Mario Power Tennis

"Marios in for some crazy tennis!"

All the time it seems like we are seeing Mario everywhere, in every type of game. From forming a party to being a doctor or even playing golf,Mario has done it all. Now, he returns in his second home console tennis game in Mario Power Tennis for the Nintendo Game Cube.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser are joined by the often bad guy characters of the Super Mario franchise, including Shy Guy, Koopa Troopa, and Boo. Each character specializes in a particular skill, such as Donkey Kong favoring the power shots, and Yoshi favoring speed. And each character is just as crazy as ever. Wa rio waddles his way across the court but hits the ball hard.While shy guy is fast and moves around like fire but rather weak.

When you first put Mario Power Tennis in, you'll see that there are quite a few game modes to choose from. As with traditional Mario games, you've got the crazy little mini-games and extra things that you can do besides the main point of the game. Some of these include having random colored paint-type tennis balls that are hit against a wall to complete a picture of characters such as Mario(Artist on the court).

The main point of the game is of course the tennis action. So, how is this delivered in the game?Its very tennis like. The game features standard tennis exhibitions in which one player can play alone in Singles or Doubles mode against the computer on very colorful courts. Or, you can have other players join in with you, allowing up to four players to play in Doubles Mode. The main mode, Tournament, is a competition to win one of an assortment of cups. The tournaments are over quickly, since you only have to play a total of three matches, and earlier matches are short sets. Yet winning a cup in either doubles or singles play opens up additional tournaments, brings out a hidden character, or unlocks new options in exhibition mode, so the replay value is high.

Even the exhibition mode is worthwhile, since you have options outside of playing a straight game on the featured courts. An alternate gimmick mode brings a court's scenery elements to life to wreak havoc on players. Wa rio's factory from the Wa rio Ware games can be played on an active conveyor belt, for example, while Donkey Kong's jungle has Claptraps grabbing onto an opposing player's leg after being hit by a tennis ball. Other modes include ring challenges, where the object is to aim the ball through rings while also winning points. Item battle throws a Mario Kart-style wrinkle on the competition, with the ability to hit boxes filled with power-ups or projectiles like koopa shells, banana peels, and stars.

The controls are very good. Only two buttons are used for 99 percent of the available shots, with the A button initiating topspin and the B button used for slice. Tapping the two buttons in sequence performs either lobs or drop shots, while pressing both buttons simultaneously results in smashes. As in the N64 game, players can hold each button to charge up shots for added power. Now, you do have to be pretty strategic about when to use your "special shots" and "special defense" moves (which are different for each character), but overall, the controls are easy enough for a three-year-old to learn how to play it.

Now, though the game is very fun, there are a few "faults" that we found in it. For starters, the character selection could have benefited from more of Nintendo's franchises, and the voice overs are still the same that they've been for every Game Cube Mario game.The music for the courses is also a little... dreary. We've heard better in Mario games. The graphics are very well done for a cartoon ish-looking game also. All of the characters and courses are lush and colorful, not to mention the great graphics on the backgrounds of the courses as well.

Overall, Mario doesn't really disappoint. It's a fun game, but if you're not into the whole tennis thing, then of course you're not going to be into this game much either. But if you're looking for a Game cube tennis game, this is the one to go. And if you prefer any type of non-realistic tennis game, this is the way to go. $50 seems a little high for this game, since it doesn't have a bunch of depth. But neither did Mario Golf on the Game cube. So basically, here's how it breaks down: much better than Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, but not quite as good as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. Still a good game though, so you should think about checking it out sometime.

Pros

+ There are plenty of extra game modes and courses that provide entertainment beyond just normal tennis action.
+ The visuals are very lush and colorful.
+ Easy to get into, but challenging enough to keep you coming back for more.

Cons

- Audio is not to good.
-All of the game modes are pretty short, including Tournament mode.
- And there's no individual stat-tracking or record-holding for Tournament mode.
-The game is very easy
-Kind of makes you wonder why you paid 50.00 for it.

Rent or buy?
Buy If your a Mario fan like me.Or rent if your not a Mario fan.

Fun:9/10
Replay Value: 8.1/10
Graphics: 9.5/10
Audio: 7.1/10
Game play: 8/10

Final Score:

9/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/21/04