Mario Tennis is a fairly good game. I had first written a quickly-composed review for this game which was based upon a week's trial courtesy of a friend of mine. I recently purchased this game and I have had a chance to play it further. I formally change my opinion. The basis of this game is how addictive it can be. Once you get into this game, you won't want to stop playing. Throughout my gaming career, there have been few games which hold my attention like this one does. I find myself popping it in with some friends at noon, and looking at the clock to find that three hours have mysteriously disappeared.
The strongest aspect of this game is the gameplay, as it should be with any tennis game. When one is playing a sports-based game, the gameplay is all the gamer really needs. If the gameplay is bad and the sound is good, the game will simply not be worth playing. Mario Tennis comes through. There are five modes of play which can be played by one to four players at a time. The basic modes are the exhibition games and the tournament games. The exhibition games are quite simple but not without their charm, but the tournament mode is where all the fun comes from. You choose your character and you are placed in multiple back-to-back tournaments, each harder than the next. Getting past the worst of opponents can become the primary goal in your life, no matter how sad that may seem.
The other modes of play are more innovative and are unique to this game. First there is the bowser mode. I found this scenario to be one of the weakest aspects of the game. You are placed on a wavering court suspended by chains and you are expected to hit crystals which appear on the court. You may think that this sounds like a lot of fun, but I just thought it to be a cumbersome addition to an otherwise enjoyable round of tennis. The final mode is the piranha mode, which is basically a practice session. Four piranhas posing as tennis practice machines shoot out balls which you are expected to hit. This is a fun warm up, but it isn't one of the primary areas of fun in the game. Between all the modes of play, despite the setbacks in some areas, the gameplay is very well done.
The graphics follow the trend of previous Nintendo 64 games. That is to say that they are well done. Your basic view of the court is behind and above the playable character. Accordingly, a certain level of three-dimensionalism was added. The sprites' heads actually stick out of their torsos and move in a partially-realistic manner as you hit the ball, an idea not usually seen in console games. The court is as detailed as necessary. There are a few different default courts to play on, such as the brown or the green, and then there are special courts you gain access to which have special pictures on them. For example, there is one court which has a picture of Mario and Luigi standing next to each-other on it, and it has a very nice amount of detail on it. The net also appears to stick up off of the court, and the ball looks very much like it is flying through the air instead of rolling on the ground. Overall Nintendo yet again didn't let me down in its graphical achievements.
The sound is very much subordinate to the other aspects of the game. But, as my policy states, good sound isn't necessary, but if well done it can make the game much better. Nintendo came through for me here. The quirky compositions we came to know and love are back to greet us in this game, and I have no major problems with that. The music creates a mood. It hypes you up to the point where you really want to compete. It's fast paced, fun to listen to, and it blends in perfectly with your already excited gaming atmosphere. The sound effects are there, but they really aren't noticed. The basic sounds for the ball hitting the racket are all you get, and they're all you really need. The sound fulfilled every requirement I put in place, even if there aren't many.
Overall this game satisfied all of my needs. The replay value is virtually infinite because of that. You won't want to stop playing. Granted, when you're playing single player, the game can get slightly boring. But what you need to do is find some of your friends or family and get into a tennis slugfest. An interesting note to add is that the challenge is adjustable. So if you're not the most skilled person on this earth, the easy mode accommodates all of your needs. A good effort by Nintendo, worthy of being associated with the game of tennis.
