Amazon.co.uk Review
Connors, McEnroe, Sampras--all are OK players, but none can hold a racket to the world's greatest plumber-tennis champ, Mario. But, with enough practice, and a devastating overhead smash, you can work your way up to the championship cup.
Mario Tennis's exhibition mode puts you in the Tennis Academy, where you slowly build up your character's skills (doubles or singles). As you rise in the ranks by challenging other characters and upgrading your equipment, you'll play eventually against Mario himself. You can play as one of many Nintendo mascots, including Donkey Kong, Luigi, and Princess Peach. There also are a few minigames that will sharpen your skills and can unlock other levels. If you find a human partner, you can play against his or her copy of the game easily by way of a link cable.
The fast and furious on-court action is easy to follow, despite the tiny characters. The ball flies smoothly, and each opponent plays differently enough to be a challenge every time. However, your Game Boy might suffer a tremendous beating from the furious button-mashing that's needed to win the match.
One fault with Mario Tennis is its horrid sound effects, which will have most folks quickly reaching for the volume controls. Still, if you have patience and strong thumbs, Mario Tennis serves up a mean game that's easily one of the better sports tiles to grace the Game Boy. --Mark Brooks
Product Description
Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color was created by the same team that developed the Nintendo 64 version of the game. Unlike the Nintendo 64 version, though, this match takes place inside a tennis academy. Players create their own character, and then play matches to gain experience points. These points can be used to increase the abilities of your player or your doubles partner. Inside the academy, you can grab a snack at the café, relax in your dorm room, upgrade your equipment at the repair counter or even exercise in a workout room. If you are looking to jump right into the action, the exhibition mode will put you on the court against characters like Mario, Yoshi and Bowser. If you have the Nintendo 64 version and the Transfer Pak, you can upload your character and watch as he or she transforms from pixels to polygons. With the game link cable, you can connect to a friend's copy of
Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color and compete head-to-head.
