Super Duel Mode In-depth FAQ for Mario Party 5 For the Nintendo Gamecube Last Updated 12/15/03 BenjG kramar@prodigy.net Welcome. This is the Super Duel Mode FAQ for Mario Party 5, which will discuss in detail the individual components and functions of the aforementioned mode. Everything you need to know about it is listed here, so you've come to the right place if there is any sort of information you need. Contents I. Version History II. Vehicle Parts & Prices III. Creating Your Vehicle IV. Battling Opponents V. Secrets & Unlockables VI. Legal Information ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Version History 12/15/03 Version 1.0 Initial Version ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. Vehicle Parts & Prices Here, each individual vehicle part you can purchase is listed, and descriptions are given as well. There are four different components your vehicle will need: a body, some tires, an engine, and a weapon. If it lacks any one of these, you cannot fight with it. When a vehicle is finished, a pentagonal graph will be displayed. A symbol is located at each point of the graph, and the yellow area in the middle shows how strong your vehicle is in each field. The heart represents health, the steering wheel represents how easily the vehicle is controlled, the yellow car represents acceleration, the blue car represents speed, and the fist represents attack. Parts are purchased at the Service Desk, with Skolar running the place. The "money" you will use is in the form of points, earned when you play a mini- game in Party mode or Free Play in the Mini-Game mode. Bodies-Paid for with 4-player points Mushroom Body (0) As you can see, this is one of four mushroom parts that is free. The fact that it is free indicates that it is inferior to other bodies. But it can be helpful because it is a basic body and has no glaring strengths or weaknesses. It is very useful when learning the basics of fighting to use this. Star Body (5) This is one of the faster bodies that you can purchase. Its sleek shape is built for speed, and on top of that, it is very light and is perfect for beginners. However, it is rather weak with little health. Heart Body (5) Though it looks like a pink sofa, this vehicle body is actually a good one. Its cushioned design gives it the ability to be one of the most durable bodies in the game, with an excellent health meter. It's bulky though, and is a bit slow unless built with speedy tires. Choo-Choo Body (5) This is basically a combination of the star and heart bodies. It is built for speed, and is quite strong and durable at the same time. This does not mean, of course, that it has the exact speed of the star body or the health of the heart body. The choo-choo body is at least half as efficient in each field. Egg Body (7) Constructed to resemble a Yoshi egg, the rounded build of the egg body gives it some pretty good speed abilities. Not only that, but it is also very good in offensive and defensive areas. This means that any weapons you have will be stronger, and the vehicle will have decent health. Spiny Body (7) The spiny body is intimidating to look at, and does fairly well in battle. The spikes on it give the weapon attached to it a boosted attack. Unfortunately, it is rather slow, so it suffers in speed where it excels in attack strength. Lakitu Cloud (10) This body, actually a cloud, hovers, and is fast. However, since it really is no more than a collection of slightly vaporized water molecules, and has the consistency of air, it has very poor defensive abilities. It is not advised that you equip a vehicle with this unless it has a powerful weapon and moves fast. Boo Body (10) Like the Lakitu cloud, the boo body is fast, yet suffers in defense. The boo body, however, has a very unique trait that sets it apart from the other bodies distinctly. When fighting other vehicles, the boo body is only visible to radar, or the map on the screen. In the field it is invisible. It will only be visible for a time following an attack from the opponent. DK Body (15) Just like the spiny body, this is a body that is slow and has good offense. This body is set apart from the spiny one because it also has very good defense, about as much as the heart body. It is the most powerful body you can purchase. E. Gadd Body (15) Like all the other Gadd vehicle parts, this one is well balanced. This means that it does not suffer much in any particular field. Rather, it does well in the five things a vehicle strives for in the pentagon graph. The E. Gadd Body is only useful when paired with fast tires and a powerful engine. Skolar Body (20) Considering the abilities that this body has to offer, it is a big waste of money. It, as well as the other Skolar parts, is 20 points and simply does not live up to the price. It has very average capabilities. The only special thing about it is it takes less damage from vehicle attacks and explosives than other bodies do. Tires-Paid for with 3 vs. 1 points Mushroom Tires (0) Like all mushroom parts, these are free. They are normal and have basic qualities. Star Tires (5) These go well with the star body to make a very fast vehicle. However, tires have their shortfalls just like bodies do. In this case, these speedy tires have poor control. Turning is difficult with them, and they lack traction. Wiggler Tires (5) The wiggler tires are very slow. But, as is the case with most slow tires, they have very good control. You will have to decide whether control or speed is more important to you, or just try to find a good mixture of the two. Goomba Tires (5) When it comes to good speed and fair control, the goomba tires are a good choice. They are quick, and they also have good acceleration. The acceleration is simply how fast a vehicle can reach max speed, and these do well at that. Spiny Tires (7) Designed to look dangerous, these have a nice blend of abilities. They are slow, but since the spikes act as cleats, traction and acceleration excel when a vehicle is equipped with them. These are perfect for handling stages that are covered with ice, providing you with good control and you won't spin out. Choo-Choo Tires (7) Being the fastest tires available, it is only natural that there be a downfall to their abilities. Control suffers miserably with these super-fast tires equipped, so you'll need to assess how much control you can afford to lose and still win battles. Super Wiggler Tires (10) These are nearly the same as the wiggler tires, being slow and having good control. Traction also flourishes, making them an almost perfect combination of abilities. If only they were speedier. Lakitu Cloud (10) The Lakitu cloud can hover, so it is efficient on all terrain. It works well with slower vehicles to increase speed, but does suffer in control. DK Tires (15) These tires are actually barrels. However, it is impossible to know how well they do in speed, control, and acceleration, because they handle differently each time you battle an opponent. Sometimes they work favorably, other times not. The pentagon graph will display a question mark if these are used. E. Gadd Jet (15) There's not much to say about this, other than it has a good combination of capability in speed and control. It's better than most tires but isn't perfect. Skolar Tires (20) Another rip-off, these expensive tires provide you with very average and simple features. Like the E. Gadd parts, these are very balanced. Engines-Paid for with 2 vs. 2 points Mushroom Engine (0) It's free, so it's pretty normal. Engines help to boost speed and acceleration within a vehicle, similar to what tires should do. Star Engine (5) Like its other star counterparts, this is speedy but has poor control. Wiggler Engine (5) This engine is not very fast, since wiggler parts are not known for speed, but it is easily controlled and works well to counteract speedier tires. Goomba Engine (5) Here's one of the most well balanced engines. It's a little speedy, and has decent acceleration. It doesn't suffer too much in any given field. Ztar Engine (7) While slow, the ztar engine provides excellent acceleration and is also easy to control. It is one of my first picks, since the great control and acceleration make a good combination. Choo-Choo Engine (7) It's super-fast, but has very poor control. When all of the choo-choo parts are paired together, you get the fastest vehicle in the game. If you can overcome the pathetic control capabilities, you will do well in battle. Super Wiggler Engine (10) Essentially a carbon copy of the wiggler engine, this engine's claim to fame is its increased control. Of course, it is very slow. Goomba-Trio Engine (10) This engine probably has the best acceleration and speed combination in the game, but like all speedy things, it really suffers in its control. DK Engine (15) There's no telling how well this engine will do in battle, since it's abilities are random, just like the DK tires. E. Gadd Engine (15) If it's made by Professor E. Gadd, it has good abilities all around. This has great speed and acceleration, but doesn't stand out that much. Skolar Engine (20) Speed and control are well balanced with this engine, but it's nothing particularly special. Weapons-Paid for with battle points Mushroom Gun (0) The attack of this weapon is highly average, proving to be no threat to your opponents. It fires a single mushroom, one at a time, which travels in an arc. This is very easily avoided, and its accuracy is poor, so don't use this gun unless for testing purposes. Seed Machine Gun (5) No other weapon in this game is lighter than the seed machine gun. Even more important, it fires seeds very rapidly and is highly effective when used with guerilla warfare tactics. This means firing at your opponent without their knowledge and then speeding away. It would be ideal, but it also has the weakest firepower. Bob-omb Cannon (5) Powerful and heavy, the bob-omb cannon only works well against slow opponents. This is because the bob-omb it fires will take a few seconds to actually detonate. Speedy vehicles can simply steer clear when they find a flashing bob-omb in their wake. But, it is a useful weapon when used cleverly. Bullet Bill Gun (7) Capable of homing in on opponents, this would be even more powerful if it had the explosive power the bob-omb cannon has. It has only average firepower. A good strategy is to overwhelm opponents by firing an onslaught of bullet bills that can collectively cause serious damage to rival vehicles. Pokey Tower Gun (7) This shoots out an assortment of spiked balls from a pokey creature. The gun has average firepower, though the projectiles do not home in on the opponent and move a bit randomly. Piranha Plant (7) The piranha plant attacks by spewing numerous globs of gelatinous poison, with a far-reaching range. It is powerful and effective, and works well with just about any vehicle. Bowser Breath (10) Have you been hoping for a weapon that attacks with flames? For all you pyromaniacs out there, this flamethrower is just what you need. It is very powerful. The range of this weapon is short; after all, it doesn't fire a projectile like most weapons. This is actually very useful. Instead of needing good aim, you simply wheel up to opponents and bathe them in flames. Mr. I Laser (10) This is another superb weapon. It has the furthest range of them all, and travels in a straight line with a laser. This is what makes it so reliable, as it travels through the air like a bullet and does not require good aim from whoever fires it. DK Gun (15) This is labeled as the most powerful weapon in the game, but it is very heavy, slowing down your vehicle considerably, and is easily avoided by opponents. Only slower opponents will become good targets for this weapon, which fires explosive bananas. E. Gadd Cannon (15) Similar to the bullet bill, this shoots rockets that having homing capabilities. However, this weapon does not seem to home in as well, nor does even seem as powerful. Like all E. Gadd parts, it is close to being a useful part, but often has shortfalls that make it rather average. Skolar Gun (20) This weapon is overpriced like all of Skolar's technology, but there is a very interesting technique it has. To use the weapon, press and hold the attack button to fire a projectile, then release it to detonate it. Though the idea behind it is effective, it is not very powerful and travels slowly. Bowser Punch (30) This is similar to the Bowser breath in the fact that it has a short range, and it sports Bowser's hand at the end, just as the breath featured his head. It is a spring-loaded weapon that hurls a Bowser fist into the opponent. It is highly effective, regardless of its range. Bob-omb Wall (30) This curious contraption resembles a gumball machine filled with gunpowder instead of gum. Seeing how expensive it is, it's the only part I don't have, so I can't explain it yet. Once I get it, I'll describe it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. Creating Your Vehicle There are three different garages in the lobby of Super Duel Mode. The A-1 garage is for player one, A-2 is for player 2, and B is for player three, as well as importing vehicles from other Mario Party 5 memory cards. Select the appropriate garage and you should have four options: The first box allows you to make improvements to your vehicle. If you don't have one yet, you will build it here. Select a part from the ones you've purchased for each category (body, tires, engine, weapon) and at the end, you will name the vehicle. Once it's created, you can have a look at it with the second option. This provides you will a rotating picture of it, it's name, and a pentagonal graph displaying its strengths and weaknesses. The third box is where you can fight friends and computers. This is discussed later. You can delete your machine as the final option. This merely resets the name of your vehicle; no parts are lost in the process and nothing changes otherwise. When putting your vehicle together, it is important that you consider what abilities it will need. Since nobody's vehicle preferences are the same, this is done through trial and error. Test your vehicle on the battlefield, and determine whether it works well or not. Use the graph as a guide and try to make it as well balanced as possible. Of course, if it is going to very powerful in any particular area, some areas may have to be sacrificed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. Battling Opponents As mentioned, you need to enter a garage and select the option to battle other vehicles. There are two options: VS and 1 on 1. VS is where you battle friends, 1 on 1 involves a tournament with computer players. Battling friends is discussed first. After you have selected drivers, choose whether you want to play battle competition, flag competition, or robo-rabbit competition. Refer to section V to find out how these and other things are unlocked. Then select whether you want the controls to be manual or auto. Battle Competition: Fight your opponent to deplete their health meter. You will want a powerful vehicle when using this mode. Flag Competition: Capture three flags before your opponent. Flags randomly appear somewhere on the stage and need to be driven over to be collected. Speedy vehicles are best, but also try to attack your competitor to slow them down. Robo-Rabbit Competition: Destroy three robo-rabbits before your opponent does. These mechanical bunnies will lower to the ground and will then move randomly about the stage in a curvy path. They are a little fast, so it is important to have a weapon with reliable accuracy. It is also helpful that this weapon have a large blast radius, if it even has one at all. Then you select the stage that you will play on. Each is described below. Green Meadow A basic stage featuring dirt on the ground, which makes for good traction for all tires. Like most of the stages, it contains pipes, bob-ombs, and spiny shells. Pipes act as barriers from opponent attacks, bob-ombs explode upon contact, harming your vehicle, and running into spiny shells is painful as well. Moonlit Midnight Grassy terrain, with a pool of water in the middle, constitutes the workings of this stage. The water in the center is not deep, so you can freely drive over it without trouble. Quicksand Desert This is essentially a stage in the desert, with sand and the usual objects as mentioned earlier. There isn't any quicksand actually inside the stage to my knowledge. Snowy Slope Vehicles with tires that suffer in traction and control will have a nightmare on this stage, which is nothing but ice on the ground. Tires with gripping action and spiked cleats (like the spiny tires) are a must to be successful. Jungle Falls Boards lashed together with ropes make up the ground in this stage, which is in the jungle. Don't worry about falling off-you can't. The ropes cannot be traversed beyond the main platform either. Lunar Outpost This stage features a bowl shape, with steep slopes on the sides. Fast, poor steering vehicles will do very badly, so slower machines will prove to be much more reliable. Bowser Stadium A lethal pool of lava in the middle prevents you from crossing the ring that makes up the stage. Running into it depletes health. You'll end up running around in circles to reach your opponents. Random Ruckus This stage is, as the title implies, random. It is composed of a variety of terrain and features, so you'll never know what it'll be like. There are also two items you'll run across in the battlefield. Mushrooms double your speed, while poison mushrooms halve it. At least, that's about how it seems. That's basically what you can do with friends. When you select the 1 on 1, the same process follows, only you must select a level of difficulty for each mode (battle, flag, robo-rabbit) as being easy, medium, or hard. Then the tournament begins. The tournament is three rounds long for you. Four battles take place in the first round. You will play someone first. Since the other computers cannot be watched as they fight, press start to make computer opponents advance to the next round. Continue until you beat the tournament, where you will receive a trophy and the option of taking a photo of your vehicle. Up to ten photos can be stored in the photo gallery, found in the Super Duel Mode lobby. There is also a profile you can view for each computer opponent, but it is miserably ambiguous and reveals just about nothing. Each computer opponent you will face is explained in more detail below. They'll use the same vehicle every time. Each part included in each vehicle is given as well. However, the engine is unknown because it is inside the vehicle and is thereby invisible to the outside. Mario: Choo-Choo Body, Star Tires, E. Gadd Cannon You won't face off Mario too frequently, but he's pretty easy. His weapon is rather powerful, but don't worry about it. Luigi: Lakitu Body, E. Gadd Jet, Watermelon Gun Luigi is the easiest opponent you will face, no questions asked. His vehicle very literally has only one heart of health. One hit from practically any weapon and he's defeated. Peach: E. Gadd Body, Lakitu Cloud, Bullet Bill Gun The vehicle Peach drives is fairly effective. It moves fast and has good weaponry, but like most opponents, they're easy providing you have a decent vehicle. Yoshi: Egg Body, Star Tires, Pokey Tower Gun Yoshi's pokey tower gun is a great weapon in attacking, as it spreads out a number of spiked balls. His vehicle is a little speedy and maneuverable. Donkey Kong: DK Body, DK Tires, DK Gun DK relies entirely upon DK parts, so it is highly probable that he has a DK engine as well. He is very difficult to defeat, as he does have the best weapon in the game, but his weakness is his tires, which are unpredictable for DK himself. They tend to move uncontrollably for him. Wario: Piranha Plant, Super Wiggler Tires, Heart Body This vehicle of Wario's would be useful if he had a body that allowed him to move faster. But no matter. He is slow and can be defeated with relative ease. Daisy: Star Body, Wiggler Tires, Bullet Bill Gun Another easy opponent, Daisy has a manageable vehicle with a homing weapon, but should not provide any problems. Waluigi: Spiny Body, Star Tires, Bob-omb Gun The bob-omb gun Walugi has is very powerful because it is paired with a spiny body, which increases offense. Be wary around this vehicle. Toad: Mushroom Body, Mushroom Tires, Mushroom Gun Like DK, Toad draws upon the mushroom parts to create his vehicle. Knowing that mushroom parts are basic, defeating Toad is extremely easy. Boo: Boo Body, Choo-Choo Tires, Mr. I Laser Having the boo body and the Mr. I laser gives Boo some great abilities. He can be quite difficult to defeat. Luckily, his vehicle lacks health. Koopa Kid: Star Body, Wiggler Tires, Watermelon Gun This is the only opponent that will appear more than once in a tournament. He is also very easy to defeat, as he is dumb and has a poor weapon. Bowser: Heart Body, Spiny Tires, Bowser Breath It just doesn't make sense to me why Bowser would have a heart body rather than a spiny one. The heart body does not go well with Bowser. He is difficult to defeat because he has an effective weapon. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. Secrets & Unlockables Several of the features and parts as mentioned in this guide are not available from the start. This section provides information about how to get these and what they are. Vehicle Parts DK Body, DK Tires, DK Engine, DK Gun available in the shop: Beat Donkey Kong on the hard difficulty in the battle competition for these parts to be available. Skolar Body, Skolar Tires, Skolar Engine, Skolar Gun available in the shop: Beat all three of the competitions on all three of the difficulties. Then these will show up. Bob-omb Wall and Bowser Punch available in the shop: Buy all the parts in the shop and these are available as the last two parts. Competitions and Difficulties Flag Competition Available: Beat hard on battle competition. Robo-Rabbit Competition Available: Beat hard on flag competition. Hard difficulty in battle/flag/robo-rabbit competitions: Beat each competition on normal difficulty. Play as Donkey Kong: Beat DK on hard difficulty in the battle competition. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. Legal Information This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. If you want to contact me about the content in this guide, you may, but remember that this does not cover all of Mario Party 5. It covers Super Duel Mode, so questions regarding that are welcome.