Mario Tennis

About Mario Tennis

Mario Tennis (2000) is Camelot's acclaimed Nintendo 64 tennis game, with an easy-to-learn but deep two-button shot system, and the debut of Waluigi.

Mario Tennis in Depth

Its control system differs from most tennis games: shots are played with one or both of the two main buttons, which spin the ball in different ways. Pressing a button twice hits harder with more spin, pressing the two in different orders produces other shots such as lobs and drop shots, and pressing both together unleashes a powerful smash. Holding a button longer before contact makes the shot stronger. Seven types of shot are possible with just two buttons, letting newcomers learn quickly while encouraging experienced players to develop strategies, and these mechanics carried into later Mario Tennis games.

Matches can be singles or doubles. Exhibition offers a single match, and Tournament mode runs singles or doubles elimination tournaments against computer opponents, with higher difficulties unlocked as cups are won. The game is known for the debut of Luigi's rival Waluigi and the return of Princess Daisy and Birdo. At Nintendo's suggestion, Daisy, previously seen only in Super Mario Land and NES Open Tournament Golf, was brought back to give Peach a doubles partner as Mario had Luigi; Camelot also asked to include girlfriends for Wario and Waluigi, but Shigeru Miyamoto said he "didn't even want to see" them.

Making Mario Tennis

Camelot Software Planning developed it and Nintendo published it for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. It received critical acclaim and "universal acclaim" on Metacritic for its accessible yet deep controls, physics and amount of content, and was re-released on the Wii and Wii U Virtual Consoles.