Mario's Tennis

About

Mario's Tennis is a straightforward tennis game built for the Virtual Boy's 3D display. You pick from seven characters like Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong Jr. each with distinct stats for speed power or racket size. Matches unfold from a third-person view behind your character letting you track ball trajectories in stereoscopic depth. The focus is pure tennis mechanics without the power-ups or gimmicks later games added. Play singles or doubles in exhibition matches or three-game tournaments across three difficulty levels. The 3D visuals were a big draw at launch but the lack of two-player mode limited its appeal. Only one player could use the system at a time since the required link cable never shipped. Released July 1995 as a Virtual Boy launch title it’s a direct ancestor to the more polished Mario Tennis series. The simple character-based customization and clear 3D court layout stand out as early examples of Nintendo blending recognizable characters with accessible sports gameplay. Its legacy lives on in later entries that expanded on these basics.

Storyline

Mario's Tennis is a sports game in which the player controls one of seven different Mario characters and engages in tennis matches. The action on the court is viewed from directly behind the player character from a third person perspective. The Virtual Boy's stereoscopic 3D graphics allow the player to perceive depth within the tennis court, allowing for better perception in the distance between a tennis ball and the respective character. Unlike later entries in the Mario Tennis series, which added gameplay elements not present in tradition tennis, such as "power up items", special "power shots", or external obstacles interfering with the game, Mario's Tennis simply focuses on tennis fundamentals. Mario's Tennis supports a number of different game modes and customization options. The player may choose one of seven Mario characters, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Yoshi, Toad, and Donkey Kong Jr., all with differing attributes in regards to "speed", "power" or "racket area". Either a single game, or a three-game tournament mode may be chosen, both having the option to play either singles or doubles matches on easy, normal, or hard difficulties. Although a two-player function was announced, it was not implemented since the cable required to link two Virtual Boy units was never released.