Mario Tennis is not just a tennis game. It's an RPG. You choose from two characters (a boy and a girl) and name your character and your doubles partner. You'll play matches and while doubles is fun, the only way to unlock equipment is to advance your singles rating from juniors to seniors to varsity. You have tournaments and clinics and mini-matches to improve your skills at specific areas, like net play or serving or returning serves. After every match or game you will be awarded points toward your level up. You can assign them to either your character or your partner. Each level up you can assign credits to specific areas (speed, power, placement, etc) to become a stronger player, but think it through because sometimes upping your speed can lower your power (for example). The RPG and story elements are strong for a sports game (and good for a GBC game). The graphics are nice, while nothing special. The people look very Pokemon-esque but have more detail and variation to them than the characters of Pokemon (some are fat, skinny, tall, short...). The sound is also nice and it changes depending on the score (if it's setpoint, it will be more suspenseful than on gamepoint and if it's matchpoint it will be most suspenseful) so it helps a lot to add atmosphere. Gameplay is great: A produces topspin (better for angling a certain way)and B produces slice (opposite way). Combinations can be made depending on which button you press first or holding a button and do things like make a shot drop, lob, smash, or go flat (straight ahead). There's plenty of different shots and the game is always challenging to a certain point. Some parts are easy, and others are downright hard: a good challenge. There's minigames dealing with placement, rallying, and type of shot and while these aren't a selling point they are fun and help to get better at the main story. There's exhibition mode for linked play and casual matches. Mini games and courts are unlocked as you play and characters from the 64 version can be swapped into the GBC version (and vice versa). Mario Tennis has everything you need to keep you occupied for a long time. It's a great game, overall. Don't worry if you don't know tennis: There's a glossary of terms in the game to cover that, too.
Mario Tennis is another solid Mario sports title. A player is given many options when playing this game. You can play an exhibition match, enter the Mario tour, and play minigames that let you increase your character's... Read Full Review
Mario Tenins is not only a good tennis game but a good story. You start off as a male or female who is entering the academy at mid year, you climb up the ranks (Junior to Senior To Varsity) by defeating opponents who are... Read Full Review
