Mario Party XL

Mario Party XL is the 10th game in the Mario Party series. This first Wii U installment not only includes new boards and minigames, but also a brand-new mode. The game is planned to appear in January 2013. It's in development by Fantasy Factory.

Gameplay

The gameplay is based on Mario Party 9. Players travel in a vehicle, and boards are one long way full of Mini Stars. 4 players play on a board. At the end of each board, a boss is fought. Players can earn Mini Stars by riding into them, winning minigames/battles or after landing on a ? Space. The captain system also returns, as well as Captain Events. Many other spaces appear on boards, like Minigame Spaces and Golden Spaces.

New are the item boxes that appear on the board. They are placed on random spots and can contain good or bad things. Each charcter also has a Special Threat, a candy that can only be obtained in shops or on Lucky Spaces. Each character has a different one and can't obtain the one from another player.

Modes

Adventure Mode

A single player plays through the story, unlocking new boards, minigames and characters. The whole story includes 8 boards, and sometimes little cutscenes are shown between the boards. The player can proceed to the next board by collecting the most Mini Stars.

Party Mode

Players can select a board to play on and customize the settings. Players can also play in teams. In this mode, new minigames and Party Points can be earned.

Minigame Mode

1-4 players can play the minigames they've unlocked. There are multiple games:

• Free Play: Players can select unlocked minigames and play them.
• VS Battle: Players get 100 Mini Stars at the beginning of the game. Then, they play 10 minigames. The winner will steal Mini Stars from the loser. The higher the difference is, the more Mini Stars the winner wins and the loser loses (for example, if player 1 finishes just after player 2, he will loose less Mini Stars than when finishing with a big difference). It is only for 1-2 players.
• Memory Mash: Players locate themself around a table with cards. They compete against each other in a row of 15 minigames. After winning a mingame, the player can select 2 cards. If they match, the player has a memory. If they don't match, the cards will turn again. The player that has the most memories in 15 minigames wins.
• Time Rush: A single player has to complete as many minigames as possible in 10 minutes. The minigames are randomly selected.

Party Shop

The player can buy various items like trophies or stickers with the Party Points they earned. New items will be received after completing various statements, such as completing Adventure Mode.

Story

Mario and crew were relaxing around Peach's Castle, when suddenly Tumble arrived. He seemed shocked. He told the crew that all Mini Stars were stolen. He also mentioned the one who collected the most will be the true superstar. But what makes a superstar? Suddenly, Bowser flew over in his Clown Car. He commanded some Mini Ztars to destroy the castle. He laughed and dissapeared. Mario and crew were shocked, and they decided to take the challenge to rescue the Mini Stars and restore the castle!

The gang arrived at the first board, called Piranha Garden, a grass area full of Piranha Plants. Bowser flew over again, and commanded Petey Piranha to wait for them at the end of the board. After the gang beated him, they proceeded to the next board.

After the gang arrived at Sky High Airship, the second board on a huge airship, Bowser mentioned the gang's adventure is over, since they could never defeat Boom Boom at the end of the board. However, Mario and gang defeated him easily and proceeded to the next board.

After arrived at the third board, Sushi Shore, Bowser mentions the crew should really watch out now, because a giant sea monster awaits them. The monster turned out to be Kingfin, who also got defeated by the gang.

The gang arrived at their fourth challenge: Boo Mansion. Bowser got pretty annoyed, but also said there was no way the crew could pass King Boo. He laughed and flew away. However, King Boo wasn't unbeatable, and the crew proceeded.

The next challenge was Dry Dry Desert, a hot desert board. Bowser arrived again, and was surprised the gang beated King Boo. He told the crew they can't stand the heat, and he flew away. After the crew defeated Pokey, they could finally cool down.

The crew arrived at a massive factory, called Big Bullet Industries. Bowser appeared again, telling the crew they could never pass the many traps and finally, Big Bullet Bill. However, they made it to the end and beated Big Bullet Bill.

The crew then arrives at a firey board full of lava, called Lava Land. Bowser admitted the crew did a good job making it until here, but they really will be sorry. Bowser flew away, laughing. After making it to the end, they faced of against Chain Chomp. The crew succesfully defeated him, and proceeded to the big final.

Finally, the crew arrives at Bowser's Base, called Bowser's Dark Inferno. After the crew finally arrived at the end, Bowser awaited them in a huge arena. Suddenly, he took a Paint Brush, and reveiled his true form: Shadow Mario. After the crew defeated him in a tough battle, he released all Mini Stars, just before vanishing. Mario and the crew found the real Bowser and Bowser Jr. tied up in a hidden area. After releasing, the two decided to join the party for once. Everyone is happy, and the credits roll.

Characters

Mario Party XL will include 14 starter characters and 4 unlockables, which makes a total of 18 characters.

Mario	Luigi	Peach	Daisy	Wario	Waluigi	Yoshi	Birdo	Bowser Jr.
Toad	Toadette	Koopa	Dry Bones	Donkey Kong	Diddy Kong	Lakitu*	Wiggler*	Bowser*
*Denotes unlockable character.