`    Mario Party 4 is the fourth in a series of board game style video games for Nintendo platforms, featuring popular Nintendo characters. It was released on the Nintendo GameCube in North America on October 21, 2002 strangely before the Japanese release on November 8, 2002. It was released on November 29, 2002 in Europe, being heavily criticised for being 'Nintendo's big GameCube Game' for Christmas 2002 as Metroid Prime was delayed until March 2003.  Mario Party 4 was the first Mario Party that was released on the Nintendo GameCube. Each board had its own host, including Toad, Goomba, Shy Guy, Koopa, and Boo. Mario Party 4 also contains some characters new to the franchise; Thwomp and Whomp. Klepto, Dolphin, Lakitu, and Star, along with two completely new characters named Genie of the Lamp and Ztar, are included as well. Mario Party 4 retains the Story Mode found in Mario Party 3.  The game, as usual, contains a standard party mode in which up to four players play through a board, trying to collect as many Stars as possible. The Star Space would appear randomly on the board, and players would have to reach it before anyone else. However, the Stars carry a price tag of 20 coins, and player has to earn those coins by winning minigames, which take place at the end of each turn (after all the players have rolled the Dice Block, which will always roll a number from one to ten).  Battle minigames are like the 4-player games, but generally (with many exceptions) a little more elaborate. Battle games are usually tense because every player has to put a certain number of coins (from 5 - 50) into a pot. First place gets 70% of the pot, second place gets 30%, and a random player gets any coins lost in rounding.   Every Mario Party contains 60 to 80 minigames of a few different types. Four-player games are a free-for-all in which all players compete against each other. 2-on-2 and 1-on-3 minigames put players in groups, so they have to cooperate in the minigame to win, even though they are against each other in the main game. In most situations, winners of these games make 10 coins each.  A new addition to the Mario Party series was the Bowser mini-games. Players play in a very elaborate mini-game that ends when one player is eliminated in various ways. (See Bowser mini-game section below) The loser loses a pre-specified item, usually coins or items.  ==Gameplay== ===Boards=== * Toad's Midway Madness * Goomba's Greedy Gala * Koopa's Seaside Soiree * Shy Guy's Jungle Jam * Boo's Haunted Bash * Bowser's Gnarly Party (Clear Story Mode to unlock it)  ==Spaces== There is various spaces you can land in the game. The following is a list of them, and what they do. *Blue Space - You get three coins. Also, there is a special feature on this game called Hidden Blocks, in which a star or coins may be hidden on random blue spaces. *Red Space - You lose three coins. *Green Happening Space - A special board event takes place. *Warp Space - You are sent to the same space as an opponent. A spinner chooses which opponent's space you will warp to. *Mushroom Space - Two boxes will appear (one big and one small). Choose one, and you will be given either a Mini Mushroom or a Mega Mushroom. (Note: The Mega Mushroom is not always in the large box, and the Mini Mushroom is not always in the small box.) *Battle Space - A battle minigame will start in which players put a chosen amount of coins into a pot. The better you finish in the minigame, the more coins you will get back from the pot. *Bowser Space - Bowser may steal items from players or a Bowser minigame may begin. *Fortune Space - A reversal of fortune begins, in which players may have to give coins or stars to others. The player who landed on it plays a game like pinball that chooses the two players involved as well as what will be given, taken, or swapped.  ===Board Events=== *Item Shop: You can buy items here that will help you gain an advantage in the game. If you have three items, have no coins, or it's the last turn, you wont be able to buy anything. *Lottery Shop: Pay 5 coins to play a lottery game. There is either the scratcher ticket game, where the player chooses 1 out of 12 tickets win a prize. A 1 will give 100 coins, a 2 will give 30 coins, a 3 will give a Mega Mushroom and a ``Try Again`` gives nothing. Another game is the Ball Game, based purely on chance. Spin the machine and get a ball. A gold ball gives 100 coins, a pink ball gives 30 coins, a blue ball gives a Mega Mushroom, and a white ball gives nothing. **Lucky Party Ticket: The first time you enter in the Lottery shop, you will receive a Lucky Party Ticket. During the last 5 turns, a Lottery Drawing will take place. The winner will receive a star.  *Boo House: Here, players can hire Boo to steal coins at a 5 coin cost or a star at a 50 coin cost. *Pipes: Pipes need a mini mushroom to get past. Usually have a mini mini game on the other side of it. *Mini-mini games: These are mini games in which you can only play if you are using a mini mushroom. You usually win coins or items if you win the mini-mini game.  ===Items=== *Mini Mushroom (5 coins): Makes you smaller so you can pass through small pipes on the gameboard and play in-game minigames (or ``Mini Mini-games``), but lets you roll the dice block only from one to five. *Mega Mushroom (5 coins): Makes you bigger so you can stomp on players in your path to take ten coins from them, and lets you move using two dice blocks; you don't stop for Stars or board events. *Super Mini Mushroom (15 coins): Same as the Mini Mushroom, but lets you roll using two dice blocks that roll from one to five. *Super Mega Mushroom (15 coins): Same as the Mega Mushroom, but lets you roll using three dice blocks. *Mini-Mega Hammer (10 coins): Causes a random player (excluding the user) to feel the effects of either a Mini Mushroom or a Mega Mushroom. *Swap Card (15 coins): Lets you exchange items with another player that a roulette decides. *Warp Pipe (10 coins): Lets you swap places with another player that a roulette decides. *Gaddlight (15 coins): Protects you one time from a Boo that would steal your stars or coins. *Chomp Call (15 coins): Changes the location of the star. *Sparky Sticker (15 coins): Placed on the space you are currently on; makes whoever passes the space lose ten coins and the effects of any mushrooms in use. *Boo's Crystal Ball (25 coins): Boo will steal coins (pay 5 coins) or a Star (pay 50 coins) from an opponent. *Magic Lamp (30 coins): Takes you directly to the star. *Item Bag (30 coins): Gives you up to three random items (fills your inventory of items to the maximum, which is three). *Bowser Suit (random Bowser gift): Takes 30 coins from every player you pass on that turn.  ==Minigames== Coin collecting minigames appear in orange. *4P **Manta Rings Players swim underwater,trying to go through rings. Golden rings placed by the Manta Ray from Super Mario 64 areworth three normal rings, and players who hit underwater obstacles such as bloopers or an eel lose points. **Slime Time Players are stuck to the ``slime`` in the title, and must escape by running up a straight path to a circular safety point. This game involves rapidly hitting the ``A`` button.  **Booksquirm Players are in a book with circular, crescent-shaped, and star-shaped holes. As the pages in the book turn, players must run to a hole in the book. **Mario Medley A swimming game. Players do one length of a pool swimming the backstroke, butterfly, and front crawl. However, players have a heartbeat limiter.  **Avalanche! Players quickly ski down a mountain, avoiding an avalanche and rock obstacles along the way. Jumps help players speed, while running into the sheer cliffs on either side impede it. **Domination Players use hammers to set up Whomp dominoes. This is another game that involves quickly hitting the ``A`` button.  **Paratrooper Plunge Players fall through the sky, attempting to collect coins and coin bags while avoiding Shy Guys and Parakoopas. Players who hit the flying enemies four times are eliminated. **Toad's Quick Draw Players use pop guns to shoot down the balloon corresponding to the flag that Toad raises. Players who shoot the correct balloon first three times win. **Three Throw Players try to get baskets on the moving hoops. There are three rows of basketball hoops, and the middle hoops are worth two normal hoops