Mario Power Tennis

 MARIO POWER TENNIS

Today, let's cover the Game Cube entry in the Mario Tennis series, Mario Power Tennis! As tends to be the case, each consecutive game adds a little more to the complexity of the tennis mechanics, but the basics are all there, mostly based on top spins, slices, and lunges, with combinations one can make off of them. All of the items from before return, including the Green and Red Shells, Mushrooms, Bananas, Stars, and Lightning. The biggest new feature takes a bit after the Mario Kart's Game Cube entry and gives each player two special shots, one an offensive shot and the other a defensive shot.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Koopa, Boo, Shy Guy, and Paratroopa all return from previous games as they are joined by Diddy Kong replacing Donkey Kong Jr., Bowser Jr. and Petey Piranha fresh off their debut in Super Mario Sunshine, Wiggler, and Fly Guy. Mario uses a hammer and spin jump in his special moves, Luigi a squeaky mallet and his poltergust, Peach a spin and a kiss, Daisy a whole lot of flowers, Wario thunder and an Ultra-Hand, Waluigi spinning and swimming in the air, Bowser his fire breath and shell, Donkey Kong a barrel and a banana, Diddy adding his jetpack, Yoshi an egg and flutter jump, Bowser Jr. his paint brush, Koopa a whole lot of water for some reason, Boo the standard ghostly powers, Shy Guy the spears of Spear Guy, Fly Guy tornadoes, Paratroopa energy and flight, Wiggler his anger and butterfly wings, and Petey Piranha his sludge. A lot of it is pretty standard stuff normally tied to the characters, although there's a couple surprises.

As for stages, we have the Peach Dome acting as the central tennis arena, with hard, clay, and grass courts available. Then we have a bunch of gimmick courts that get a bit more creative. These include Luigi's Mansion Court, based on Luigi's Mansion; Delfino Plaza Court, based on Super Mario Sunshine; Wario Factory Court, based on typical factories with conveyor belts moving and stuff; Gooper Blooper Court, with moving platforms that drop you into the water below; DK Jungle Court, based on the Donkey Kong country series; Bowser's Castle Court, just like the Bowser's Castle Court in the previous game; and Mario Classic Court, based on the original Super Mario Bros. game.

That's about it. Let's see what we've got:

Characters:

Alex/Nina/Harry/Kate: serve, lob, top-spin, singles, doubles, slice, drop shot, flat shot, smash shot, charge shot, Banana, Mushroom, Lightning Bolt, Star, Green Shell, Red Shell, offensive special shot, defensive special shot

Mario: Iron Hammer, Spin Jump Return

Luigi: Squeaky Mallet, Poltergust Return

Princess Peach: Super Peach Spin, Sweet Kiss Return

Toad

Yoshi: Rainbow Flutter, Rolling Egg Return

Koopa Troopa: Water Bomb, Water Shell Dash

Donkey Kong Jr.

Daisy: Wonder Flower, Flowerbed Return

Baby Mario

Birdo

Donkey Kong: Barrel Cannon Blast, Boomerang Banana Return

Wario: Thunder Cast Shot, Ultra Hand Return

Waluigi: Whirluigi, Swimming Return

Bowser: Fire Breath, Spinning Shell Dash

Boo: Boo Blast, Boo Brigade Return

Shy Guy: Lightning Spear, Spear Dance Return

Paratroopa: Energy Ball, Sky Dive

Diddy Kong: Acrobatic Banana, Barrel Jet

Bowser Jr.: Magic Paint, Rolling Brush Return

Fly Guy: Tornado Twist, Tornado Return

Wiggler: Anger Management, Flutter Return

Petey Piranha: Sludge Racket, Piranha Swingback

Piranha Plant

Lakitu

Stages:

Tennis Court

Open Court

Hard Court

Clay Court

Grass Court

Composition Court

Bowser's Stage

Royal Academy

Castle Court

Tropics Court

Jungle Court

Star Court

Warehouse Court

Peach Dome

Luigi's Mansion Court

Delfino Plaza Court

Wario Factory Court

Gooper Blooper Court

DK Jungle Court

Bowser's Castle Court

Mario Classic Court

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will cover the game's handheld counterpart, Mario Tennis: Power Tour!