Mario Party 7

Last updated
Mario Party 7
Mario Party 7 Coverart.png
Packaging artwork
Developer(s) Hudson Soft
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Director(s) Shuichiro Nishiya
Producer(s) Hiroshi Sato
Composer(s) Hironobu Yahata
Shinya Outouge
Series Mario Party
Platform(s) GameCube
Release
  • NA: November 7, 2005 [1]
  • JP: November 10, 2005 [1]
  • EU: February 10, 2006 [1]
Genre(s) Party [1]
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Mario Party 7 [lower-alpha 1] is a 2005 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the seventh main installment in the Mario Party series, as well as the fourth and final game in the series to be released for the GameCube. The game was first released in North America and Japan in November 2005, and was released in Europe in February 2006.

Contents

Like most installments in the Mario Party series, Mario Party 7 features characters of the Mario franchise competing in an interactive board game with a variety of minigames, many of which make use of the microphone peripheral introduced in Mario Party 6 . Mario Party 7 also introduces game modes and minigames that involve up to eight players competing simultaneously. The game features twelve playable characters (two of whom are unlockable), six game boards, and more than eighty minigames.

Mario Party 7 received mixed reviews from critics, who generally praised its minigames and eight-player mechanics, though criticized its single-player mode. The game has sold more than two million copies worldwide, making it the 11th best-selling game for the GameCube. Mario Party 7 was succeeded by Mario Party 8 for the Wii in 2007.

Gameplay

Mario Party 7 features eight-player minigames, in which eight players can compete in four teams of two. Here, Princess Peach, Mario, Boo, Luigi, Toad, Wario, Princess Daisy, and Waluigi simultaneously attempt to jump rope in the minigame "Grin and Bar It". Mario party 7 screenshot.jpg
Mario Party 7 features eight-player minigames, in which eight players can compete in four teams of two. Here, Princess Peach, Mario, Boo, Luigi, Toad, Wario, Princess Daisy, and Waluigi simultaneously attempt to jump rope in the minigame "Grin and Bar It".

Like most games in the Mario Party series, Mario Party 7 is a party video game in which players compete in a virtual board game, rolling dice to advance, playing minigames to earn coins and items, and sharing the goal of gathering more Stars than their opponents, with each game board requiring a different method of doing so. There are twelve playable characters, ten of whom are available from the start: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Princess Daisy, Waluigi, Toad, Boo, and Toadette. The two unlockable characters, Birdo and Dry Bones, are both introduced to the Mario Party series in this game. Each character can be controlled by either a human player or artificial intelligence (AI).

Mario Party 7's single-player mode, Solo Cruise, is very different from those in any of the six previous home console games. One player competes against another, attempting to complete the set objective of each game board before the other can. Tasks range from collecting a specific number of Stars to having a certain number of coins on a space. Up to 10 slots of different characters with unique phrases can be saved. Once a player has completed all six boards, they are added to the rankings section, which shows the players who took the fewest turns to complete them.

Mario Party 7 features 86 brand-new minigames. There are nine types of minigames: four-player free-for-alls, one against three, teams of two, Battle, Duel, eight-player, DK, Bowser, and Rare. Ten of the minigames—five four-player free-for-alls and five 1-vs.-3s—can be played with the console's microphone. The minigame controls range from pressing a button repeatedly to using the control stick and several buttons. There are extra minigames that must be purchased in-game to unlock.

A series first, Mario Party 7 features game modes and minigames that involve up to eight players: Party Cruise and Deluxe Cruise. There are twelve eight-player minigames, in which players are split into teams of two and are required to share a controller, with the first player using the "L" button and the control stick, while the second player uses the "R" button and the control stick.

Another new addition to this game is "Bowser Time!", an event that only occurs every five turns during a Party Cruise match. After each minigame, the meter on the screen increases by 20%, and when the meter is full, Bowser appears and hinders the players. Based on the board, Bowser can destroy bridges, take Stars from players, or change Star locations. On almost every board at some time, Bowser can take a photo as a "memento" of the vacation and take the players' coins. At other times, he can open a shop that sells the players useless and expensive items, which are then taken by Koopa Kid. "Bowser Time!" can occur only once, or up to nine times, depending on the number of turns played. [2] [3] [4]

Plot

While taking his morning walk, Mario runs into Toadsworth, who informs him that he is planning a luxury cruise around the world and invites Mario to come along. Excited by this news, Mario accepts the invitation and goes to spread the word about the trip. Bowser later finds out about this and is furious about not being invited, so he and his sidekick, Koopa Kid, plot revenge.

During the game's single-player campaign, the player progresses through every stop by collecting more Stars than another player on each board: Grand Canal, Pagoda Peak, Pyramid Park, Neon Heights, and Windmillville. Once all of these boards have been cleared, Bowser invites the player to the sixth and final board in the game: Bowser's Enchanted Inferno.

In the final board game, Toadsworth informs the player that they must collect a Star in order to confront Bowser. After collecting the Star, the player engages in a final boss minigame against Bowser, who is defeated and ends up stranded on a small island with Koopa Kid. As the player mocks him in the distance, an angered Bowser vows revenge again.

Development and release

Like all of its predecessors, Mario Party 7 was developed by Hudson Soft [5] and published by Nintendo. [1] A demo for the game was showcased at E3 2005, featuring six playable minigames, multiple playable characters, and both the four-player and eight-player modes. The game's aesthetics and gameplay were compared to those of Mario Party 6. [6] [7] The game's earliest release date was revealed in August 2005. [8]

In October 2005, Nintendo announced that a new bundle including a GameCube, two controllers, a microphone, and a copy of Mario Party 7 would be made available in the United States on November 7, the same date of the game's release in North America. The bundle was priced at $99.99, [9] while the game on its own cost $49.99. [10] [11]

Mario Party 7 was first released in North America on November 7, 2005, and was released in Japan three days later. The game was later released in Europe on February 10 the following year. [1]

Reception

Critical response

Mario Party 7 received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [12] IGN gave the game a 7 out of 10, stating solely it was "a slumber party". [19]

Sales

As of 2006, the game had sold 1.86 million copies worldwide. [20] As of December 31, 2020, worldwide sales had reached 2.08 million units, making Mario Party 7 the 11th best-selling game for the GameCube. [21]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: マリオパーティ7, Hepburn: Mario Pāti Sebun

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Daugherty, Josh (November 28, 2005). "Mario Party 7 Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
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  4. ↑ Sapieha, Chad (January 17, 2006). "Mario Party 7". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  5. ↑ Surette, Tim (May 17, 2006). "Mario Party goes for 7". GameSpot . Los Angeles: CNET. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  6. ↑ Castro, Juan (June 30, 2016) [May 19, 2005]. "E3 2005: Mario Party 7". IGN . Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  7. ↑ Graves, Robert (November 7, 2005). "Mario Party 7 Breaks Out". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on September 27, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
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  9. ↑ Casamassina, Matt (May 18, 2012) [October 10, 2005]. "Mario Party 7 Bundle". IGN . Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
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  12. 1 2 "Mario Party 7 for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
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  21. ↑ 2020CESAゲーム白書 (2020 CESA Games White Papers). Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association. 2020. p. 241. ISBN   978-4-902346-42-8.
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