Mario Tennis
Platform: Nintendo 64
Media: Cartridge
Genre: Sports > Tennis
Release Year: 2000
Developer: Camelot
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: Single-player, multiplayer
_________________________

Gameplay

The game uses a control system that differs from most other video tennis games on the market. Shots are performed by pressing one, or both, of the two main buttons (A or B), which make the ball spin in different ways. Pressing a button twice strikes the tennis shot with more power and spin. Additionally, pressing the two buttons in a different order can result in a different type of shot altogether, such as a lob or drop shot. all 4 buttons can be pressed at the same time to hit a very powerful smash shot. The longer a button is pressed before contact is made with the ball, the stronger the shot will be. The control system allows players of all levels to become familiar with the mechanics of the game within a very short time, whilst also encouraging advanced players to take advantage of the variety of shots on offer to come up with different strategies for winning points. A total of seven types of shot are possible using only the one main button of the controller.

These gameplay mechanics were later brought to the other games of the Mario Tennis series in Mario Tennis GBC, Mario Tennis: Power Tour and Mario Power Tennis.

Characters and Transfer Pak features

Marking the sixth Mario game for the Nintendo 64, Mario Tennis brings eleven new characters to the Mario Tennis franchise, including Waluigi, Princess Daisy (Prior to Mario Tennis, Daisy's last appearance was as Luigi's caddy in the 1991 arcade game Open Tournament Golf), Wario, Shy Guy, Donkey Kong and Birdo.

Through the use of an N64 Transfer Pak, players are able to import his or her characters from the Game Boy Color version of Mario Tennis to the N64 game, as well as the characters' stats. After connecting Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color with Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64, various options become available; Yoshi, Wario, Waluigi and Bowser can all be sent to the Game Boy Color Version, and GBC characters Alex, Harry, Nina and Kate can be transferred to the Nintendo 64 version. Using the latter four characters, experience points may be earned to transfer back to the GBC version. As the characters go up in levels, one may send his or her improved characters to the N64 version to level up again.

A variety of tennis courts can become available to unlock in the Nintendo 64 version after linking with the Game Boy Color Version.

On the Virtual Console version, the absence of Ring Tournament in Special Games and the ability to unlock extra characters and courts through the Transfer Pak has been removed.