Mario Party 5
Mario Party 5 is a fun and engaging game that offers both single-player and multiplayer modes. In Story Mode, the player faces off against three Koopa Kids on modified boards, with the goal of eliminating all three before they eliminate the player. Mini-games are not played at the end of every turn, but can be triggered by landing on a VS Space or a Duel Space. The new VS Space is exclusive to Story Mode and triggers mini-games based on the number of Koopa Kids on the board. The DK and Bowser Spaces have their rules changed in this mode, with the Koopa Kids losing half their coins on a DK Space and gaining 5 coins on a Bowser Space. Players who land on a DK Space are rewarded 10 coins, while Bowser takes away half of a player's coins.
Once the player has beaten four of the six default boards, they unlock the Bowser Nightmare board and face off against the Koopa Kids on it. After beating them, they face Bowser in Frightmare. Winning this mini-game unlocks Frightmare for Mini-Game Mode and the Bowser Nightmare board for Party Mode. If the player beats Story Mode on Hard difficulty, they unlock Intense difficulty for both CPUs and Story Mode.
In Mini-Game Mode, hosted by Muskular, up to four players can play mini-games that they have unlocked. Mini-games are unlocked by playing them in Party Mode or Solo Mode. There are six ways to play mini-games in Mini-Game Mode, including Free Play, Mini-Game Battle, Mini-Game Circuit, and Mini-Game Decathlon. In Mini-Game Circuit, players race around a track in cars and play mini-games to advance. The Normal Area has no effect, the Battle Area commences a Duel mini-game, and the Bowser Area causes players to play a Bowser mini-game. Players need to play a variety of mini-games to play this game.
One of the unique features of Mario Party 5 is the ability to duel Koopa Kids without landing on a Duel Space or using a Duel Orb. If players pass a Koopa Kid, they can choose to duel them, with the winner gaining or losing coins depending on the circumstances. The Koopa Kids all move at the same time, which quickens gameplay and makes it more challenging. The objective of Story Mode is to eliminate all three Koopa Kids, which requires the player to make them lose all their coins through duels or using capsules. If the player loses all their coins, they lose the game, and if 15 turns pass but there are still Koopa Kids left, the match is declared a draw and the player must start over.
Mario Party 5 offers a wide variety of mini-games, including 4-Player, 1-vs.-3, and 2-vs.-2 games. In Mini-Game Battle, players play a random assortment of these mini-games and advance when they win. The size of the game can be set at 3, 5, or 7 wins to overall win the game. Mini-Game Decathlon records the player's performance in ten set mini-games, with points awarded for their performance. These records can be seen in Options Mode.
Overall, Mario Party 5 is a fun and engaging game that offers a variety of gameplay modes and mini-games. Story Mode challenges players to eliminate all three Koopa Kids before they are eliminated, and Mini-Game Mode offers a variety of ways to play mini-games with friends. The ability to duel Koopa Kids without landing on a Duel Space or using a Duel Orb adds a new level of challenge to the game, and the new VS Space and changed DK and Bowser Spaces in Story Mode offer new gameplay mechanics