Overview

Mario Party 2 is the second main installment in the Mario Party series for the Nintendo 64. Mario and the gang are fighting for the rights to a new amusement park; the objective is simple and similar to the original Mario Party: obtain Stars and defeat Bowser.

This is the game that introduced the first true use of collectible items in Mario Party history. The original Mario Party had items, but they merely toggled optional rules or game modes. Here, items are bought, traded, stolen, and central to strategy. Every board has its own tricks, traps and gimmicks, and the playable characters — as well as Bowser — wear different outfits based on the theme of each board, with the sole exception of Bowser Land (where they wear their normal clothes).

Battle, Item, and Duel mini-games are introduced. For the first time, players can practice any mini-game before it counts — a feature that would be featured in every Mario Party from this point onward.

It was the first Mario Party game (and the only one originally released on a home console) to make it to the Virtual Console — Wii VC in late 2010, Wii U VC in 2016, and the Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Classics service for Switch Online + Expansion Pack in November 2022, alongside the original Mario Party.

Story

The game opens on a stage where Toad comes out to welcome the audience and introduce the story of the play. The instruction booklet calls it “The Legend of Mario Land”:

The Plot Unfolds

Mario and friends (save for Wario) decide to create a new world — “Mario Land”. Wario is unhappy with the name and proposes “Wario Land”. An argument breaks out. Peach interrupts, claiming she has a name everyone can agree on: “Peach Land”. The characters double over in irony. As the cast continues to bicker, a sinister event is taking place on the other side of the unnamed world.

Bowser has set his sights on this new land and quickly begins invading it for himself while the group continues to argue. A lone Koopa Troopa sees the invasion and arrives to warn the group — but since they're fighting, they ignore him. Toad finally gets everyone's attention by announcing that whoever can defeat Bowser will have the new land named after them. The cast immediately runs off to claim their prize.

The story takes the characters across six lands, ending in Bowser Land. Bowser meets the group in a showdown, deploying his Metal Bowser power-up and claiming he is invincible.

A character (depending on who won the board) then fights Bowser and, with the power of the stars, throws him into orbit. The game resumes its stage format, with Mario and friends triumphantly standing over a defeated Bowser. Toad exclaims that they now live in peace in the new Mario Land.

The curtain falls and each character takes a final bow, followed by the whole cast and Toad revealing that the entire game was a stage production — an attraction at the real Mario Land theme park — which is why Mario and Bowser are getting along on-stage afterward. A clever reference to Super Mario Bros. 3, whose premise is similarly implied to be a stage play.

Playable Characters

Six playable characters — the same roster as the original Mario Party. Similar to the first game, each character has an associated color used in mini-games (e.g. tank colour in Shell Shocked). This is the only Mario Party game where characters dress according to the theme of each board (except Bowser Land, where they wear regular outfits).

Each character also has a preferred or favourite item, which is either hinted at or outright stated by various in-game and out-of-game sources. Whenever a CPU player has the chance to get an item, they'll go for their preferred item if possible.

Below: each character's assigned colour, their preferred item, the CPU player's in-game description, and their Mini-Game Mode description. Both quotes are taken verbatim from the original game manual.

Mario (Cowboy)

Red

Favourite Item: Mushroom

“Loves Mushrooms. Runs like the dickens. Our hero.”

“Our happy hero. Skillfully handles any game!”

Luigi

Blue

Favourite Item: Skeleton Key

“Loves Skeleton Keys. A man of hidden talents.”

“MARIO's younger brother. Very stern, unlike his appearance.”

Peach (Archaeologist)

Pink

Favourite Item: Plunder Chest

“Loves tricking people. Beware the Plunder Chest!”

“A beautiful princess. Elegantly clears games!”

Yoshi (Pirate)

Green

Favourite Item: Warp Block

“Loves to warp! Pulls through in a pinch!”

“Always full of energy. His big, round eyes are so cute!”

Wario (Space)

Purple

Favourite Item: Dueling Glove

“Formidable duelist! Unmatched strength and wits!”

“MARIO's rival. Trickery is his forte.”

Donkey Kong

Brown

Favourite Item: Bowser Bomb

“Loves Happenings! Thinks he can whip Bowser in a fight.”

“Power is his pride. Clears every game in top form!”

In-Game Costume Sprites

In addition to the rendered artwork, here are each character's 3D costume models from in-game cutscenes — matching the board they're currently on:

Mario

Luigi

Peach

Yoshi

Wario

DK

Items

Items can be bought at Item Shops — the offering varies with the number of turns played and the current rank of the player. Items are also won by playing Item Mini-Games. Mario Party 2 uses a one-item-per-player limit (later games would allow up to three).

Items You Can Buy

	Mushroom	10 coins	Roll two Dice Blocks and add the digits together. If both digits match (e.g. two 9s), gain 10 coins. Two 7s? 20 coins. Mario's favourite.
	Skeleton Key	10 coins	Automatically activated whenever the holder is about to hit a locked gate. The key opens the gate, the player passes through, and the gate locks again. Unlike in Mario Party 3, you can't discard it. Luigi's favourite.
	Plunder Chest	15 coins	Steal the item from a randomly-chosen opponent. Peach's favourite.
	Dueling Glove	15 coins	Summon a Goomba, choose an opponent to duel in a Duel Mini-Game, and choose the coin wager (capped at the lowest player's coin count). Wario's favourite.
	Warp Block	15 coins	A Warp Block appears above the user; they hit it and swap board positions with a randomly-chosen opponent. Yoshi's favourite.
	Golden Mushroom	20 coins	Roll three Dice Blocks. If all three digits match (e.g. three 10s), gain 20 coins. Three 7s? 50 coins.
	Magic Lamp	30 coins	Summons the Mushroom Genie, who flies you directly to the Star Space and offers to trade 20 coins for a Star.

Item-Only Items (won from Item Mini-Games)

	Boo Bell	—	Summons a Boo. The player chooses whether to steal coins (5 coins) or a Star (50 coins).
	Bowser Suit	—	Masquerade as Bowser. Steal 20 coins from any opponent you pass.
	Bowser Bomb	—	At the end of the turn, Baby Bowser transforms into Bowser, rolls three Dice Blocks, and moves accordingly. Any player Bowser passes loses all of their coins. DK's favourite.

The Bowser Land Item Shop

In Bowser Land, there's a shop run by Baby Bowser who forces the player passing to buy an item of his choice at inflated prices:

• Mushroom — 12 coins (vs normal 10)
• Skeleton Key — 12 coins (vs normal 10)
• Warp Block — 17 coins (vs normal 15)
• Bowser Suit — 12 coins (normally only winnable)
• Bowser Bomb — 12 coins (normally only winnable)

However, if you pass this shop while already wearing a Bowser Suit, Baby Bowser will hand you a Skeleton Key, Golden Mushroom, Boo Bell, or Magic Lamp for free — assuming you're a fellow villain.

Spaces

Nine types of space appear on Mario Party 2's boards. Each does something different when landed on (or passed):

Blue Space

The most common space. Land on it for +3 coins. During the Last Five Turns Event the bonus is doubled to 6. The only space type where Hidden Blocks can appear.

Red Space

Land here and lose 3 coins. During the Last Five Turns Event the penalty is doubled to 6.

? Space (Happening)

Land on it and a board-specific event unfolds. Each board has its own Happening behaviour.

! Space (Chance Time)

Initiates Chance Time — randomly redistributing coins or Stars between players. Two of these appear on every board.

Bowser Space

Summons Bowser. An event from the Bowser Roulette unfolds — rarely good for whoever landed on it.

Star Space

When a player passes this space, Toad offers a Star for 20 coins. Decide carefully — or you'll regret skipping it next turn.

Item Space

Initiates a board-specific Item Mini-Game — unless it's the final turn, or you're already holding an item.

Battle Space

Goomba is summoned. Each player chips in 10, 20, 30, or 50 coins for a jackpot, then competes in a Battle Mini-Game. 1st gets 70% of the pot, 2nd gets 30%, 3rd and 4th get nothing. Ties split 50/50.

Bank Space

Pass it: pay 5 coins to the Koopa Bank (or whatever you have). Land on it: collect all previously-deposited coins. Reversed in Bowser Land — pass to gain a 5-coin loan, land to repay the full loan or lose a Star.

Boards

Mario Party 2 features six themed boards, each with characters in matching outfits (except Bowser Land, where they wear regular clothes). Several boards reference the original game's gimmicks: Mystery Land echoes Wario's Battle Canyon, and Horror Land's day/night cycle would later become the foundation of Mario Party 6. Goomba barracks appear in the background of every board. Like Mario Party 1, every board can be played in 20, 35, or 50 turns.

Note: Mario Party 2 is currently the only Mario Party where boards are chosen immediately from the main menu, rather than through the set-up screen.

Pirate Land · ⭐ · Villain: Cap'n Bowser

The first board of Mario Party 2. Players are dressed in pirate garb and given the title “Captain.”

Land on one of the Blue Spaces on a dock and a Sushi will appear, ferrying you to another dock elsewhere on the board. The Happening Spaces trigger a cannon that fires a cannonball at the player, blasting them back to the start space.

Several short-cuts are guarded by Thwomps, each demanding a toll of at least one coin to pass. The toll then escalates: every subsequent player must pay at least one coin more than the previous player did. Cheap at first, ruinous by the end of the game.

Western Land · ⭐ · Villain: Bowser the Brash

The second board. Players dress as cowboys with the title “Deputy.”

The main gimmick is Steamer — a steam locomotive that runs the perimeter of the board. Players can ride Steamer for a 5-coin toll; while aboard, they hit a directional block to choose forwards or backwards. Steamer also moves on his own when a player lands on a Happening Space — and any player Steamer hits is sent back to the starting space.

There's also a milk shop run by Wiggler. When passed, Wiggler asks if the player would like to host a hootenanny for 20 coins. Accept and every other character is summoned to the shop for the party. Wiggler greets you with: “Yee-haw! We're gonna have a grand ol' hooternanny!! Are ya'll ready?”

Space Land · ⭐⭐ · Villain: Black Hole Bowser

The third board. Players dress as astronauts — members of the Space Patrol.

The signature feature is a Bowser-faced junction in the very middle of the board. Every time a player passes the junction, its number ticks down by one. When it reaches zero, Bowser fires a laser beam down the diagonal pathway from the north-east corner to the south-west corner. Every player blasted by the beam loses all their coins.

Happening Spaces trigger a Whomp or Thwomp who chases the player who landed there to the opposite side of the map. Any other player caught in their path is also dragged along.

If you pass the Snifit Patrol, they offer to set up a speed trap for 5 coins. While active, any Whomp or Thwomp on a chase is caught by the Snifits — sending the chased players even further off.

Mystery Land · ⭐⭐ · Villain: Bowser Sphinx

The fourth board. Players dress as archaeologists (but are not given a title).

The board is split into four islands. To move between islands, players must land on a Happening Space — which warps them clockwise to the next island. Alternatively, pay a Bob-omb 10 coins to ferry between the upper-left and lower-right islands directly.

Passing Shy Guy's Curse House lets you pay 5 coins to have a Shy Guy place a curse on an opponent of your choosing. The cursed player can only roll 1 to 3 on their next turn — brutal late in the game when every space counts.

Wario's Mystery Land outfit (a pith helmet) is a direct nod to Wario Land and Virtual Boy Wario Land; Mario's archaeologist costume references Mario's Picross.

Horror Land · ⭐⭐⭐ · Villain: Wizard Bowser

The fifth board. Players dress as wizards with the title “Wizard.”

The signature mechanic is the day/night cycle. The time of day changes every two turns from the last switch, or whenever someone lands on a Happening Space. Players can also force-change the time by passing certain landmarks:

• Mystery Mansion (north corner) — Kamek charges 10 coins to switch to night.
• Dancing floor (night-time only) — Boos and Mr. I dance to switch it back to day for 10 coins.

Other features:

• Mr. I taxi — 10 coins by day, 5 by night. Ferries you between the NW and SE corners, dragging any players in your path along too.
• Whomps guarding pathways will reposition themselves when passed — for a fee of 10 coins — but they're immobile at night.
• Big Boo on the NE corner — at night, charges triple the normal Boo fee, but unlike a regular Boo he steals from all players at once.

Boo's line when stealing: “You'll regret that! Ooo, hoo, hoo, hoo!”

Bowser Land · ⭐⭐⭐ · Villain: Bowser

The final board — unlocked after every other board has been played at least once. No costumes here; the characters wear their regular outfits, and no title is assigned.

Bowser Land plays by inverted rules:

• Bank logic is reversed — pass a Bank Space to gain a 5-coin loan; land on one to repay the full loan (or lose a Star if you can't).
• There are three Bank Spaces here (every other board has two).
• Item Shop in the top-right corner is run by a Baby Bowser who forces you to buy an item at inflated prices.

The main spectacle is the Bowser Parade. Every five turns (excluding the final one), the parade kicks off. Any player caught in its path loses 2 coins per space and is eventually sent back to the starting space. If no players are in the parade's path, the parade is cancelled.

You can manipulate the parade's route via arrow tiles. Pass a Baby Bowser, pay 5 coins, and the arrow tile rotates — redirecting the parade away from you (or toward an opponent).

Other features:

• Red Warp Pipe Happening Spaces — warp you to the next red Warp Pipe on the board.
• Bloober ride — landing on a Happening Space near the Bloober in the NW corner takes you on a circular ride, where you can only escape by landing on another Happening Space.

When you defeat Bowser the final time, Baby Bowser laments: “We won! We won! You're no good! Were you even trying!?!”

Mini-Games

Mario Party 2 ships with 64 mini-games — 44 brand-new plus 20 carried over from the original Mario Party (sometimes with altered rules, settings, names, or category). The categories:

• 4-Player Mini-Games — everyone for themselves
• 1-vs-3 Mini-Games — one player against the other three
• 2-vs-2 Mini-Games — teams of two
• Battle Mini-Games (new) — jackpot-style mini-games triggered by Battle Spaces. 1st place gets 70% of the pot, 2nd gets 30%, 3rd and 4th get nothing
• Item Mini-Games (new) — single-player, triggered by Item Spaces. Win one of the item-only items (Boo Bell, Bowser Suit, Bowser Bomb)
• Duel Mini-Games (new) — 1-vs-1, triggered by the Dueling Glove item
• Challenge Mini-Games — bonus category

For the first time in the series, practice mode is available for every mini-game — a feature that's been a staple of every Mario Party since.

Mini-Game Land

A dedicated mode where players can buy mini-games from Woody to play them freely or in the Mini-Game Stadium. The headline attraction is the Mini-Game Coaster — a single-player challenge gauntlet that unlocks Item and Battle mini-games for free play.

Regional Differences

International vs Japanese

Western Land's ending duel: The Japanese version has the winner and Bowser battling with realistic revolvers against an orange streak of light, with realistic gunshot sound effects. The international version replaces the revolvers with toy guns, the orange streak with a purple streak, and the gunshots with cartoony toy-like sounds. Because of the toy-gun swap, the conclusion of the duel is also made more visually obvious via the fired corks — the Japanese version instead held tense moments before revealing Bowser had been hit.

Professor Fungi: In the Japanese version he smokes a pipe. The pipe was removed in all international versions.

European Version Exclusive

Exclusive to the European version is a language select screen, supporting English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. It appears the first time you turn on the game, then becomes a hidden option afterwards.

You can force it to reappear by holding A on boot — useful for cycling between languages.

Trivia: Mario Party 2 is the first Super Mario game to be officially translated to Spanish and Italian.

Memorable Quotes

A handful of in-game lines that have stuck with players for over two decades. All reproduced verbatim:

Glitches

Coffin Congestion Softlock

In the mini-game Coffin Congestion, if a player is bouncing between two coffins at the exact moment the mini-game ends, the game will continue indefinitely — effectively softlocking the entire game. The player has to manually reset the console.

Hot Rope Jump Freeze

In the mini-game Hot Rope Jump, if a player successfully performs 1,000 jumps, the game freezes outright. (No coincidence that there's only a 3-digit jump counter on screen.)

Reception

Mario Party 2 received mostly positive reviews, praised as a moderate improvement over the first game but somewhat dragged down by retaining the original's formula — including the heavy luck factor and the lacklustre single-player experience. The bulk of critics agreed: it was a fantastic multiplayer game, but if you'd already worn out the original, the additions might not justify a second purchase.

Sales

As of 31 December 2009, Mario Party 2 had sold 2.5 million copies worldwide — making it the 20th best-selling game on the Nintendo 64. The breakdown:

• 1.27 million in North America
• 1.07 million in Japan
• 160,000 elsewhere

The Nintendo of America Sarcasm Certificate

Following Game Informer's rather lukewarm reviews of both Mario Party and Mario Party 2, Nintendo of America sent the magazine a sarcastic certificate — pictured here — mocking the publication's negative coverage. This kind of corporate clapback is rare even today, and the certificate quickly became gaming-press legend.

References to Other Games

References in Later Games

Trivia & Notes

• Despite official artwork (pictured) showing all characters in board-specific outfits during mini-games, in the actual game characters only wear default outfits in mini-games — except Duel mini-games.
• When choosing Bowser Land in 2-player mode, the game incorrectly says “3 Computer Characters” instead of 2 — a long-standing bug.
• Mario Party 2 is the first Super Mario game officially translated to Spanish and Italian.
• Mario Party 2 is currently the only Mario Party game where boards are chosen directly from the main menu, rather than via the set-up screen.
• The Mini-Game Land Practice Mode introduced here became a Mario Party staple — every subsequent installment in the series has included it.
• Bowser appears under six different villain personas across the boards: Cap'n Bowser, Bowser the Brash, Black Hole Bowser, Bowser Sphinx, Wizard Bowser, and plain old Bowser (Bowser Land).
• Recycled assets from Mario Party 1: the engine is reused, all animations are reused (now with facial expressions), 20 mini-games are recycled, and all veteran characters' voice clips are reused.
• The Toad-as-host stage framing is a direct echo of Super Mario Bros. 3, whose premise is also implied to be a stage play.
• The first Mario Party game (and the only one originally on a home console) to be re-released on the Virtual Console.
• Joined by Mario Party Advance and Mario Party DS when those received Wii U Virtual Console releases later.
• Music composed by Hironao Yamamoto, Syohei Bando, Kazuhiko Sawaguchi, and Yasunori Mitsuda — Mitsuda is best known for the soundtracks of Chrono Trigger and Xenogears.
• JP/CT title: マリオパーティ２ (Mario Pāti 2). Traditional Chinese: 瑪利歐派對2.
• Slogan: “Get the place jumping!”
• To promote the release, Nintendo adapted the mini-games Speed Hockey and Roll Call into two web-browser games for single player: Dinky Rinky and Crazy Counting.
• Game Director: Kenji Kikuchi.

Videos

Reference, Information & External Links