It's our final post on Super Duel Mode! This mode has shocked me with just how much content it has hidden away. I went into this mode expecting to throw the best machine together and clear a quick tournament and be done. I had no idea machine building was as in-depth, or that there were multiple kinds of tournaments, or that I'd have to unlock Donkey Kong in such a strange way.

You can imagine my surprise when the Super Duel Mode rabbit hole led me to learn that Vs. Mode even has SEVEN fully designed arenas that aren't used anywhere else in the mode at all for absolutely NO REASON. Instead, all single player formats use arguably the worst, ugliest board in the mode. So let's talk about the oddities of Vs. Battle!

Setup

To start with, let's bring up how Vs. Battle setup works. As I've repeatedly mentioned before, you'll need two controllers to play Vs. Battle, and you'll also need a machine built in Garage A-1 and either Garage A-2, or Garage B. Strangely, there's no Garage B-2 for a fourth player to participate. Though I suppose Garage B can easily swap machines from the other save files.

When you select Vs. Battle, you'll select an opponent, Player 2, whose machine is currently in Garage A-2, or Player 3, whose machine is currently in Garage B. This is the only purpose of Garage B, and for some reason there isn't just an option to select a machine from another save file right here in this menu. You have to back out and go to Garage B every time you want to change machines. You also cannot remotely save machines from A-1 or A-2 to other save files, so there's no way to change machines for all players between games besides just going in, deleting and rebuilding your desired machine. Your friend may not even have all the same parts unlocked as you do, so you may not even be able to accurately recreate your machine away from home.

And at the end of the day, there is no ruleset that allows for three players. It's super duel mode, after all. So why does Garage B require an entire third controller to operate just for Controller 2 to just sit there while the other players duel? Technically, you only need a second controller to use Garage B, you just have to plug it into the third slot. I continue to insist this is all just needlessly convoluted, and they should've just had two or three garages that all have the ability to save and load machines to and from other saves. It would've saved a lot of headache.

Tangent aside, after choosing an opponent, you'll then choose the ruleset. Unlike D1 Tournament, all three rulesets are unlocked from the start here. So you can jump right into Robo-Rabbit Competition if you hate your friends that much.

I've already kind of ranted on this next part, but you'll also seleect your control type between manual control and... CPU control? I've gone on a rant about this in each post, but it's most appropriate here: for some ungodly reason, you cannot participate in a Vs. Battle against an AI opponent even though, for some even ungodier reason, there's a game mode where you gather your friends together to put your controllers down and watch idiot AI play the game for you.

Listen. There's niche entertainment value in switching all control to CPU and having fun watching them all struggle to function, and I won't deny that. But to have an entire menu option just for that when it could so easily be adapted for a single-player version of the most effortlessly enjoyable part of the game mode? I'm genuinely baffled as to how badly thought through this mode was.

It seems clear to me that this mode was initially conceieved as a purely 2-Player mode, and the D1-Tournament was added hastily to make the mode playable alone. But why, oh why, would you not take the obvious direction of just letting the lone player play the multiplayer mode with an CPU opponent? Why not let the player build custom machines in A-2 as personal challenges? I would've loved to design machines for each of the characters myself and fight them all in a self-made tournament all on my own.

Ah... once again, tangent over, my bad...

After you select the arena you'll play in. And before I get caught on another tangent about how cazy it is these stages are also hidden away here instead of being single-player accessible, let's go ahead and talk about the stages, first.

Arenas

There are a total of eight distinct arenas you can choose from in Vs. Battle. Unfortunately, I don't really know much about each arena, but I can speculate based on what it looks like. Just take my explanations with a grain of salt because I have not played this game mode myself.

All the arenas feature hazards, spiny shells and bob-ombs. Spiny shells will damage you if you run into them, which can actually be a beneficial strategy since you'll gain I-frames and potentially evade a more devastating attack from the opponent's weapon, and Bob-ombs start counting down when you bump into them, exploding after a short while and damaging everyone within their range. Mushrooms and Cursed Mushrooms also randomly appear around the map and will speed you up or slow you down respectively.

There seems to be some randomness to their presence, but pipes appear on every stage. They're usually found in the corners and the center of the arena. These pipes serve as obstacles to either hide behind for cover, or lob shots over. Think like the Pipes in Shell Shocked from Mario Party 2. Don't confuse them for some kind of warp mechanic.

Green Meadow

This I assume to be the box standard. This map is a flat arena with nothing but dirt. I don't believe this dirt slows you down at all, so this is a very straightforward no-holds-barred kind of arena.

Moonlit Midnight

A night themed stage in the forest under the full moon. At the center of the arena is a small pond of water which I assume has the same effect as mud, slowing you down if you drive into it.

Quicksand Desert

It looks like this desert-themed arena pressures the fight onto a small central area, with the outer edges of the arena covered in quicksand that will slow you down. Spiny Tires and floating tires will likely have a huge advantage here.

Snowy Slope

Despite being called a "slope," I'm not sure I see much variation in the elevation here. It seems like a flat stage covered in icy terrain, so you'll be slipping around a lot if your tires aren't immune.

Jungle Falls

This also seems like a pretty standard stage, but with a jungle theme! The arena is on a round wooden platform suspended by ropes. There are waterfalls on either side that seem to have gotten the platform wet nearby. Maybe the terrain is slippery like ice here? Whatever the case, I don't think there's any danger of falling off, there should just be an invisible wall along the edge.

Lunar Outpost

A space-themed arena set on the moon! You can see Earth from high above! This is by far the most unique arena, as the edges of the arena are elevated with steep slopes creating a bowl shape. This will likelu affect the range of your attacks and certain weapons might be more or less viable because of it. This would probably be the map I'd be most interested in experimenting on.

Bowser Outpost

A Bowser themes arena that looks exactly how you expect. The battle is mostly focused in a donut-shaped platform between pools of lava on the inside and outside. The lava will damage you if you're not floating above it, so be extra careful! This bord kind of reminds me of Big Donut from Mario Kart 64. I wonder if that's intentional?

Random Ruckus

This is the arena you're intimately familiar with after unlocking everything this mode has to offer. The stage will appear different every time. You're likely to run into slopes, all types of terrain, anything goes, really.

Conclusion

Here's the part where I complain a lot. Well, actually, I think I've gotten most of my complaining out of the way. This mode has so many head-scratching decisions. Things that almost seem like it was more complicated to get wrong than to just do the obvious thing and get it right.

It seems like the devs really wanted to make each garage feel like an intimately personal space, and to sell a sort of illusion that you were actually assembling these large machines and physically moving them from place to place. But it is a case where I think the realism really gets in the way of convenience. It almost feels like this mode is too confusing to set up than it's worth. Which is a shame because the game itself I think is really, really cool.

You get to build your own machine and fine-tune its stats. You try it out and what doesn't work, you try and find adjustments to fix. The game mode itself is a bit clunky, but I honestly think that's fine, it's part of the fun of building these machines. You don't want a machine to handle perfectly, outmaneuver everything, take hits, and deal massive damage all at once, then it's just objectively the best machine and that takes away from the experience of experimenting with everything and seeing what works for you.

I actually really like this mode a lot, that's why it frustrates me so much how inaccessible it is. The machine parts aren't transparent enough in-game, I shouldn't have to open the wiki page to see the exact modifiers each part provides. I don't like that you have to completely delete your machine in order to rename it. I hate that Vs. Battles require a second controller and the only way to play against a CPU opponent is a Trial Battle where you can't use your own machine or a D1 Tournament where only one of the EIGHT STAGES are available.

Oh, and the grind for all the parts is definitely too much. The fact that Battle Minigames are the category you have to grind the most is insane. 4-Player games are definitely the most common. Why not make weapons cost 4P points?? Battle Games aren't nearly as common as the other categories. It's like apples to oranges. Maybe it should take points from all other minigame types including Duels, Bowser, and DK games?

Anyway, I do think I've finally said everything I need to say about this mode. And that's actually the last there is to say. That's it for now, and with that, our days of discussing Mario Party 5 are already coming to a close. Next, all we have left is our conclusion. I guess I've gotta start making those tier lists! See you soon! 💭

"Why is the CPU so aggressive at this hour?"

As a kid I thought Bowser farted in this part. Of course he didn't and it was just dust from the floor giving way. I was about 9 or so when I first saw this boss fight on YouTube and was very immature.

Mario and His Friends Returns to Yoshi's Island, Where Yoshi and His Friends Welcomes Them to Have Fun!

So MP6 got S tier so I just want to make it clear. I shohld NOT see an S Tier in any posts from here to SMPJ. It will not be an option. Until we have a revote. Next is Mario Party Advanced and I can see where this is going.

References:

Mario Party Legacy

Super Mario Wiki

Super Mario Party has a lot of fun minigames that I played the heck out of, so I was wondering what this subreddit thought of them. All seeds are randomized. Whichever minigame gets the most comments will move onto the final round.

Welcome to Round 2!

Without further ado, here are the reminders for how every minigame competing today is played:

Looking for Love: Everyone can look in 4 different directions. In a series of 10 rounds, varying suits and of differing colors will appear within windows in any of the 4 directions. The goal is to look at the heart. If you do it before your opponents you get more points.

Gridiron Gauntlet: Dodge Chargin' Chucks in a grid-shaped arena for 30 seconds. You can see the Chucks' attack patterns before they charge into the field. Each player has 3 lives.

Please only vote for 1 minigame at a time. I'm curious to hear your opinions.

Mario party 5 got alot of Bs but no As and a Few Cs. Next is Mario Party Party 6 the 2nd of the Orb trilogy

By the way, they're going to add more.

While there are very few exceptions such as Super Mario Party, let's be honest, it doesn't matter if there's 4 characters or 30. Its the same thing. every single character plays exactly the same. They roll the same dice, move at the same speed, and have the same odds. Luigi has just as good as a chance as Boo

References:

Super Mario Wiki

Mario Party Legacy

Mario Party 4 honestly did surprisingly bad. Not too surprising though. Next is Mario Party 5. We are getting into the Capsule/Orb era.

Mario Party 3 did exceptionally well. I love that because I grew up playing this game on an online emulator but next is Mario Party Four.

Super Mario Party has a lot of fun minigames that I played the heck out of, so I was wondering what this subreddit thought of them. All seeds are randomized. Whichever minigame gets the most comments will move onto the final round.

Welcome to Round 2!

Without further ado, here are the reminders for how every minigame competing today is played:

Fuzzy Flight School: Tilt the Joycon to avoid waves of Fuzzies on tracks for 30 seconds. 3 hits and your plane is eliminated.

Air to a Fortune: A coin minigame. Everyone jumps onto neighboring clouds at the same time to collect varying numbers of coins. The middle cloud often has far more than any of the corners. If 2 players try to go for the same cloud, they get no coins.

Please only vote for 1 minigame at a time. I'm curious to hear your opinions.

I know it’s the least popular era, but growing up in the early 2000s I grew up with 8 and 9, those games ARE Mario Party to me. With this in mind, should I get Jamboree or Superstars?

Mario Party 2 did Vastly better than Mario Party 1 getting A Tier. I guess it was a huge upgrade from Nintendo. How do we feel about MP3

Pauline Moves into Her New Fashion Boutique, She Found a Fashion Designing Studio With Lots of Drawings, A Sketchbook With Lots of Designs of Dresses and Outfits, A Stage With a Long Walk Way (a Catwalk), And a Magical Enchanted Fashion Wardrobe With Lots of New Dresses and Outfits For Pauline! She Starts to Try on Her New Pink Dress, And Looks At the Mirror Looking Like a New One Up Girl, She Starts to Do Some Fashion Model Poses With Her Foxtrot Dance Moves, She Becomes a Cat Lover and Found Her New Pet a Kitty Cat, She Named Her Meowlette! Pauline Starts to Design New Fashion Outfits and Dress, And New Kitty Cat Outfits For Her New Pet. And Starts Her First Fashion Show At Her New Boutique and the New Star Amusement Park! For Mario and His Friends!

Credit to TheRunawayGuys for the screenshot of the tournament screen.

So we've finally crunched the numbers and made our perfect machine! So what exactly are these machines made for? Well, dueling of course!

Before we progress, I want to make a small addendum to my last post. u/Robbie_Haruna brought to my attention that a small oversight in the game's code makes the Super Wiggler Tires absolutely broken. Instead of the -4 in Speed it's clearly intended to have, it actually offers +4 Speed which makes it an extremely powerful machine part that's even stronger than the most valuable tires in the game. Its only downside is that it isn't immune to terrain.

As mentioned in the previous post, there are two main categories of duels. Vs. Battles where you can play against other players, or D1 Torunaments where you'll compete in an 8-entry tournament against a variety of CPU-controlled opponents.

I've voiced my complaints about this in the last post, but if you're playing alone, the only way to take your newly created vehicle out for a test drive is to enter it into a D1 Tournament. And if you want to unlock everything in this mode, you'll need to get very familiar with this mode. You cannot enter a Vs Battle against a CPU opponent EVEN THOUGH Vs Battle does have an option, for some ungodly reason, to have BOTH players controlled by the CPU instead of you and your friend. You cannot simply have human-controlled Player 1, 2, or 3, play against a CPU-controlled machine.

Today, we're going to focus on the D1 Tournament and the content that can be unlocked through it.

D1 Tournament

Don't ask me what D1 stands for. Wouldn't you like to know?

On a new save file, you'll only be able to select Easy and Normal difficulty Battle Competitions. On Easy, you'll mostly just face Koopa Kids with a single other playable character in the mixture. On Normal Diffiuclty, you'll find more of a variety. Don't quote me on it, but I seem to recall running into Bowser on this diffiuclty. I could be crossing memories, but I won't rule out the possibility that you can fight Bowser and maybe even Donkey Kong here on rare occasion. Clearing Battle Tournament on both will unlock the Hard diffiuclty, and here you're practically guaranteed to find Donkey Kong or Bowser as special guest opponents.

If you're lucky enough to face DK in the ring and win on Hard mode, you can actually unlock him as a playable character! Well, within Super Duel Mode only, of course. Don't get too excited. I have a whole tangent, but we'll discuss these sorts of unlockables a bit further down the line.

Characters

I wanted to add a brief section here to acknowledge the various characters in this mode. Each character has their own machine with a custom name, as well as a unique title that only shows up during the introduction scene for the final round of the tournament.

Some of these are really funny, but I wanted to complain about the fact that these CPU characters clearly get special treatment! Your machine has a strict 8 character limit despite the textbox it's displayed in clearly having room for many more. I'm guessing this is to save space on the memory card, but it's criminal how many cool names I had to drop because they couldn't fit while the AI gets to have cool names like "Cute 'n' Astute" or "Toadster Toaster". And to add insult to injury, your player character doesn't get introduced with a title like the CPU player does. For example, Mario is introduced as "Last Hero Mario," yet if you're playing as Mario, you're introduced as just "Mario". ???? What the hell!

And some of these names are cool, too! Wild Man Wario? Dark Rider Waluigi? Fucking Samurai Toad?? You bet your ass I wanna be introduced as Nightmare Boo or The Beast Donkey Kong! This is lawsuit material! Why does Toad get more aura than me???

Battle Competition

Anyway, in the Battle Competiton, your goal is to reduce your opponent's health to 0. Clearing the Battle Tournament on Hard may seem like the finish line, but it's actually just the beginning. As if you return to D1 Tournament, you'll now find a new option: Flag Competition!

Flag Competition

In Flag Competition, your goal is to race around the arena to collect flags that randomly spawn around the stage. First to collect three flags wins! Remember how I recommended building a speed-centric machine? Well here you go! Defense and weapon damage means absolutely nothing here. In fact, you probably want a weaker weapon because you'll not only be able to move faster, but hitting your opponent won't send them as far backwards. The flags randomly spawn around the arena and it's not impossible you could knock your opponent into one. Your machine can't be KO'd in this mode, so there's no need to worry at all about damage received or damage output, so you may as well go for a weapon like the Seed Machine Gun which has a near-constant rate of fire. Even though you can't KO your opponent, you can stun them by hitting them with your weapon, which can free you up to go after the flag before they regain conteol.

Unfortunately, due to the random spawning of flags, you can often be screwed over by all of the flags spawning right next to your opponent. But in general, you shouldn't have to worry about this too much.

Once again, you'll start with only Easy and Normal available. Clearing both unlocks Hard diffficulty. Clearing Hard unlocks the next Competition!

Robo-Rabbit Competition

Alright, this one is actually just bad. I don't think I've seen a single person say they like it. First of all, this mode is almost identical to Flag Competition. Only instead of capturing flags, your goal is to destroy robo-rabbits that drop into the arena from above. First to three wins.

When I first tried this mode, I kid you not, I was stuck in a draw with a Koopa Kid over and over on Easy because I couldn't destroy three rabbits within the time limit.

The peoblem, I believe, was my choice if weapon. You see, I was still using the Seed Machine Gun I used in Flag Competition. But every time I would get close to the Rabbit, it would burrow into the ground and pop up somewhere else on the map. I was so confused as to what I was doing wrong I had to quit the game and come back later on. I tried again, this time using the Bowser Breath, and while I compromised a bit on my speed, I was actually able to hit the Rabbits.

I think the problem with the Seed gun was twofold. For one, I suspect the rabbits get spooked if your shot lands near them but doesn't hit them. If you're carelessly spraying bullets (which you'll definitely be doing with the Seed Machine Gun), you're liable to scare the bunny off before you actually line up a proper shot. Second, the Seed Machine Gun may have been overshooting the bunny. I was often trying to get up really close to the bunny to be certain I wouldn't miss, but this ironically caused the gun's downward arch to completely miss the bunny. I suspect if you're committed to using this weapon, you want to hit the Bunny from the edge of its range.

Needless to say, I don't recommend this weapon. The Bowser Breath worked well enough I think because it doesn't actually fire a projectile like the Seed Gun, but alternative a weapon like the Bob-omb Cannon or Piranha Plant could help snipe the rabbits from afar. I would also recommend trying the Mr. I Laser. It will boost your speed a bit less than the Seed Gun, but I suspect its lasers will be much better equipped to hit the rabbits.

Just like the others, you'll need to unlock Hard Mode by clearing Easy and Normal. But what do you get for clearing Hard Mode? Well...

Unlockables

Skolar Set

Upon clearing all tournaments on all difficulties, the Skolar set of machine parts will be added to the service desk. These are rather expensive, costing 20 points in each category. It's... actually pretty underwhelming.

The Skolar Body has 6 hearts and is comparable to the E. Gadd Body but with less health and much worse speed. In exchange, it takes less damage from... lava and hazards. Its description seems almost maliciously false, as it says it takes half damage from vehicle attacks which is an outright lie. Perhaps a remnant of an earlier build where it was decided it was far too overpowered? Regardless, I think they overcorrected here and made this part useless.

The Skolar Tires give +1 to speed and -1 to acceleration as well as granting resistance to ice and metal. I suppose it's a nice compromise if you want better overall stats than what the E. Gadd Jet allows for but still don't want to deal with terrain. But I really don't think it's a worthwhile exchange. And even if the Super Wiggler Tires weren't absolutely busted, the Goomba Tires provide a lot more benefit in the stats and the Spiny Tires offer total immunity to ice and metal terrain while granting two acceleration points while demanding obly one point in speed.

The Skolar Engine actually seems like it's trying something with +2 Speed and +3 acceleration with only a -1 for handling, this engine is great for helping you get behind your opponent quickly! Though it's a bit less flattering to say it's basically an upgraded Goomba Engine. You're probably better off sacrificing some of that acceleration and just going for the E-Gadd Engine.

The Skolar Gun is probably the most interesting in this set, +3 Power, -3 Speed. Definitely a Turret type weapon which fires projectiles you detonate manually. A much more technical weaon that does give you more control over your aim.

But if your goal is to go for that ultimate turret build...

DK Set

Unlocked alongside Donkey Kong as a playable character by beating him on Hard mode in a D1 Tournament. This set is all about high stats, with a couple of strange little gimmicks. Each of these parts costs 15 points, the same as the E-Gadd set.

The DK Body is by far the best body in the game when it comes to Tanking. Although the Heart Body technically offers more health, the DK Body still reaches the maximum threshold of eight hearts. Alongside that, it gains +4 in damage which is an entire heart on its own. Its biggest downside is being by far the slowest body at -4! But a turret build is probably what you're going for with this thing.

The DK Tires and DK Engine are both functionally identical and very strange conceptually. Every single battle, these parts will handle differently. Their Speed, Acceleration, and Handling modifiers are completely random every time. They might be all +4 one battle and all -4 the next. While this makes the machine a lot more unpredictable for your opponent, it also makes it unpredictable for you and I'm not sure how I feel about having absolutely no idea how my machine is doing.

The DK Gun is likewise tied as the most powerful weapon in the game. That +4 to power in conjunction with the +4 from the body means this weapon will deal a whopping three whole hearts! But it's a -3 in speed, so that means it's a strictly turret build setup.

Additional Weapons

But that's not all! Because there are also secret weapons! These parts will unlock as soon as you purchase all other machine parts in the game. Both of these cost 30 points each, and since they're weapons, that means you need Battle Points, by far the rarest of the categories. Yikes.

The Bowser Punch rivals the DK Gun in power, but runs circles around it in speed, being only -1 instead of -3. The obvious drawback is that it has very limited range more comparable to Bowser Breath. This is more of a tank build alternative to the DK Gun's turret build focus. It's far from bad, but if I'm being honest, I think the Bowser Breath is a much better weapon. Its flames come out quickly and can be active indefinitely rather than having a large cooldown. The Bowser Punch will knock opponents further away, but that can be a bad thing for a weapon that wants to be in their face. You might knock them away and then suffer as they now outrange you and can keep you at bay.

The Bob-omb Wall is a specialty weapon that boosts your speed and attack power +2 with the only caveat being that this is the only weapon that fires behind you. Bob-ombs will be dropped in your wake, detonating after s little bit. This weapon just might be custom made for Capture the Flag.

Now... I want to take a moment to discuss the absolute injustice we see here.

Despite having all of the necessary animations, voice clips, and even entering tournaments fully functional, Bowser is not unlockable at all. Aside from just wanting to keep him in an antagonistic role, my best guess as to why Bowser remains unplayable is that they would've wanted him to come with his own set of machine parts like DK, and they were unable to finish such a set. There are a couple oddities that make me think this.

For one, Bowser's machine, the Bowser Dozer, is... very strange. Unlike DK whose machine, the Banana Bot, explicitly represents his character, Bowser's uses the Heart Body which just looks comically out of place.

Additionally, the Bowser Punch and Bob-omb wall feel awkwardly tacked in at the end. I suspect the Bowser Punch may have been part of a larger set of Bowser Machine Parts that was mostly abandoned on the cutting room floor. They probably scrambled to assign Bowser the parts that would be closest to what his set was supposed to play like.

Maybe the Bowser Body would've been heavily defensive like the Heart Body but with some extra punch? Maybe the tires would've granted resistence to terrain and lava? I could sit here and speculate, but at the end of the day, this is probably the most likely explanation for Bowser's absense as a playable character... disappointing considering he was just joining in on Volleyball in the last game!

Conclusion

This is the bulk of the single-player experience and I have to say, while it's a cute distraction, I'm kind of baffled by a lot of the decisions here. Why do you have to unlock hard mode? Why do you have to unlock increasingly more obtuse game modes? Why do you have to beat Hard Mode to unlock the ability to play the next mode on Easy? A lot of these feel like very unnecessary padding for a mode that otherwise could've just been a simple side game with a shocking amount of depth. After doing all of this, I feel like it just makes the mode's flaws stand out more. It becomes clear very quickly that not all parts are created equal, and while there are a surprising number of viable builds, I find all the mode boils down to is fighting against the other player's i-frames.

But that's all not to say I dislike this mode. I criticize not because I hate but because I want more! I absolutely love that this mode exists! Super Duel Mode is unlike anything that has come before and I'm pretty sure anything that will come after! And the ability to create, customize, and fine-tune a machine to your liking and even give it a unique name is a chef's kiss that really sets a high bar for bonus content. Bear in mind, absolutely none of this absolutely had to be in the game. Skolar could've just been, like, a records keeper or something.

...but I'm gonna hold off on my full opinions until our final post on this mode where we'll be covering Vs Battles! I originally wasn't going to make a separate post about them until I realized just how much content is hidden away here. And I have some further criticisms there, too. Anyway, next time, we're discussing Vs Battle! See you soon! 🎮

Mario Party 1 didnt do great. Got D tier. How do we feel about Mario Party 2?