Mario Power Tennis

Like all good games on the N64, Mario Tennis has been reincarnated for the current generation of gamers and like all GameCube classic remakes there isn’t anything particularly different from the original here.

Mario Power Tennis is an easily playable and enjoyable tennis game. The key to Mario Tennis is the vibrant roster of playable characters. They’re animated brilliantly and their personality shines onto the gamer, allowing the gamer to fuse some of their own personality into the way the game is played thanks to a variety of different tennis techniques. Through simple button combinations gamers can spike the ball, smack a power serve or launch the ball sky high. Special moves such as Mario’s hammer smash lend even more personality to the court and spice things up on the visual front.

The tennis courts and environment settings are as spectacular and animated as the Nintendo All Star team. The colorful visuals are remarkably smooth and fluid and the gimmick courts – which are usually littered with animated non-playable characters and interactive - look more like cartoon shows more than they do a video game. There is even a handful of special courts where the only connection to a game of tennis lies in the racket and ball; dodging bowsers fiery breath, painting pictures of Mario, and sealing Ghosts back into their paintings are just some of the unique challenges that give the game a larger than tennis feel. Beyond that you can choose 3 different modes of play; ring shot, item battle, and standard. In ring shot players shoot through golden rings to earn bonus points. During item battle you aim for the item boxes then use the mushrooms, shells, or whatever you get out of the boxes to your advantage. Standard mode is your basic match of tennis and all modes can be played as a singles or doubles match.

Although you may confuse the soundtrack with any other game with the word Mario in it, Power Tennis presents a viable and suitable soundtrack full of frantic fast paced Nintendo jingles and crazy tunes. There is no real dialogue to be heard beyond the opening cinematic but each character has a handful of quick chirps to key the player into what is going on.

All of the previously mentioned is then wound together to create a dazzling tennis game that’s as challenging as it is fun to play. Players can set games to a desired difficulty and matches range from out of control lunacy to nice and breezy. You can also get four friends in a game of doubles and work as two teams and this is where the heart of the game lies. The view gives all players on screen a fair perspective and exchanging swings is remarkably fun and you’ll rarely find anything out of your league even if your playing against a more skilled player.

Its limited appeal as a tennis game is broadened by its quirky courts, gimmick matches and special moves. Mario Tennis is still a desired taste, but any gamer looking for a fun pick up and play multiplayer game will find just that in Nintendo’s latest no-commitment tennis game.