Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash

Even when you’re everyone’s favorite Italian plumber, you still need a break from the daily grind every now and then – in this case, constantly rescuing your girlfriend, Princess Peach. And for Mario, this means gathering up his friends and heading to the tennis court to unwind. Keep reading to find out if this is a good idea or not.

Singles and Doubles

As you can no doubt infer from the name, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is a tennis game. You can go up against your opponent alone, play with a friend in a doubles match, or take the court with an amiibo at your side – there are lots of possibilities here, including five different game modes: Mega Battle, Mega Ball Rally, Knockout Challenge, Classic Tennis, and Online.

The rules are the same as in normal tennis, and if you don’t know them, that’s what Google is for. Of course, this is a Mario game, so there are also power moves – called Chance Shots – which you can play by moving your character over a certain color-coded area on the court and pressing the right button. Mega Battle includes one more special feature: Mega Mushrooms. Every now and then the Toads at the edge of the court will throw in a Mega Mushroom, which you can pick up if you want to “outsize” your opponent(s). And they’re not kidding about the “Mega” part – you grow to an enormous size, giving you a serious advantage in both offense and defense.

Variety?

The point of Mega Ball Rally is to hit the ball back and forth for as long as possible, which can be a bit difficult if you’re playing with an AI character. If challenges are your thing, then you should check out Knockout Challenge, where you play matches against the various individual characters, each one more difficult to beat than the last. You can get some help from your amiibos here, though not from other human players. Classic Tennis is just like Mega Battle, just without the Mega Mushrooms. And lastly, Online mode allows you to see how you fare against other human players online.

While there are several different game modes, if you’ve played one of them, you’ve pretty much played them all – there just isn’t much variety. It’s entertaining enough if you’re looking to pass the time, or take a break from something else, but for several hours on end, not so much.

There are twelve available characters to start with, including Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach, Daisy, and Bowser; and there are four more you can unlock. There are also a variety of court types, including hard, sand, and grass, among others. All of them have a particular effect on the ball and/or players – on one type of court the ball might move faster, on another it might bounce more, etc.

Rewards

For the kind of player who likes to rack up as many achievements as possible, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash has its share of challenges – 25 in all. You can unlock additional characters, court types, etc. by playing 20 matches, hitting 100 consecutive shots in Mega Ball Rally, or winning 30 consecutive knockout challenges, among others.

The Gamepad can be used with the game in a variety of ways – it can display the current score, show the match from various perspectives, or allow a second player to view their character up close while the primary player is shown on the TV screen.

That Old Mario Style

The graphics are of course presented in the familiar Mario style we’ve all come to know and love over the years. Matches are played in a small, but nice-looking stadium, the stands filled with Toads, Shy Guys, Koopas, and Goombas. They do a great job with the rest of the details, which really add to the whole tennis atmosphere – it really feels like you’re on a tennis court. The main focus of attention is, of course, the characters, who look great and are animated really well, even in close-up. So graphically, it’s everything you’d expect of a Mario game.

In terms of music, the game features a variety of different background tracks, and the sound effects – e.g., when whacking the ball or picking up Mega Mushrooms – fit in well with the overall feel of the game. The players shout out every time they hit the ball, though, which can easily get annoying after a while.