Mario Tennis: Power Tour

Mario Tennis: Power Tour (also known as Mario Power Tennis in Europe and Australia, and as Mario Tennis Advance (マリオテニスアドバンス Mario Tenisu Adobansu) in Japan) is the Game Boy Advance counterpart of Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube, and the final Mario release for said handheld. It is very similar to Mario Tennis in gameplay and plot, though it has the addition of Power Shots. Though it is the counterpart of Mario Power Tennis, the two games cannot be connected in any way.

Plot
The player, either Clay (Max in Europe) or Ace (Tina in Europe), is a student in the Royal Tennis Academy. During this time, masked challengers come to the academy and defeat the academy's champions, leaving everyone in disbelief as they have never lost before. Determined to find out who they are, Clay and Ace become a part of the Junior class, where they defeat everyone in it. They continue on to the Senior classes, and then to Varsity, where they learn that the top two doubles teams (or players, if it its singles) get to advance to the Island Open, where they would play against top students from the other two tennis schools.

Clay and Ace soon ensures their entry to the Island Open. They hear a rumour that the victors of the Open would get a chance to play against Mario. During the time at the Open, the player may wish to travel between the Academy and the area of the Open at any time. After winning the Open, Clay and Ace realise that they still have not discovered who the masked plays are. However, the very next day Mario comes to the Academy, and gives Clay and Ace the honour of playing with them. Thus begins the Peach Tournament, with Clay and Ace as players. Clay and Ace travel to the Mushroom Kingdom by the Toad Express, where the games are being held in the Peach Dome, owned by Princess Peach. During their stay, Clay and Ace are told that it is Mario and company that were the masked players in the academy, and that it is also them that introduced the concept of power shots to Earth. Piantas, Toads, and Nokis are present at the dome as part of the audience.

Single player mode is relatively similar.

Playable Characters
Though the game features many characters, the game seems more like a Mario cameo than an actual Mario game on the account that only 6 Mario characters are playable, while getting rid of three out of 9 of the most popular characters, which are Wario, Yoshi and Daisy. This makes it the only time Waluigi has appeared without Wario. None of the unlockable characters are Mario characters, although star versions of them can be unlocked.

Non-Playable Characters

 * Shadow Swing King
 * Shadow Swingstress
 * Leon
 * Peter
 * Oscar
 * Chet
 * Alex
 * Harry
 * Nina
 * Kate
 * Mark
 * Emily
 * Kevin
 * A. Coz
 * B. Coz
 * Headmaster
 * Great Fairy of Victory
 * Toads
 * Toadsworth
 * Piantas
 * Nokis

Minigames
Each minigame consists of three levels and a "challenge" level. The first three levels award a set amount of PS Points per completion, while the challenge level gives PS Points based on completion time or a different factor, depending on the individual minigame.

This game is played by using the A and B buttons to raise a spiky ball and pop balloons. Yellow balloons are worth one point, reds are two, and blue balloons are the most valuable at three points. By pressing the A and B buttons, the player must guide his character through a maze of electrified panels. To win this game, the player must use ESP (pressing and holding the B button) in order to see the symbols on the fronts of cards. Afterwards, the player must select and flip over pairs of cards using the A button. The goal of Jump Gym is to break as many blocks as possible. Use the Control Pad to move around and the A button to jump. Simply use the Control Pad to beat the RPS Mech at rock, paper, scissors. By alternating between the A and B buttons, climb up the ropes and collect flags as you make your way to the top platform. Use A to raise the screws and B to lower them as you collect your coins. Yellow coins are still worth one point, but red balloons are now worth five and blue are worth ten. Rapidly press A and B to build momentum as you charge toward the Tacklebot. It can also attack you, so hold left on the Control Pad to defend. Use the Control Pad to balance as you make your way across a tightrope. Rapidly press B to run and press A to jump over bananas and barrels to reach your target distance.
 * Bicep Pump - PS Muscle
 * Duck Walk - PS Speed
 * Instinct Drill - PS ESP
 * Jump Gym - PS Jump
 * Reflex Rally - PS Response
 * Rope Climb - PS Muscle
 * Swift Spin - PS Spin
 * Tacklebot - PS Body
 * Tightrope - PS Balance
 * Treadmill - PS Speed

In addition, there are two other minigames that award EXP instead of PS Points. Both minigames have four levels: Beginner, Standard, Expert, and Master. After completing Master level, an alarm will sound and Alex and Nina will come over to congratulate you.
 * Wall Practice
 * Tennis Machine

Power Shots
Power Shots are unlocked after reaching Senior level. To unlock a Power Shot, certain levels need to be reached in the PS Minigames. The Power Shots that Ace and Clay can use and the requirements for each are listed below. To use a Power Shot in the game, the Power Shot meter must be fully charged. When it is, a yellow-orange ring will appear around your character. Hold R and press A for an Offensive Power Shot, and hold R and press B for a Defensive Power Shot.

Offensive Power Shots:

Power Shot== L1 Muscle

High-Power Shot== L3 Muscle

Curve Shot== L1 Spin

Slider Shot== L3 Spin

Control Shot== L1 Balance

Flashflop Shot== L3 Balance

Tackle Shot== L1 Body

Stunner Shot== L3 Body

Flying Shot== L4 Muscle + L2 Jump

Gyro Shot== L5 Spin + L3 Balance

Dragon Shot== L5 Muscle + L2 Body

Sonic Shot = L6 Spin + L4 ESP

Blizzard Shot== L6 Speed + L6 Response + L7 Spin

Summoner Shot== L7 Muscle + L7 Response + L5 Balance

Specter Shot== L8 + Spin + L6 Balance + L6 ESP

Volcano Shot== L10 Jump + L10 Muscle + L10 Balance + L10 Body

Defensive Power Shots:

Running Save== L1 Speed

Superswift Save== L3 Speed

Lunging Save== L1 Jump

High-Jump Save== L3 Jump

Quick Save== L1 Response

Quick-Step Save== L3 Response

Hand-Power Save== L1 ESP

Psychic Save== L4 ESP

Typhoon Save== L4 Jump + L2 Spin

Bubble Save== L4 Spin + L4 Speed

Illusory Save== L5 Speed + L4 Response

Spider Save== L5 Response + L4 Balance

Falcon-Dive Save== L6 Response + L5 ESP

Shark-Bite Save== L8 Speed + L8 Response + L7 Body

Shooting-Star Save== L10 + Response + L10 Jump + L9 ESP

Rainbow Save== L10 Speed + L10 ESP + L10 Spin + L10 Balance

References to Other Games

 * Super Mario Bros. - The main theme plays in the ending.
 * Super Mario 64 - The music that would play inside Princess Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64 plays inside the Peach Dome, and during matches on the dome's respective court.
 * Mario Tennis (Game Boy Colour) - Alex, Harry, Nina, Kate, Mark, Emily and Kevin appear as coaches in the Academy.

Trivia

 * Wario can be heard saying Nintendo before the openings.
 * This is the only Mario Tennis game where Yoshi is not a playable character. However, he can be seen if there is an error while playing multiplayer mode as an image of Mario leaving Yoshi to ride Luigi is seen. This is the only appearance Yoshi has in the game.
 * This is also the only Mario game where Waluigi appears without Wario.
 * Willy's Power Shots resemble psynergies from the Golden Sun series. Camelot, the maker of the game, also made the Golden Sun series, so this is most likely a nod to that.
 * There is an NPC in the clean-up crew after the Island Open celebration that resembles Link. He is located near the top of the screen when the player wakes up on the field.
 * In the North American version of the game, the bus for the Island Open boards from the left-side door and departs while on the left side of the road. This was a localization oversight; in Japan and most other countries, people drive on the left side of the road.
 * Beating the game on Technical difficulty will trigger a different credits sequence for the player, showing artwork of every player that Ace or Clay would play against on their way to victory.

Mario Power Tennis (Game Boy Advance)