Tag Archives: Mario Tennis

Retro Select, Videos

Retro Select: Mario Tennis

Leave a comment

Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64 is my favourite Mario Tennis game. Subsequent installments have, to me, overcomplicated things somewhat — so it’s been a pleasure to return to this one thanks to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack.

Providing straightforward but mechanically interesting arcadey thrills, Mario Tennis for Nintendo 64 is Virtua Tennis with an added layer of cartoony accessibility atop it. Even those who aren’t into sports — like me — can have a good time with this one, particularly if you bring some friends along to join the fun!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

header-5603011

Essentials, One-Shots, Switch

Mario Tennis Aces: Some First Impressions

7 Comments

I’m not a big sports game guy, but I’ve always had a lot of time for Nintendo’s takes on tennis and golf.

The Game Boy Color version of Mario Tennis in particular stole many hours of my life back in the day — as well as again a little more recently, I must confess — so I was rather excited to check out the Nintendo Switch incarnation of the series.

Among other things, the new game promised a return to something I had particularly liked about the aforementioned Game Boy Color version: a substantial single-player mode. So it’s that we’ll be focusing on today as I talk about my first impressions of the game.

Continue reading Mario Tennis Aces: Some First Impressions →

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 4 – Servant to the Gacha

1 Comment

A week later than originally intended, here’s the fourth episode of The MoeGamer Podcast!

We’re a week late because last weekend I’d been struck down by some sort of hideous plague that made me want to go to bed at 2pm in the afternoon and just not get up for most of the weekend. Thankfully that appears to have mostly passed! Stupid summer flu.

Chris unfortunately wasn’t available to join the discussion this week for non-illness-related reasons, so instead I’m joined by a special guest: Joe, host of EriChannel over on Twitch! Hit the jump for the episode and synopsis.

EDIT: The episode is back up under a new YouTube ID! Thanks for your patience and understanding. Hit the jump to watch/listen.

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 4 – Servant to the Gacha →

Essentials, Game Boy

Game Boy Essentials: Mario Tennis

2 Comments

With the latest installment in the Mario Tennis series coming soon to Nintendo Switch at the time of writing, I thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit one of my favourite versions.

It’s not often that a handheld version of a game can honestly claim to be superior to its counterpart on TV-based consoles — and this was something that occurred even less frequently back in the days where the 8-bit Game Boy Color and the 64-bit Nintendo 64 coexisted happily alongside one another. But 2000’s Mario Tennis pulled it off with a spectacularly ambitious, interesting and ballsy handheld version that, for solo play at least, ran rings around its big brother.

It achieved this primarily by not even attempting to be a “port” of the rather multiplayer-centric N64 version — not that this would have been possible given the disparity in technological capabilities between the two platforms — but instead providing a unique, solo-focused experience. One that is still worth playing today — and which Mario Tennis Aces’ single-player Adventure Mode has undoubtedly taken some inspiration from.

Continue reading Game Boy Essentials: Mario Tennis →