Mario Tennis: Information from Answers.com

Release Date: January 16, 2001
Genre: Sports
Style: Tennis
Similar Games: Mario Golf (Game Boy Color), CyberTiger (Game Boy Color), Snoopy Tennis (Game Boy Color)

Game Description

Designed to look and play like the N64 version of this title, Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color features several familiar Nintendo characters in a fairly realistic tennis simulation. Some characters are available for play initially and many others are unlocked as the player achieves various goals. The player's character gains experience as he or she wins competitions and can use this to improve different tennis skills and abilities. The N64 Transfer Pack allows developed characters to be transferred from the Game Boy Color cartridge to the console and a link cable allows two handheld gamers to go head-to-head or compete together against a computer-controlled doubles team.

~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

Mario Tennis offers a simple presentation that belies its deep and engrossing gameplay. Though it lacks the four-player component of the N64 title, Mario Tennis on the Game Boy Color more than makes up for this with an intriguing and incredibly rewarding single-player experience. As either a male or female character, you'll join the Mario tour and sign up with the Royal Tennis Academy. Once in the academy you'll work your way through the rankings in both singles and doubles competition, from the junior class, through to the senior class, and beyond. During your days at the academy you're free to wander about the grounds, engaging in intense mini-games at the Training Center or even paying a visit to The Service Ace cafe to get advice from fellow classmates.

Ultimately however, you're there to compete, and you're given plenty of opportunity to do so. Along with the various ranking matches you'll play at the school, you'll also participate in tournament events against players from rival academies. Success rewards your character with experience points that can be used to increase his or her abilities as well as your partner's. The gameplay is slow at the start, especially for those used to the N64 title, but things quickly pick up as your character gains experience, and matches soon become frenzied affairs. Though fast-paced, the gameplay is incredibly deep, offering an array of strokes for players to perform -- lobs, slices, power shots, flat shots, charged-up shots, smashes, and volleys. Mastery of these can lead to awfully long rallies. This, combined with the intricacies of each court type and player ability, makes for a very fulfilling experience. In fact, in the later stages of the game, a proper tennis strategy is a necessity in order to be successful.

In addition to the Mario Tour, players can partake in various mini-games starring Nintendo's well-known stable of mascots, from Yoshi to Waluigi. Each character is given a challenge to complete, such as scoring a certain number of points or winning two-on-one competition, with three difficulty levels per challenge. One or two players can also participate in a one-time exhibition match, with such customizable settings as number of sets, court type and characters used. An added bonus for those players who own both the N64 and GBC versions (or as an added incentive to do so) is the ability to transfer characters between games using the N64 Transfer Pak. This allows players to upload their characters (along with their current experience level) from the Mario Tour into the N64 game, and also to unlock additional mini-game events by downloading characters from the N64 title to the GBC game.

The chance to improve your characters' abilities over time introduces a role-playing quality to the game; you're no longer simply playing to win tournaments, but rather to make your chosen character the best that he or she can be. And as previously mentioned, being able to upload your characters (which you may personalize with a seven-character name) to the N64 title and subsequently using them in big-screen multiplayer competition is a wonderful perk. All of this comes wrapped in a package that boasts solid aural and visual presentation. Simply stated, Mario Tennis is one of the most well-rounded titles available for the system, and easily among its best.