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Mario Party 3 (also called MP3) is the third installment in the popular Mario Party series and the last game in the franchise to be released on the Nintendo 64, as it would move to the GameCube for the next main four volumes. The game is centered around the Millennium Star, who replaces Toad as the host. The most notable change is that players can now hold up to three items instead of just one. The game includes 70 new minigames, as well as a feature unique to the Mario Party series: duel boards, on which two players fight each other using partners. The game is also the first game in the Mario Party series to have a solo mode story campaign. This is the first Mario Party game to feature a Story Mode and mini-games that could be unlocked and played anytime without purchasing them first, a system that has become standard and would continue to be used in the future installments. This is the last Mario Party game to feature multiple minigame tracks for when there is just one winner, multiple winners, and a new record.

Story and objective[]

From the Mario Party 3 instruction manual:

A Star is Born: In the center of the vast universe, a remarkably bright star was born. It was the star that is born only once in a thousand years, the Millennium Star. According to the legend, whoever possessed the mystical star was destined to become the Superstar of the universe. However since the Millennium Star was but a newborn, it fell from the starry sky.


Around that time, Mario and his friends were all happily relaxing when suddenly the Millennium Star came crashing down. Mario and his friends soon began arguing about who should keep the Millennium Star.

Suddenly, the Millennium Star gave off a brilliantly bright flash of light. And with that bright flash, Mario and his friends were transported into a toy.

Greetings. I am the Millennium Star. You must pass my test to prove yourself worthy of possessing me. You must journey across many lands and collect the Star Stamps. If you can collect all seven, I shall accept you as the top Superstar in the universe.

Who will collect the seven Star Stamps and become the universe's top Superstar?

Game and Story Mode introduction:

In the center of the vast universe, a remarkably bright star was born. It was the star that is born only once in a thousand years, the Millennium Star. According to the legend, whoever possessed the mystical star was destined to become the Superstar of the universe. However since the Millennium Star was but a newborn, it fell from the starry sky.


Around that time, Mario and his friends were all happily relaxing when suddenly the Millennium Star came crashing down. Mario and his friends soon began arguing about who should keep the Millennium Star.

Seeing this, Lakitu came flying in, dangling a toy box from his rod.

That's right! They could play "Mario Party" to see who the biggest Superstar was!

Suddenly, the Millennium Star gave off a brilliantly bright flash of light. And with that bright flash, Mario and his friends were transported into a toy box!

Greetings. I am the Millennium Star. You must pass my test to prove yourself worthy of possessing me. You must journey across many lands and collect the Star Stamps. If you can collect all seven, I shall accept you as the top Superstar in the universe.

In Battle Royale Mode, players have to get as many Stars as possible. Stars can normally be obtained at a cost of 20 Coins.

In Duel Mode, players have to defeat their opponent with their partners. Each player starts with five heart pieces.

In Story Mode, a single player must battle their way towards the rank of Super Star. To do so, they must fill their stamp card with Star Stamps. The Star Stamps are Wit, Kindness, Strength, Love, Courage, Beauty, and Mischief. The trend the game will follow is Battle Royale, Duel, Battle Royale, Duel; and this continues until the player's next objective is to earn the Beauty Star Stamp. At this point, the player plays a Duel against Daisy, followed by a final Battle Royale on Waluigi's Island.

For the Millennium Star, his original plan was to have a straight run-through of seven (since there are seven Star Stamps) Battle Royale Boards. However, when the Millennium Star is about to stamp the player's stamp card, another character bursts from the castle, saying they deserve this. The two argue, and Millennium Star decides to go to a Duel Board. The player wins (they must to continue) and the other character runs away in disappointment. After the stamp is received, the next Star Stamp is shown and another Battle Royale begins.

When the Beauty Star Stamp is revealed though, Daisy makes a sudden appearance before a Battle Royale could even begin. The Millennium Star mentions it, however Daisy strikes a pose causing the Millennium Star to fall in love with her and offers her the Beauty Star Stamp. The player says it is not fair and the two argue. The Millennium Star regains consciousness and says they will go to Backtrack to settle it. Suddenly, Bowser appears and tries to take the stamp but Daisy swats him away in one blow. After the player defeats Daisy, she mopes and runs away. Tumble states Daisy said she has never lost, not even to her father. The player then receives the Beauty Star Stamp.

The Mischief Star Stamp is then revealed, but then Bowser appears and unknowingly sends it flying into the castle, declaring the player must battle him to earn it. Everyone notices it is gone, and Waluigi comes out of the castle with the stamp trapped in a cage. Waluigi and Bowser fight each other, but to everyone's surprise, Waluigi wins. He tells the player they will go to Waluigi's Island. Bowser tells the player to avenge him for what happened. Although long time foes, the player silently agrees and chases after Waluigi. After the battle is over, Waluigi is pounding the floor in frustration yelling he won't forget what happened. The Millennium Star gives the player the Mischief Star Stamp.

Despite winning all the stamps, the Millennium Star declares there is one person left the player must battle. The player is seen thinking hard of who could it be. Both the player and Tumble are surprised when the Millennium Star exclaims the player must defeat him in Stardust Battle to win. When the player defeats him, they ask to be the greatest superstar in the universe (although ownership of the Millennium Star was the original offer). The Millennium Star startles everyone admitting he isn't the real Millennium Star and flies away in shame. The player drops to the ground in disappointment, unable to believe it was all for nothing.

Suddenly, Tumble begins glowing and his dice head opens to reveal a small white star. He explains he is the real Millennium Star, and was watching the player the whole time. After returning the castle and the grounds to its normal state, he promises the player he will make them the superstar of the universe. The credits roll. In the final scene, set in front of the castle, Mario is lying on a folding chair, Luigi and Peach are talking to each other nearby, and Donkey Kong is sitting near the three just watching. In the back, Wario and Waluigi are apparently arguing, Daisy is sitting and watching the butterflies, and Yoshi is in the far back chasing a butterfly. The closing scene is a table with a box with the words "Mario Party" on it. A die (the same color as Tumble's head) is thrown onto the table and the word "END" appears on the lower right corner.

Story Mode Stamps[]

Stamp Requirements
Wit Stamp Clear Chilly Waters, then defeat Wario in Gate Guy.
Kindness Stamp Clear Deep Bloober Sea, then defeat Yoshi in Arrowhead.
Strength Stamp Clear Spiny Desert, then defeat Donkey Kong in Pipesqueak.
Love Stamp Clear Woody Woods, then defeat Peach in Blowhard.
Courage Stamp Clear Creepy Cavern, then defeat Mario in Mr. Mover.
Beauty Stamp Defeat Daisy in Backtrack.
Mischief Stamp Beat Waluigi in Waluigi's Island.

Characters[]

The game brings back the original six playable characters from the first two Mario Party games and introduces two new characters, Princess Daisy and Waluigi. However, they can only be playable in Party Mode and Mini-game mode.

Playable[]

  • Mario
  • Luigi
  • Peach
  • Yoshi
  • Wario
  • Donkey Kong
  • Daisy (Party Mode only)
  • Waluigi (Party Mode only)

Non-Playable[]

  • Bowser
  • Millennium Star
  • Toad
  • Tumble

Battle Royale Maps[]

Board Difficulty Description Koopa Bank Locations Locked Door Locations Item Shop Locations Boo Location
Chilly Waters 1 Star A snow-themed board with penguins and snowmen. The main gimmick of the board is the icy paths in the center of the board, for two reasons: 1. At the end of every junction of this icy path is a slippery slope the characters must cross to advance. If they make it up the slope, they will continue through the board; if not, they will slip and their turn will end, regardless of how many moves they have left.
2. Whenever there are two or more people on the icy path, the ice will crack, and any player on the path will be sent to the path southeast of the center. As well as this, there is a giant snowman in the board's north that will allow the player to roll down a snowball for a 5 Coin fee. Landing on a ? space will cause the same effects as paying the snowman, but on rare occasions, the snowman won't wake up and do anything.
1. 5 spaces away from the starting location in the southeast.
2. In the board's north, west of the giant snowman.
1. In the east junction of the icy fork. Leads to the eastern part of the board with Boo and contains a lone Chance Time Space.
2. In the northwest part of the board, west of the second bank. Leads back to the path from the west junction of the icy fork.
1. In the board's southwest, west of the first bank.
2. On the northwest junction of the icy fork, south of the second bank.
In the board's east, east of the first locked door.
Deep Bloober Sea 1 Star An ocean-themed board with Bloopers and sharks. The north and south parts of the board are separated only by a fork in the board's west - whenever players pass this junction and choose the direction they want to go, Sushi the Shark will ask the player to push one of four buttons, one of which launches a torpedo. If the players press any of the three correct buttons, they will move on to the desired path - but if the player presses the button that launches the torpedo, they are flung to the opposite path. The multiple ? spaces past the fork will cause a baby Blooper to yell for his mommy, who will take the players to the opposite part of the board. In the board's northwest, there is a giant angler fish. If anyone lands on the line of ? spaces near it, he will point at a direction, and if the player fails to mash the A button fast enough, they will be sucked in and shot to another part of the board. 1. 3 spaces away from the starting location in the southeast.
2. In the board's north, west of the Boo.
1. In the board's south, entered through the south junction past Sushi. Leads back to the southwestern part of the board.
2. In the board's north, just west of the second bank. Leads back to the north junction past Sushi.
1. In the board's south, west of the first bank.
2. In the board's north, south of Boo.
In the board's north, east of the second bank.
Spiny Desert 2 Stars A desert-themed board with cacti and Pokeys, but no Spinies. The main gimmick of the board is that there are two star spaces; however, one is a mirage. If anyone passes the fake one, the Star will disappear (the Mushroom Genie, when called via Magic Lamp, will always take the player to the correct Star). Aside from that, there is also an interesting fork in the center of the board; the west junction will simply allow the player to move regularly, while to pass the south junction, the player must jump over two cacti to get to the southwestern part of the board - if they fail and touch one, they are flung to another part of the board. There are also two sand pits, one in the north and one in the south, and landing on any ? spaces beside them will suck in the player and send them to the opposite sand pit. 1. In the board's northwest, before (and west of) the northern sand pit.
2. In the board's northeast, east of the northern sand pit.
1. Near the starting location of the board, right of the first fork. Leads to the eastern part of the board leading to the second Item Shop.
2. In the board's northeast, past the northern sand pit. Leads to Boo and back down to the starting location.
1. 2 spaces away from the starting location in the southeast.
2. In the center of the board, east of the two cacti.
In the northeastern part of the board, past the second locked door.
Woody Woods 2 Stars A forest-themed board with Monty Moles, Woody, and Evil Woody. The main gimmick of the board is the arrow signs - these signify which direction the players must go. These signs switch every turn, similar to the junctions in Luigi's Engine Room from the first game. Landing on the many ? spaces throughout the board changes the direction. The three ? spaces near Woody in the board's west will give the player a chance to get either 5 coins or an extra dice roll. The three ? spaces near Evil Woody in the board's northwest act the exact opposite, taking away 5 coins from the player or sending them backwards. 1. In the board's west, west of Woody.
2. In the board's east, south of the second Item Shop and north of the starting location.
1. In the southeastern part of the board, east of the first Item Shop. Leads back to the north junction of the first fork.
2. In the board's north, west of Boo. Leads back to the north path east of the first bank.
1. 2 spaces away past the first fork that is four spaces away from the starting location, in the board's southeast.
2. In the northeastern part of the board, east of the Boo.
1. In the board's north, west of the second Item Shop and east of the second locked door.
Creepy Cavern 3 Stars A cavern-themed board with spiders and Whomps. This board has two main gimmicks. The first one is the Whomp King in the center of the board. He is seen lying down and blocking one of two paths, and will only move if the player gives up a certain item. Landing on any ? spaces near him will make him flip over and block the opposite path. The other gimmick is the Thwomps on both sides of the boards, as the west and east sides of the board are separated from each other, and for 5 Coins, the players can ride on a vehicle that leads to the other side of the board. The ? spaces on the two train tracks activate the same vehicle and will chase down the player to the other side of the board. Aside from this, the only other way to cross from the east to west (and vice versa) is via locked doors. 1. 3 spaces away from the starting location in the southeast.
2. In the board's northeast, west of the second locked door.
1. In the southern part of the board, west of the first bank. Leads from the east to west side of the board.
2. In the northern part of the board, east of the second bank. Leads from the west to east side of the board.
1. In the board's east, north of the starting location.
2. In the board's west, south of the second bank.
In the board's west, south of the Whomp King.
Waluigi's Island 3 Stars An island-themed board owned by Waluigi, containing Piranha Plants in cranes. This board has many gimmicks applying to it. The first gimmick is the island west of the starting location. This section of the board has numerous ? spaces and dynamite in the center - everytime the players land on an ? space located here, the counter, starting at 5, goes down by 1. Once it reaches 0, the dynamite will explode, and any player caught in the blast will lose all their Coins. The second gimmick is the gear in the center of the board. Crossing into here activates a roulette that will choose the direction the player will go (the roulette itself will occasionally go faster). The third gimmick is the fork in the northeastern part of the board west of Boo. Any player who crosses here must choose one of two paths, one of whom is booby-trapped. If the players pick the safe route, they move on to Boo, but if they picked the booby-trapped path, they will be sent back to into the green pipe just north of the starting location. The fourth gimmick is the numerous red pipes spread across the board. All of these pipes lead back to the aforementioned green pipe. Finally, the fifth gimmick is the oval-shaped island in the board's northwest. Every turn, all the spaces on this island, except the lone Bank Space in the southern part of the island, will change into different spaces. This means that the island can be made up of Chance Time spaces or even Game Guy spaces! Even though this board belongs to Waluigi, if the players look, they will see numerous Luigi references, implying that the board once belonged to Luigi before Waluigi took over. This board is unlocked once the player beats Story Mode. 1. In the board's east, south of Boo.
2. In the southern part of the oval-shaped island in the northwest.
1. In the board's east, south of the first bank. Leads back to the starting location, as an alternate route instead of the green pipe.
2. In the board's southwest, west of the dynamite island. Leading back up to the main path in a circle, this path can be used to avoid the dynamite island.
1. Just 1 space away from the starting location in the southeast.
2. In the board's north, west of Boo.
In the northeastern part of the board, east of the second Item Shop and north of the second bank.

Duel Maps[]

Board Description Story Mode Opponent
Gate Guy A fairly short square-shaped board. The main gimmick is the junction in the middle of the board. For 5 coins, the player can pass from either the north or south of the junction as a shortcut. Luigi or Wario
Arrowhead Another fairly short square-shaped board. The main gimmick is the junctions in the center of the board, which can lead the player to either sides of the board. Luigi or Yoshi
Pipesqueak An odd-shaped board for Duel Mode. The main gimmick are the pipes on all four corners of the boards, which, when used, warp the player through another, random pipe. This can be either an advantage or disadvantage. Donkey Kong or Luigi
Blowhard A short square-shaped board with junctions in the center of each side/area. The main gimmick is the big fan in the center board - when crossed, the fan will blow the players into the air, switching partner locations. Luigi or Peach
Mr. Mover A slightly square-shaped board. The main gimmick is the conveyor belt in the board's south - every turn, the conveyor belt will change directions (this conveyor belt leads to both player's starting locations). There are also junctions on the both sides of the board that lead back to southern part of the board, giving the player more time to plan their moves. Mario or Luigi
Backtrack A Star-shaped board. The main gimmick are the 5 Reverse Spaces on all the 5 edges of the Star-shaped board. Whenever these spaces are landed on, they will reverse the direction the duelists must travel, and will also change the positions of the partners, not unlike the effects of a Reverse Mushroom. This board is unlocked once the player beats Story Mode. Since Daisy is not playable in Story Mode, Luigi can never be dueled here in Story Mode. Daisy

Items[]

  • Mushroom
  • Golden Mushroom
  • Magic Lamp
  • Poison Mushroom (new)
  • Reverse Mushroom (new)
  • Cellular Shopper (new)
  • Boo Repellent (new)
  • Bowser Phone (new)
  • Plunder Chest
  • Dueling Glove
  • Skeleton Key
  • Item Bag (new)
  • Lucky Lamp (new)

Rare Items[]

  • Barter Box (new)
  • Koopa Card (new)
  • Wacky Watch (new)
  • Lucky Charm (new)

Mini-games[]

Mini-game Music[]

Music Plays in
4-player 1 vs. 3 2 vs. 2 Duel Battle Item Rare Game Guy
What to Do?!? Treadmill Grill
Ice Rink Risk
Spotlight Swim None Stacked Deck
Locked Out
All Fired Up
Eye Sore
None
Looking Ahead Parasol Plummet
Awful Tower
None
Got It? Messy Memory
Picture Imperfect
M.P.I.Q.
Curtain Call
Hide and Sneak None Crowd Cover Three Door Monty None
Big Trouble Cheep Cheep Chase None Hyper Hydrants End of the Line Merry-Go-Chomp None
Fighting Spirit Snowball Summit Coconut Conk Baby Bowser Broadside
Puddle Paddle
Vine With Me
Bowser Toss
None
On Your Toes Toadstool Titan
Mario's Puzzle Party
None Picking Panic
Etch 'n' Catch
Silly Screws Slap Down
Storm Chasers
None Mario's Puzzle Party Pro None
Let's Get a Move On Aces High
Water Whirled
Ridiculous Relay None Dizzy Dinghies None
Nice and Easy Bounce 'n' Trounce None Cosmic Coaster Motor Rooter None
Aim Chip Shot Challenge Hand, Line and Sinker None
Don't Hurry Frigid Bridges
Rockin' Raceway
River Raiders
Thwomp Pull
Log Jam
Pump, Pump and Away
Slot Synch
None
Mustn't Panic Pipe Cleaners None Eatsa Pizza Popgun Pick-Off
Baby Bowser Bonkers
Fowl Play
None
Panic None Boulder Ball
Crazy Cogs
Tidal Toss
None Tick Tock Hop None
Item Mini-Game None Winner's Wheel
Hey, Batter, Batter!
Bobbing Bow-loons
Dorrie Dip
Swinging with Sharks
Swing 'n' Swipe
None
Game Guy Mini-Game None Game Guy's Lucky 7
Game Guy's Magic Boxes
Game Guy's Roulette
Game Guy's Sweet Surprise
Stardust Battle None Stardust Battle None


Reception[]

Mario Party 3 received mixed to positive reviews. It has a 74% rating from Metacritic, based on 12 reviews, and a 73% from Game Rankings based on 17 reviews. IGN gave it a 6.4 and GameSpot gave it a 7.5. In Japan, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 31 out of 40.

Sales[]

Mario Party 3 is the 26th best-selling game for the Nintendo 64, selling approximately 1.9 million copies: 1.02 million copies in Japan, 720,000 copies in North America, and 160,000 copies elsewhere, as of December 31, 2009.

Awards[]

The Mario Party 3 installment won the Console Family Award from the Academy of the Interactive Arts and Sciences of 2002.

Voice Sounds[]

Credits[]

Main article: Mario Party 3/credits

Trivia[]

  • If non-party boards are counted, this is the Mario Party that has the second most boards, 12, with Mario Party 10 having 14 (this includes the Amiibo boards).
  • This is the final Mario game released for the Nintendo 64 internationally (except for Australia, where Paper Mario was the last Mario game), six months before the release of Luigi's Mansion on the Nintendo GameCube.
  • This is the first Mario Party game to feature Mario's main voice, Luigi's main voice, Peach's main voice, and Wario's main voice replacing the voice clips from the first two Mario Party games and the third and final Mario Party game to feature Yoshi's sound effects and Toad's sound effects from the first two Mario Party games as well as the first Mario Party game where Charles Martinet voices Luigi and Wario and Jen Taylor voices Peach.
  • This was the fourth game in the overall Mario series where Daisy could participate in (after her return in Super Mario Land, NES Open Tournament Golf, and Mario Tennis. Additionally, this is the second game to feature Waluigi (after his debut appearance in Mario Tennis (N64)). Daisy and Waluigi were the first two additions to the Mario Party series installments overall.
  • This is the final installment of the Mario series overall which features Princess Peach and Princess Daisy in their classic appearances (though in Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Peach wears her classic dress instead of her current dress), as well as Daisy's hair being longer, having tan skin and having a red crown. Peach's dress received a major temporary redesign starting with Super Mario Sunshine (which is a sundress) and finalized with Mario Party 4.
  • Princess Daisy and Waluigi do not appear at the beginning, making it a mystery as to how they got into the toy chest in the first place.
  • This is the final appearance of Princess Daisy's classic design, which was first used in Super Mario Land.
  • This is the first Mario Party game to feature Mario's main voice, Luigi's main voice, Peach's main voice and Wario's main voice.
  • This is also the last Mario Party game to feature Yoshi's sound effects from Super Mario World and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island which was used in the first two Mario Party games.
  • Some of the playable characters' voice clips were later reused in Mario Party 4 and Mario Party 5.
  • Some of the minigame music was recycled and remixed in Mario Party Advance.
  • On the game's cover artwork and wallpaper featuring the entire cast of characters that has an example of a Battle Royale Board Map which is based on Chilly Waters, the spaces illustrated are circle-shaped like the previous games, yet in the game they are octagon-shaped.
  • Upon failing an Item minigame in the Japanese version, the announcer says "MISS!" with said word also shown on screen. This was changed in the North American, Australian, and European versions to say "GAME OVER" instead, but retaining the original narrator's voice recording from the first game.
  • The instruction manual incorrectly states that Thwomp has an attack stat of 2 instead of 0.
  • Mario Party 3 is one of the few games in which Mario speaks in coherent sentences; this happens when he challenges the player for the Courage Star Stamp.
    • However, his and other characters' dialogues are translated by the Millennium Star and Tumble.
  • This is the first Mario Party game to feature a Story Mode and mini-games that could be unlocked and played anytime without purchasing them first. A system that has become standard would continue to be used in future installments.
  • This is one of two games in the series that does not have a Bowser-themed board in Party Mode, the other being Mario Party 6.
  • At first, the Millennium Star says the winner will be the rightful owner of him, but after defeating all the others, he says if the player can defeat him in the Stardust Battle, he will make them the "Greatest Superstar of the Universe".

External links[]

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