Mario & Sonic Cruise Party

Gameplay
Mario Party 7 features game boards on which players and CPU characters move around on spaces similar to a board game. Players roll the Dice Block with numbers from one to ten to advance on the board. At the beginning of the game, players can hear an explanation of the board's objective, as well as various other quirks the board may have. The turn order is then determined by a Dice Block roll, with the higher numbers going sooner. Each player starts off with ten coins, and the number of coins is affected by the spaces that the player lands on after their turn, as well as multiple other factors. For example, landing on a Blue Space gives a player three coins, while landing on a Red Space takes three coins away. The boards feature a variety of spaces that have different effects, and players can collect items known as Orbs from Orb Spaces, buying them at Orb Huts, or winning them from Green Spaces. The items can be used to have different effects, which help players or hinder an opponent's progress.

After each player has completed their turn, a minigame is played. The type of the minigame is determined by the colors of the spaces that the players ended their turn on. When all colors match, a 4-Player minigame is played, otherwise there is a 1-Vs-3 or a 2-Vs-2 minigame. In Mario Party 7, minigames might involve clearing action courses, solving puzzles faster than the other players, or fighting against each other, but all rules and controls vary between minigames. Several minigames use the Nintendo GameCube Microphone that is shipped with the game and plugs into Memory Card Slot B. Players can play microphone minigames without the device by adjusting the game settings. Winning players earn ten coins; however, some minigames are dependent on their category, such as the special Bonus minigames (which are mixed in with the normal minigame categories; they are marked by a yellow name), Battle minigames, Duel minigames, Dr. Eggman minigames and Bowser minigames. Various minigames have specific conditions to play in them: Battle minigames occur at random, rare intervals where players have their coins put at stake and the reward is dependent on how well the player has done. Duel minigames are triggered by Duel Spaces, where players can win Duel minigames for a prize dependent on a roulette, where players are required to put coins and Stars at stake to play. DK and Bowser minigames occur when players land on their respective places; a new feature exclusive to Mario & Sonic Cruise Party is that single-player Eggman and Bowser minigames are thrown into the mix of multiplayer Eggman and Bowser minigames. Once a minigame after every turn is completed, the game is saved and players resume their turns on the board.

Mario & Sonic Cruise Party is a party game on the Nintendo Switch. The game is laid out as an interactive board game, where players use Dice Blocks to advance in the board, while also playing various minigames. In this game, Mario, Sonic and the gang, using the MSS Sea Star, go vacationing to locations based on landmarks on Earth. However, Bowser is not invited on the cruise and decides to cause trouble for Mario and his friends.

Up to four players can enjoy the most of the game's modes; however, a special mode that this game introduces to the Mario & Sonic Party game allows up to eight players to participate in a party. Players are required to share their controllers, and thus, controls are simplified in such modes.

At the last four turns, the Last Four Turns Event occurs. Bowser appears to give Koopa Kid the current standings, while also inviting the last player or team to spin the bonus wheel. Some of the effects can help or hinder the players on the board, where one of them triples coins earned on Blue and Red Spaces while others involve Bowser Spaces being placed on all Red Spaces.

The main objective of any Mario Party game is to gain Stars that are located at a special location in the board. In Mario Party 7, each board offers its unique way to obtain stars, unlike most preceding games in the Mario Party series where there is only one way to obtain stars. At the end of every game, Toadsworth announces the game's current Star count and final coin count. After that, there will be three Bonus Stars for the players who did the best during the course of the game. The player with the most Stars overall, wins the game. If there is a tie for Stars, then the winner will be decided with coins (Dice Blocks if the final coin count is the same).

A new addition to the board gameplay is Bowser Time. After each turn, a special gauge representing Bowser's head appears on the screen to tell the player when that time comes; the meter fills up every turn. When the gauge is filled, Bowser Time is initiated. During this special event, Bowser comes to the board and cause trouble in various ways, some are general while others are specific to the board being played on. This special event happens every five turns; in the Last Four Turns event, the gauge stops appearing after every turn.

After every session, whether on board gameplay in Party Cruise or playing minigames in Minigame Cruise, Cruise Mileage Points are earned. These are used to spend on various items at the Duty-Free Shop.

One change has been made to Tag Battle in Mario Party 7. Unlike previous installments, where both players in a team move separately, both players in a team move at the same time by hitting two Dice Blocks from 1-5. Also, both players may be able to participate in certain board events by landing on a Green Space. Players alternate between the leader every turn, where initially, the first leader is determined by the controller order. Leaders make the decisions such as using Orbs, visiting Orb Shops, or making choices in board events. If a human-controlled player is partnered with a CPU player, the human-controlled player is always the leader.

Game modes[edit]
Toadsworth is the host of Mario Party 7, and he guides players through the various modes of the game. At the main menu selection screen, players can get a small description for each of the six game modes and navigate different ways to play through this screen. The game modes are themed after pleasure voyages on a ship and a ship's various locations.

Party Cruise[edit]
Toadsworth greeting players into Party Cruise.

Party Cruise is Mario Party 7's main mode. Up to four players can play the game normally, but the mode also features a 4-Team Battle, where four teams of two players can compete against one another. This game mode uses the default Mario Party rules to play: players win by collecting the most Stars on the board.

Before any game is started, players can adjust various settings, which are the following: After these settings are confirmed and the number of players selected, players choose their characters. If there are not enough players, CPU players can be chosen to fill up extra slots; players can adjust CPU player difficulty from Weak, Normal, Hard, or the unlockable Brutal difficulty. Players can then adjust the number of Stars a team or a player can start with with the Handicap feature to give an advantage; up to nine Stars can be initially given. Once these settings are all set, the game can be started.
 * Turns: The number of turns that the game takes to be finished can be set between 10 and 50 turns in 5 turn intervals.
 * Rules: Players can play in Battle Royale, where four players compete in a free-for-all, Tag Battle, where four players split into two teams, and 4-Team Battle where eight players divide into four teams. Whenever players are in teams, coins, Stars, and Orbs are shared with a teammate.
 * Bonus Stars: Players can either opt for receiver three Bonus Stars awarded at the end of the game or not. The three Bonus Stars are randomly awarded for six of the following achievements:
 * Minigame Star: Most coins earned in minigames.
 * Action Star: Most Green Spaces landed on.
 * Orb Star: Most Orbs used.
 * Shopping Star: Most coins used to buy Orbs.
 * Red Star: Most Red Spaces landed on.
 * Running Star: Most spaces walked over in total.
 * Minigame Sets: By default, all available minigames are played. Players can restrict the minigames to only being Easy games, Action games, Hard games, or Weird games. In PAL regions, they are known as Family games, Action games, Technical games, or Bizarre games respectively.

Players can access the pause menu by pressing . Here, players can view how many turns they have left, how full the Bowser Time gauge is, and toggle more settings. These are the following settings available:
 * Player Control: Players can switch the control type of the characters. Players can become a CPU player, or turn their character in CPU players. Players can also adjust CPU difficulty through this menu.
 * Minigame Instructions: Players can choose to view or skip minigame instructions.
 * CPU Minigames: Players can choose to view or skip minigames between CPU players.
 * Minigame Sets: Players can change the current minigame set to All, Easy, Action, Hard, or Weird games.
 * Rumble Feature: Players can toggle controller rumbling on or off.
 * Message Speed: This setting can change the speed messages are displayed. The speeds are slow, normal, and fast.
 * Mic: Players can set the mic on or off. If the mic is on, Mic minigames can be played.
 * Quit: This quits the game and returned to the mode selection screen. Players can choose to leave off where the game was last saved.

Solo Cruise[edit]
The introduction to Solo Cruise.

Solo Cruise is the single player mode of this game, though up to two players can participate. The gameplay is very similar to Party Cruise save for several key differences. All games pit one player against another player, either controlled by the CPU or a human player, though players need to play against the CPU player in order to progress through this mode. When players first start the mode out, they are required to register a character and name as player data. Players can also create their own pregame and victory messages.

Once everything is set up, players can pick a board; these boards are shorter than Party Cruise and offer different objectives than Party Cruise's objectives. For example, in order to win in Pyramid Park, a player needs to retrieve the stolen Star and give it back to the Bowser Sphinx. The spaces also give a slightly different coin amount to a player upon landing on one in this mode. Blue Spaces give 5 coins, Red Spaces take 5 coins, and Character Spaces give 10 coins. If 30 turns have passed and no player has cleared the objective yet, the game will end in a tie.

Players need to clear all boards against the CPU player before they can unlock Bowser's board, Bowser's Enchanted Inferno!. If they win Bowser's minigame, Bowser's Lovely Lift!, against the CPU, they unlock the board, become the Solo Cruise champion and can leave their name and comment on the ranking board.

Deluxe Cruise[edit]
Toadsworth introducing players to Deluxe Cruise

Deluxe Cruise is a mode specifically created for 8 player support in Mario Party 7. In this mode, players need to share their controllers with another person; one player controls  and  while the other player controls  and . Players can then choose the number of human or CPU players playing, up to 8 different characters, and then choose from two of the available game modes.
 * 8-Player Free Play: Players can freely chose one of the 12 available 8-player minigame to play. Unlike the Free-Play Sub in Minigame Cruise, all 12 minigames are available from the start.
 * 8-Player Ice Battle: Players compete with each other to reach the central island. Every time players win a minigame, an ice block is created, and once the ice block path is fully connected, the players win. Players can choose from three different rules.
 * 8-Player Battle Royale: All players compete against each other, with only individual battle minigames.
 * 8-Player Team Battles: Players split into teams of two, having four teams in total. Only team minigames are played.
 * 8-Player Combined Battles: The same as 8-Player Team Battles rules, except the minigames alternate between individual minigames and team minigames. The combined results determine the winning team.

Minigame Cruise[edit]
The Minigame Cruise

Players can play with the minigames they have unlocked in Party Cruise or Solo Cruise. Up to four players can participate playing one of the six modes specifically designed around minigames.
 * Free Play Sub - Players are able to play any unlocked minigame they choose. They may also obtain 2 Rare minigames by purchasing them in the Duty-Free Shop, that can be played only in the Free Play Sub.
 * Volcano Peril - As the name suggests, this mode takes place in a volcano. After picking the number of victories (3, 5, 7) and the type of minigames (4-Player, 2-Vs.-2, 1-Vs.-3), the four characters race from some bolts. After each game, the character(s) who won rise one level. There is no penalty for losing. The first character (or team) to beat the required amount of games wins. They escape(s) from the volcano while the others get trapped in the skeleton of a dinosaur. In the sky, a Shy Guy on an airplane flies back and forth, spewing stars made out of smoke from the back. To play this game, players need unlock at least one 4-Player, 1-Vs.-3, or 2-Vs.-2 minigame, Duel minigames and Mic minigames excluded.
 * Waterfall Battle - The player must beat every other player in a Duel minigame. Players that lost a minigame have a chance for a comeback victory. The game is won when there are no other players left to battle. In order to play this mode, at least one Duel minigame has to be unlocked.
 * Pearl Hunt - Four characters are placed in a capsule underwater while seashells are placed around them. After beating a minigame, whoever won can select a shell. If it is a pearl with the winner's face on it, that player collects it. However, if it is not the winner's face, the shell closes. The player can find Mushrooms or Super Mushrooms to choose additional shells in a turn, a Bob-omb that briefly opens surrounding shells, or whirlpools that shuffles the order of the shells. The first one to collect three pearls that have their image on it wins the game, then appears in a giant shell, while the others are chased around by a shark. To play Pearl Hunt, players need to unlock at least one 4-Player minigame. If more than one person wins or it is a tie, nobody gets to open a shell.
 * Decathlon Castle - Players play ten selected minigames to earn the most points, dependent on how well they performed in the minigame. The game can be played in two ways: players can either play from the standard ten minigames or from five randomly selected minigames, though the top score is saved only when the standard ten minigames ruleset is played. Players can view their top scores in the Duty-Free Shop. The following minigames must be unlocked to play this game: Track & Yield, Fun Run, Snow Ride, Target Tag, Pokey Pummel, Take Me Ohm, Kart Wheeled, Helipopper, Monty's Revenge, and Air Farce.
 * King of the River (unlockable) - This mode is a game for one player only. Single players play a set of minigames with a limited supply of lives. Each time the player fails to win a minigame, one life is lost; if all lives are lost, the game ends. Koopa Kid shows up between 6-10 minigames, 16-20 minigames, and 26-30 minigames with a multiplayer Bowser minigame. On every five minigames, players can save their progress. It is also possible to recover any lives that are lost, but players cannot hold more than three lives. As the player plays through this game mode, they can advance to higher difficulty levels. For each difficulty level cleared, the player receives a souvenir, which will then be placed in the Duty-Free Shop. Winning King of the River on all the skill levels effectively wins the game. The prize received is a star statue, and when it is accessed in the Duty Free Shop, the surprise action is the end credits.

Duty-Free Shop[edit]

 * Main article: Duty-Free Shop

Toadsworth greeting players into the Duty-Free Shop

The Duty-Free Shop serves as the game's shop and area that saves the game's records. Whenever players complete tasks, Cruise Mileage Points are earned, which can then be used to spend on various goods on the shop. Players can buy new characters, minigames, difficulty levels, collectable souvenirs and more. When players buy souvenirs, the item gets relocated to the Souvenir Stand, where players can view them; if players have the microphone enabled, saying "Surprise" at the souvenir causes a special effect. Records are stored in the Travel Diary, where players can view Party Cruise, Minigame, Decathlon Castle, and Staff Records. At the Cruise Sounds menu, players can listen to the various background music and character voices from Mario Party 7. Finally, players can view the Minigame Packages to see which minigame belongs in each minigame set.

Control Room[edit]
The Control Room.

The Control Room is Mario Party 7's option mode. Here, players can change various game settings.
 * Rumble Feature: Players can turn the Controller Rumble Feature on or off.
 * Sound Settings: Players can change the sound to stereo, mono, or surround.
 * Mic Settings: Players can toggle the microphone on, off, or while using the controller. If the settings are on, Mic minigames will appear in Party Cruise, and the Mic Spaces are also active. While using the controller, players can press the  to open up a menu of commands, where they can choose the command they want to use.
 * Mic Test: This tests the microphone if it is working properly.

Playable characters[edit]
The character select screen showing all characters available.

All playable characters from Mario Party 6 except Koopa Kid (who instead hosts the Koopa Kid Spaces) return. The newcomers, as well as the unlockable characters, are Birdo and Dry Bones; they are marked with an asterisk in the below gallery. In order to unlock them, the player has to spend 1,000 Cruise Mileage Points each at the Duty-Free Shop. This game also does not feature character-specific colors at all; instead, the default red, blue, green, and yellow color scheme is used to determine player color.
 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Princess Peach
 * Yoshi
 * Wario
 * Princess Daisy
 * Waluigi
 * Toad
 * Boo
 * Toadette
 * Birdo (new)
 * Dry Bones (new)

Default partners[edit]
Each pair of partners have their own special orbs. If two unpaired characters are on the same team, they can both receive their special Orbs, but the special Orbs can be obtained and used only by the designated players. For example, if Mario and Peach are on the same team, Peach can share her special Flower Orb with Mario, but only she can obtain it and use it.
 * Mario and Luigi
 * Princess Peach and Princess Daisy
 * Wario and Waluigi
 * Toad and Toadette
 * Yoshi and Birdo
 * Boo and Dry Bones

Team names[edit]
Special team names for each pair do not return in this Mario Party installment, unlike its predecessors Mario Party 5 and Mario Party 6. Rather, they are represented by one of the various marine animals: dolphin, seagull, tuna, and mollusk. Team Dolphin and Seagull appear as team one and team two respectively in 4-player matches, while Tuna and Mollusk are added as team three and team four respectively in 8-player matches.