Mario Party 8

Mario Party 8
Developers: Hudson Soft, CAProduction Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Wii Released in JP: July 26, 2007 Released in US: May 29, 2007 Released in EU: June 22, 2007 Released in AU: July 19, 2007 Released in KR: November 6, 2008 This game has unused areas. This game has unused modes / minigames. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused models. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has debugging material. This game has a hidden sound test. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences.

To do: There are a lot of game-specific OSREPORT messages printed on startup.

Mario Party 8 is the first Mario Party game for the Wii, and the only one to be developed by Hudson Soft. The next Mario Party game for the Wii would come out five years later!

Unused Fanfare

A bad variation of the "Star Get" jingle is unused. It was intended for a "Ztar Get" jingle, but since Ztars do not appear in Mario Party 8, it goes unused.

Debug Menu

Debug Menu Listing A complete listing of what is accessible from the menu.

Replace m802.bin (data Folder) and m802dll.rel (dll folder) with selmenu.bin and selmenudll.rel, or use one of the below Gecko Codes. Start the Swing Kings mini-game. Once the game starts, you should boot into a debug menu.

Version	Gecko code
American	041D1890 801D1748
Japanese	041D1990 801D1848
European	041D4110 801D3FC8
Korean	041D94E8 801D93A0

This is the last time this unused font was used by anyone thankfully.

Four games later, they're still using the same debug menu. The expected completion date is added and the mini-game titles are changed once more. However, this is the final Mario Party where this same debug menu is present.

Press Up/Down to select a mini-game, and Left/Right to switch between pages.
The A / Start Button chooses a mini-game, and the B Button goes to the previous menu.
(There is no Page 1 of the debug menu - it skips to 2).

After an absence in Mario Party 7, this pregame character select screen is back! And it is still the same as it was in Mario Party 4!

The last option on Page 9 is "MII - GAME SELECT", which leads to a debug sub-menu.

This menu tests mini-games that the Miis can participate in. The only real difference is that the Mii characters are in the character select screen.
Press the B Button to return to the main debug menu.

Pages 13 and 14 have special options.

Page 13

• DEMO BOOT (Demo title screen)
• DEMO (Demo menu)

Page 14

• MESS CHEK (Message debug)
• SPEAKER CHECK (Taunt debug)
• SOUND CHECK
• MOTION CHECK (Animation debug)
• CANDY CHECK (Candy animation debug)
• RVLPAD CHECK (Wii remote debug)
• ACTMAN CHECK (Action Debug / Test Map)

Demo Menu

Choosing the "DEMO" option leads to a setup menu used in a demo of the game (possibly E3?)

The demo is mostly in Japanese, including the Japanese logo. All of the initial playable characters pose on a simple white background.

All of the mini-game titles are still in Japanese. Six mini-games are available to play:

• Shake It Up
• Water Ski Spree
• Crank to Rank
• Snipe for the Picking
• Blazing Lassos
• Ion the Prize

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Action Debug + Test Map

This is the physics / terrain test from Mario Party 7.

NOTE: The game assumes that the Wii remote is held sideways.

• +Control Pad: Move.
• A Button: Jump.
• A Button (in air): Ground pound.
• B Button: Punch.
• B Button (in air): Kick.
• + Button: Exit map (Bugged - ends gameplay but does not exit the map).
• C and Z Nunchuk buttons: Zoom in and zoom out

Animation Debug

A test of all of the player characters' animations. The controls at the top of the cube are not only incorrect, but they still reflect the GameCube control scheme, never represented correctly from Mario Parties 4 through 7!

• +Control Pad: Rotate camera.
• A Button: Load next animation.
• B Button: Load previous animation.
• B Button + Left: Zoom camera in.
• B Button + Right: Zoom camera out.
• B Button + Up / Down: Move camera up / down.
• 1 Button: Change quality of character model (0-3, 3 being worst).
• 2 Button: Load next character.
• + Button: Exit menu.

Candy Debug

A test of all of the player characters' candy animations. The controls at the top of the cube are actually incorrect and once again, have the GameCube's control scheme.

• +Control Pad: Rotate camera.
• A Button: Load next character.
• B Button: Load previous character.
• B Button + Left: Zoom camera in.
• B Button + Right: Zoom camera out.
• B Button + Up / Down: Move camera up / down.
• 1 Button: Change CANDY_MOTION variable (doesn't seem to do anything).
• 2 Button: Change candy animation.
• + Button: Exit menu.

Message Test

This is a test of every message in the game. Textual excitement!

• A / 1 Button: Next message.
• B / 2 Button: Previous message.
• +Control Pad: Change INSERT_MES (doesn't seem to do anything)
• - Button: Previous message bank.
• + Button: Next message bank.
• - Button & + Button: Exit menu.

Sound Test

A pretty complex sound debug mode. This same sound test previously appeared in Kororinpa: Marble Mania.

Controls (all menus)

• 1 Button: Stop sound.
• 2 Button: Play selected sound.
• + Button: Exit sound test.

Main Menu

This is where the magic happens.

Controls

• Up / Down: Choose between sub-menus.
• A Button: Select sub-menu.

Snd Select

Play sounds / music tracks here (provided that their sound group is loaded).

Controls

• Up / Down: Scroll through sounds.
• A Button: Select a sound.
• B Button: Go to main menu.

Param Set

Change various sound options.

Parameters

• Volume: Adjust volume.
• Pan: Change sound panning (Positive = Right speaker, Negative = Left speaker).
• Surround Pan: Change surround sound panning.
• Pitch: Adjust pitch of sounds / music tracks.
• Low Pass: Alters the Low-pass filter settings.
• FX_Param: ???
• FX_Send: ???
• Reset: Sets all parameters to their default values.

Param Val Set

Change the 16 global sound variables. Purpose of these variables is currently unknown.

Controls

• Up / Down: Select value.
• Left / Right: Change value.
• B Button: Go to main menu.

3D Param

Adjustments for the game's 3D sound engine.

Parameters

• Interior: Adjusts center of sound.
• Max Volume: Adjust maximum possible value of sound.
• Unit Distance: Set distance of sound (distance of player is assumed 604.07)
• Reset: Sets all parameters to their default values.

Group Load

This is where the different sound groups are loaded.

Controls

• Up / Down: Select sound group.
• Left: Go to previous page.
• Right: Go to next page.
• A Button: Load sound group.
• - Button: Unload all sound groups.
• B Button: Go to main menu.

Environment

The final sub-menu, adjusts master sound variables.

Parameters

• Output Mode: Choose output type (Types are Monaural, Stereo, Surround, and DPL2)
• FX_Param: ???
• FX_Send: ???
• Reset: Sets all parameters to their default values.

Taunt Debug

A taunt test. Tauntest?

NOTE: Applies to all four controllers.

• 1 Button: Taunt #1.
• 2 Button: Taunt #2.
• A Button: Taunt #3.
• + Button: Exit menu.

Wii Remote Debug

A simple diagnostic test of up to 4 Wii remotes. The + Button exits the menu. This same menu previously appeared in Kororinpa: Marble Mania.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Mini-Games

Three (four, if counting the Sequencedll mini-game reused from Mario Party 5) mini-games are still on the disc, but unused. Their Japanese names are included on the debug menu, but they can't be selected there due to a disabled flag. It's still possible to play them by replacing other mini-games with the unused ones.

All of the preview demos for these games have been replaced by copies of Speedy Graffiti's demo. They have no English names and no game explanations of any kind.

M809 - Hammer de Pokari

Replace m801dll.rel (dll folder) with m809dll.rel, or use one of the below Gecko codes to replace Speedy Graffiti with this unused 4 player mini-game.

Version	Gecko code
American	041D1888 801D1160
Japanese	041D1988 801D1260
European	041D4108 801D39E0
Korean	041D94E0 801D8DB8

In this game, players must swing the remote horizontally to swing their hammer. The collision detection is a bit off in this mini-game. Each player has a displayed coin counter, but in this game's current state it doesn't actually signify anything and doesn't change at all during gameplay without a patched version. This is the download to a patched .rel file with a more accurate UI for the American version.

The game ends when one player is hit 5 times. The player who got the most hits in wins the game.

M813 - Guru-guru Kataduke

Replace m815dll.rel with m813DLL.rel, or use one of the below Gecko codes to replace Rudder Madness with this unused 4 player mini-game.

Version	Gecko code
American	041D18F8 801D11A0
Japanese	041D19F8 801D12A0
European	041D4178 801D3A20
Korean	041D9550 801D8DF8

In this mini-game, the players must move their Wii remotes in a clockwise fashion to roll up their ribbons.

Whoever rolls theirs up first wins the game, and their ribbon is tied around the top of the giant present.

A minigame very similar to this later appeared in Wii Party U.

M853 - Ochiruna Rodeo

Replace m856dll.rel with m853dll.rel, or use one of the below Gecko codes to replace You're the Bob-Omb with this unused Duel mini-game.

Version	Gecko code
American	041D1A40 801D1420
Japanese	041D1B40 801D1520
European	041D42C0 801D3CA0
Korean	041D9698 801D9078

Players must tilt their remotes in the direction of the mechanical bulls or risk flying off. The last person on the bull wins the game. Incidentally, a game with similar rules and controls (but featuring Miis) is found in Wii Party U.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Sequencedll

An unused minigame from Mario Party 5, reused in both Mario Party 6 and Mario Party 7, is once again left in the files for a final time. It still acts the same as it did in the past three game. Unlike the past three games, which plays the victory or draw theme (with varying results) if the player wins or lose respectively, neither play at all.

(Source: Supper Mario Broth, Skawo (Discoverer), & Kraken (Video & Correction))

Unused Graphics

Hotel Owner Texture

If you view the hotel models in a model viewer you will see these unused textures for where the owner icon should be instead of a blank icon. The text translates to "Dummy 1" and "Dummy 3".

Board Results (bdresult.bin)

A placeholder texture for the monitor seen in the results screen after a Party Tent battle.

Party Tent Roulette (bmgcall.bin)

Unused Minigame Roulette Icons

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Three placeholder images using a thumbnail of an early version of Swing Kings overlayed with text, intended for the three unused minigames. They translate to Mini game 09, Mini game 13, and Mini game 53.

Bonus Minigame Roulette Icons

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  Early version of Puzzle Pillars

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Thumbnails for all eight bonus minigames exist in the .bin file, but are never used in the minigame roulette, as these are accessed exclusively through the Extras Zone.

Unused Roulette Category

There also exists in the same .bin file an unused graphic for the minigame roulette, titled '1-Player Minigame'. It's most likely this were what Challenge Minigames were referred to earlier in development.

Minigame Tent Roulette (mgroulette.bin)

A red box with an 'A' button and Japanese text next to it that translates to "Stop", that probably would've been used to stop the roulette wheel that appears in certain minigame modes.

(Source: Kraken)

Mosh-Pit Playroom (m807.bin)

To do: Name the game with the black box art in the early playroom texture. It is on the second row to the right.

Early Playroom	Final Playroom

While technically used for the ballpit's wall, the rest of the texture is not used by any object, thus making it unseen. The unseen portion of the texture is actually an early version of the playroom this minigame takes place in! Compared to the final version, the walls are more colorful & vibrant, the curtains for the window are yellow instead of blue, and some textures in the sheet are arranged differently.

The most intriguing part of these early textures is what would've been the bookshelf. Instead of featuring books, the early texture features Japanese box art for various Nintendo games such as Mario Party 5, Mario Party 6, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$!, Wario Land 2 & 3, Mario Kart DS, and even Mother 1+2! There are also what seem to be a few placeholder games (& books?) as well, such as a few named ABCDEF, one simply being called MARIO BROS., one called DICTIONARY, and the rest being blank.

(Source: Kraken)

Grabby Gridiron (m810.bin)

A texture that translates to "Monitor Screen Dummy".

Picture Perfect (m821.bin)

Numbered circles.

Extras Zone (mgdota8.bin)

A blank minigame thumbnail, of which there are several.

Unused Models

candychk.bin

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  The odd one out.

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Every character has an early version of their Bowser Candy outfit, looking more like the real Bowser than the used plush suit.

mdota.bin

mdota.bin seems to be an early version of the Fun Bazaar, and has some differences in its models.

Surprise Wagon

Early	Final

The Surprise Wagon had its textures changed.

Minigame Wagon

Early	Final

The Minigame Wagon also had its textures changed. Most interesting is that strange image of two humans dressed as Mario and Toad on the television. It was changed to minigame screenshots.

Records Board

Early	Final

The Records Board also went through texture changes.

Carnival Caliope

Early	Final

A Koopa Troopa was added to the side, and the top hat's color was slightly darkened. The used one also seems to have some texture issues not seen in the early one, most visibly at the base.

Unused Wagon

Penguin Wagon?

One wagon didn't seem to make to make the final cut. It appears to be based on the Surprise Wagon's model but with different textures and a tank with penguins. Purpose unknown.

candy.bin

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  Switcho Candy

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  Spino Candy

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Three unused candies are present. The first two have references in the messdata files, while the third is probably a dummy.

The following are their unused names and descriptions:

Candy Name	Description
Switcho Candy	Switch places with an opponent you choose by throwing dice.
Spino Candy	Take 10 Coins from each player you pass.

Judging from Spino Candy's description, it may have been replaced by the Bowlo Candy later in development.

DK's Treetop Temple (w01.bin)

Mario's model from the second game is here for some reason. His texture is a flat color.

King Boo's Haunted Hideaway (w03.bin)

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A wheel with primitive textures, one side reading first person (ひとりめ) and the other second person (ふたりめ).

An unused room for King Boo's Haunted Hideaway. It's completely empty, with no doors, decorations, or furnishing. A repeated pattern of a wooden floor is present on all faces of the room. This can be loaded into the game by replacing one of the rooms styles with the unused one, in which case it will load, but decorations and NPCs will be misplaced. Additionally, characters won't be shaded properly inside this room.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Bumper Balloons

To do: There's also an out-of-bounds Goomba and unseen blue curtain in the Fun Bazaar, and more.

The garage in Bumper Balloons contains objects such as tires and crates, which are never seen in-game since the garage door never opens.

(Source: Mario Party 8 - Boundary Break)

Picture Perfect (m821.bin)

A numbered box.

Memory Usage Meter

Using the Gecko code 04008524 60000000 in any region of the game will print some information about the current Memory Usage in a box in the upper-left. This debugging feature exists in all Hudson Mario Party games as well.

Overscan Border Display

Enter the Gecko codes 040111CC 60000000 (European/Australian) or 0401122C 60000000 (American) and you will see the screen surrounded by red borders which specify the region of the screen that is safe for UI elements to use. The borders specify that within 16 pixels from the horizontal edges and within 40 pixels of the vertical edges are not safe to use. The borders specify that within 48 pixels from the horizontal edges and within 46 pixels of the vertical edges should be treated with caution.

Regional Differences

Initial English release	European English Rev 1	American English Rev 2

During Shy Guy's Perplex Express, Kamek says, "Magikoopa magic! Turn the train spastic! Make this ticket tragic!". However, since the word "spastic" is offensive in the United Kingdom for being a pejorative term against disabled people, Nintendo was forced to recall all copies of the game on July 13, 2007 from all UK retailers, the same day that the game was intended to launch in the UK. The game was later returned to shelves on August 3, 2007 with all copies having the word "spastic" replaced with the word "erratic".

This incident actually caused enough of a stir to kick off a decade-long trend of Nintendo games featuring completely different localizations for the American and British English releases, dooming people from one region to have no idea what the other is talking about, and making our jobs a lot more tedious than they need to be. Naughty Kamek!

(Source: Super Mario Wiki)

Other Differences

American	European

• The American and European versions use different fonts for text; the font used for the main text in the European version is the same as the font used from Mario Party 4 to Mario Party 7.
• The minigame announcements are different between versions. On the international versions, when starting a minigame, the announcer shouts "Go!" with the word "START" appearing onscreen. Additionally, when tying a minigame, "Tie" appears on the screen with the announcer calling that. On the Japanese version, "Start!" is shouted instead on the start of a minigame, and when a minigame is tied, "DRAW" appears onscreen with the announcer calling that.

Revisional Differences

To do: Some versions of the game use a fixed-width dialogue font, others are variable-width. Note exactly which revisions have the border and which don't.

Old revision	New revision

With the Wii set to 16:9, some American and European versions used a maligned graphical border for 4:3 segments of the game. Other versions have standard black bars, since the graphical border was criticized for causing screen burn-in if the game was played for too long.

Oddities

Rowed to Victory

If the minigame ends in a draw (five minutes elapsed with no victor), the So Sad to Lose theme plays instead of It's a Tie!, which every other minigame (besides the three challenge minigames) uses.