Jump to content

Mario Party: Island Tour

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Island Tour)

Mario Party: Island Tour
Packaging artwork
Developer(s)NDcube
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Yukio Umematsu
Producer(s)Miyuki Hirose
Atsushi Ikeda
Designer(s)Shinichi Nakata
Programmer(s)Michihito Ishizuka
Artist(s)Yuji Asano
Composer(s)Rei Kondoh
Sara Sakurai
Satoshi Okubo
SeriesMario Party
Platform(s)Nintendo 3DS
Release
Genre(s)Party
Mode(s)Single player
Multiplayer[4]

Mario Party: Island Tour[a] is a 2013 party video game developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The third handheld installment in the Mario Party series, it was released in November 2013 in North America, in January 2014 in Europe and Australia, and in March 2014 in Japan. The game features seven boards,[4] each with their own special features, and 81 new minigames.[5] It was followed by Mario Party 10 for the Wii U in 2015.

Gameplay

[edit]
Mad Ladders/Rung Direction, one of the 81 minigames with four players

The gameplay is similar to previous installments in the Wii Party and Mario Party series. By rolling dice or using a card, the player advances on the game board and might trigger an event or minigame.[6] The minigames can be played any time, even when not on a game board; the game also features AR (augmented reality) and StreetPass.[6] A few minigames utilize the Nintendo 3DS's built-in microphone.[7] Each board has its own rules, such as racing to the finish and using items to enhance the amount of spaces advanced as well as hinder opponents and collecting the most Mini Stars to win. The game has seven boards: Perilous Palace Path, Banzai Bill's Mad Mountain, Star-Crossed Skyway, Rocket Road, Kamek's Carpet Ride, Shy Guy's Shuffle City, and Bowser's Peculiar Peak/Bowser's Bizarre Volcano (which is unlocked by completing every board except for Shy Guy's Shuffle City). There are 10 playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Boo, Toad, and Bowser Jr., who is unlocked by beating all 30 floors of Bowser's Tower. Mario Party: Island Tour also uses the Download Play functionality of the 3DS, allowing multiple people with the system to play together using only one game cartridge.[8][9][10]

Plot

[edit]

Mario and his friends are relaxing in front of Princess Peach's castle when they notice a descending bubble that contains a letter inviting everyone to the Party Islands, which are located in the sky. All of the characters happily accept and are promptly transported to the islands via bubbles. The gang enjoys their time on the islands when Bowser suddenly appears and, feeling jealous over not being invited, builds his own tower nearby and creates bubbles that steal the fun from the Party Islands. The player's chosen character, accompanied by a green Toad, must advance up the tower, defeating bubble clones of every playable character, as well as periodical bosses. On the final floor, the player must defeat Bowser in a boss minigame, after which the player's character is able to reach the top of the tower and destroy the machine creating bubble clones. However, Bowser appears shortly thereafter and informs Mario and the Toad that the machine was merely a decoy before launching both of them off the tower, then challenging the player to take him on again.

Development and release

[edit]

Mario Party: Island Tour was announced by Satoru Iwata during a Nintendo Direct in April 2013.[11][12]

Mario Party: Island Tour was released in North America on November 22, 2013, in Europe on January 17, 2014,[13] in Australia on January 18, 2014, and in Japan on March 20, 2014.[14]

Reception

[edit]

Island Tour received "mixed or average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[15] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four eights, for a total of 32 out of 40.[17]

GameRevolution praised the seven new boards and boss minigames; however, the repetitive gameplay, character voices and board music were criticized.[19] GamesRadar said, "Island Tour isn't the Mario Party you remember, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. That said, there are definitely some missing pieces that keep it from being a memorable entry in the franchise." GameSpot commended the game's usage of four-player local download play, great minigame designs, and also Island Tour's single-player mode, but criticized "a few bad games in the bunch", and the lack of online play.[20] IGN said, "Mario Party: Island Tour’s rich multiplayer options are sullied by boring minigames and unfortunate motion control."[21] Nintendo World Report listed Island Tour's pros as being the game boards, "extensive" single-player mode, and the fact that it utilizes almost all the Nintendo 3DS features, and the cons as the fact that the difficulty of Bowser's Tower is not changeable, the instruction screens, which they described as "repetitive", and also that there is no online multiplayer.[14] Pocket Gamer said, "Island Tour will provide you and a bunch of mates with a great evening of laughs, but most of the time you'll be laughing AT it rather than with it."[32]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Japanese: マリオパーティ アイランドツアー, Hepburn: Mario Pātī Airando Tsuā

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Mallory, Jordan (August 28, 2013). "Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Mario Party: Island Tour hit 3DS Nov. 22". Engadget (Joystiq). Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  2. ^ Nintendo UK (November 13, 2013). "Nintendo Direct Presentation - 13.11.2013". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "NINTENDO ANNOUNCES LAUNCH DATES FOR ANTICIPATED Wii U & NINTENDO 3DS TITLES FOR 2013". Nintendo Australia. October 2, 2013. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Fletcher, JC (April 17, 2013). "New Mario Party coming to 3DS this winter". Engadget (Joystiq). Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Narcisse, Evan (April 17, 2013). "Mario Party Coming to 3DS This Winter". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Whitehead, Thomas (April 17, 2013). "A Mario Party is Getting Started on 3DS This Winter". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  7. ^ Berube, Justin; Kaluszka, Aaron; Ronaghan, Neal (October 7, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour Hands-on Preview". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  8. ^ Watts, Steve (December 12, 2023). "Mario Party: Island Tour review: party of one". Shacknews. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  9. ^ Davis, Laura (January 31, 2014). "Mario Party: Island Tour for 3DS review: Mario's party spirit isn't flagging yet". The Independent. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  10. ^ Sapieha, Chad. "Mario Party Island Tour Game Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  11. ^ Makuch, Eddie (April 17, 2013). "Mario Party 3DS revealed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  12. ^ Usher, William (April 17, 2013). "Mario Party Coming To Nintendo 3DS". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  13. ^ Romano, Sal (November 14, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour European release date set". Gematsu. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Keller, Kimberly (November 22, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Mario Party: Island Tour for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  16. ^ Cooke, Caitlin (November 27, 2013). "Review: Mario Party: Island Tour". Destructoid. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  17. ^ a b Romano, Sal (March 11, 2014). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1319". Gematsu. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  18. ^ Ryckert, Dan (November 22, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved January 10, 2016.[dead link]
  19. ^ a b Kevin S. (November 22, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  20. ^ a b Kemps, Heidi (November 22, 2013). "Mario Party Island Tour Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 23, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  21. ^ a b Thompson, Scott (November 22, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour Review". IGN. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  22. ^ Cooper, Hollander (November 22, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour review". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  23. ^ Letcavage, Dave (November 22, 2013). "Review: Mario Party: Island Tour". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  24. ^ Skrebels, Joe (January 18, 2014). "Mario Party: Island Tour review". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on January 20, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  25. ^ Rose, Mike (November 22, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  26. ^ Riendeau, Danielle (January 7, 2014). "Mario Party: Island Tour review: slumber party". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  27. ^ Robertson, Andy (January 18, 2014). "Mario Party: Island Tour – review". The Guardian. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  28. ^ Webber, Jordan Erica (February 9, 2014). "Mario Party: Island Tour – review". The Guardian. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  29. ^ Griffin, James (December 3, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour (3DS) Review: Zero Times The Fun!". CGMagazine. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  30. ^ Martin, Liam (January 15, 2014). "Mario Party: Island Tour review (3DS): Badly designed board games". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  31. ^ Lechevallier, Mike (November 27, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  32. ^ Rose, Mike (November 22, 2013). "Mario Party: Island Tour review". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.

Booklets

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mario_Party:_Island_Tour&oldid=1244793495"