Mario Tennis Open

Mario Tennis Open is a sports game for the Nintendo 3DS and the sixth (fifth in PAL regions) installment of the Mario Tennis series (developed by Camelot Software Planning). The game features gyroscope support and online multiplayer (using the Nintendo Network procedures). This is the first handheld installment in the series to not include a Story Mode or RPG elements and the first handheld installment with a Tournament mode. This game is also the first Mario game to use QR (Quick Response) codes. In this case, it is used to unlock playable characters and the Yoshi costume.

Gameplay
The gameplay features the traditional basic elements from previous Mario Tennis games. To win, the player must score points by hitting the ball into the other side of the court and bounce twice, the basic objective of tennis. Players earn 15 points for every shot that is successful and can win the game by earning set, game, and match points by earning 60 points on each game. The amount of set and game points can be set by the player in exhibition mode but not in tournament mode.

This game uses the buttons of the 3DS during single or multiplayer matches, though players can perform various tennis shots by selecting the shot panels on the touch screen, which will light up to alert the player of the best shot to use in a given situation. By holding the 3DS vertically, players can make use of the aforementioned gyroscope support, disabling 3D functionality. This places the camera behind their character, whose movement becomes automatic, and allows players to control the direction of their shots based on the position of the console. The gyroscope support can be disabled either by holding the console horizontally or by disabling it in the Options menu. There are also Special Modes in the game, such as "Super Mario Tennis", where the player needs to hit enemies, blocks and coins with tennis balls in some levels of Super Mario Bros..

Menu controls

 * / - Select
 * - Confirm
 * - Cancel
 * - During a match, this button pauses the game and opens a menu that contains choices such as viewing game rules, setting gyroscope controls, choosing to re-do matches, and canceling matches.
 * - Toggles between the character's dominant hand.
 * - Toggles between the character's star rank. In multiplayer, this is based on the data of player who created the room. Therefore, the player who has created the room needs to have his or her characters starred if members of the room want to give their characters a star rank.

Game controls

 * / - Moves the character.
 * - Performs a topspin shot that is faster. It has a high trajectory with a forward spin.
 * - Performs a slice shot that is slower. It has a low trajectory with a backward spin. During a replay, this button restarts the replay at another angle.
 * - Performs a simple shot. This button automatically performs the appropriate shot. Chance Shots performed by this button are slightly weaker.
 * - Performs a flat shot that is the fastest shot, but it has no spin. Also, this button can be used for Smash Shots. Note that Smash Shots and Purple Chance Shots are different shots.
 * → - Performs a lob with a very high trajectory, which can land at the back of the court.
 * → - Performs a drop shot, with very little bounce and trajectory. The ball can land at the front of the court.
 * // (while the opponent is receiving or serving the ball) - The character performs a taunt that makes his or her next shot stronger.
 * - If the player is charging the ball, this button cancels the charge. It lets the partner know that player is going to hit the ball by saying, "Got It!"
 * - If any character is serving, the button cycles through the three shot panel configurations: 3-panel, inverted 3-panel, and 6-panel.

Chance Shots
Chance Shots can appear if the opponent performs a bad rebound. In that case, a small colored area with a symbol of a Mario enemy or item appears in the player's court. The color of the symbol matches the colors of the panels in the touch screen (if the touch screen is set to the 6-panel shot panel). To perform a chance shot, players have to perform a shot whose color corresponds to the colored area when they are in that spot, either by pressing the correct button or button combination or by touching the matching color on the touch screen. Otherwise, the shot is a normal one. However, players can perform a simple shot that automatically selects the appropriate shot, but this Chance Shot is slightly weaker.

Players on the receiving end of a Chance Shot experience special effects that can hinder them. However, they can lessen the effect by pressing the opposite shot. For instance, red Chance Shots may not make much of an impact if the player retaliates with a (blue) slice shot. The recommended counter button is lit up for the receiving player.

Here is a list of Chance Shots and their effects.

Tournament
Tournament mode is very similar to that in the previous Mario Tennis games. However, two more cups are added and are arranged differently. Players must have a star ranking to participate in the second set of cups. To do that, they must beat the Champions Cup. However, in the Doubles Tournament, only the character they control earns the star rank. Beating Champions Cup unlocks the Pro difficulty, which is more difficult than Expert, while Final Cup unlocks Ace, the most difficult COM level for Exhibition Mode.

Once the player has unlocked a cup, he or she can play it at any time, using any character. As a result, characters do not have to clear all three cups to beat the Champions Cup to earn the Star Rank, unlike in the previous titles.


 * World Open
 * Mushroom Cup - 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals
 * Flower Cup - 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 3-set finals
 * Banana Cup - 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals
 * Champions Cup - 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals
 * Star Open
 * 1-Up Mushroom Cup - 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals
 * Ice Flower Cup - 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals
 * Shell Cup - 3-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals
 * Final Cup - 3-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals

Exhibition
Similar to the preceding Mario Tennis games, exhibition mode is a basic versus mode. Players can choose a singles or doubles match. After that, they can choose their character (and teammate, for doubles) and opponents and press the or  to give characters a left-handed dominance or a star rank, respectively, if they want. The opponent's CPU's difficulty can be chosen after that, ranking from lowest to highest: Novice (blue triangle), Intermediate (yellow circle), Expert (green circle with dot in the middle), Pro (red diamond), and Ace (rainbow star). The Pro and Ace difficulties are unlockable by winning the Champions Cup and Final Cup, respectively. After this, players can pick any court they currently have, and they can select the number of games and sets. Then, the match starts. Chance Shots cannot be turned off, unlike Power Shots from Mario Power Tennis.

Special Games
Another regular feature of the Mario Tennis series, the Special Games, is also present in Mario Tennis Open. These games, like the name says, have special rules and features that differ from normal gameplay. Some of these games bear a very strong resemblance to the Special Games in the previous Mario Tennis titles. However, unlike in the previous Mario Tennis games, Ring Shot is included within the Special Games rather than as another option for exhibition matches. Each Special Game has four difficulties, which are named according to the Special Game. Other than Super Mario Tennis, the last difficulty is a challenge that tests how much a player can do before running out of tries.

Players can unlock characters by clearing Level 3 of each Special Game. Players can unlock outfits for their Mii if they meet the requirements for unlocking them in level 4.

Playable characters
There are a total of 25 playable characters in Mario Tennis Open. Four of these are unlocked during normal game play, but Metal Mario and other-colored Yoshis can be unlocked using QR codes. Additionally, each character will be in one of the six player classes available in the game, excluding the Miis as they can be customized. The four hidden characters can each be unlocked by completing level 3 in the respective Special Game.

Characters are split into six categories of types depending on their stats.


 * All-Around characters do not have any major advantages or disadvantages.
 * Technique characters have better ball control, often at the expense of power.
 * Speed characters move quickly around the court, often at the expense of power.
 * Power characters have faster, stronger strokes and serves, but are often not very agile characters.
 * Defense characters are large or long characters with a better ball reach. They are not very agile characters.
 * Tricky characters have highly curving shots, making it harder for the opponent to predict shots. They are not very powerful characters.

The Yoshi Hunt
In Europe, a Yoshi QR Chase was set up in 30 participating ASDA stores, and in participating EB Games and JB Hi-Fi stores in Australia and New Zealand. This special QR event allowed consumers to scan the code via the game to unlock certain Yoshis to play as. All countries where the game has been released have all QR codes in regards to the colored Yoshis.

Although not part of the Yoshi Hunt, a Yoshi costume (pictured right) can also be unlocked for the player's Mii by scanning a specific QR Code.

QR Codes
The QR Codes can be found here. In order for the player to scan a QR code, they must go the file select screen and press +. However a save file must be created first before they can scan a QR code.

Non-playable

 * Toad
 * Lakitu
 * Toads
 * Goombas
 * Mechakoopas
 * Penguins
 * Shy Guys
 * Koopa Troopas
 * Inky Piranha Plants
 * Piranha Plants
 * Lumas (Blue, Red, Green, and Turquoise)
 * Buzzy Beetles
 * Koopa Paratroopas
 * Blooper

Tennis gear
Gear may be bought for the player's Mii with coins that that are earned by playing Special Games. They can be bought at the Clubhouse for a certain amount of coins each and alter the Mii's statistics. Costumes can also be unlocked by meeting certain conditions, such as giving characters a star rank.

Critical reception
Mario Tennis Open received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with aggregate websites Metacritic and GameRankings giving the game a 69 based on 58 reviews and 69.26% based on 38 reviews. Critics often cite that while the title is considered a solid title, they lament that it plays and feels too similarly to previous titles in the series, with Chance Shots not greatly improving or changing the gameplay up to make the title stand out, and the game was overall a disappointment. Reception towards the Mii customization was mixed; the overall customization was praised, but the pie-chart system of viewing stats has a universal negative reaction. Some critics complain that Miis receive too much focus compared to the Mario series characters as well. Praise has been given to the Special Games, however, especially the Super Mario Tennis Special Game.

Eric L. Patterson of Electronic Gaming Monthly has felt that while the title is a solid one for any Mario Tennis fan, it is not a great Mario Tennis title, and gave the game a 7 out of 10. Richard George of IGN has concluded that the game is "Okay", acknowledging that, "Camelot’s decade of tennis experience means they understand how to make the sport engaging and addicting...Yet Mario Tennis Open struggles in just about every other regard.", where the score is a 6.5 out of 10. Griffin McElroy of Polygon has lambasted the Chance Shots system in his review, calling out the over-reliance on them and their random spawning. On a more positive note, Matt Helgeson from Game Informer has given the game an 8/10, appreciating how Mario Tennis Open goes back to the basics due to him disliking the Power Shots feature of Mario Power Tennis, and that the game introduces online to the series.

Sales
Mario Tennis Open is the 21st best selling game for the Nintendo 3DS, selling 1.11 million copies worldwide, as of March 31, 2013.

Staff
Camelot Software Planning, which has developed previous Mario Tennis and Mario Golf titles, also worked on this title. The director was Shugo Takahashi while the lead designers were Hiroyuki Takahashi and Shugo Takahashi, as with previous installments of the Mario Tennis series. Motoi Sakuraba composed the music. Mario Tennis Open has a different set of announcer voices for each version, a rare aspect in a Mario game. The executive producer was Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo while Shigeru Miyamoto was the supervisor.

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros.: A remix of the overworld music from this game is heard in the tune that plays when the trophies for the Mushroom, Flower, and Banana Cups are displayed (after the scenes where the character is shown with his/her trophy). Part of the melody of this tune is heard in the credits music. The Special Game Super Mario Tennis is heavily based on this game. The overworld, underground, and castle themes from this game are featured, as several levels are replicated (albeit with minor revisions). The Super Mushroom, Fire Flower and Super Star also appear in Super Mario Tennis.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: Tanooki Mario can be unlocked as a gear outfit.
 * Super Mario 64: A cover of Peach's Castle's theme plays in Peach's Palace. Also, a cover version of Bowser's boss fight music plays in Bowser's Castle.
 * Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64): The special game Ink Showdown is based off Piranha Challenge. Also, the game, set, and match point themes in the Special Tournaments are covers from this game. Baby Mario also returns as a playable character with the exact stats and some recycled voice clips from this game. The Toad and Birdo suits can also be earned (along with their rackets) which is a reference to how they are playable in the original Mario Tennis. The equipment also gives the player's Mii similar stats that they had in this game too. Also, the clips of Waluigi's eyes flashing when he wins reappear.
 * Wario Land 3: The overworld theme from this game, particularly from the level Out of the Woods, is played in the Wario Dunes court.
 * Mario Tennis (Game Boy Color): The theme music that plays during the Set or Match Point of the aforementioned game is a cover and sampled for the Star Open Set Point in this game.
 * Wario Land 4: The pyramid featured in this game appears at the front of the Wario Dunes court.
 * Super Mario Sunshine: A small bit of Bowser's battle theme from this game (which was used as the theme for Bowser's Castle in the previous game) is interpolated in the new Bowser's Castle theme.
 * Mario Power Tennis: Galaxy Rally plays similarly to Gooper Blooper Volley. The Mario Stadiums in this game are also very similar to the Peach Dome Courts. Also, the character and announcer voice clips, and characters' actions in the menu and actual match, are reused from this game. But this time, the characters perform their winning and losing actions not just after the match, but after games and sets as well. And, the announcer says "server" or "receiver" instead of the character's (or characters', for doubles) names, to indicate who won the game, set, or match, or has the advantage after a deuce. This is carried on to later games.
 * Super Mario Galaxy: The only unlockable court, Galaxy Arena, takes place in the Comet Observatory. Also, a cover version of the Comet Observatory's theme plays during an Exhibition match. In the Special Game Galaxy Rally, there is a Black Hole underneath the court, a Launch Star and its Star Chips, Star Bits. Differently-colored Lumas and the whole Comet Observatory can be seen in the background. Also, a planet from the Gateway Galaxy is seen. The Good Egg Galaxy music is played in this Special Game. Bee Mario gear is also available, with a racket and costume.
 * Mario Kart Wii: Mushroom Valley takes place in Mushroom Gorge, as the track itself can be seen below the court. The court takes place on a Mushroom, which brings back the aspect of the red mushrooms being very bouncy. Also, several voice clips are reused from this game.
 * Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story: Peach's Palace is heavily similar to the first room of Peach's Castle in this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: The Propeller Suit is available to unlock as various gear, as well as a costume.
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2: Cloud Mario is one of the gear that can be unlocked.
 * Super Mario 3D Land: The splatter design from the Inky Piranha Plant is the same from this game.

Trivia

 * Rosalina was intended to appear as a playable character, but was replaced by Luma due to the sheer amount of time it would take to model her character. She would later be included as a playable character in the next Mario Tennis instalment, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash.