The Mario Tennis series is about to faithfully revived in Mario Tennis Aces. The newest entry promises all of the charm and depth that we’ve come to expect from Camelot over the years; the kind of charm and depth that was sadly missing in the ill-fated Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash on Wii U. But don’t take our word for it! You’ll be able to try Mario Tennis Aces for free before it launches. Check out the online tournament trailer above to get the details!
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Beginning June 1 at 8PM Central, Nintendo Switch owners will be able to download the Mario Tennis Aces Pre-launch online tournament demo, and play freely until June 3. By participating in this limited-time demo event, players who purchase the full game will unlock the classic Mario outfit as a reward.
We were also treated to a brand new Adventure Mode trailer this morning, which gives us a very brief rundown of the game’s story and the various enemies you’ll encounter in your quest to save Luigi. Check it out below:
This is everything we want out of a Camelot Mario Tennis game. It has a unique story, goofy characters, unique stages, boss fights, and some light RPG mechanics. It’s everything that doesn’t have to be in a tennis game to make it fun, but exactly what we’ve been craving for years.
From what we can tell, Luigi gets hold of a legendary racket which seems to be possessed by some kind of evil spirit. We see the dark spirit enveloping Luigi and taking him over, transforming him into a kind of evil metallic version of himself. We can also see that the same spirit has taken over Wario and Waluigi (as if they weren’t sour enough already). As Mario progresses through the various stages, he will level up and collect more powerful rackets to wield against the forces of this mysterious evil.
The English trailer doesn’t touch on the more nuanced techniques and mechanics that we saw in the Japanese overview trailer, but you can take our word for it: Mario Tennis Aces is going to offer a lot of depth for those who want a more strategic arcade tennis experience. If you’d rather turn off all of the fancy chance shots and play a more straightforward game of tennis, you’re more than welcome to do that as well, but where’s the fun in that?!
We’re pumped. Mario Tennis Aces looks like a true return to form for one of our all-time favorite sports series, and we can’t wait to get our hands on the demo on June 1. The full game will launch on June 22!
