The Mario Party series is loaded with fun content and tons of different ideas that come together to form one great party game. Among everything that the series has to offer, hidden secrets and interesting facts are easily skipped over or simply not noticed. While there are many instances of cleverly hidden facts, we will highlight five that might just surprise you.

The Goomba House

Does that Goomba House look familiar? Well, it should. Turns out the Goomba House from Mario Party 2 shows up on every single board map from the same game.

You can’t access it or interact with it. It’s simply there. Perhaps in the early stages of development, the Goomba House was once a location that you could visit, or maybe something that has to do with a board event or Happening Space. Maybe Nintendo just wanted to keep an Easter Egg that only the those with a watchful eye would catch. Either way, the Goomba House remains on each board in Mario Party 2, and it leaves the possibility for other recurring secrets yet to be found.

Paper Mario References

A bit unexpected, but the Mario Party series features quite a few references to the Paper Mario series.The most obvious and easily spotted reference is the inclusion of the Star Spirits from the first Paper Mario as the hosts of Mario Party 5. This, and Paper Mario, are the only games of feature the Star Spirits.

In the Mario Party 6 board Snowflake Lake, two Snow Bunnies can be seen sitting idle near the top of the board. The Snow Bunnies originate from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Old Door, but they also returned in Super Paper Mario.

Little Mousers, a species very common in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Old Door, have made two appearances in the Mario Party series. One appears aboard the Perplex Express in Mario Party 8 Under the name Mowz, while another one, simply named Mouser, is the main focus in a quest in Mario Party Advance.

Mario Party DS also features a Paper Mario reference. During the “Save Koopa Krag” sequence, Koopa Krag is seen, showing a strikingly similar resemblance to Kroop, the mayor of Petalburg in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Old Door. While the two share different names, it’s hard to deny that they are separate characters.

To end the Paper Mario references, take a look at the entire design of Mario Party 3. After being thrown into the toy box, the Mushroom Kingdom world transformed into a world of… paper. While the characters remained their normal models, the world around them changed to paper cutouts. Interestingly, Mario Party 3 and Paper Mario released within months of each other. The same can be said about the Miracle Book in Mario Party 6, a book featuring pop out paper figures of the characters. Mario Party 6 and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Old Door also released within months of each other.

The Barrel Orb

At one point, Mario Party 6 was going to feature a Barrel Orb. The orb description read:

Hide in a barrel to avoid a duel one time. Can’t be used or placed.

Similar to the Snack Orb, the Barrel Orb would have protected the player from having to participate in a duel. What’s more interesting is whether or not the player would move with the barrel. If not, the Barrel Orb would have essentially been a do nothing option, the equivalent to hitting 0 on the dice block. This could really be a game changer, especially when someone is in front of star, but needs the extra 10 coins from an upcoming minigame.

Blooper and Hammer Bro. Are Not That Random After All

While some were excited, others came forth in a fit at the announcement that Blooper and Hammer Bro. would be playable characters in Mario Party 8. While the two characters seem to have been picked out of the blue, both Blooper and Hammer Bro. have a decent history with the Mario Party series, helping them deserve their roles as playable characters.

Blooper started his Mario Party career in the very first game, where he swam out and dragged away any characters that feel in the water in specific minigames. He did the same in Mario Party 2, but Blooper received his very own board in Mario Party 3, Deep Blooper Sea. In Mario Party 4, Blooper served as an obstacle in Manta Rings minigame. Unfortunately, Blooper missed out on Mario Party 5, but returned to Mario Party 6 with his very own minigame, Blooper Scooper. The mic minigame “Be My Chum!” allowed players to command Blooper to appear on screen in Mario Party 7. Mario Party 8 saw Blooper’s first playable appearance, but Blooper ended up as a boss of his own board, Blooper Beach, in Mario Party 9. Blooper plays a role in a quest in Mario Party Advance, and he is mentioned by Kamek in Mario Party DS.

Hammer Bro. also made his first appearance in the original Mario Party, serving as character who throws coins and hammers in certain minigames. This continues on into Mario Party 2 and Mario Party 3. Hammer Bro. misses out in Mario Party 4 and Mario Party 6, but he does get his own capsule in Mario Party 5, as well as helping in certain minigames. Mario Party 7 sees the return of the Hammer Bro. Orb, as well as the new minigame, Hammer Spammer. Mario Party 8 saw Hammer Bro.’s first playable apperance, but he does not retain this in Mario Party 9, rather hosting the Battle Events along with a Fire Bro. Hammer Bro. is a full fledged boss in Mario Party DS, wrecking havoc in Toadette’s Music Room. Hammer Bro. is featured in his own quest, Hammerama, in Mario Party Advance.

Peach’s Castle Appears in Mario Party 2… in Mystery Land

Yep, there it is. Here, take a closer look.

Playing Mario Party 2 back as a kid, you never had the ability to look online and see official art of the boards and other assets for your favorite video games. Thanks to this kind of accessibility, we now have a full look at Mystery Land, revealing what was beyond the camera restrictions and seeing clearly what the muddy graphics of the Nintendo 64 allowed. The castle itself is quite a surprise, revealing itself in the midst of a jungle, having no relation to the area around it.

For reference, Peach’s Castle has also appeared in Mario Party 3, Mario Party 4, Mario Party 5, Mario Party 7, Mario Party 8, and Mario Party 9.

Do you have any interesting facts about the Mario Party series? Do you know a secret that few of the fans know? Sound off in the comments!