Have some new Mario Party 9 details

Mario Party legacy has dug up some interesting new Mario Party 9 news from German Nintendo magazine “N-Zone”. Other than some standard info on a few mini-games that will be appearing in the game, we get some cold, hard facts on the actual gameplay, and some insight into how the series will be changing quite a bit for 9.

For starters, it looks like everyone will be traveling around the board together in one car. Previously we had seen this mechanic in various trailers — it was thought to only be for certain levels, but it looks like it might be the entire game. Additionally, a lot of the game is streamlined, so things like buying items and events will be much faster. The other big changes are true 16:9 video support (no ugly black bars), a standard “set” non-negotiable game-length (45 minutes) and the fact that “mini-stars” are the only currency — no more seperate coins and stars to collect. 

The mini-stars system sounds great (and will reward mini-game skill rather than luck), but the “car” system could either make the game really fun, or extremely terrible. Even though the series hasn’t really improved since 2, I still have a good time playing them with friends. Hopefully these changes will work out, and 9 will do a better job of utilizing the Wii-mote than 8 did.

Scans and Review from N-Zone [Mario Party Legacy]