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GC

North America

Mario Power Tennis

by Michael Cole - October 28, 2004, 2:06 pm EDT

TYP power serves his first impressions of the Japanese version of Mario Power Tennis.

Mario Tennis GC’s Japanese release date is October 28th, so I was genuinely surprised to find Lik-Sang’s package on my doorstep Wednesday afternoon. Camelot’s game was MIA at E3, so I figure I’m overdue for initial impressions—even if I haven’t competed with humans yet.

There’s no denying it: Mario Tennis GC has quirky style all its own. The presentation offers a peek into the Mario cast and Camelot’s eccentricity. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour began with a CG of meddlesome Wario and Waluigi struggling on the links. Mario Tennis’s similar intro is pure W-team shenanigans, complete with defacement of public property, a chase scene, and a hilariously absurd battle of explosions. I’ll give no further details, though, lest I spoil the fun.

In Toadstool Tour the zaniness was restricted to a pre-rendered short—in Mario Tennis GC (Mario Power Tennis in America) it is the biggest addition to the series. Camelot’s basic tennis gameplay hasn’t been touched at all, and the game will be second nature to veterans of the original. I’m hard-pressed to complain, though, since Camelot’s first Mario Tennis was flawlessly executed. Lobs, drop shots, side spin, and top spin are all performed with combinations of A and B, and pressing buttons earlier will charge the shot for more oomph at the cost of mobility. Characters still have different statistics for speed, reach, power, and ball spin. Mario Power Tennis’s namesake element puts a cherry on top of this old formula. As the characters rally, their tennis racquets charge; after three returns a character can use one of two power moves toggled on by holding R. R + A initiates a very strong smash attack, and R + B provides a free recovery hit regardless of your character’s distance from the ball (though this shot is very easy to return). Disappointingly, each character has very similar power moves, though their varied animations inject quirkiness. Those same summon-like animations could get old quickly, though…

It is clear Camelot’s intentions with the power moves are to lengthen rallies and heighten the game’s risk-vs-reward factor. They have succeeded with both goals. The recovery power move makes victories more difficult (though certainly not impossible). If a player uses his stored energy for an attack he may score the point, but if the enemy manages to respond with his own special attack the first player will be more vulnerable. The dive command adds another new layer of depth. The game offers three control options for special moves and dives; with the game’s completely manual setup, players must intentionally dive for the ball using the L button. Overuse of the dive can be disastrous.

Mario Tennis GC offers the standard grass, clay and cement courts, as well as Nintendo-themed gimmick courts with klap traps that nip at characters’ heels, ghosts from Luigi’s Mansion, conveyer belts, etc. It is too early for me to judge the merits of these gimmicky courts. Any court can be played in exhibition mode, and the game offers tournaments for both regular and gimmick courts. Match length is predetermined for tournaments, but players can specify the number of sets and games for exhibitions. The Mario Kart-inspired battle mode and Ring shot modes also make their return. The first remains relatively unchanged, but the latter now features a more balanced score system. During a volley points are attributed to the two teams; the victorious team collects all of its points and half of the losers, and the losing team earns the remainder.

Mario Tennis GC includes new side games in addition to the exhibition modes and tournaments. Side games, which include the likes of “hit these panels on the wall” and “hit paint balls to color this poster,” are little more than target practice and add nothing to the game. Wario’s mini-game could be a fun party game, though. Each player is on a separate vertical conveyer belt with a chain chomp at the far end. Bob-ombs, water balls and tennis balls fall from the sky. Each player hits his chomp with balls to gain points, and can earn double points by hitting it with a bob-omb. A second bob-omb will make it chase the player’s character, costing precious time, and a water droplet will cool the chomp to its original state. Players can aim their ball to control which chomp they hit, so the game could get vicious.

Mario Tennis GC has little content, but the N64 original had even less. Of course, quality is more important than quantity in a tennis game, and so far at least the main game is promising. I also have yet to delve into multiplayer action, which was a huge part of the last game. I’ll let you know my final thoughts in a full import review before the November 8th launch date in North America.

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Genre Sports
Developer Camelot Software Planning
Players1 - 4

Worldwide Releases

na: Mario Power Tennis
Release Q4 2004
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: Mario Tennis GC
Release Oct 28, 2004
PublisherNintendo

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