An Overview on Mario 9: The Pros and Cons

The recently launched Mario 9 looks flashy with the appearance of the very own Mario and Luigi which has changed, but inside, as one goes deeper into it, the things are still much the same. The changes are very superficial and that doesn’t quite entice the player to stay on board for quite a long time.

The series of themed board games still remains.

Collecting the mini stars is the main goal of the game. As usual as before, the luck factor has to work very strong to keep the brothers going. The mini games and the themed board games both help to increase the mini star account. However, it is the mini ventures that will make the player happier. Catching thrown hula hoops, a variety of vehicles chase or leaping across moving platforms help to add mini stars. The game includes memory games, jigsaw puzzles, and pattern-recognition tests as interactive sessions. The mini games come in for free. Sometimes there are team players as well and the captain has to fight them. The thrill is experienced when you can dodge the three friends who are out there to kill you and take your life, a several times.

The pointer controls still remains but there are a lot of complicated controls that confuses the players and irritates them. This is particularly the problem in mini games but they don’t exist during the mega showdowns. Each board game consists of two boss fights and mini games together make it a wonderful package.

The mini games are entertaining for a few hours but it is recommended to play with the friends. That is only because it adds to more fun.

Mario Party 9 also comes with a single-player story mode, in which the nefarious Bowser and the equally nefarious Bowser Jr. have stolen the world’s mini stars but the intro to the game is a bit too long and doesn’t quite instill an immediate interest. There are 12 characters and you have to unlock each of them, which is quite tiring sometimes.

Beyond the Party mode and the tedious Story mode, there are a host of unlockables that one can get through earning points by playing the game, patiently. The mini games are however considerably easy to play. Four extended remix games grace the game which includes a good Hexic HD-like shape-swapping puzzle game.

To conclude, Mario Party 9 appears to what can be called a ‘decent’ package packed with loads of content. Excluding the lengthy and rather boring Story mode which can bore a player to unconsciousness, the game is colorful, good looking. Still, it cannot hold the player’s interest for too long for a large number of players. But one should try the game before it runs out. Despite the odds that this game pops up with, Mario Party 9 has a good overall performance. However, it should be kept in mind, one more time, that you would love to try it from the get-up of the game but once finished, you will hardly feel to look back at it.