Mario's Tennis

Mario's Tennis, initially known as Mario's Dream Tennis during development, is a Virtual Boy game that was released in 1995. It is the first installment in the Mario Tennis series. The game inspired and was followed by Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. All playable characters that appeared in the original Super Mario Kart for Super NES (with the exception of Bowser) were also playable in Mario's Tennis. There was going to be a two-player option, but it was never added on. The cable that would have been used to connect two Virtual Boys together was never added due to poor Virtual Boy sales.

Serving
A serve begins each point in tennis. A single player serves each game, and players alternate serving throughout the course of the match. If the player wishes to serve, they must press either the A button or the B button, A for regular shots and B for long-distance shots.

Top-Spin
The basic shot in in Mario's Tennis, this shot has a higher arch to it, and can be used by pressing the A button. The shot is mainly used for regular, run-of-the-mill shot.

Lob
The Lob Shot is the second method of hitting a ball in Mario's Tennis. The Lob Shot is a powerful shot that can be used to shoot high, powerful shots whenever the B button is pressed. However, the Lob can be a disadvantage if the character hitting the ball is in the front of the court.

Doubles
Doubles is the second method of play in Mario's Tennis. Doubles are very different than singles, and can be a great advantage for beginner players. In Doubles, the player can choose a partner to help them play tennis, while the player serves in the back the computer partner covers the net, and vice-versa.

Playable Characters

 * Donkey Kong Jr.
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Princess Toadstool
 * Toad
 * Yoshi

Cassarin
The character list in this game's ROM features the name "CASSARIN", which is notable for, unlike the other characters, not having any sprites. "Cassarin" happens to be Japanese for "Catherine", which is Birdo's Japanese name; it can therefore be assumed that Birdo was initially planned for playability in Mario's Tennis.

Trivia

 * This is the only Mario Tennis game where Waluigi does not appear.