Mario Tennis is more remembered for its introduction of Waluigi, but the game is still a top notch affair. The game remains unlike its gamecube sequel primarily focused on being a tennis title. For players seeking whacky antics they will be thrilled with the Ring and Powerup mode. Mario Tennis offers the complete experience without feeling cheap.
The main offering of Mario Tennis is a solid tennis match in either singles or doubles. The game gets pretty difficult by the final tournament and matches can last a lot longer than the opening matches do.
The key to playing revolves around how you hit the ball, double tapping A will make the ball travel higher and slower. On the opposite side double tapping B will send the ball flying at the opponent. There is also a lob for hitting it very high, a drop shot for barely hitting it over the net, and a power shot which is a purple spike that is the best chance to getting some love.
Ring mode works a lot like Mario Golf 64 did where you need to hit your ball through floating rings. The rings tend to be annoying as they demand your character to hit the ball precisely and the last request by the ring will always be on the opposite end of the court from the last request.
The powerup mode is where you play on a tilting lava court with mario kart 64 like powerups. This isn't too fun with computers but with friends this mode is a blast, the issue with this being a VC title is that to get the most out of a mode like this you'll need 4 Wiimotes and 4 Classic controllers, a bit pricey.
The music holds up from the 64 days but there is an issue with the main menu music. Sometimes that little menu tune speeds up crazy fast, but its the only song to do so in the soundtrack. The rest of the audio remains lively and full of grunts.
The one downside of the game is without a way to hook Mario Tennis for GBC into the game players lose out. 4 Courses and 4 original non-Mario characters were transferable into the N64 title, without this connectivity the game seems to be missing a small chip of its soul.
In the end Mario Tennis is a classic and worth buying for the $10 cover charge. Offering great tennis and a lot of replay makes this a must have for VC players.
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