
Day 10: MP9 Boards Ranked from Worst to Best
Surprisingly, I'm on top of this! That's what happens when you have five days off from work lol. This was hard for me to do because all of the boards in MP9 were pretty bad. Tbh, it is the worst game in the series--with MP10 coming in close. Without further ado, here are my rankings from worst to best with an analysis on why!
#7 DK’s Jungle Ruins
This is the clear loser board of the entire game. Not only is it boring (as it is even more of a watered down version of DK’s Treetop Temple), but THIS BOARD TAKES 15 MINUTES TO COMPLETE! The boards in this game are already way too short with all of the others taking about 30 minutes each, but 15 minutes takes about as much time as the minigame modes in this game. The "boss minigames" are also literally just coin or in this case banana minigames with DK and Diddy. And you also loop around the board twice, meaning you loop around the same board, defeating the purpose of everybody traveling together.
#6 Bob-omb Factory
Eh, I don’t really hate this one compared to DK’s Jungle Ruins. However, it can feel too punishing. The gimmick here is that a conveyor belt shifts the path, and players carry explosive Bob-ombs. One bad roll can easily ruin your entire game. That’s all I have to say about it.
#5 Blooper Beach
While this board is pretty cool, it is not quite enjoyable. I don't like the ending section where the mini stars keep getting replaced with mini ztars and vice versa. I also don’t like the beginning part where the Dolphins and Sushi are both there, switching each other's spots, dolphins give you mini stars, and sushi take your mini stars. I think it's neat but nothing more than that. Out of the entire game, this board is the most luck-based.
#4 Boo’s Horror Castle
A decent sequel to King Boo’s Haunted Hideaway. The gimmick here is a Boo follows you around and you can steal the mini-stars of other players. The ending section can be kind of annoying, because if you are the captain and do not roll high enough to get to the final boss space, then you have to circle around the entire ending part of the board again, and you will probably not get the captain bonus on the boss minigame. The reason why it’s not the top three is because the end was too chance-based, and I’m not a fan of that.
#3 Bowser Station
This is the final unlockable board. It requires players to avoid Bowser spaces and traps. The goal of the course is to make one lap around the space station before you can challenge Bowser for a fight. Halfway, Bowser Jr. will try to beat you. The board also has a jackpot. If the counter reaches 20 or more, you'll battle for it in a mini-game.
#2 Magma Mine
This is actually a fun board, and among the top #3 in the entire game. I like the gimmick of where the magma slowly rises. This adds high tension and strategy to the board's second half. T here are split paths on this board where instead of the captain choosing where to go, everybody votes which direction to go and a roulette decides which direction to go. This is very fun because everybody has a say in where to go, unlike most of the captain events in this game. The reason why its not #1 because it is far too short.
#1 Toad Road
This board is easily the best this game has to offer imo. While it is traditional and simple, it’s neat map and I love how bright and cheerful it is. That's because it makes this board slightly less luck-based than the ones I've already mentioned. Plus, it has some awesome music. This board may have lots of green spaces and less chaos/strategy than the other 6, but it’s still good.
What are your rankings for the MP9 boards?