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Once the player has claimed victory in all five duels, Ballyhoo holds an award ceremony to present a special reward. The winner will be crowned the carnival's Superstar and receive a year's supply of Candy. Ballyhoo holds a special event, the Star Battle Arena, in which a contestant must win five successive party duels across the five standard boards.
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In Mario Party 8, the exuberant ringmaster MC Ballyhoo and his talking hat, Big Top, have invited Mario and the rest of the crew to the Star Carnival. Yoshi is declared the winner of the Star Battle Arena, receiving a year's supply of Candy, the title of Superstar, and the Star Rod.
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Parts of the game, such as board gameplay, are displayed in a 4:3 ratio, fitted with borders on the left and right parts of the screen, while other portions of the game, such as the main menu, are matted to 16:9 widescreen. Replacing the Orbs/Capsules from the previous Mario Party titles are Candies, which can be collected and used for a variety of purposes, including using extra Dice Blocks, moving to a different space, and stealing coins from rivals. Although one board, DK's Treetop Temple, features the classic formula for obtaining a Star (reaching a changing Star Space and trading 20 coins), the other five boards employ unique conditions for collecting Stars. Mario Party 8 features six boards, five of which are available from the start of a new save file. By playing regular party games, minigames, and completing the Star Battle Arena mode, players can earn Carnival Cards, which may be spent to unlock figures and game features. They may also serve as the player's character in Extra Mode. Player-created Miis are featured in this game, often showing up within crowds and even in certain minigames, such as Sugar Rush. Common motions include pointing-and-shooting, shaking, waving, turning, and twisting the Wii Remote. Players are required to perform various gestures in lieu of traditional button/joystick controls. Mario Party 8 is notable for its strong use of the Wii Remote and its motion control capabilities in minigames. It became a Nintendo Selects title in Europe on March 22, 2013. It was first released in North America on May 29, 2007, and finally released in Hong Kong and South Korea on July 12, 2008, over a year later. It is also the last Mario Party home console game to be developed by Hudson Soft before NDcube received control of the series. Mario Party 8 is the eighth installment of the Mario Party series on a home console, the first Mario Party game for the Wii, and the thirteenth game overall in the series.
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