
	Platform Wii Genre Party Publisher Nintendo Developer ND Qube Co. ESRB E (Everyone) Released March 11, 2012

- Doesn't take forever to play a game - Sidesteps boredom - Family entertainment

- Still a crapshoot when it comes to actually "winning"

Review: Rayman Ravin`Rabbids (Wii) Review: Squeeballs Party (Wii) Review: Fuzion Frenzy 2 (360)
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Mario Party 9

Score: 8.0 / 10

Mario Party 9 is the strongest title the series has seen in a long time simply because it streamlines the most boring aspects of Mario Party, the principle one being the time it takes between turns.

This time around all the characters share a vehicle like some kind of parody of roadtrip films that don't end with the travellers being skinned alive or par broiled and served with aspargus. This is one of those bright, sunshine-filled journeys that end with a lot of coins and stars. And an angry dad how failed to win again simply

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- Wii Game Reviews
- Party Game Reviews
- Games Published by Nintendo

due to randomness in which a huge lead was slashed to nothing.

At least by cutting out the turn-based aspect -- every turn has something for players to do -- the games are much more compressed. Instead of drawn out affairs, I was much more apt to say, "Sure" to requests from the kids to play the game.

So little of my game collection is family

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friendly, it's nice to be able to play something like this, especially in my house, where board games often lack a complete set of pieces to play.

That's why you can be assured that it's always Col. Mustard who committed in the murder in Clue. It's the only suspect card left.

Take away the board aspect of Mario Party 9, and you're left with a collection of competitive mini-games. In this case, the mini-games are easy enough to figure out and any hardcore player should be able to rack up coins consistently. Kids seem to have no issues climbing the point ladder either.

The randomness of some of the board effects can be frustrating; it's akin to Nintendo grabbing the chess board mid-match and throwing it across the room. It doesn't seem fair and there's nothing you can do about it except enjoy the experience while it lasts. And the kids liked it.

- Aaron Simmer

(April 19, 2012)