Mario Tennis (N64)

 MARIO TENNIS

Now, let's cover what most would consider the real start of the Mario Tennis franchise, the Nintendo 64 entry. The tennis in the game is a bit more complex than the tennis in the previous entry, adding in common tennis moves such as slices, drop, flat, and smash shots, and charges that give you a power-up (though not unique to any character at all). I'm not particularly an expert on the sport of tennis at all, but I think I got the general gist.

Our playable cast includes a bunch of Mario series regulars, most generally paired up with a built-in partner similar to Double Dash, given the whole singles and doubles thing to tennis, although its a bit looser than Double Dash. Mario has Luigi, Peach has Daisy, Donkey Kong has Donkey Kong Jr. (his only 3D appearance to my knowledge), Wario has Waluigi (created specifically for this game), Yoshi is paired up with Birdo for the first time, and then we have Toad, Baby Mario, Bowser, and the enemies Boo, Shy Guy, and Paratroopa without a super clear partner. We then also have the main RPG characters from the Game Boy game who can be transferred over if you have both games: Alex and Nina, and their partners Harry and Kate. (If you had any question as to the possible gimmick rep I've been considering . . .) We'll get to them in the next blog.

We don't really have any unique stages per se, as tennis courts come pretty standard, just with differences in the type of turf played on, which may impact the way the ball bounces off and such. These include open, hard, clay, grass, and composition courts, alongside courts with the various characters artwork displayed on them. There is also a Bowser Stage, where you play on a tennis court suspended over lava that tips from time to time.

This game features a few items as power-ups much like in the Mario Kart games. The banana peel will be deposited by your next ball wherever it lands, causing a potential hazard. The mushroom will give you a burst of speed on your shot. The lightning bolt will daze your opponent. The star will give you a power boost. The green shells will send three projectiles following the next hit, and the red shell will act as a homing missile. Generally, if you understand the Mario Kart items, these aren't too far off.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Tennis gimmick rep (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

Mario

Luigi

Princess Peach

Toad

Yoshi

Koopa Troopa

Donkey Kong Jr.

Daisy

Baby Mario

Birdo

Donkey Kong

Wario

Waluigi

Bowser

Boo

Shy Guy

Paratroopa

Piranha Plant

Stages:

Tennis Court

Open Court

Hard Court

Clay Court

Grass Court

Composition Court

Bowser's Stage

Thanks for reading! Next up, we will cover the game's Game Boy counterpart!