The Mario Tennis series got its start ages ago, giving Virtua Tennis a run for its money at the time with four-player support, a variety of modes and enough collective characters from its Mario universe to please fans.
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But it didn’t always stay on the straight and narrow. The last entry in the series, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash for the Wii U, left a few fans divided as it was missing a few features and introduced new ones that didn’t quite sit well with them. Many were hoping that Camelot, the developer behind the series, would return to form with its next go-around.
Fortunately, it looks like that’s happening. We went hands-on with this weekend’s Mario Tennis Aces online tournament for Nintendo Switch and found it to be a wonderful return to form. This could easily be one of the best Mario Tennis games in years.
New Gameplay Features To Keep You Swinging
First off, the game retains that “good ol’ feeling” that the series grew up with rather than going with odd additions that don’t quite gel. It actually feels good getting into a heated match with opponents, hitting the ball back and forth in a rampant contest to see who can score first.
But there’s more to the game than that. First off, there’s a new precision system where you can run up to a star point on the court and perform a terrific slam on your opponent via Zone Shot. By setting up for this, the angle goes into first person and lets you choose where you want the ball to go. Want to try to hit your opponent? Roll the dice and take your chances. Prefer the quick score? Find a good corner spot and let ’em have it.
But this slo-mo also serves a benefit with Zone Speed. If you have enough energy in your meter, you can slow down time and set up a killer shot to return to your opponent. They can do it too though, so be careful.
It’s Trick-y!
There’s also Trick Shots, which you can execute with the right analog stick. This takes some getting used to, as you need to be pretty much in the perfect spot in order to execute these properly. But getting a few of these fills up your energy even further, giving you the chance to perform a spectacular shot that could finish your opponent.
These are in the form of Special Shots. Once your meter fills up, you can hit the left shoulder button and perform a grand slam of a return that, if aimed properly, could break your opponent’s racket.
Yes, you can actually break rackets this time around in Mario Tennis. And there’s some strategy to this as your character can store up several rackets just in case something like this happens. And if they run out, they have to forfeit the match and go right back to square one. It’s a neat addition to the game, giving it a bit more of a competitive edge.
The Best Mario Tennis In Years?
That’s not to say you’ll get frustrated though. There are techniques you can master to save your racket, namely with timed blocks to return the ball safely and keep its strength intact. And anyone can build up energy for a powerful shot, not just the pro players.
Gameplay feels wonderful with the Nintendo Switch setup, whether you’re playing with a Pro Controller or taking the game on-the-go. They’re very responsive, and performing shots is relatively easy, save for mastering the trick shots (as we’ve mentioned above). You can also try your luck with motion controls, though we haven’t given those a shot just yet. They should be good for those that have fond memories of Mario Power Tennis on the Wii.
As for the presentation, all we can say is “Wow.” Mario Tennis has never looked better with wonderful visuals that pop to life. Between characters performing some slick animations, a beautiful array of on-court designs (and we haven’t even seen them all yet) and a replay system packed with style, this game just looks sharp throughout. The first-person camera perspective with power shots is pretty awesome as well.
Bring Your Friends and a Good Online Connection
The only downside is that online connectivity with the game seems iffy thus far. However, keep in mind that the game is in beta and an “Online Tournament” such as this will help Nintendo figure out the servers needed to keep things running smoothly. To its credit, the online matches we did take part in were a lot of fun and proved this game has a lot of mileage when it comes to multiplayer support. If you prefer, you can jump into Simple Mode (once the game releases) and give local multiplayer a go. It’s like the Nintendo 64 era all over again.
Though we didn’t get to see every component that the game consists of, Mario Tennis Aces has a lot of appeal going for it. The controls are perfect; the new additions fit in just about perfectly; and the presentation can’t be beat. Now if Nintendo can just iron out trick shots a little bit and get those online servers up to speed, we’ll be in for a sports game that’s all about nothing but Love.
Mario Tennis Aces releases for Nintendo Switch on June 22.
