This article is about the Nintendo GameCube game. For the Adobe Flash game, seeMario Party 4 (Flash game).

Mario Party 4
For alternate box art, see therelated gallery.
Developers	Hudson Soft CAProduction
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Nintendo GameCube
Release dates	Original release: October 21, 2002[1] October 21, 2002[2] November 8, 2002[3] November 17, 2002[4] November 29, 2002[?] 2002[5] Player's Choice Release: August 29, 2003[6] October 10, 2003[?]
Languages	English Japanese French (Europe) German Italian Spanish (Europe)
Genre	Party
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] ELSPA: - Three years and older[?] SELL: - All ages[?] USK: - All ages[?] ClassInd: - General audience[?] ACB: - Eight years and older[?]
Mode	1-4 players
Format	Nintendo GameCube: Optical disc
Input	Nintendo GameCube: Nintendo GameCube Controller
Serial code	DOL-GMPE-USA

Mario Party 4 is the fourth main installment in theMario Party series and the first for theNintendo GameCube. Developed byHudson Soft and published byNintendo, the game was initially released in North America on October 21, 2002, making it the firstMario Party game to be released first outside of Japan.

It retains the basic gameplay aspects from previousMario Party titles, where up to four players roll dice to move around a board, earning coins from landing onSpaces, events, or winningmini-games played at the end of every turn to buystars. Features introduced in previousMario Party games such as the introduction of the usage ofitems fromMario Party 2 to assist players against their opponents and the ability to carry up to three items fromMario Party 3 return. New elements introduced inMario Party 4 include the ability for players to team up in pairs in Party Mode, creating a custom mini-game pack selected entirely by players of the game, and the firstMario Party game to introduce side-collectibles in the form of presents. It is also the onlyMario Party game so far to have pre-rendered cutscenes. The game is notable for introducing boards fully rendered in 3D, though the navigational board space layout remains flat untilMario Party 5.Mario Party 4 requires two blocks to save on the memory card, and it contains up to three save files.

The modern depictions of manySuper Mario characters were established and finalized in this game; as such, the game furthers a revamp in the 3D art direction of the franchise that started withLuigi's Mansion and continued withSuper Mario Sunshine. Many 3D character models from games released over a decade afterward can be traced back to this one. The revamp would continue throughMario Kart: Double Dash!! andSuper Mario 64 DS to include minor species and enemies.

Plot[edit]

"Toad,Koopa, and a whole host of party patrons have arrived on the mysteriousParty Cube to celebrate your Birthday Party!"

"But giving you presents would be way too easy, so you're going to have to win the presents by playing a game or two!"

"Now let's get this party started!"

Mario and company are enjoying the outdoors when a mysterious cloud forms in the distance. As the cloud moves closer, a giant bag appears to be floating in the sky. The bag opens up to reveal Toad, Koopa,Goomba,Shy Guy, andBoo, who invite Mario and the gang to party in the Party Cube.

It is the player character's birthday and each host wants to give a present, but the character must play in each host's board and win a special mini-game to get the present. The player character manages to get every single present from each host, butBowser shows up and threatens to steal every present the player has, unless the player agrees to go toBowser's board and win, and the player accepts Bowser's challenge.

The player manages to win andKoopa Kid congratulates the player for winning, but Bowser tricks the player into believing that he took all of the player's presents and the two fight in afinal battle. The player manages to beat Bowser and he runs away and leaves one present behind. Koopa Kid explains that Bowser never took the player's presents.

Toad then appears and said that there is still someone who did not give their gift to the player. The lights suddenly turn off, cueing a spotlight, then Toad points to the sky and a Star is seen, zipping across the sky and revealing a constellation of the character's winning pose.

The epilogue shows the five hosts without their costumes, following after the moving Party Cube. After a few seconds, the Party Cube blasts off into space, never to be seen again.

Gameplay[edit]

Gameplay withWaluigi under the influence of aMega Mushroom inToad's Midway Madness.

Mario Party 4 retains the board gameplay from previousMario Party installments. Four players take turns to navigate around a digital game board using aDice Block that randomly rolls numbers 1-10, within a set number of turns. Prior to starting out on a selected board, the four players need to roll a Dice Block that determines the order they will play in. Players who roll higher numbers in the beginning will start out earlier, and their HUD displayed on the corners of the screen are corresponding to what order they roll in. The overarching goal of the game is to purchase as muchStars with collectedcoins as possible, within the limit of turns; players first earn 10 coins to start out with. These stars cost 20 coins to purchase, and they are found in various, set locations on the board. Once a star is purchased, the star migrates to another location on the board, where players then need to navigate there to purchase again. Once all players have moved, a turn is passed and a mini-game is randomly selected from a roulette of mini-games and played; initially mini-game names are blocked out with question marks until they have been played at least once. These mini-games involve players doing actions with very specific rules under a short time limit to outperform their competition. If the players are successful by beating their opponents, they earn 10 coins as a reward, though mini-games classified as Coin mini-games (mini-games that have their text colored yellow) has the potential of players earning more coins, and they keep those coins regardless if they collected the most or not.

Spaces of various types are scattered across the board and give several effects when landed on. The most common space, theBlue Space, gives players out 3 coins if they landed on it. On the other hand, landing on aRed Space deducts 3 coins if landed on. Other spaces includeHappening Spaces,Warp Spaces,Mushroom Spaces, etc. that all have their own special effect. When a space is landed on, the player panel turns to whatever color the space they landed on was. The color of the player panel dictates the type of mini-game that will be played at the end of the turn. For example, if all players land on a Blue Space, a 4-Player type mini-game will be played. If two players land on a Blue Space and two land on a Red Space, they will play a 2-vs-2 mini-game, being paired with the character who has the same color as their player panel as each other. 1-vs-3 mini-games are played if three players land on the same-colored space and one player lands on a different-colored space. If players land on a green-colored space, their player panel color will change to either blue or red randomly. Other types of mini-games are played under only special occasions; for example, Battle mini-games can be played only if players land aBattle Space and Bowser mini-games can be played if players land on aBowser Space andBowser decides to play the mini-game.

Donkey Kong accessing Toad's Lottery Shop

Other board features that can be accessed in all boards includeItem Shops,Boo Houses, andLottery Shops. Players can choose to enter these when they pass their space, though some of these are locked away throughtiny pipes. Some boards feature board-specific features that players that function in a similar manner to these shops such as theMystery Train fromBoo's Haunted Bash orKlepto fromShy Guy's Jungle Jam. Players earn aLucky Party Ticket when they enter the Lottery Shop for the first time, which does not have an effect until theLast Five Turns Event.

Items can be earned when players purchase them from Item Shops, obtain them from landing on Mushroom Spaces, win them in Mini Mini-games, or through other means. Players can stash up to three items; if they carry more, they need to discard items. These items can be used to give players advantages over their opponents. A prominent feature ofMario Party 4 is the replacement of regular Mushrooms through the use of Mega and Mini Mushrooms, which can be routinely earned throughout the game. Mega Mushrooms cause the player to grow large, roll two sets of Dice Blocks, and squash opponent players for their coins. However, this causes them to ignore most board features, which includes passing byStar Spaces. Mini Mushrooms shrink players and make them roll a Dice Block numbered only 1-5, but they can travel through tiny pipes to access areas of the map that cannot be accessed otherwise and play Mini Mini-games, which gives them the chance to earn free coins and items. InBowser's Gnarly Party, Bowser reacts differently to characters depending on their current size. Players can earn more powerful variants of them with the Super Mega Mushroom and the Super Mini Mushroom, both of which let them roll an extra Dice Block. When players roll doubles or triples, they earn bonus coins, with 7's earning a greater number of coins, where the greatest number, rolling three 7's, rewards players with 50 coins.

Boo performing a lottery drawing in the Last Five Turns Event

ALast Five Turns Event commences when there are only five more turns in the board. The current host of the board then tallies the results of the players up and then uses a roulette to match the character mugshots on a Lucky Party Ticket, if there are any received at all. Whoever has all the matching Lucky Party Ticket character mugshots earns a free Star, though this happens very rarely. After that, the host gives the last place player a chance to stop a roulette, which affects the board's rules for the rest of the game. These include doubling the number of coins Blue Spaces give and Red Spaces take away, all Red Spaces becoming Bowser Spaces, all Red Spaces becoming Fortune Spaces, or all Stars becoming free. The game then actively notifies players of the number of turns left.

Once the final mini-game has been played, the host of the board does a final tally and announces who has the most stars and coins. If bonuses are turned on prior to starting the game, the host can additionally give out extra stars depending on if the player has fulfilled the requirements of being the best of that requirement. After the final countdown, the first place player gets rewarded as the Party Star and thus wins the game. Coins are the tiebreaker if a tie with Stars occurs, and if there is a coin tie as well, the winner is determined through a Dice Block roll. Past this, players can view statistics and results to see the overall performance, such as how many Spaces of a certain type were landed on and how many accumulated coins they won through mini-games.

Game modes[edit]

The Party Cube screen

Mario Party 4 comes with six game modes. Three of the game modes are hosted by one of the five character hosts, thoughToad mostly guides the player in Party Mode prior to selecting a map whileBoo does not host any of the modes, unless his board is selected in Party and Story Mode. The main menu is called the "Party Cube screen", where players can pick a ticket representing the mode before entering the Party Cube.

Party Mode[edit]

The primary mode ofMario Party 4, who is hosted by Toad prior to board selection. This mode uses the default rules for game boards, where the goal is to amass the most Stars. Up to four players can participate in this mode, and there are always four players in the board; CPU players fill up slots of vacant human players. Players can select from a roster of 8 playable characters, and then adjust the difficulty of the CPU players from Easy, Normal, Hard, to the unlockable Expert. After the characters are selected, players pick a board to play on. Once a board is selected, the owner of the board becomes the overall host of the game. Players can then adjust the following settings:

• Rules: Players can either select Battle Royale, the traditional way with four players competing against each other or Team Match, a feature introduced inMario Party 4, where players can form two teams of two. However, unlike later entries in the series, players still have their own player panel and do not share coins, though they do share items. 1-vs-3 mini-games are not played, and 2-vs-2 mini-games are always divided by the team set.
• Number of Turns: Players can adjust the number of terms the game will last. Players can set from 10 to 50 turns, in increments of 5.
• Mini-games: Players can set which types of mini-games will appear. Mini-games set to "All" have no restrictions, mini-games set to "Easy" will have only mini-games in the easy category appear, while "Custom" players only with the players' created set of mini-games.
• Bonus Settings: If turned on, players can findHidden Blocks when a space is landed on that awards players coins or a Star. At the end of the game, bonus Stars are also rewarded to players based on their performance.
  • Mini-Game Star: Awarded to players who have won the most coins from mini-games.
  • Coin Star: Awarded to players who had the highest coin count at any point in the game.
  • Happening Star: Awarded to players who have landed on the most Happening Spaces.
• Handicap: Players can adjust the number of Stars each player starts out with in the beginning of the game. Up to 9 Stars can be given to any individual character.

When these settings are confirmed, the game starts. Players have access to more options when they pause the game with. In the pause screen, players additionally can see the numbers of turns they have left.

• Changing Control: Players can adjust control settings for each character. They can adjust the difficulty of a CPU player, turn a human character to a CPU, or turn a CPU into a human player. Through this menu, it is possible for the game to have only CPUs playing.
• Playing Mini-Games: Players can toggle the Mini-Game Explanation Screen to SHOW or DON'T SHOW. SHOW is the default setting. If DON'T SHOW is toggled, the screen is skipped and the mini-game starts immediately.
• COM Mini-Games: Players can either watch or skip mini-games and board events with only CPU players involved.
• Mini-Game Pack: Players can set which mini-game pack to use when the Mini-Game Roulette is displayed at the end of turns and when commencing a Battle mini-game.
• Rumble Settings: Players can toggle the controller rumble feature on or off.
• Message Speed: Players can adjust the speed in which messages display, from Slow, Normal, and Fast.
• Save: There are three save settings. Players can opt not to save the game, save the game only once at the end of the current turn, or save the game at the end of every turn (the default option).
• Quit: Players quit the game and return to the Party Cube screen.

Story Mode[edit]

Story Mode serves as the game's single player mode. Here, players have to clear board maps against opponent characters and beat the hosts of the maps in their special mini-games in order to win a present from them. Presents earned through this mode are stored in thePresent Room. Prior to playing, players can set the difficulty of the mode from Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert (once unlocked) and Auto. If the game is on the Auto setting, CPU players get progressively more difficult every time a board is completed. Additionally, players can select which type of mini-games will appear, from All, to Easy, to the Custom set the player has created. Unlike Party Mode, CPU characters are picked automatically, and the static settings are Battle Royale, 15 turns, Bonuses on, and Handicap off. If there is a save file in the Story Mode, it is represented by the player character's icon on the save file screen. If players lose to the host in their respective story mini-game, they continuously try again before winning. If they beat all host characters of the starter maps,Koopa Kid shows up and takes the player toBowser's Gnarly Party, a board that is unlocked once players beatBowser inThe Final Battle!, take back the stolen presents, and earn his present from his defeat.

Mini-Game Mode[edit]

This mode is hosted byGoomba, and the primary focus of the mode are the mini-games. Mini-games are unlocked whenever they are played for the first time in the game's Party and Story Modes. Up to four players can participate in this mode, and any vacant slots are filled with CPU characters with adjustable difficulties. There are four ways to play this mode:

• Play: Players have four ways of playing mini-games through this mode:
  • Free Play: Players can play any mini-game they have unlocked.
  • Team Play: Essentially Free Play mode but players split into teams and play 2 vs 2 mini-games.
  • Battle Mode: Players decide how many victories in mini-games are required for a win, from 3-Match, 5-Match, to 7-Match. Players can additionally split into teams and select which types of mini-games appear in the roulette, from All, Easy, to Custom.
  • Tic-Tac-Toe Mode: Players split into teams and play on a 3-by-3 board of Tic-Tac-Toe. Players put their coin on a slot they want, and win the slot when they win in the mini-game selected via roulette. Players win the game when a row or diagonal of 3 coins is made.
• List: Players view all mini-games they have unlocked.
• Custom: Players can build a custom set of mini-games for use in a variety of modes. Players need to unlock 4 4-Player mini-games, 3 2-vs-2 mini-games, 3 1-vs-3 mini-games, and 2 Battle mini-games in order to create a custom pack.
• Records: Players can view best times or high scores from mini-games that set records.

Option Room[edit]

This mode is hosted byKoopa Troopa, where players can adjust various settings, listen to the game's sounds, or view records.

• Rumble Settings: Players can turn the controller rumble feature on or off.
• Listen to Music: Players can adjust the sound settings from either stereo or mono. Players can additionally listen to the game's background music and character voice samples.
• View Records: Two types of records are stored here. Board Map records store the number of times the board was played with how many times the character used won, as well as the maximum number of coins and Stars held. Mini-Game records are stored here, where players can view best times or high scores.

Present Room[edit]

Main article:Present Room

This mode is hosted byShy Guy, where players can view all of the presents won in Story Mode. Other collectibles are stored here as well, including the presents won when certain times or scores are beaten in mini-games and character constellations when Story Mode is beaten with that character. Presents are sorted by character and type.

Extra Room[edit]

Extra Room

This mode is hosted byThwomp,Whomp, andZtar, where Bonus mini-games exclusive to this mode are played here. These mini-games can be played alongside two bonus boards.

Thwomp's Backroom Ball

Thwomp hosts this multiplayer-oriented mode, where one to four players can play with a variety of settings. The settings set are similar to those set in Free Play and Team Play in Mini-Game Mode. When playing on Mega Board Mayhem and Mini Board Mad-Dash, mini-games do not appear and therefore, players stay on the board the entire game. Players initially start out playing only Mega Board Mayhem and Mini Board Mad-Dash; they unlock Challenge Booksquirm and Panel Panic as they play. The last two games listed are extended versions of other mini-games.

• 

  Logo

• 

  Mega Board Mayhem

• 

  Mini Board Mad-Dash

• 

  Challenge Booksquirm

• 

  Panel Panic

Whomp's Basement Brouhaha

Whomp hosts this single-player mode, where all of the features are unique mini-games that are exclusive to this mode. There are a total of six mini-games in this mode; players start out with four mini-games and when certain mini-games are unlocked in Mini-Game Mode, two more can be unlocked.

• 

  Logo

• 

  Jigsaw Jitters

• 

  Barrel Baron

• 

  Mushroom Medic

• 

  Doors of Doom

• 

  Bob-omb X-ing

• 

  Goomba Stomp

Beach Volley Folly

A special mini-game that is hosted byZtar, unlocked when all games from the above modes are unlocked. This volleyball-themed mini-game comes with its own set of rules and unlockables, as well as its own tournament mode. Additionally, some playable characters are exclusive to this mode inMario Party 4.

• 

  Beach Volley Folly

Characters[edit]

Playable[edit]

The character-selection screen

Mario Party 4 has a total of eight playable characters, with all playable characters returning fromMario Party 3. All of these playable characters are usable from the beginning and are usable throughout all modes. In addition, Princess Daisy and Waluigi are now playable in Story Mode. WhileMario Party 4 does not introduce any new playable characters, a mini-game,Beach Volley Folly, found in the Extra Mode, features additional playable characters exclusive to that mini-game. They are unlocked by playing through Battle Mode, and once Battle Mode is unlocked, those additional playable characters are usable only in Free Mode.

The color next to the character's name indicates the color they are assigned to in certain minigames such as the cursors inToad's Quick Draw and the balloons inHop or Pop.

• 

  Mario
  Mario's always been an all-around guy. Just watch out when he gets a Mega Mushroom – he really starts cruisin'!

• 

  Luigi
  Mario's younger brother is just wild about Mushrooms! ...But does he have any hidden abilities?

• 

  Princess Peach
  She seems to be cute and innocent, but Peach is secretly quite mischievous – watch out for her Swap Card!

• 

  Yoshi
  Yoshi sure does love Warp Blocks! You can never tell where this unpredictable character will pop up next...

• 

  Wario
  Wario's a madman with his MiniMega Hammer. Be careful in duels, too, because he's a dueling master!

• 

  Donkey Kong
  The strongest of the bunch, Donkey Kong loves his Mega Mushrooms.

• 

  Princess Daisy
  A bit of a tom-boy, Daisy's a big fan of the Warp Pipe!

• 

  Waluigi
  That Waluigi's a serious sneak! Watch out for his Sparky Sticker...

Beach Volley Folly-exclusive[edit]

• 

  Toad

• 

  Koopa Troopa

• 

  Shy Guy

• 

  Boo

• 

  Koopa Kid (Mini Bowser in PAL regions)

• 

  Bowser

Boards[edit]

Board		Description	Difficulty
		Players have to maneuver their way around the amusement park, with the common goal being to find Toad; he is the host of the board. A notable part of this board is the tea cup rides, that, when ridden on, change direction in any junction a ride is located at. Another notable part of this board is the roller coaster, which players can take to get from the bottom-left part of the board to the top-right part and vice versa.
		The goal for this board is for the players to get to Shy Guy; he is the host of this board. Notable parts of this board are the Shy Guy mountain andKlepto the condor. If a player lands on a Happening Space that is located in front of a Shy Guy statue, the statue will ask for the player to make either a happy wish, or to make a sad wish. When a player passes by Klepto he asks to take the player to the bottom-right corner of the map.
		Players must make sure that they manage to obtain Stars by getting to Goomba, the host of this board. The most notable feature of this board is the roulette in the very middle of it. When players pass the roulette, a Goomba asks for an optional payment of either five, ten, or twenty Coins. The more a player pays to the Goomba, the more likely it is that the ball will land on the route closest to the Star. Another notable feature of this board is the dice areas. When a player passes a dice area, a Goomba appears, rolls a number on a Dice Block, and the player has to beat that number by rolling a number higher than his.
		The main goal of this board is for the players to reach Boo; he is the host of this board. There are two notable features on this board; theRed Boo bridges, and theMystery Train. The Red Boo bridges work in such a way that, when a player passes by the center of the board, where the leader of the Red Boos is, he and the bridges disappears, among the other Red Boos. The Mystery Train is also affected by the disappearance of the Red Boos; when the Red Boos are active, the Mystery Train is inactive and vice versa. When the Mystery Train is active and is passed by a player, it takes the player to any graveyard on the board.
		Players must make sure to make their way around the beach, with the common goal to find Koopa, as he is this board's host. A notable feature of this board is theKoopa Kabana. When a player passes the Kabana Space, said player pays five coins to Koopa. Another attraction of this board is theDolphins, who are summoned by landing on a Happening Space that is located on a dock with a picture of a fruit on.
	(unlockable)	In order for players to receive Stars on this board, they will have to get to Koopa Kid; he is the host for this board. There are two prominent features of this board; the two stone bridges, and Bowser himself. When a player crosses over a stone bridge, it will crumble apart a little. After three players cross a stone bridge, it will fully crumble apart and a new one appears in a different direction. The other feature, Bowser, reacts differently depending on the current form players have and sometimes causes additional effects to players such as turning all of them mini.

Items[edit]

Item	Description	Coin Cost
Mega Mushroom	The Mega Mushroom causes players to be giant and roll two Dice Blocks (for a total of 2-20 spaces). If a player rolls two matching numbers, they earn 10 coins (30 coins for two "7"'s). When players pass anyone, they will crush them, stealing ten coins in the process. However, this item bypasses most board events (e.g. players cannot trade for any Stars on aStar Space while giant nor purchase items from theItem Shop). However, the exception is Bowser onBowser's Gnarly Party where players that make it to him will do a Bowser mega mini-game when they pass him, due to being their mega form.	5
Mini Mushroom	The Mini Mushroom causes players to be tiny. It also restricts the Dice Block; instead of rolling 1-10, it only rolls 1-5. However, the Mini Mushroom can cause players to play Mini Mini-games; plus, they can move throughtiny pipes.	5
Super Mega Mushroom	A Super Mega Mushroom has generally the same effects as a Mega Mushroom except that players roll three Dice Blocks instead of two (for a total of 3-30 spaces). If the player rolls the same numbers (three matching numbers), they get 10 coins if the number is even, and 30 coins if the number is odd (50 coins for three "7"'s).	15
Super Mini Mushroom	A Super Mini Mushroom has generally the same effects as a Mini Mushroom except that players roll two 1-5 Dice Blocks instead of one (for a total of 2-10 spaces). Because both Dice Blocks are 1-5 Dice Blocks, it is possible to roll the normal number of spaces from the regular Dice Block. However, unlike the Mini Mushroom, they cannot get a total of 1 (as there are 2 Dice Blocks instead of one). The player gets 10 coins if they roll the same numbers (two matching numbers).	15
Warp Pipe	When players use a Warp Pipe, aspinner (referred to as roulette in the instruction booklet) that has the heads of the other characters appears. An arrow spins and players can stop the arrow. When the arrow stops on a character's head, the player swaps places with that character.	10
Swap Card	The Swap Card chooses another player via spinner (referred to as roulette in the instruction booklet) and the player who used it swaps items with the chosen player.	15
MiniMega Hammer	When players use a MiniMega Hammer, they may choose another player to be Mega or Mini by hitting them on the head with the hammer; but they can't inflict their own effect (Mega or Mini). Then, the opponent that player chooses is given the effects of a Mega Mushroom or a Mini Mushroom on the next turn, determined by what mushroom appears on the hammer when the alternating between the two mushrooms is stopped by pressing the A button.	10
Chomp Call	If a Chomp Call is used, four small Chain Chomps appear, surround the host that holds the Star in the Star Space, and scare them away. Afterwards, the location of the Star Space changes.	15
Boo's Crystal Ball	When Boo's Crystal Ball is used, aBoo appears and does either of the following: The Boo steals coins from a selected player with a five-coin fee. The victim can fight back and lose less coins by repeatedly pressing. The Boo steals a Star from another player with a 50 coin fee. The victim cannot fight back. However, if the target has aGaddlight, the target can flash the light at Boo and chase him away when he's after their Stars and coins.	25
Gaddlight	The Gaddlight automatically lets the player chase away a Boo that is after their coins and Stars.	15
Sparky Sticker	When players use a Sparky Sticker, they place it directly below where they are standing. If any player tries to pass it, any player currently on said space loses 10 coins plus the effects of a Mega Mushroom or a Mini Mushroom.	15
Item Bag	The effects of an Item Bag activate as soon as players purchase this item. They receive three random items. If they already have one or two items, the remaining items found in the bag get discarded.	30
Magic Lamp	When players use this, they summon theGenie of the Lamp. The genie then transports them to the Star Space. However, they still must trade 20 coins for the Star.	30
Bowser Suit	Players can only acquire this fromBowser when they land on aBowser Space. If they use this, they go in a Bowser Suit. If they pass anyone else, they steal 30 coins. Like the Mega Mushroom, the Bowser Suit will bypass some board events like the Item Shops and the Star Spaces. The exception is Bowser's Gnarly Party. If the player gets to Bowser while wearing the Bowser Suit, Bowser gives the player 50 coins.	N/A

Item priority table[edit]

Computer-controlled Waluigi prioritizes purchasing the Warp Pipe, even over the Sparky Sticker.

The table lists item preferences for computer-controlled players, as documented from theMario Party 4 decompilation.^[7] The highest priority item available in the Item Shop will be purchased by the CPU. This chart also influences how the AI uses items, so the AI is more likely to use some items over others. Some item usage require certain conditions to be met or are affected by conditions; for instance, the computer player will not use a Magic Lamp if they have less than 20 coins, and they will not use a Mega Mushroom if there is a Star nearby. These item preferences are also hinted at in the character bios in-game and in the instruction booklet.

From the table, computers are guaranteed to purchase and use a Magic Lamp if they are able to. There are also strong preferences for the Boo Crystal Ball due to its powerful effects of stealing coins or Stars. There is a strong preference for Warp Pipes, which even have priority over the Boo's Crystal Ball in some cases and the official character preferences in most cases, barring Wario's AI. In the early game, due to the 10 coin handout in the first turn, the computer is very likely to purchase Warp Pipes. On the other hand, Sparky Stickers and Mini Mushrooms tend to be lower in the priority list, and Mini Mushrooms are always outranked by Mega Mushrooms. Despite their low priority, Mini Mushrooms are abundant due to the common Mushroom Spaces, and the AI will use them if a tiny pipe is nearby, making Mini Mushrooms very commonly used throughout the match.

The Bowser Suit is present in the table, but since computers have no function pointer to decide using Bowser Suits, they will never use them. Since the Item Bag and the Gaddlight are not in the table, they will never be bought.

Character	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
Mario
Luigi
Princess Peach
Yoshi
Wario
Donkey Kong
Princess Daisy
Waluigi

Spaces[edit]

Image	Space	Description
	Blue Space	If players land on this space, they receive three coins. On the last five turns, the coins received may double if the losing player hits the roulette wheel and has that event as a result.
	Red Space	If players land on this space, they lose three coins. On the last five turns, the coins lost may double if the losing player hits the roulette wheel and has that event as a result.
	Happening Space	If players land on this space, they trigger an event. The event varies within the board. The event may be positive or negative.
	Bowser Space	If players land on this space, either aKoopa Kid orBowser appear. The Koopa Kid can take coins from either the player who landed on it or from everyone. If Bowser appears, he can cause the following events: Bowser Revolution, where he divides everyone's coins equally; Bowser Mini-game where he forces everyone to play his mini-games; Bowser Shuffle, which he randomly swaps all of the players' places; or Bowser Suit, which he gives the player aBowser Suit. The latter event is rare. Sometimes, Bowser can come out after Koopa Kid on the same Bowser Space.
	Fortune Space	If players land on this space, an event occurs, and they use theReversal of Fortune, which resembles a pinball machine. The results may vary such as the player swapping stars with another or the player giving coins to the other.
	Mushroom Space	If players land on this space, two boxes appear: one small, one large. The player chooses one box and may receive aMega Mushroom or aMini Mushroom, regardless of the size of the box.
	Warp Space	If players land on this space, an arrow spins on aroulette, showing the other three character's heads. The player can stop the roulette. If the arrow is pointing to one of the character's head, the space, which is actually a spring, launches the character to the chosen character.
	Battle Space	If players land on this space, aBob-omb appears and starts a Battle mini-game. The player who landed on the Battle Space may choose one of two randomly selected Battle mini-games.

Shops and other board features[edit]

Space	Description
Lottery Shop	Players can pay five coins to play lottery games to win prizes. Upon first entering the shop prior to the Last Five Turns event, players are given aLucky Party Ticket, where a lottery drawing will occur at the Last Five Turns for players to earn a free Star if they have a lucky ticket. The two lottery games are scratching a card and operating a machine to roll out a ball. Prizes range from coins to free items, though players have the likeliest chance of not winning anything.
Item Shop	When players enter here, they can buy a single item. These shops carry up to five items, and the items vary each time the player visits the shop. Players cannot enter item shops if they have less than five coins, when they have 3 items, and when they're Mega or in a Bowser suit.
Boo House	Functioning similarly to aBoo's Crystal Ball, when players enter here, they can pay to enlist the services for a Boo to steal coins or Stars from an opponent. Players need to spend five coins to steal coins, while stealing Stars requires players to spend 50 coins. However, if the target has aGaddlight, they can flash the light at Boo to scare him away when he runs after their stars and coins.
Tiny pipe	Tiny pipes are obstructions featured throughout the board. Players while normal or bigger cannot pass through them; players need to be under the effects of a Mini Mushroom to pass. When players approach them while mini, tiny pipes function as a junction of routes.

Mini-games[edit]

Main article:List of Mario Party 4 minigames

Mario competing against Koopa Troopa inKareening Koopas, a Story mini-game.

Mario Party 4 has a total of sixty mini-games, which is less than its predecessor,Mario Party 3, not counting the Mini-Mini-games that are played in the board when players are under the influence of a Mini Mushroom. It is the firstMario Party game to have fewer minigames than its predecessor. Following the removal of Duel, Item, and Game Guy mini-games,Mario Party 4 introduces new mini-game types that would become reoccurring for later games in the series. Bowser mini-games are played when a player lands on a Bowser Space and has players competing to not be the loser of the mini-game; Bowser mini-games always have a losing player and have that player burnt by Bowser. Story mini-games involve players competing against the host player though in the Mini-game Mode, the host player is replaced by the second player. etc. Mini-games are unlocked by facing off as a Mega player against Bowser and playingThe Final Battle! Finally, the mini-games played exclusively in the Extra Room are counted into the total.

Staff[edit]

Main article:List of Mario Party 4 staff

Mario Party 4 is developed byHudson Soft, the primary developer ofMario Party installments untilMario Party 9 and the game is published byNintendo.CAProduction is also credited with co-developingMario Party 4, who has a consistent history of developingMario Party titles and has strong ties to Hudson Soft andNintendo Cube, the current developer forMario Party games. The game was directed by Kenji Kikuchi, who also directed the first threeMario Party titles andMario Party 5. The game's soundtrack was composed by Ichiro Shimakura, who composed the soundtrack forMario Party 3.

Reception[edit]

Mario Party 4 received mostly mixed to positive reviews from critics. GameSpot's Ryan Davis praised the game's mini-game format, but noted that "players that who already exhausted themselves on the previousMario Party titles may not have enough here to draw them back again". Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell acknowledged the variety and thematic features of the boards, but thought that they were too large, resulting in a "glacial pace" when coupled with the on-board animations. Despite this, IGN praised the boards for their thematic features on each one, which helped "ease the tediousness". New gameplay features such as the mushroom system received a negative review from multiple critics, with frustration being expressed at not being able to enter shops or purchase stars with big characters. The game's multiplayer was praised by reviews, especially in comparison to the single player mode, "Story Mode". The mini-games were mainly met with a positive reaction, with critics praising their simplicity.

Sales[edit]

Mario Party 4 is the 10th best-selling game for Nintendo GameCube, with approximately 2.45 million copies sold worldwide: 1.1 million copies in North America, 902,827 copies in Japan, and 450,000 copies elsewhere, as of December 31, 2009.

Quotes[edit]

Main article:List of Mario Party 4 quotes

• "The Star is here...for now, hee hee. Reach me without 20 coins, and you will be DENIED!" -Boo
• "I'm not so good with mushy stuff like this, but...Happy birthday. I'm, like, happy and stuff..." -Bowser
• "So, hey, I had all this space, and I made it into a casino! Pretty high-class, no?" -Goomba
• "Enjoy the laid-back atmosphere as you mellow out to my island groove and bask in its sights." -Koopa Troopa
• "I am one of the Koopa Kids! What kind of dastardly deeds can I do today?" -Koopa Kid
• "Welcome toShy Guy's Jungle Jam! So, um, I'm Shy Guy...and I guess I'll be your host!" -Shy Guy
• "This is the Party Cube, and you're all invited!" -Toad

Pre-release and unused content[edit]

A pre-release character select screen

Original box art

The game contains files that are named E3Setup.bin, E3SetupDLL.rel and E3SetupDLL.str. When modesel.bin in the data folder and modeseldll.rel + modeseldell.str in the dll folder are replaced by the former files, a pre-release character select screen, for E3 purposes, is shown. Donkey Kong and Wario cannot be selected.

As a placeholder, the cover art initially used for the box ofMario Party 4 used artwork of the characters fromthe previous game onNintendo 64.

As seen in the trailer, an early version of the game reused theMario Party 2 and3 announcer as well as the characters having no voice clips.^[8]

The debug menu

A debug menu was found in the game's data, and includes all the mini-games. While the previous game used debug codes in the 200s, this game used codes in the 400s, although there are unusedMario Party 4 minigames that use codes in the 300s, which more closely resembleMario Party 3 minigames (not using the toy box theme).^[9]

Glitches[edit]

If two players are on the space before the Lottery Shop and one moves forward and quickly presses on the prompt while the other one runs across, the running player may be stuck in a t-pose until their next turn.^[10]

Adaptations[edit]

Dokidoki Mario Chance! cabinet.

Adobe Flash[edit]

Main article:Mario Party 4 (Flash game)

Mario Party 4 received an onlineAdobe Flash game to promote the release of the title.

Arcade[edit]

Main article:Dokidoki Mario Chance!

Banpresto released aMario Party 4-based arcade game calledDokidoki Mario Chance! in Japan in March 2003.^[11]

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Mario Party 4.

• 

  Mario,Luigi,Wario, andWaluigi

• 

  Yoshi,Princess Peach,Princess Daisy andWaluigi playingButterfly Blitz

• 

  Mario, Luigi,Donkey Kong, and Yoshi playingAvalanche!

• 

  Wario and Waluigi playingThe Great Deflate

• 

  Daisy, Mario, Luigi, and Wario playingGOOOOOOOAL!!

• 

  Bowser

Multimedia[edit]

For the complete list of media files for this subject, seeMultimedia:Mario Party 4. For this subject's sound test, seeMario Party 4 sound test.

Mario Party - The title theme

File info 0:18

Midway Madness -Toad's Midway Madness

File info 0:30

Coin Slot - Used in the Mini Mini-Game inGoomba's Greedy Gala.

File info 0:30

Ride Klepto - Used while ridingKlepto inShy Guy's Jungle Jam.

File info 0:30

Mystery Train - Used when riding the Mystery Train inBoo's Haunted Bash.

File info 0:30

Watermelon Item - Plays in the Item mini-game inKoopa's Seaside Soiree.

File info 0:30

Koopa Kid Shuffle / Mini Bowser Shuffle - Plays in the Item mini-game inBowser's Gnarly Party.

File info 0:26

Play Mini-Games - Used on the rules explanation screen.

File info 0:29

Hurry! Hurry! - Used in the mini-gamesBob-omb X-ing,Domination,Dungeon Duos,GOOOOOOOAL!!,Revers-a-Bomb,Slime Time, andGoomba Stomp.

File info 0:30

You Got a Present - Used when a present is awarded to the player's character

File info 0:04

Help:Media file •Having trouble playing?

References to other games[edit]

Bowser's Big Blast

Bowser's Bigger Blast

A comparison between Bowser's Big Blast and Bowser's Bigger Blast

Mario Party 2

• Bowser's Bigger Blast is a remake ofBowser's Big Blast.

Mario Party 3

• "You're the Star" is a similar song to "The Adventure Ends".
• InKoopa's Seaside Soiree, one of the sand drawings is a cloud, which appears in every board in this game.

Luigi's Mansion

• Mario, Luigi, and Bowser's models are updated to match their current appearances as of this game.

Super Mario Sunshine

• Peach and Yoshi's models are updated to match their current appearances as of this game.

References in later games[edit]

Trace Race inMario Party Superstars

Mario Party 5 toMario Party 8

• The engine, as well as the animations, is reused.
  • Mario Party 5 toMario Party 7 reuse all animations (as well as introducing new ones). The winning and losing animations are unused inMario Party 8, but can still be found in the game's files.
• Mario Party 5 reuses the announcer, as well as the announcement text.
  • The Japanese version ofMario Party 6 andMario Party 7 reuse the announcer from this game as well.

Mario Party Advance

• Many songs fromMario Party 4 are rearranged inAdvance, including the file select/main menu theme asAdvance's passport theme.

Mario Party DS

• Bob-omb Breakers returns as a puzzleminigame.

Mario Party: The Top 100

• Fourteen minigames return in this game.
• A cover version of the minigame completion theme plays when completing any of the fourteenMario Party 4 minigames.
• TheChomp Call returns.

Mario Party Superstars

• Eight minigames and rearrangements of their respective music return in this game.
• The Chomp Call returns.

Super Mario Party Jamboree

• Blame It on the Crane,Domination,Stamp Out!, andThree Throw return as minigames.
• The Chomp Call returns as an item.

Names in other languages[edit]

Notes[edit]

• This is the onlyMario Party game to use pre-rendered cutscenes (including the opening of this game, as well as the Story Mode endings for each playable character) and where mini-game preview icons do not depict actual gameplay of the mini-games.
• At the end of Bowser's Gnarly Party, when Koopa Kid announces the Coin Star, there are two mistakes when he says, "This the person who collected the most coins in Mini-Games." The first mistake is that there is no "is for" in between "This" and "the". The second mistake is that the Coin Star is rewarded for players who possess the most coins at any turn.
• This is the first and onlyMario Party game to lack a "New Record" fanfare.
• This is the onlyMario Party where player'staunts can be distorted with and.
• In the beginning of the opening cutscene, among the noises of stock bird sounds, amourning dove can be heard cooing.
• At page 29 of the game's instruction manual, the description for the Swap Card item reads, "Whoever uses this items^[sic] exchanges items with another player."

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Mario Party 4 coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

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NintendoWiki

StrategyWiki

The Cutting Room Floor has an article onMario Party 4.

Wikipedia has an article onMario Party 4.

• OfficialMario Party 4 Japanese website
• OfficialMario Party 4 Nintendo UK website

• Mario Party 4
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• Nintendo GameCube games
• 2002 games

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