Rank Up! - Mario Tennis

Wimbledon is in full swing, and the competition, much like the weather in Central City, is certainly heating up. I feel like it is the perfect time for a tennis-themed installment of Rank Up! This time we will be chronicling the exploits of Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom cohorts with the Mario Tennis series. However, I can't begin to list the franchise's pfferings from least greatest to greatest without first mentioning the games I'll be ranking:

Mario's Tennis (VB)
Mario Tennis (N64)
Mario Tennis (GBC)
Mario Power Tennis (GCN)
Mario Tennis: Power Tour (GBA)
Mario Tennis Open (3DS)

Mario is quite the plumber. Perhaps that's a false statement because between saving the princess from the clutches of Bowser, battling Donkey Kong, driving go-karts and bikes, having multiple rounds of golf, refereeing boxing matches, and taking to the baseball diamond he really doesn't have much time for his actual profession. Yet another hobby that Mario planned to dominate was tennis, and he wasn't alone. The whole Mushroom Kingdom crew joined him. The Mario Tennis series is meant to be casual arcade tennis fun, and some might argue that the gameplay is unrealistic. Well, if you're looking for something closer to the sport (I wouldn't go to a series where princesses and babies take the same court), Virtua Tennis, Grand Slam Tennis or Top Spin meets your criteria. That said, my favorite tennis titles are no doubt those which star the plump plumber.

6) Mario's Tennis (VB)

Mario's first steps onto a tennis court brought him onto the ill-fated Virtual Boy. Six other characters join Mario in his original tennis romp including Peach and Donkey Kong Jr. Mario's Tennis was one of the premier Virtual Boy titles to actually be improved by the 3D effect (and one of the only notable VB games, for that matter). It was easy peasy to distinguish how far away and how close the ball was to your character. The challenge of the game, even with the CPU on Easy, made for some massively heated matches. However, the blandness of the environments as well as the lack of unlockable or even in-game content made Mario's Tennis a game that was incredibly short lived to be played in even shorter play sessions (and the headache-inducing red and black color palette will make glad you did).

5) Mario Tennis: Power Tour (GBA)

Like the Game Boy Color installment before it, Mario Tennis: Power Tour comes with a full story mode which includes a sampling of RPG touches such as leveling up characters and stats. The 2D models, backgrounds, courts, and effects are pretty impressive for the Game Boy Advance, and are an obvious step up from the Game Boy Color version. However, the game could be called Run-of-the-Mill Tennis Characters Advance because the general sampling of nondescript human characters you play as take up most of your time; Mario and the handful of other Mushroom Kingdom characters are a side thought. Add in a ho-hum story and the hassle of multiplayer that is next to impossible to find someone with a GBA and a copy of the game, and you have a terrific game but one that is unremarkable and flawed all the same.

4) Mario Tennis Open (3DS)

Before Mario Tennis Open, the handheld installments of Mario Tennis featured light RPG elements. The newest game in the franchise forgoes these elements to present a console-like version of the game. The addition of Chance Shots opened up unique strategies. Hit a shot incorrectly, and you opened yourself up for your opponent(s) to take advantage of your mistake. One complaint of Open is the lack of content. Compared to other Mario Tennis titles, this is true, but I still managed to eek out 19+ hours of time with the game through playing through all of the singles and doubles tournaments, unlocking costumes for my Mii character, playing the four creative mini-games, and participating in online matches-- the latter of which could be improved. Miis being overpowered compared to their Mushroom Kingdom counterparts is a problem that I would I have liked to have seen touched upon, but seeing as I don't care about "metagames" in Nintendo titles, this didn't really affect me much.

3) Mario Power Tennis (GCN)

Prior Mario Tennis games were closer to reality than mirroring the cartoon influences of the Mario franchise. That changed with Mario Power Tennis. The game introduced power shots that could be used offensively or defensively to change the scope of a match with one swing as well as courts that weren't just vanilla flavored like the games before it-- these had Klaptraps, Luigi's Mansion ghouls and ghosts, shifting and sliding panels, tilting and tumbling courts, and piranha plants spewing mud all over the surface of the playing field. There were also eight or so mini-games that tested players' skills of tennis such as sending back a giant blopper's various volleys, painting a character portrait using different colored tennis balls, and sending shots into a mechanical Bowser bot. The game would be ported to the Wii with all-new controls, but the superior version remains the GameCube original and anyone who likes Mario and/or tennis games would be well "served" to pick this one up.

2) Mario Tennis (GBC)

A "smash" hit, Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color acquainted the world with the mix of tennis gameplay with RPG elements. Players could take their human character through the ranks of the tennis world in the game's captivating story mode with the desire to make it to the top. Along the way players earned experience points through participating in matches which would add up to net them with levels, improving their all-around stats. From a zero to a tennis pro within the span of the story, your character could out-smash, out-hit, out-return, and outrun even the mightiest of adversaries, including a certain heroic plumber. The presentation of Mario Tennis GBC is some of the best the underpowered portable has ever seen. Blend all of the exciting elements of this game together, and you have one of the most competent handheld tennis titles of all time.

1) Mario Tennis (N64)

Not only my favorite Mario Tennis title but one of my favorite tennis games period, Mario Tennis on the Nintendo 64 began the immense popularity of the combination of Mario and the sport. The bounty of unlockables from characters like Donkey Kong Jr. and Shy Guy to colorful courts towering above the heavens or set deep within a jungle make for a game that you will be playing for a long time. And why not considering how addicting the gameplay is. It's so simple yet so rewarding. Hitting smashes past your opponent, unleashing a killer serve, or blasting your rival in the face with the ball all make for enjoyable and entertaining experiences. The game also introduced the character of Waluigi as well as long-standing traditions to the franchise like Ring Shot and Item Battle to change things up from the standard tennis fun. I can't exclaim enough my "love" for this extraordinary tennis game. Few can even match the quality represented here. Mario and friends no doubt serve up an ace with this Nintendo 64 classic.

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You are quite possibly exhausted from reading all of the tennis-related puns I conjured up throughout this edition of Rank Up. That's okay. It's over now. You can rest and relax until tomorrow where another exclusive SuperPhillip Central story will be posted. But before then, chime in on what your favorite Mario Tennis titles or even other most adored tennis titles are in the comments section.

Mario Tennis: Power Tour (GBA) Retro Review

The French Open in tennis rolls on. Meanwhile, here at SPC, we're dedicating time to some tennis titles of yore. Yesterday we saw the review of the original Mario Tennis. Now we're going to look at the Game Boy Advance iteration in Mario Tennis: Power Tour, so grab a racket and get hopping to a court near you.

Forget Federer, Mario is where it's at.

Mario is a connoisseur of sports whether he's jetting it on a go-cart, shanking a shot while playing golf, scoring a goal in soccer, refereeing a boxing match, and hitting one out of the park while playing an inning of baseball. Case in point, the portly plumber does everything and the kitchen sink. He is one versatile plumber indeed. Now he's returning to handhelds to play a wonderful round of tennis with friends and rivals in Mario Tennis: Power Tour for the Game Boy Advance. Does Mario and company hit an ace, or do they get penalized for a double fault?

This is the game hub of Power Tour.

The single-player mode opens up with you choosing one of two characters-- one boy and one girl. In the long run, it really does not matter which you choose. The story begins with your character of choice waking up from his or her bed and being greeted by your doubles partner. It was a rough initiation process, so your soon-to-be all-star is still wiped out from it. Your goal starting today is to get up on the ranks starting in the Amateur circuit. After beating four players you move onto the Senior circuit where once again you or your doubles team take on four more players. Finally, there's the Varsity class which plays just the same as the Amateur and Senior classes only more difficult as the AI gets smarter and plays more desperately.

Whether it's singles or doubles, there's some kind
of fun to be had in Mario Tennis: Power Tour.

This game plays like the Golden Sun of tennis games. From the character gibberish to their animations to gaining experience points after every match, there's definitely a Camelot RPG feeling, and there's no doubt since Camelot developed this game. As you gain levels by accumulating enough experience points, you can upgrade your stats from serve strength to how much your shot spins after it is hit. You can upgrade your character to suit your play style which is a welcome addition to the game. Some players will divide up the points between all stats while others can pick and choose which stats are right for them. Want to be a power server? Then upgrade the serve category as you gain a level.

Like Mario Power Tennis which came out on the Gamecube, the Game Boy Advance edition of the game features power shots. There's two types of power shots: offensive and defensive. Say a ball is far away from you. Use a power shot to transport yourself to the ball location to save the day. For your character of choice to learn new power shots you must participate in mini-games. From running on a conveyor belt, leaping over barrels Donkey Kong-style to walking on a tight-rope and trying not to tip over into the water. As you continue to play these games, your power shot gets more... well... powerful.

There's over thirty characters to select from in Mario Tennis: Power Tour. Before blowing a gasket, however, at the promise of more Mushroom Kingdom characters than ever before, only six of the thirty-something characters are actually Mario-related. The others are generic humanoids with little in the way of personality. Out of the Mushroom Kingdoom cast presented only Mario, Luigi, Peach, Waluigi, Donkey Kong, and Bowser are playable. In fact, the Mario gang seems like an afterthought as they only appear in the story at the tale-end. That's pretty disappointing as it makes the game seem like a tennis title that has Mario characters shoehorned in.

With only six Mushroom Kingdom characters,
Mario fanatics might be disappointed.

Playing Power Tour feels great. Serve the ball just right, and you'll slam it down your opponent's throat. One button does topspin shots while the other does backspin shots. Tapping A then B performs a lob shot that sends the ball over the head of anyone severely guarding the net. Meanwhile, tapping B then A does a drop shot that puts a stop to players too far away from their side of the net. When your power shot meter builds up, you can unleash your shot while holding the R button and hitting the A or B button. It's a simple set-up, but damn does it feel nice.

DK's serve is a beast in this game.

Visually, the faux 3D models in the game look just like they do in the Golden Sun series of games. Again, not a shock considering the developer. The game does its hardest to replicate an authentic tennis experience, and for that it does an admirable job. From the announcer keeping tabs of the current score to wild applause and "oohs" and "ahhs" when a magnificent play is executed, there's plenty of presentation to love with this game.

Mario Tennis: Power Tour may not feature the Mushroom Kingdom cast as much as I'd like, and finding another player to play with you over multiplayer may be difficult if not impossible nowadays. The single-player game is also short even when you're getting championships in both singles and doubles play, but if you look past these errors you will find a fun portable tennis game. It's not the best one currently on the market, yes (that would be Hot Shots Tennis: Get A Grip), but Mario and company are still churning out remarkable sports games.

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.0/10]