I can't remember, did MP3's duel mode have minigames? If it did, it makes this a little bit iffy as it's not really complete without minigames. Though I suppose one could whip out something with two player minigames in a local environment to play when a minigame comes up (i.e. boot up something like a 2 minute Smash Bros match, or some other fast-paced 1vs1 game which can be finished in a short amount of time).

Still, nice that this mode is getting some recognition. I always felt it was one of the best alternate modes of any Mario Party game, and it was a damn shame that they pulled it from the series immediately after MP3.