Mario Party DS (Nintendo DS, 2007)

SUMMARY
Overall, this is an excellent game. HINT: It should be noted that you don't have to save, but the game saves automatically every time you complete a minigame (this is true in story mode as well). So when you want to quit, just play the mini game (that always occurs) at the end of the turn, wait until the end of it, and when you see the board again turn it off. Or, if the current game isn't going well, just turn the system off and you'll start that one turn over again (providing you've played at least one turn and minigame by this point). If you like this game, look into Mario Party 7. Party on!

LIKES:
1. Most of the minigames are fun and addictive.
2. Most of the minigames are hillarious! They really took advantage of the fact you're tiny. Rubber Ducky Rodeo anyone?
3. The boards are fun, with various traps and rules to keep you from being bored.
4. Some of the bosses may be challenging, but not to the point of frustration. They're relatively simple once you get the hang of it, and they're quite a bit of fun themselves.
5. Unlike Mario Party 7, you don't have to buy your rewards with milage points. All you do is get a certain number of points to get rewarded with something. This saves time, and helps keep away repetition.
6. The boss trophies are comical.
7. The mini games take great advantage of the stylus and the mike.

DISLIKES:
1. Not enough female characters. Out of all eight characters, only two are female. While this topic is on the table, there aren't as many characters (male or female) to choose from as Mario Party 7.
2. Some mini games require luck. I don't like this much.
3. Some mini games just stink, and others require you to work with a COM or two (if you're playing solo). While these minigames can be fun, If your luck is bad, and your partner/partners stink, you may be in trouble. That's just not fair.
4. There are certain spaces on the game boards where you get five coins while someone else gets five coins. You get to choose who you want to be your friend. When I'm playing and someone else lands on such a space, I'm never their friend... Besides, giving coins to a COM opponent is just silly.

The Story:
It's raining sky crystals, and one falls near Mario. The next day, Mario tells all of his friends about it. During this gathering, Kamek brings an interesting note from Bowser. Apparently, Bowser wants to apologize for being a jerk, and throw a big feast for the crew. Who could resist? In other words, the characters aren't that bright (I mean, come on! Would you really go to a villain's house for dinner? Bowser has kidnapped Peach herself at least a dozen times!), and they accept the invitation. The invitation was an elaborate trap, as a big cage falls over the crew, as they arrive. Using his sceptor, Bowser shrinks the crew into "Mini" heroes, takes the sky crystal they have, and wisks them away. Now, everyone wants to be the hero, and this is where you come in: play as Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, or Toad, and travel through a garden, a piano room, a jungle, a library, and Bowser's own lair. Your goals are to outshine the other heroes, collect all of the sky crystals, and defeat Bowser once and for all. Good luck!

This game is great! My kids play this game all the time. They can play it together with the download feature. You can chose from a list if characters and play on teams if you like. Highly entertaining! I even enjoy playing with my kids! This game is a must have!

Great game!!!! The storyline was intresting. I would say this game is as good as Mario Party 1 or 2. You can play in storymode, play the minigames you have unlocked, look at stuff you have won in the gallery, play mario puzzles, and many more. You can play as 8 charaters: Mario Luigi, Wario, Yoshi, Peach, Daisy, Waluigi, and Toad. There is even a multiplayer mode were you can play your friends. Not to mention the awesome title screen. Last of all, in storymode, if you win, you get to battle a boss, and if you don't you have to do the board again. The boss depends on the board. Overall the is pretty awesome. I can't tell you everything. You have to play the game the discover another segment of the Mario Party series.

Got this for my 6 year old. She loves it and all her friends love it too. The games are challenging enough but not overwhelming so it is not fun. There are endless levels and all that just like any Mario Bros game.

I have had to problems getting things from ebay and it came even before the delivery date that was posted. My kids like the Mario games and was looking at finding something different that they would like to play. Was in my price range and thought they would enjoy that.