7 Best Mario Tennis Games
The Mario game series is one of the most recognizable and popular of all time. One look at the friendly red and blue cartoon plumber brings back childhood memories of him leaping over obstacles and racing other characters. Mario is synonymous with hours of family fun.
Slightly less famous are the Mario franchise’s attempts at creating tennis games. The Mario Tennis series has been going strong since 1995, and each installment has had varying amounts of success. If you are a tennis fan and love Mario, then you should definitely consider playing some of these video games.
Here are the 7 best Mario tennis games. We will talk about the features of each as well as their pros and cons so that you will know which to try first.
7. Mario Tennis Open
- Release Date: May 2012
- Company: Nintendo
- Console: Nintendo 3DS
The first entry on this list is a portable Mario tennis game. Like most of the games in the series, Mario Tennis Open was developed by Camelot in Japan.
The gameplay consists of singles or doubles matches for which you can select 24 characters, each with different abilities. These characters are familiar faces from the Mario franchise, such as Luigi and Yoshi. Some can only be accessed after achieving certain objectives.
You can play matches against the computer or friends nearby using the multiplayer feature. Mario Tennis Open makes great use of the two screens on the Nintendo 3DS; users must press buttons on the touchscreen to hit certain shots while the match plays out on the upper screen.
Also, thanks to the Nintendo 3DS’ functionality, you can change the camera angle by moving the physical console while playing.
The exciting arenas in this edition are a welcome change from the standard courts that appear in other video games. If you are bored with playing normal matches, Mario Tennis Open has you covered with its additional minigames.
Pros
- This game utilizes the Nintendo 3DS’ capabilities to the fullest extent to offer a truly interactive experience.
- The variety of courts and characters mean you will not get bored.
Cons
- Mario Tennis Open lacks a true story mode.
- Some argue that this is similar to earlier portable Mario games but without significant improvements.
6. Mario Sports Superstars
- Release Date: March 2017
- Company: Nintendo
- Console: Nintendo 3DS
Strictly speaking, Mario Sports Superstars is not a dedicated tennis game. Rather, it is an all-around sports game of which tennis is one of the 5 core elements.
The Japanese companies Camelot and Bandai Namco Studios collaborated to develop Mario Sports Superstars. Much like Mario Tennis Open of 5 years earlier, this game was intended for the hand-held Nintendo 3DS device.
The tennis mode gives you the chance to play full matches and tournaments with a distinctive Mario twist. You can play as the characters you know and love and defeat opponents by hitting special power shots. Apart from tennis, users can also enjoy soccer, golf, baseball, and horse racing.
Some have criticized Nintendo’s approach to creating this video game. While it boasts good gameplay mechanics, Nintendo perhaps tried to achieve too much in a single installment. As a result, while the individual sports work well, some reviewers found that they lacked depth and excitement.
Still, Mario Sports Superstars offers excellent value for new players who want to experience some Mario Tennis. If they ever feel bored with tennis, they can entertain themselves with 4 other solid games.
Pros
- Mario Sports Superstars does not consist of minigames, but a series of properly developed video games.
- If you lose interest in the tennis game, there are other things you can play instead.
Cons
- The games themselves lack some depth.
- Tennis purists would rather play a game that focuses fully on tennis instead of many sports.
5. Mario Tennis: Power Tour
- Release Date: September-December 2005
- Company: Nintendo
- Console: Gameboy Advance
Continuing the theme of hand-held gaming is Mario Tennis: Power Tour. This edition followed the release of Mario Tennis on Gameboy Color in 2000 and was designed for the more powerful Gameboy Advance console.
The gameplay features impressive mechanics with various types of spin, along with offensive and defensive shots like smashes and lobs. The story mode of Mario Tennis: Power Tour requires you to progress through harder and harder levels whereby you unlock more characters with better skills. Towards the end of the game, you encounter some familiar faces from the Mario series.
There are 5 different courts with varying speeds and bounces. Minigames are another fun feature of Mario Tennis: Power Tour, with over 10 accompanying the main storyline. Players can enjoy this game individually or in multiplayer mode.
Pros
- For a portable game, Mario Tennis: Power Tour performs very strongly in mechanics, storyline, and variety.
- The increasing difficulty of the story mode keeps players coming back for more.
Cons
- Some users felt that the graphics (especially the characters) could have been stronger.
4. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash
- Release Date: November 2015-January 2016
- Company: Nintendo
- Console: Wii U
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash was the only tennis game released for Nintendo’s relatively short-lived Wii U console. Users can opt to play singles or doubles contests on any one of 9 courts, with each affecting the movement of the ball. The 16 characters in the game have their own strengths and weaknesses, with some more offensive and others more technical.
In standard mode, you can hit normal shots with various spins as well as a power shot. The mega battle mode enables your character to grow larger and gain a significant advantage by collecting mushrooms that appear on the court. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash can be played locally or online.
This game was praised for its crisp graphics, but many feel that it lacks variety and engagement. Although it has interesting quirks, the game provides little outside standard tennis play. This was a potential oversight in the exciting modern gaming landscape.
Pros
- Excellent picture quality.
- The mega battle mode adds an interesting twist to matches.
Cons
- Players get little from this game beyond standard tennis matches.
- Unlockable features and character selections are a little underwhelming.
3. Mario Tennis
- Release Date: July-November 2000
- Company: Nintendo
- Console: Nintendo 64
Mario Tennis was the second game to be released in this series (after the initial Mario’s Tennis game in 1995). The game was originally designed for the Nintendo 64 console, but in late 2000 and early 2001, an equivalent portable version was built for the Gameboy Color.
Mario Tennis has an array of playable characters, several game modes (including exhibitions, challenges, and special tournaments), plus over a dozen courts, most of which can be unlocked as you progress through the game.
Despite the limited controls on the Nintendo 64, Mario Tennis makes great use of button combinations to yield different types of shots. The combinations add complexity to the game, yet they are simple enough for beginners to take part without prior training.
Mario Tennis received good reviews for its variety and physics engine. Even though it was released early on in the series, this game continues to capture the hearts and minds of tennis and Mario fans today.
Pros
- Despite being one of the earlier releases, Mario Tennis has excellent in-game physics.
- The controls have a huge variety of shots without being overly complicated.
Cons
- Mario Tennis has so many modes and features that beginners may prefer a more basic setup for their first tennis game.
- Compared with newer editions, the graphics are not very crisp.
2. Mario Power Tennis
- Release Date: October 2004-February 2005
- Company: Nintendo
- Console: Gamecube
This was the sequel to Mario Tennis (listed above). Hence, it was built on the existing game engine and has improved graphics and animations. Nintendo released Mario Power Tennis again in 2009 on the Wii console.
The two main game modes are exhibition and tournament, where you can play singles or doubles individually or in multiplayer mode. There are also 8 special games to keep you entertained. Controls are quite simple and allow for standard and power shots.
Like its predecessor, Mario Power Tennis enables you to play with many characters on a selection of courts. Some courts are classic, while others have added features such as a tilt or a conveyor belt to make matches more interesting.
The success of Mario Power Tennis was not surprising since it was a new and improved version of an already popular game.
Pros
- A new and improved version of an already solid and popular game.
- Minigames plus creative court designs provide much-needed excitement and novelty.
Cons
- Some players found the controls on the Wii console hard to get used to.
- The game has a few faults in the form of glitches.
1. Mario Tennis Aces
- Release Date: June 2018
- Company: Nintendo
- Console: Nintendo Switch
The most recent edition on the newest console tops our list for the Mario Tennis series. Mario Tennis Aces had to make an impression after Nintendo’s somewhat flat Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash of a few years earlier. Whereas Ultra Smash had little variety, Mario Tennis Aces has many more playing modes such as online tournaments, a story mode, and special challenges.
Mario Tennis Aces pleased fans with colorful courts and characters that have unique playing styles and trick shots. It also keeps users engaged with its many unlockable features like costumes and racquets.
Most importantly, this game has kept the ease of use and endless fun that Mario Tennis became known for in the early 2000s.
Nintendo did a great job with this game and has no doubt left millions eager for yet another installment of Mario Tennis.
Pros
- A considerable improvement on Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash with far more aspects to the game.
- Beautiful from a visual standpoint, with lovely colors and animations.
Cons
- Some reviewers considered the story mode uninteresting.
- After completing levels in the story mode, there is no option to increase the difficulty.
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