Darts of Doom is a mini-game from Mario Party 4. Due to its nature as a Bowser minigame, it has to be selected on the minigame roulette wheel after someone triggers a Bowser Space and the Bowser Minigame result comes up on the first roulette.
Gameplay[]
In this Bowser mini-game, players must throw three darts at a dartboard to get their total score. The player who has the lowest score at the end of the mini-game loses and they will get burned by Bowser's fire breath, but if anytime another player hits the bull's-eye during the player's own turn, then they will lose automatically and will get the same effect as before. Players have five seconds per turn to throw their darts.
The darts will strike where the cursors are at the moment, though the cursors will change their position every fraction of a second. The darts will give players as many points as noted in their landing spot; for example, a dart that strikes the green area in the southwestern quadrant of the target will net a hundred points (assuming the "north" side of the dartboard is the top when the numbers and the image of Bowser's visage (albeit in red with the inside of the mouth being black and with jet-black eyes) are right-side up), while a dart that doesn't strike a green or red area is worth nothing, but the bull's-eye where Bowser has his face pictured triggers an automatic loss if struck.
How to win[]
To guarantee a victory, players have to be in the top (n-l) scores without striking the target's centre, where n represents the total number of players while l represents the number of characters in last place or tied for last. Even then, the player with the lowest score who threw first will lose, while the others get off scot-free and win as if they had a higher score.
Rules[]
There are no rules for the minigame until the player enters. Upon starting, Koopa Kid will disclose the rules. There are other bits of dialogue, mainly from his brother, such as when Koopa Kid tries to mention the fate of the character who scores the lowest but his brother dumbly claims that the victim will "get a back rub" followed by Koopa Kid retaliating with a "NO!" before continuing his explanations. Following a short cutscene where Bowser feigns worry about getting hit, Bowser gives the advice, which is to not shoot the bulls-eye.
- Rules (Koopa Kid explains this.): "Throw three darts at once, and try to get a lot of points!! But the board will be spinning, so it won't be easy!! The three cursors show where the darts will hit, so pay attention! Watch the cursors' movement, and press the A button to throw. The sum of the three areas your darts hit is your total score! The player with the least points... They get ROASTED!"
- Advice (Bowser explains this.): "If you get a bull's-eye, you're toast!"
Players can choose to skip the rules except the advice.
Cutscenes[]
Intro[]
During the intro cutscene, Koopa Kid tells the minigame's rules to the player. Following the explanation, Bowser worries that he might get hit, though he might be faking it. As Koopa Kid moves the dartboard to the left where the minigame actually takes place, Bowser gives the advice to the player: "If you get a bull's-eye, you're toast!"
Ending[]
The winners flee the scene while Bowser, who declares, "We have a loser!! ...On an open fire!! He shoots, he scorches!!" opens fire on the loser with his fire breath. A tie for last place with have Bowser burn whoever threw first out of those who tied for last place. In both cases, Koopa Kid covers his head while his brother waves his fan.
Bull's-eye Ending[]
Koopa Kid panics with Bowser taunting the player who shot the bull's-eye, saying, "Nice shot, bucko!! That is, if you meant to hit MY FACE!!!", with the rest of the ending continuing the same as the normal ending where Bowser attacks the loser with his fire breath as Koopa Kid cowers whilst his brother waves the fan.
Controls[]
- Throw darts
