"One of the better VB games"

Mario, Luigi, Toadstool, Yoshi, Toad, Koopa Troopa and DK Jr. come together in a pretty good game on a system no one but video game collectors care about. Mario's Tennis was a pack-in game with the sub-par yet cult-creating Virtual Boy, and its a pretty good game. Not only is it the only game I can think of that has Dream and Tennis in the title, but you can play as a Koopa Troopa, a feature that is sorely lacking from today's Mario-themed sports lineup. Now on to the real review.

Graphics
The graphics are pretty good. The sprites for the opposing players are good for what they are supposed to do, except when you get up close to them after the game is over-they are just bad, and I don't understand how Nintendo let that happen. They are so horrible its confounding. The graphics for those opposing players are worse than a Julia Roberts flick. Even worse than Resident Evil. In fact, they are worse than bad examples of how bad those graphics are. On the other hand, though, we get great graphics for the background and for yourself (and your team mate, if you choose to have one). The ball is pretty round, and it doesn't have a smiley on it, which is a surprise seeing how this game came from the same people who like to put smileys on hills and mushrooms.

Music/Sound
I liked the music in this game. It fits the game great. I can't imagine any other music for a tennis match between a monster turtle and a mushroom that can talk. I still hum it. Even on the street where my life is being threatened, I still hum it. I really think this might be the best feature of the game. It is also the worse, seeing how I can't illegally get a mp3 file from Kazaa of the music. Nor can I seem to find an sort of illegal material relating to this game. Darn.

Control
The control is great, you won't have a problem with it. When you push right, your character goes right. When you push left, your character goes left. The ball and racket have a pretty good hit area. Only sometimes I want to rip my Virtual Boy apart because the game should have registered that swing as a hit, and not a miss. Then I remember that my Virtual Boy is worth more than my life on eBay.

Fun Factor
This game isn't frustrating at all. It has multiple difficulty levels, and seven fun characters (how about that for a exciting adjective?). The great play control, music, and graphics (for the most part) all come together to form one of the best Nintendo titles that was strongly ignored by the general public.

Conclusion
This game is, in a word, ''neat.'' Like a button, or a shiny new dress shoe. When you friends hear you have this game, they will instantly love you. And then ask you what a Virtual Boy is. This game is such an underrated and under-appreciated game, its a shame. Why are we fed crap like Mega Man X6 nowadays, and we never get quality gems like Mario's Dream Tennis? Who knows. Anyway, buy this game if you haven't already, or all 9 people in the world with a Virtual Boy will laugh at you.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/22/03, Updated 04/22/03