling Wii game there. In Britain it earned an ELSPA Platinum award, for at least 300,000 copies.

The worldwide total usually quoted is 8.85 million. It comes from a compilation of Nintendo sales data published on the Install Base forum in 2021, and Wikipedia’s list of best-selling Wii games gives the same number, ranking the game twelfth on the console. It should not be mistaken for a figure from Nintendo’s investor relations site: Nintendo’s own list of top-selling Wii titles, dated 30 September 2016, shows only ten games and stops at Wii Party’s 9.24 million. The last totals that can be traced to Nintendo’s own documents are 2.89 million by the end of September 2007 and 6.72 million by 31 March 2009, the second from the million-seller list in its results briefing of 8 May 2009. By most reckonings only Mario Party DS and Super Mario Party have sold more within the series.

• 8.85mworldwide (Install Base data; Wikipedia)
• 314,000US sales in three days (NPD, May 2007)
• 1.15mJapan by January 2008 (Famitsu, via IGN and Wikipedia)
• 62Metacritic score

Reviews

Scores as listed by Wikipedia from the original reviews.

The reviews were far cooler than the sales. The motion controls were liked: Wikipedia’s summary of the reviews has critics praising their inclusion. Almost everything round them was not. IGN’s Matt Casamassina called the single-player mode “torture” and thought the graphics would not have impressed on a GameCube, and the lack of a true widescreen mode came up again and again.

British reviewers were among the harshest. Eurogamer’s Mathew Kumar allowed that there was fun to be had but predicted it would not last, and Digital Spy’s David Gibbon described the game as, in essence, a GameCube title with Remote controls added late. GameSpot’s Ryan Davis felt Hudson had grown too comfortable. Dan Hsu of 1UP hoped the next one would use the Wii controls throughout.

Honours

Super Luigi Bros readers have reviewed Mario Party 8 over the years. Their write-ups are kept exactly as they were sent in:

• Review by coffee7729
• Review by ZDRich

Played it? If you’d like to add your own review, please get in touch.

Every fact on this page was checked against the 18 sources listed here.