Mario Power Tennis

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This article is about the GameCube game. For the Game Boy Advance game known as "Mario Power Tennis" in Europe, see Mario Tennis: Power Tour.
Mario Power Tennis
The front cover for Mario Power Tennis for the Nintendo GameCube
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer Camelot Software Planning
Nintendo SPD Group No.4
Publisher Nintendo
Platform(s) Nintendo GameCube, Wii (New Play Control! series)
Release date Nintendo GameCube:
Japan October 28, 2004
USA November 8, 2004
Europe February 25, 2005
Australia February 25, 2005
Wii:
Japan January 15, 2009
HK January 15, 2009
ROC January 15, 2009
Europe March 6, 2009[1]
USA March 9, 2009[2]
Mexico March 9, 2009[3]
Australia March 26, 2009
Wii (Nintendo Selects):
USA June 10, 2012
Europe June 22, 2012
Language(s) Deutsch
English (United States)
Español (España)
Español (Latinoamérica)1
Français (Canada)1
Français (France)
Italiano
日本語


1 - Only in the New Play Control! version.

Genre Tennis
Rating(s)
ESRB:E - Everyone
PEGI:3 - Three years and older
CERO:A - All ages
USK:0 - All ages
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer
Media
Nintendo GameCube:
Optical disc
Wii:
Optical disc
Input
Nintendo GameCube:
Wii:

Mario Power Tennis is a sports game for the Nintendo GameCube and a re-release for the Wii (via the New Play Control! series). It is the third direct installment in the Mario Tennis series, and the follow-up to Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. In this game, Mario and his various friends and enemies meet up to play tennis. Like the previous Super Mario sports titles, all the playable characters have incredibly powerful Power Shots. Additionally, there are courts in the game that have special effects and events during the game. For each court, there are also special games to play.

Opening cutscene

Mario and Luigi celebrating a win in their tennis match against Wario and Waluigi during the Mario Power Tennis opening
Mario and Luigi celebrating their win against Wario and Waluigi

The game's opening begins with Mario and Luigi playing a match against Wario and Waluigi. The Mario Bros. win the match and celebrate as Wario and Waluigi complain about their loss. Bowser is seen surveying the match through hidden cameras. The next day, Wario and Waluigi see a picture of Mario and Luigi on the "Peach Dome Tournament" board and are angry to see that their opponents have knocked them out of the running. Wario and Waluigi vandalize the picture of Mario and Luigi, but the police pursues to arrest them. Wario and Waluigi escape into a janitor's closet, but they fall into what appears to be a training room. Bowser approaches them and offers an alliance to get revenge against the Mario Bros. After hours of training and seeing others playing their tennis matches, they carry out a plan to attack the final tournament match later that evening at the Peach Dome.

As Mario and Luigi are about to play the final match of the tournament against Yoshi and Donkey Kong, Bowser shows up on an airship-shaped blimp and rigs the tournament so that Wario and Waluigi can have their rematch with the Mario Bros., shocking the tournament hosts, Princess Peach and Toadsworth. Everyone gets angry at Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser wanting them to leave, but Wario and Waluigi silence them by setting up a machine that fires Bob-ombs at the Mario Bros. Bowser, in the meantime, throws Bob-ombs at them. However, Mario and Luigi deflect the incoming Bob-ombs back at them with their tennis rackets. Other characters, such as Diddy Kong and Koopa Troopa, are briefly seen helping the Mario Bros. fend off the Bob-ombs as the spectators evacuate from the stadium, running and screaming for their lives. As a last resort, Bowser launches a Bullet Bill from his blimp at them, and Mario knocks it back with his racket, which fires back and hits Wario's Bob-omb launcher. Waluigi is about to retrieve the launcher, but Wario falls and crushes him. The launcher, flipped from the explosion, accidentally fires a Bob-omb at Bowser's blimp, destroying it and revealing Bowser's stock of Bob-ombs below his blimp, shocking Peach, Toadsworth, Mario, and Luigi.

Bowser's blimp starts to descend out of control and falls toward Wario and Waluigi. Wario and Waluigi attempt to escape, but Bowser crashes to them with the Bob-ombs onboard, causing them to blow up on impact, creating a large explosion.

Afterwards, the trio falls unconscious after the blast, and their plan to attack Mario and his friends has completely failed, despite the damage they have done to the stadium. Mario and Luigi are relieved and unharmed, and Mario breaks the fourth wall by saying "Mama-mia" at the camera before the scene ends.

Additional snapshots

Gameplay

Players participate in a tennis game, just as its precedents in the Mario Tennis series. To win, the player must score points by hitting the ball into the other side of the court and not making the opponent rebound the ball, just as the traditional way of playing tennis. Players earn 15 points for every shot that is successful and can win the game by earning game, set, 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.

Controls

Mario Power Tennis
The controls for the game

Menu screen controls

  • Control Stick: The players can use the Analog Stick to scroll through menu items.
  • A Button: The players can select menu items
  • B Button: The players can cancel any action they took
  • START/PAUSE Button: The players can return to game they were playing
  • L Button: Pressing the button once makes a selected character left-handed. Pressing it again makes the character right-handed.
  • R Button: Pressing the button once makes a star for the character. Pressing it again removes the star. Stars are only obtained by beating the Star Cup.

Game controls

The controls here are assumed the normal control style. The control options are changed in the options menu and before the start of a match.

  • Control Stick: The players can move around and also aim direction of ball they just hit.
  • A Button: The players execute a topspin shot (if the players hit the button twice, they will execute a strong shot). Topspin shots are faster with a higher trajectory than slice shots and the ball's trail is colored red when a topspin shot has been taken.
  • A Button when ball is on the other side of the court: The player will taunt at the opponent. If the animation finishes, the glow around the opponent's racket grows smaller.
  • B Button: The players execute a slice shot (if the players hit the button twice, they will execute a strong shot). Slices are slower with a lower trajectory than topspin shots and the ball's trail is colored blue when a slice shot has been taken.
  • A Button then B Button: The player can lob, which can send the ball flying up in the air. It can fly over the opponents' heads.
  • B Button then A Button: The player can perform a drop shot which is a very weak shot that goes barely past the net. It is performed to deter players who like to go far away from the net.
  • A Button and B Button: The player can perform a flat shot. When the ball is lobbed, a smash point appears and the player can perform a smash shot instead of a flat shot. Flat shots' trails are colored green while smash shots' trails are colored purple.
  • R Button and either A Button or X Button: The player performs a powerful Offensive Power Shot if power shots are turned on and if the player's racket glows to a certain amount of intensity. The power shot depends on the character. The players also must be in a certain distance or they will perform a defensive power shot instead. Note that any offensive power shots that occur before this still has an effect on the player who will use the power shot.
  • R Button and either B Button or Y Button: The player performs a Defensive Power Shot, which can cover the ball to great distances if power shots are turned on and if the players' racket glows to a certain intensity. This power shot also depends on the characters, but not as much as offensive power shots. Any offensive power shot that has been executed before this will not have any effect on the players if they use the defensive power shot.
  • L Button: The players can cancel charge shots.
  • L Button and either A Button or B Button: The players can jump towards the ball.
  • Z Button: The players can change the camera view. The options are stationary, player, and dynamic.

Game modes

Exhibition

Mario Power Tennis
Players participating in Item Battle Mode.

Up to four players can participate in this versus mode. The players can choose their characters, a court, and what type of game that they can play. The player can also adjust rules in versus match, such as turning power shots on and off, setting the numbers of games and sets, and choose which character to pair with when playing in doubles. Computer levels can also be set by the player, and they range from easiest to hardest: novice, intermediate, expert, pro, and the unlockable ace difficulty. There are three types of games that the player can play.

  • Standard Court: The player and the opponent participates in a chosen course with no gimmicks of any kind. The only gimmicks present are the bounce intensity, speed of the ball, and the power shots, if turned on. Standard Courts for any court that is not Peach Dome must be unlocked first by completing the Gimmick Masters tournaments.
  • Gimmick Court: The player participates in the same game as in the court, but with gimmicks that can help or hinder the player, unique to each court. The Peach Dome is the only court that cannot have gimmicks of any sort whatsoever.
  • Item Battle: The player can use special items to help them win against the opponent. To do so, the player must hit an Item Box with the ball and receive a random item, very much like in the Mario Kart series, except that the item received isn't dependent if the player is losing or not.
    • Green Koopa Shell: 3 shells zoom out in straight lines. If the player gets hit by one, they will stumble and lose time, possibly going as far as help the opponent gain a point.
    • Red Koopa Shell: One Red Shell comes out and chases after the opponent. The effect is similar to that of a green shell if contact has been initiated.
    • Mushroom: The Mushroom increases the player's movements for a brief moment of time. It also grows the player back into normal size quicker if they had been shrunk by Lightning.
    • Banana: A stationary banana gets shot out. If it hits the ground, the banana remains there. Slipping on a banana peel also has the same effect as shells.
    • Star: The Star increases the player's abilities and it makes the player invulnerable for a short period of time. It also grows the player back to normal size quicker, if the player was shrunk by Lightning.
    • Lightning: The Lightning strikes the opponents of the court and shrinks them to a tiny size. The opponent's speed, stature, and power will also decrease.

The content and number of the item boxes depends on the court being played on.

  • Peach Dome Courts: None
  • Luigi's Mansion: 10% higher chance of lightning bolts.
  • Delfino Plaza Court: 10% higher chance of mushrooms.
  • Wario Factory: Twice as many item boxes.
  • Gooper Blooper Court: 10% higher chance of red and green shells.
  • Donkey Kong Jungle Court: 10% higher chance of bananas.
  • Bowser Castle Court: Same as Bowser Castle Gimmick Court.
  • Mario Classic Court: 10% higher chance of stars.
  • Ring Shot: The player scores points by hitting rings to win the game. The player earns the points in the rings by winning the point in the game, which depends on how many rings the player has shot. The losing player will give half of their points to the winning player in charge amount. The amount of ring points needed to win the game ranges from 100, 200, and 500.

Tournament

Entrees in the Planet Cup tournament in Mario Power Tennis. Compressed with PNGMonster.
Mario goes against opponents in the Planet Cup.

The player pits against simultaneous matches against computer opponents to win the trophy in a cup. The higher the cup level, the harder the computers will get. Once a character has completed Star Cup, the character receives a star ranking, strengthening hitting the ball. This rank also allows the character to participate in the Star Tournament, where the opponents also have the star ranking and are generally more difficult. The player can also participate in a Gimmick Tournament, which, as the name implies, enables the player to participate in Gimmick matches in courts against the computer. Although a Doubles Tournament is available, only one player can participate, forcing the player to be paired with an AI-controlled partner of their choice. Additionally, completing the World Open in Doubles does not grant the character a star ranking, so players must complete the Singles tournaments first to participate in Doubles Star Tournament.

World Open

These tournaments are held in the Peach Dome court.

  • Mushroom Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals (hard surface)
  • Flower Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 3-set finals (clay surface)
  • Star Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (grass surface)
Gimmick Masters
  • Fire Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals, held in the Luigi's Mansion, Gooper Blooper, and DK Jungle courts in no particular order
  • Thunder Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals, held in the Delfino Plaza, Wario Factory, and Bowser's Castle or Mario Classic courts in no particular order
Star Tournament

Just like the World Open, these tournaments are held in the Peach Dome as well. However, as the tournament suggests, CPU opponents are all star characters.

  • Rainbow Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals (hard surface)
  • Moonlight Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (clay surface)
  • Planet Cup: 3-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (grass surface)

Special Games

The fourth level of Artist On the Court.
Players participating in Artist on the Court

Players have the option to play special games as an alternative to going in tournament or exhibition mode. Up to four players can participate in the special games except for Gooper Blooper Volley and Mecha-Bowser Mayhem, which are only for one player. All courts have specific special games that are unique from one another.

  • Artist on the Court: Players must color a design on a wall using paint balls to complete the minigame. In order to progress and achieve harder levels, the player must complete the designs within the time limit. Designs include Mario, Luigi, Diddy Kong, Bowser and Bowser Jr., and a rainbow of Yoshis, in increasing order of difficulty.
  • Balloon Panic: Players must prevent Klaptraps from bursting their balloons by hitting balls at panels to make them change direction. The game ends when a Klaptrap pops a balloon.
  • Chain-Chomp Challenge: Players must feed a hungry Chain Chomp with balls. Bob-ombs make the Chain Chomp turn red and earn the player two points for every ball, but hitting the Chain Chomp with another Bob-omb will let the Chain Chomp out and waste the player's time with the need to activate a switch. Water balls place angry Chain Chomps back into their normal positions, and put normal Chain Chomps to sleep. The player can wake the Chain Chomp up by smacking a Bob-omb into it. Players can also tamper with other players' progress.
  • Gooper Blooper Volley: Players must rebound hits from a Gooper Blooper in a regular tennis game. However, the player also must avoid rebounding their ball into the gray zone that changes constantly throughout the game. Messing up ends the game.
  • Mecha-Bowser Mayhem: Players must defeat a Mecha Bowser that produces beams of light by swinging its tennis racket. Mecha Bowser can attack the player by breathing fire and shooting Bullet Bills. The game ends when either the player or Mecha Bowser is defeated.
  • Terror Tennis: The players must prevent ghosts from coming out of the paintings and attacking them. They have to earn a certain amount of points before the time runs out in order to proceed to more difficult levels. The player gets more points if they hit the ghost that is just about to come out of the painting.
  • Tic-Tac-Glow: The player must get three Shine Sprites in a row in order to earn points. They can do this by hitting balls to the other side of the court, while hitting the FLUDD icons, in order to spray goop away from the site.
  • Coin Collectors: The player must earn coins that enter the court while avoiding fireballs. They can only move left and right, but they can hit tennis balls to hit the POW block for more coins or the destruction of the fireballs. The player with the most coins wins the game.

Event Games

Multiplayer-exclusive, Event Games is a tiebreaker match with options for a 3, 5 or 7 points game. It is unlocked by holding Z Button and pressing START/PAUSE Button on the title screen (holding A Button and B Button for a few seconds on the New Play Control! port), something that must be performed every time the game is booted-up.

Other modes

Mario Power Tennis
The Exhibition records.
  • Continue: When the players select this option, they can resume a previously saved game. Players can save a game during the middle of a match or before a tournament is started. However, any midgame points gained will reset to 0-0. The game can hold up to three continue files.
  • Records: Players can view records on all types of game modes played. If the records are on Exhibition, they can view what character they played and won against. Note that this only applies to beaten computer players by the player shown in a table. The shape of the win depends on the difficulty of the computer (a triangle means novice, a circle means intermediate, a circle with a dot in the middle means expert, a moon means pro, and a star means ace. Plus, a small star icon on the top right corner indicates that the computer was beaten when starred). If the records are on Tournament, the players can view the trophies won in a singles or doubles match with the character the player chosen. In Special Games, the players can view how long and/or how many points they achieved and the difficulty played on.
  • Options: The players can adjust in game settings, such as setting the sound system to mono, stereo, or surround, turning music on and off, turning rumble on and off, and setting control options. Control options can be set to easy, normal, and technical, which differs the controls the players must use. The players can also choose to delete save data, but once it is deleted, it cannot be restored.

Participants

The character select screen in Mario Power Tennis.
The complete character select screen. Characters that have won the Star Tournament have their icon borders colored gold.

A total of 18 characters are playable in Mario Power Tennis, of which 14 are default and the other 4 need to be unlocked before they can be played as. Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., Fly Guy, Wiggler, and Petey Piranha are newly playable to the Mario Tennis series, with Fly Guy and Wiggler also making their overall playable debuts. Characters are divided into 6 different play styles, listed below.

  • All Around: A character that is above average in all categories.
  • Speedy: A character that can get to the ball in time, but lacks raw strength and often reach.
  • Power: A character that can hit the ball with great force, but lacks speed and ball control.
  • Technique: A character that can place the ball on the corners of the net, but can lack speed and power.
  • Tricky: A character that can curve the ball, but often lacks reach.
  • Defense: A character that can easily hit the ball from any position, but lacks power and speed.

Although their stats are not visible, each character has slightly different attributes from each other. For instance, Bowser has more power and reach compared to Wario, but Wario has better control, movement, and volleying.

Default characters
MarioMPT.png
Mario
Artwork of Mario in Mario Power Tennis
Skill type: All Around
Offensive Power Shot: Iron Hammer
Defensive Power Shot: Spin Jump Return
Luigi MPT.png
Luigi
Artwork of Luigi in Mario Power Tennis
Skill type: All Around
Offensive Power Shot: Squeaky Mallet
Defensive Power Shot: Poltergust Return
Peach MPT.png
Peach
Artwork of Princess Peach in Mario Power Tennis
Skill type: Technique
Offensive Power Shot: Super Peach Spin
Defensive Power Shot: Sweet Kiss Return
Daisy MPT.png
Daisy
Artwork of Princess Daisy in Mario Power Tennis
Skill type: Technique
Offensive Power Shot: Wonder Flower
Defensive Power Shot: Flowerbed Return
WarioMPT.png
Wario
Mario Power Tennis artwork: Wario
Skill type: Power
Offensive Power Shot: Thunder Cast Shot
Defensive Power Shot: Ultra-Hand Return
WaluigiMPT.png
Waluigi
Artwork of Waluigi from Mario Power Tennis.
Skill type: Defense
Offensive Power Shot: Whirluigi
Defensive Power Shot: Swimming Return
Yoshi MPT.png
Yoshi
Artwork of Yoshi in Mario Power Tennis
Skill type: Speedy
Offensive Power Shot: Rainbow Flutter
Defensive Power Shot: Rolling Egg Return
Koopa MPT.png
Koopa
Artwork of Koopa Troopa from Mario Power Tennis.
Skill type: Speedy
Offensive Power Shot: Water Bomb
Defensive Power Shot: Water Shell Dash
DK MPT.png
Donkey Kong
Artwork of Donkey Kong from Mario Power Tennis.
Skill type: Power
Offensive Power Shot: Barrel Cannon Blast
Defensive Power Shot: Boomerang Banana Return
Diddy MPT.png
Diddy Kong (new)
Artwork of Diddy Kong from Mario Power Tennis.
Skill type: Speedy
Offensive Power Shot: Acrobatic Banana
Defensive Power Shot: Barrel Jet
Boo MPT.png
Boo
Boo
Skill type: Tricky
Offensive Power Shot: Boo Blast
Defensive Power Shot: Boo Brigade Return
Shy Guy MPT.png
Shy Guy
Shy Guy
Skill type: Technique
Offensive Power Shot: Lightning Spear
Defensive Power Shot: Spear Dance Return
Bowser MPT.png
Bowser
Artwork of Bowser from Mario Power Tennis.
Skill type: Power
Offensive Power Shot: Fire Breath
Defensive Power Shot: Spinning Shell Dash
Bowser Junior MPT.png
Bowser Jr. (new)
Bowser Jr.
Skill type: Tricky
Offensive Power Shot: Magic Paint
Defensive Power Shot: Rolling Brush Return
Unlockable characters
Fly Guy MPT.png
Fly Guy (new)
Fly Guy
Skill type: Tricky
Offensive Power Shot: Tornado Twist
Defensive Power Shot: Tornado Return
To unlock:
Win all World Open cups (Mushroom, Flower, and Star) in Singles
Paratroopa MPT.png
Paratroopa
Koopa Paratroopa
Skill type: Technique
Offensive Power Shot: Energy Ball
Defensive Power Shot: Sky Dive
To unlock:
Win all World Open cups (Mushroom, Flower, and Star) in Doubles
Wiggler MPT.png
Wiggler (new)
Mario Power Tennis promotional artwork: Wiggler
Skill type: Defense
Offensive Power Shot: Anger Management
Defensive Power Shot: Flutter Return
To unlock:
Win all Gimmick Masters cups (Fire and Thunder) in Singles
Petey Piranha MPT.png
Petey Piranha (new)
Petey Piranha
Skill type: Power
Offensive Power Shot: Sludge Racket
Defensive Power Shot: Piranha Swingback
To unlock:
Win all Gimmick Masters cups (Fire and Thunder) in Doubles
Non-playable participants
Gooper Blooper
Gooper Blooper in Super Mario Sunshine.
The main rival of Gooper Blooper Volley, he uses a racket in each of his four tentacles.
Mecha Bowser MPT.png
Mecha-Bowser
Mecha-Bowser
The main rival of Mecha-Bowser Mayhem, it fires Bullet Bills and Bob-ombs to be deflected.

Courts

Default courts

Name Picture Gimmick Ball Speed Bounce
Peach Dome
Hard Court
Mario Power Tennis A standard court, with no gimmicks or add-ons. Normal Strong
Peach Dome
Clay Court
Mario Power Tennis A standard court, with no gimmicks or add-ons. Slow Weak
Peach Dome
Grass Court
Peach Dome Grass Court from Mario Power Tennis. A standard court, with no gimmicks or add-ons. Fast Weak
Luigi's Mansion Court Luigi's Mansion Court Hitting a tile on the other side of the court causes ghosts to appear and harass the players on that tile, slowing them down. Hitting a switch on the other side of the court makes them disappear. Fast Normal
Delfino Plaza Court Delfino Plaza Court There are three circles with the picture of a Piranha Plant. If a ball lands on any of the circles, a Proto Piranha will spit goop onto the field. The goop slows movement and can be cleaned by standing on a FLUDD panel. Normal Weak
Wario Factory Court Wario Factory Court There are arrows which make the conveyer belts on the court move in that direction. Hitting the same arrow causes the conveyer belt to move faster. Fast Strongest
Gooper Blooper Court The Gooper Blooper Court as it appears in Mario Power Tennis If a ball lands on a movable tile, the tile slides in the direction of the arrow. Water can be revealed. If the ball lands on the water, it is considered an out. Fastest Normal
DK Jungle Court An overhead view of DK Jungle Court from Mario Power Tennis Red and Green Klaptraps crawl on the top of the net. If a player hits one of them, the Klaptrap jumps off and runs to the opponent's leg. Multiple Klaptraps can be stuck to the opponent. Klaptraps slow the bitten player's speed and make lunges shorter. Klaptraps are removed when the opposing player hits the thunderbolt picture on the opposite side of the court. Slow Normal

Unlockable courts

Name Picture Gimmick Ball Speed Bounce
Bowser Castle Court Bowser Castle Court in Mario Power Tennis The stage tilts from the weight of the players, which can give them a hard time moving or staying in place. It can be difficult to hit the ball in this court. Fast Strong
Mario Classic Court MPTGIMMICKretro.jpg Classic Mario Bros. enemies walk on the middle lines of the court. They can block and mess up the players. Freezies freeze the court when they reach the middle. All enemies are stunned by the POW block (except for the Freezie, which is just destroyed). Sidesteppers take two hits from the POW block to get stunned and Fighter Flies are immune to the POW block if they are flying. Once stunned, they can get removed if a player runs into it. Defeated enemies can help the player obtain a glowing racket, which is for power shots. Slow Strongest

New Play Control! series

American box art of New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis
Box art of the Wii New Play Control! version for Mario Power Tennis.

For the Wii version of Mario Power Tennis (via the New Play Control! lineup), the game makes use of the Wii's motion controls instead of the Nintendo GameCube controller (which this specified version cannot be played using the latter). This version includes a tutorial movie to demonstrate how to use the Wii Remote in this game. It is also possible to play this game in 16:9 widescreen mode. Players can choose to play with the Wii Remote only, or with the Wii Remote/Nunchuk combination for advanced control of playable character participants. It also adds a new gauge pointing out the current Power Shot energy charge shown below character icons during matches.

Pre-release and unused content

In the intro of the game where Wario and Waluigi are checking out the tournament board, the player can see Toad and Toadette on the left. It is unknown if they were intended to be playable or if it is a simple cameo. Unused models found within the game's files include a Hammer Bro (with its filename implying that it was meant to be the linesman) and 3D models for a Spiny, a Shellcreeper, and a Fighter Fly.[4] Presumably, the latter two models were to be used for the Mario Classic Court as either spectators or obstacles. In the final game, they use their sprites from the NES version of Mario Bros. During production, the game was called Mario Tennis.

Fumihide Aoki created concept art for a character intended for this game named「ポテト」(Poteto, "Potato"), a young girl donning a green dress and glasses, but he ultimately did not propose the design.[5] Fumihide mentioned that she was designed "with the image of a rich country girl in mind," further stating that she would have a laid-back and clumsy personality and Power as her skill type.[6]

Walpeach

After the idea of a Walpeach was discarded for Mario Tennis, the concept was revisited by Fumihide Aoki for this game. Some concept art, where she is labeled as both「ワルピーチ」(Warupīchi) (Walpeach) and「プリーチ」(Purīchi) (Preach or Priech), and a model were made depicting a young Peach-like character wearing a purple outfit (that would have been recolored had the character been accepted) with a pointy crown, but the idea was ultimately rejected once again as there were no characters to pair with her. Fumihide also stated that she was designed with the intention of "defying everyone's expectations in a good way," mentioning she would have a cute but scary personality when angry, see Peach as her rival, and be the descendant of a fallen royal family. She would act as a boss to Wario and Waluigi, as a tribute to the Dorombo gang from Yatterman, and according to Fumihide Aoki, she would have most likely taken Bowser's role in the game's animated intro if she was approved. Additionally, like Wario's association with garlic, she would have been associated with cherry tomatoes. He also stated that he had an idea for a Yoshi-based sidekick for her resembling a dragon with horns and wings.[7]

References to other games

References in later games

Bloopers

This is the only Super Mario game so far that has blooper-reels in the credits. If the player wins the Star Cup or Thunder Cup, the player will see a blooper reel of the first half of the Opening Movie. These bloopers are as follows:

  • When returning the tennis ball, Mario accidentally hits it against Luigi's face, saying, "Ow! My nose..." to which Mario apologizes, "Sorry, bro." Although Luigi complains about the injury on his nose, he is shown with a black eye.
  • Wario and Waluigi trip and fall when entering the outer-skirts of Peach Dome.
  • While vandalizing the Mario Bros. poster, Waluigi hits the camera with his marker, taking it down. He then apologizes to the cameraman.
  • One of the police officers loses his footing and falls while giving pursuit to Wario and Waluigi.
  • Wario and Waluigi find the door in which they will hide from the police, but it slams shut before they can enter, making them smash face-first against it.
  • In the same scene, they manage to enter through the door; however, Waluigi's leg gets stuck as the door closes. One of the police points at it and Wario is heard muttering, "Stupid!"
  • When Bowser activates his ball-serving machine, a malfunction sends the balls hurtling against him from somewhere else off-camera. He runs off, frightened, slamming against the cameraman, as Wario and Waluigi, offscreen, laugh.

If the player wins the Planet Cup, a second set of bloopers will continue where the last set left off. These bloopers are as follows:

  • When Bowser turns on a lever, it accidentally breaks off in his hand. He laughs.
  • In the same scene, the lever zaps Bowser, and he faints. Waluigi rushes to aid him, but not before warning Bowser, "Don't expect mouth-to-mouth!"
  • Wario is weightlifting, and seems to make a huge effort with the massive weights. Suddenly, his cell phone rings and he picks it up with his left hand, without dropping the barbell in his right hand. It is seen that he was just pretending his effort, as he talks nonchalantly at the phone. Waluigi, displeased, calls the cut by placing his hand on the camera lens. Wario seems to be talking to his mother in this segment, as he says, "Hello? Ma! I told you not to call me! I'm making a movie..."
  • Wario's and Waluigi's Bob-omb launcher device gets jammed by a stuck Bob-omb. Waluigi then calls for the Prop Guy.
  • Bowser's Bullet Bill Cannon explodes in his face when he fires, causing him to hold his jaws open in shock.
  • The Bullet Bill falls just ahead of Mario before he can return it at Bowser's Airship. Mario looks down at the Bullet Bill, then shrugs at the camera and bursts out laughing.
  • When Wario and Waluigi jump down to the court to escape the damaged launcher device, Wario falls head-first into the ground due to Waluigi ducking to the side, getting stuck in a hole, prompting Waluigi to laugh (even though Wario's falling body nearly hit him).
  • When Bowser, Wario, and Waluigi appear on the big screen behind Mario and Luigi after the three's defeat, a Paratroopa accidentally flies through the shot. Mario and Luigi look at each other in confusion, while Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser watch as the Paratroopa flies by. They then all burst into laughter.

Snapshot gallery

Celebration animations

It has been requested that more images be uploaded for this section. Remove this notice only after the additional image(s) have been added. Reason: Upload images related to each animation described below.

It has been requested that this section be rewritten. Reason: Descriptions for each character's singles tournament trophy win sequence need major editing

When a character wins a tournament in Singles mode, their celebration will be shown, with an event occurring for each one.

  • Mario: Mario holds his trophy, celebrating his victory. Peach, also pleased, crouches to kiss Mario's cheek. Mario, in love, puts down the trophy and then jumps to do a cheer.
  • Luigi: Luigi is doing a victory dance when Mario arrives on stage applauding. He pats him on the back, but appears to intentionally step on Luigi's foot out of jealousy, much to the latter's dismay.
  • Peach: Peach celebrates with Mario and Luigi while Wario and Waluigi look on. She blows a kiss to the Mario brothers, making them float. Then, Wario and Waluigi try to steal the trophy, but Wario slips on a tennis ball, knocking over the rack the trophy sat on and flinging the trophy into the air. Peach catches the trophy, then gives the peace sign.
  • Daisy: Luigi is about to give Daisy her prize. She comes in, skating at high speed, making Luigi spin. She skates into him, making him throw the trophy up. In slow motion, Daisy catches the trophy. She then blows a kiss in front of the camera.
  • Yoshi: Yoshi is waiting for his prize when his stomach grumbles. He is saddened by having nothing to eat at the moment, until Luigi arrives on stage with the trophy. He sees the object as a big and juicy pineapple. Yoshi tries to eat, but ends up swallowing Luigi. He is surprised by his disappearance and shrugs at the camera in confusion.
  • Boo: Mario and Luigi wait for Boo when the trophy begins to levitate. Mario and Luigi become frightened until they see that Boo was invisible when he got it, which amuses them. Several other Boos appear, two of which carry Mario and Luigi into the air as they laugh with joy.
  • Koopa Troopa: Koopa Troopa comes on stage while Luigi, Mario and Peach applaud for his victory. However, he fails to notice a banana peel that Diddy Kong has accidentally dropped. Luigi, Mario, and Peach try to warn him, but he slips on the peel, slides across the stage, ricochets off a pole and then hits Luigi in the face, who accidentally tosses the trophy from the impact. Koopa Troopa catches it, waves to the crowd and gives a peace sign, while the other characters pose for the camera as well.
  • Paratroopa: Paratroopa notices how his shell is attached to a fishing hook to the string of a fishing pole while Waluigi holds back the trophy, to prevent Paratroopa from getting it. Toad cuts the string with a large pair of scissors. That causes Wario and Waluigi to fall, allowing Paratroopa to claim the trophy with Peach applauding.
  • Bowser: Bowser is cheering and laughing, with Peach standing by. He asks for a kiss on the cheek and closes his eyes. Peach invites a red Birdo to kiss him. When Bowser witnesses it, he attempts to flee, but accidently falls off the podium.
  • Bowser Jr.: Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Yellow Toad are waiting to reward Bowser Jr. as Mario says, "Oh, that Junior, he got first place!" Suddenly, they hear a chuckle, which happens to be him snatching the trophy and making poses afterward.
  • Donkey Kong: DK is on stage excited over his victory. Toad arrives with the trophy and DK grabs it, unaware that Toad is still hanging on to it. DK shakes the object several times until Toad falls off and faints from dizziness. DK then scratches his head and looks at the camera in confusion.
  • Diddy Kong: Luigi and Peach are on the podium with Donkey Kong, who is playing a bongo. Diddy arrives, jumping and running around Luigi and then picks up the trophy with his tail. Diddy throws his prize up, jumps on the bongo, and catches the trophy. Diddy then jumps on DK's shoulder and they both strike a pose at the camera.
  • Wario: Wario waves at the crowd, then he walks and jumps around, but he loses his balance until he falls off the stage while still holding the trophy. He lands on it, gets up, then he looks left and right, but sees that he has accidentally flattened his trophy, making him shocked, so he sighs in depression, picks it up, and sadly shows it off while looking away.
  • Waluigi: Waluigi holds the trophy and does a dance with Wario. Wario pushes Waluigi, making him fall, losing his grip on the trophy. As he tries to get up, the trophy hits him on the head and knocks him out.
  • Shy Guy: Luigi waits in place. Shy Guy arrives, walking happily. After climbing the steps, he falls and drops his mask. Luigi gets very scared upon seeing his true face (not shown to the camera), but Shy Guy quickly puts his mask back and takes the trophy.
  • Fly Guy: Wario and Waluigi pretend to offer Fly Guy the trophy, but Waluigi grabs Fly Guy with a giant pair of pliers. This causes Fly Guy to spin wildly out of control, knocking down Wario and Waluigi, and launching the trophy into the air. Fly Guy catches the trophy and celebrates with Peach.
  • Petey Piranha: Mario presents the trophy to Petey Piranha while Peach, Koopa Troopa, Shy Guy, and Purple Toad are present as well. Petey then begins to jump in place excitedly, shaking the podium. After he takes the trophy, Petey jumps into the air. Mario, Peach, Koopa Troopa, Shy Guy and Purple Toad brace for impact, but when nothing happens, they look up and see Petey flying, whilst clutching the trophy in his mouth.
  • Wiggler: Luigi and Diddy Kong give Wiggler the trophy, but Diddy Kong accidentally rolls a tennis ball, causing Wiggler to slip on it and drop the trophy. Luigi and Diddy Kong become anxious, knowing Wiggler will become angry, but he calms down when he sees his trophy. Luigi checks up on him, but Diddy Kong loses his footing from the tennis ball, bumps into Luigi, and they both land on Wiggler and knock the trophy away. Wiggler becomes angry and then chases Diddy Kong and Luigi, who flee in fear.

Glitches

Banana glitch

This glitch requires good timing. In item battle mode, the server must hit the ball and activate the "fault" message. The opponent must have a banana item and after the "fault" message is activated, they must hit the ball while making sure it doesn't touch the ground before the ball is back to the server. If done correctly, the banana will still be seen on the ball with the server. However, it behaves normally.

Hovering Power Shots

In the Wii version, if a character is jumping while charging up a regular shot in response to a relatively high shot and meanwhile activates a power shot, the character will either remain in mid-air during the animation of said Power Shot or start the animation in the air before returning to the ground mid-animation. This has no effect on the trajectory of the ball nor can it be executed by characters that don't jump while charging a shot.

Inappropriate match animations

If a player or team earns the required amount of rings during a ring match before the opponent or the opponent's team does, but misses the ball or hits it out, it triggers their losing animation as though the player or team lost the match, while the opponent player acts as if the match is won. In the results screen, however, the animation and results are correct, meaning that the glitch does not prevent a recorded win.

Incorrect Wario audio

Occasionally, when a player-controlled Wario uses his Offensive Power Shot, Wario will begin saying his Defensive Power Shot Audio instead of his Offensive Power Shot Audio. This glitch has only been found on the Wii version.

Offensive Power Shot immunity

Normally, characters get pushed by back when rebounding Donkey Kong's Offensive Power Shot, even if they are using an Offensive Power Shot of their own, but Mario's Offensive Power shot grants him an immunity to that effect.
Mario not being pushed back as a result of the immunity glitch

Mario or Luigi rebounding an Offensive Power Shot with their Offensive Power Shot may not push them back or reverse their controls. However, Mario or Luigi still slow down from Offensive Power Shots such as Petey Piranha's Sludge Racket.

Power Shots losing effect

If an Offensive Power Shot is triggered too close to the net with the ball too close to the ground, the ball will lose the effect of the power shot while it travels, despite keeping the effect if defended by an opposing player. This glitch can often send the ball flying out of the court and can sometimes happen seemingly at random, far from the previously mentioned area.

Sliding Power Shots

On the Mario Bros. stage, when a Freezie turns the court into slippery ice, if the player triggers a power shot while sliding, the animation will carry the momentum and keep sliding until the end of the power shot, where the ball will be hit as intended even if the animation isn't displayed properly. This glitch will result in the character leaping further than intended if the Power Shot animation ends with a jump. If it starts with a jump, however, the glitch will not happen as the character returns to the default location when jumping. Some characters will not be affected by this glitch according to their power shot animations.

Reception

It has been requested that this section be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: add Wii version reviews

Reviews
Release Reviewer, Publication Score Comment
Nintendo GameCube Raymond Padilla, Gamespy 4/5 Though Mario Power Tennis is quite different from the previous version, it's a superior product in almost every way. It's based on excellent gameplay mechanics that are taken in really interesting directions through gimmick courts. Mastering each player will take dozens and dozens of hours. Multiplayer games are a total riot. Though it doesn't look or sound as good as other games on the market, there's no denying the sheer amount of fun this game offers … even if Camelot ruined Shy Guy for me.
Nintendo GameCube Chris Kohler, 1UP 8.5/10 So in a way, it's much like the game of tennis itself. There's no reason why hitting a ball back and forth until somebody drops it should be much fun, but it sure is. And Camelot's finessed, perfected tennis engine means that Mario Power Tennis -- for all its bizarre features and explosive moves -- is one of the best choices for tennis buffs on the market today.
Nintendo GameCube Matt Casamassina, IGN 8.5/10 Mario Power Tennis is a solid update to a great Nintendo 64 game. The fundamental play mechanics are more or less the same, which is in my book just fine given that I liked them to begin with...That said, some of the additions are a mixed bag. The new power moves, while cinematic and certainly pretty, can jar the flow of matches and make it difficult to continually follow the ball. And the new Gimmick Courts, sometimes filled with flashing lights and other obstructing obstacles, share exactly the same problem.
Nintendo GameCube Tom Bramwell, Eurogamer 8/10 We could take this opportunity to strut up and down ranting with self-righteous indignation about the stagnation of Nintendo's first-party line-up and the amount of repackaging and sideways steps that seem to belie its newfound "Revolutionary" principles. But as long as the games are still this entertaining, and do enough to keep us satisfied, we'll be happy to play them. So we're not going to. Besides, that'd be a bit too grown-up.
Aggregators
Compiler Platform / Score
Metacritic 80
GameRankings 81.03%

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario Power Tennis.

Media

Audio.svg Disc Channel
File infoMedia:Mario Power Tennis Banner.mp3
Audio.svg Title
File infoMedia:MPT Title.oga
Audio.svg Delfino Plaza Court
File infoMedia:Delfino Plaza Court Exhibition.oga
Audio.svg Luigi's Mansion Court
File infoMedia:Luigi's Mansion Court Exhibition.oga
Audio.svg Peach Dome
File infoMedia:Peach Dome Exhibition.oga
Help:MediaHaving trouble playing?

Staff

Main article: List of Mario Power Tennis staff

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese マリオテニスGC (Nintendo GameCube)
Mario Tenisu Jī Shī
Wiiであそぶ マリオテニスGC (Wii)
Wii de Asobu Mario Tenisu Jī Shī

Mario Tennis GC
Play with Wii: Mario Tennis GC

Chinese (traditional) 瑪利歐網球GC[8] (Nintendo GameCube)
Mǎlì'ōu Wǎngqiú GC
Wii來玩 瑪利歐網球GC[9] (Wii)
Wii Lái wán Mǎlì'ōu Wǎngqiú GC

Mario Tennis GC
Play with Wii: Mario Tennis GC

French (NOE) Mario Power Tennis (Nintendo GameCube)
Mario Power Tennis NOUVELLE FAÇON DE JOUER ! (Wii)
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Mario Power Tennis NEW WAY TO PLAY!

Trivia

  • Mario Power Tennis is the only Super Mario title on the Nintendo GameCube to natively support 16:9 widescreen display in addition to the conventional 4:3.

References

External links