Mario Tennis, while not the first sports game featuring the Mushroom Kingdom gang, was one of the earliest of its kind. Still considered to be one of the most solidMariosports gamesin the bunch, it introduced plenty of staples that would become normalized in its fellow spin-offs. Several otherMariosports games, including tennis simulators likePower TennisandAces, might be flashier and more polished, but the originalMario Tennisstill manages to have a strong identity of its own.
Super Mariospin-offs have a reputation for bringing everyone, such main heroes, antagonists, one-offs, regular enemies, alternate counterparts, and even characters from other subseries along for the ride. The originalMario Tennisis arguably responsible for this trend and more.
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The Character Roster
Mario Tennison the Nintendo 64 brought back Princess Daisy (originally fromSuper Mario Land) and Birdo (originally fromSuper Mario Bros. 2) after they had largely been ignored by the franchise since their debut. The game introduced Peach and Daisy’s friendship, as well as Yoshi and Birdo’s implied romance.
The game is also notable forintroducing Waluigi, a character initially dismissed as a lazy way to shoehorn a partner for Wario who eventually became a fan-favorite and a mainstay inMariospin-offs. It was also the playable debut of miscellaneous enemies such as Shy Guy, Koopa Paratroopa, and Boo (who would also become regularly playable in future spin-offs). The game also happened to be Donkey Kong Jr.’s last major appearance, then relegated to small cameos.
The character roster might seem empty, especially due to the lack of characters introduced in the GameCube era such asBowser Jr., King Boo, and Toadette. However, it normalized what was to come in futureMariospin-offs and still manages to stand out due to characters like Donkey Kong Jr.
Grounded Tennis Gameplay
The Mushroom Kingdom is a colorful fantasyland inhabited by diverse citizens such as anthropomorphic mushroom people and ox-turtle-dragon hybrids.Mariospin-offs tend to appropriately have magical elements incorporated into their takes on real-world sports games. However,Mario Tennis’ realismis a huge part of its identity.
Gameplay is dependent on a variety of shots, from slices to lobs, and even the tennis courts are surprisingly realistic, with the closest thing to a “themed” stage being a court with Mario and Luigi painted over it. Non-realistic elements such as power shots and gimmicky courts based on pastMariogames would only become a mainstay in the subseries by the timeMario Power Tenniswas released on GameCube.
The (New) Online
By putting the game on the Switch Online service, Nintendo will make the game’s charm relevant again. Considering other older games such as theoriginalSuper Smash Bros.on N64 have their own competitive scenes,Mario Tennishas a chance of standing out from its successors now that it will be getting online features.
Mario Tennisreleased in 2000 for the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color.
