Platform: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Camelot Software Planning
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: June 22, 2018
Genre: Sports
Nerd Rating: 7.5/10
Reviewed by Jepheroth
Another Nintendo console, another chance for everyone’s favorite red hat wearing plumber to show that he’s the best at every sport he ever plays, the show-off. This time, we are back on the courts showing some love with Mario Tennis Aces for the Nintendo Switch.
While on the court, the feel of Mario Tennis Aces is something that can rival some of the greats in the genre, such as Top Spin or Virtua Tennis. You have five basic shot types: topspin, flat, slice, lob and drop shot that are easily mapped onto the face buttons (lob and drop being a combination of “X” and the left stick forwards or backwards.) You can tell what kind of shot is coming at you based on the color trail the ball has.
Beyond that, the advanced shot types start coming into play and add that extra layer of complexity. When your opponent sends over a weak shot (usually from a poorly timed hit or a shot they just barely got to), a star will appear on the court and you can attempt a Star Shot as long as you have enough energy built up, which you gain just by charging up basic shots. Star Shots will send your character up in the air and slow down time while you choose where on the court you want to send this Howitzer of a shot. The more time you take, the more energy you spend.
The other major shot is the Special Shot that requires a full meter. Every character has a different set-up; Mario will do a couple wall jumps, Luigi will shoot out of a cannon, etc. The payoff is the same, though, unleashing a rocket of a power shot.
These do not guarantee a point, however. If your opponent has some energy spent up, they can also slow down time, enter a state similar to The Flash in Injustice 2 and attempt to return the blast. This is all based on timing. If you press the shot button right when the ball is basically at your character, you can block it and send it right back to them. If you press the shot button too early, your racket will take damage. Taking too much damage will cause your racket to shatter. Lose enough rackets during the match, and you lose via K.O. Imagine that, winning a tennis match by knockout. It’s a neat mechanic that adds equal parts tension and frustration as you try to find the timing.
Mario Tennis Aces’ final advanced shot is the Trick Shot. If you see a ball that’s out of reach and would be impossible to hit under normal circumstances, flick the right stick towards the ball and your character will either float, jump or moonwalk towards it. Again, timing is critical but it does feel very satisfying when pulled off.
If you’re coming to Mario Tennis Aces for the single player, you will be sorely disappointed. The Adventure mode does tell a fantastical story eerily similar to Avengers: Infinity War. While the story mode was one of the most highly touted features of the Mario Tennis Aces marketing campaign, this tennis-RPG aspect falls flat here. Essentially, the Adventure mode has you completing unique challenges and playing one-off tennis matches on your search for gems that power a demonic racket. Playing through Adventure Mode is required for unlocking the different courts for free-play, but the matches and boss fights seem unnecessarily difficult.
The RPG aspect is very underwhelming as well. You only play as Mario and you earn XP whether you win or lose the given challenges. This will increase run speed, power and so on, but the increases feel minimal. You also unlock other, more powerful rackets to use in the mode, but they seem to come across at JUST the right time and makes the whole experience feel very linear and unsatisfying.
The game also features a single-player tournament mode, but it seems pointless since you don’t unlock anything while playing it and really does nothing for you that a few Free Plays can’t do.
Nintendo has not given up on motion controls, as the addition of “Swing Mode” allows players to detach the joycons and relive some of those Wii Sports days. This mode is actually pretty fun, as the strikes, either forehand or backhand, feel more precise than the Wii gold standard, and serves as a nice distraction and a fun party game when you have friends over.
The online portion of Mario Tennis Aces is what really shines here and will keep this game in peoples’ consoles for a long time.
The main hook here is the online tournaments. Sure, you can play online one-off matches of either singles or doubles, but it seems like Nintendo is really leaning into the tournament modes.
You can choose to either participate in Simple or Standard modes. The main difference being Simple doesn’t deal with Star Shots, Special Shots, Trick Shots or racket damage. This is the mode I gravitate towards since it’s just a fun game of tennis.
Win or lose, you gain points which will help you rise up the leaderboards. Early access to additional characters are tied to this score in the coming months, though those characters will be unlocked for all at some point.
While I have experienced a couple instances of lag, the net code is generally stable and this is a game I can see myself playing online for quite some time. It’s one of those games that you can quickly get a couple of rounds in as you’re laying in bed and have a great time with this in either docked or undocked mode.
Mario Tennis Aces is yet another great game for the Nintendo Switch. The single player experience can be frustrating and surprisingly thin, but the online offerings more than makes up for it. If you were left with a sour taste after the lifeless Wii U game, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, you will feel a lot better about the Switch entry.
Nerd Rating: 7.5 out of 10
