Mario Power Tennis

This article is about the Nintendo GameCube game. For other uses, see Mario Power Tennis (disambiguation).

Mario Power Tennis
For alternate art, see the related gallery.
Developers	Camelot Software Planning Nintendo SPD Group No.4
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Nintendo GameCube
Release dates	October 28, 2004 November 8, 2004 February 24, 2005 February 25, 2005
Languages	English Japanese French (Europe) German Italian Spanish (Europe)
Genre	Tennis
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone CERO: - All ages[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] USK: - All ages[?] ClassInd: - General audience[?] ACB: - General[?]
Modes	Single player, multiplayer
Format	Nintendo GameCube: Optical disc
Input	Nintendo GameCube: Nintendo GameCube Controller
Serial code	DOL-GOMJ-JPN

Mario Power Tennis, known as Mario Tennis GC in Japan, is a sports game released for the Nintendo GameCube in late 2004 for Japan and North America and early 2005 for Europe and Australasia. It is the third direct installment of the Mario Tennis series, and the follow-up to Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. The game introduces Power Shots, special moves that can be used offensively or defensively during matches by players and opponents, functioning as the core element of the gameplay.

A port of the game was released on the Wii in 2009 as part of the New Play Control! label.

Opening cutscene

Mario and Luigi celebrating their win against Wario and Waluigi

The game's opening begins with Mario and Luigi playing a match against Wario and Waluigi. The Mario Bros. win the match and celebrate as Wario and Waluigi complain about their loss. Bowser is seen surveying the match through hidden cameras. The next day, Wario and Waluigi see a picture of Mario and Luigi on the "Peach Dome Tournament" board and are angry to see that their opponents have knocked them out of the running. Wario and Waluigi vandalize the picture of Mario and Luigi, but the police pursues to arrest them. Wario and Waluigi escape into a janitor's closet, but they fall into what appears to be a training room. Bowser approaches them and offers an alliance to get revenge against the Mario Bros. After hours of training and seeing others playing their tennis matches, they carry out a plan to attack the final tournament match later that evening at the Peach Dome.

As Mario and Luigi are about to play the final match of the tournament against Yoshi and Donkey Kong, Bowser shows up on an airship-shaped blimp and rigs the tournament so that Wario and Waluigi can have their rematch with the Mario Bros., shocking the tournament hosts, Princess Peach and Toadsworth. Everyone gets angry at Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser, wanting them to leave, but Wario and Waluigi silence them by setting up a machine that fires Bob-ombs at the Mario Bros. Bowser, in the meantime, throws Bob-ombs at them. However, Mario and Luigi deflect the incoming Bob-ombs back at them with their tennis rackets. Other characters, such as Diddy Kong and Koopa Troopa, are briefly seen helping the Mario Bros. fend off the Bob-ombs as the spectators evacuate from the stadium, running and screaming for their lives. As a last resort, Bowser launches a Bullet Bill from his blimp at them, and Mario knocks it back with his racket, which fires back and hits Wario's Bob-omb launcher. Waluigi is about to retrieve the launcher, but Wario falls and crushes him. The launcher, flipped from the explosion, accidentally fires a Bob-omb at Bowser's blimp, destroying it and revealing Bowser's stock of Bob-ombs below his blimp, shocking Peach, Toadsworth, Mario, and Luigi.

Bowser's blimp starts to malfunction and falls toward Wario and Waluigi. Wario and Waluigi attempt to escape, but Bowser crashes into them with the Bob-ombs onboard, causing them to blow up on impact, creating a large explosion.

Afterwards, the trio falls unconscious after the blast, and their plan to attack Mario and his friends has completely failed, despite the damage they have done to the stadium. Mario and Luigi are relieved and unharmed, and Mario breaks the fourth wall by saying "Mama-mia" at the camera before the scene ends.

Gameplay

Players participate in a tennis game, just as its precedents in the Mario Tennis series. To win, the player must score points by hitting the ball into the other side of the court and not making the opponent rebound the ball, just as the traditional way of playing tennis. Players earn a point if the opponent fails to retrieve the ball after a second bounce, if the opponent hits out (any zone outside particular borders that change between singles and doubles; line is considered in), if the opponent is hit by the ball, or the opponent hits the net and fails to land the ball on the other side of the court. Other Mario Tennis installments allow teammates to hit each other with a ball, causing them to lose a point, but Mario Power Tennis simply has the balls pass through teammates. The points are shown as 0 (love), 15, 30, and 40, and if players score a point at 40, they win the game by earning game, set, and match points. If both sides reach 40-40, a deuce is called and one side needs to score two consecutive points before winning the game. The first time they score is considered advantage. If they do not score two consecutive points, a deuce is called again and the process repeats. The amount of set and game points can be set by the player in exhibition mode, but not in tournament mode.

Controls

The controls for the game

Menus

Action	GameCube controller
Select option	/
Confirm selection
Cancel selection Return to previous menu
Unpause (while in a game)
Make character left-handed
Make character a star character

Tennis matches

The controls here are assumed the normal control style. The control options can be changed in the options menu and before the start of a match.

Action	GameCube controller
Move character Control shot direction
Topspin shot (when returning a ball) Taunt
Slice shot
Lob	→
Drop Shot	→
Flat Shot / Smash Shot	+ (together)
Offensive Power Shot	+ /
Defensive Power Shot	+ /
Cancel charging
Leap towards ball	+ / +
Change camera view

Types of shots

Shot	Input	Instruction manual description
Topspin	→	The players execute a topspin shot (if the players hit the button twice, they will execute a strong shot). Topspin shots are faster with a higher trajectory than slice shots and the ball's trail is colored red when a topspin shot has been taken.
Slice	→	The players execute a slice shot (if the players hit the button twice, they will execute a strong shot). Slices are slower with a lower trajectory than topspin shots and the ball's trail is colored blue when a slice shot has been taken.
Lob	→	The player can lob, which can send the ball flying up in the air. It can fly over the opponents' heads but creates a smash point which the opponent can use to perform a smash.
Drop Shot	→	The player can perform a drop shot, which is a very weak shot that goes barely past the net. It is performed to deter players who like to go far away from the net.
Flat Shot Smash Shot	+ (together)	The player can perform a flat shot. If the ball is high enough or if the player is over a smash point, the player performs a smash shot instead. Flat shots' trails are colored green while smash shots' trails are colored purple.
Offensive Power Shot	+ /	If power shots are turned on and the player's racket is glowing, the player performs a Offensive Power Shot. The effects of an offensive Power Shot depend on the character, but are generally powerful blows that knock back or stun the opponent. An offensive Power Shot will not protect from the effects of receiving another offensive Power Shot. The player must also be in a certain distance or they will perform a defensive Power Shot instead, if using the default control scheme.
Defensive Power Shot	+ /	If power shots are turned on and the player's racket is glowing, the player performs a Defensive Power Shot, which can return the balls from a long distance away. The effects of a defensive Power Shot also depends on the characters. Defensive Power Shots can also protect the player from the effects of receiving an opponent's offensive Power Shot.

Game modes

Exhibition

Players participating in Item Battle Mode.

Up to four players can participate in this versus mode. The players can choose their characters, a court, and what type of game that they can play. The player can also adjust rules in versus match, such as turning power shots on and off, setting the numbers of games and sets, and choose which character to pair with when playing in doubles. Computer levels can also be set by the player, and they range from easiest to hardest: novice, intermediate, expert, pro, and the unlockable ace difficulty. There are three types of games that the player can play.

• Standard Court: The player and the opponent participates in a chosen course with no gimmicks of any kind. The only gimmicks present are the bounce intensity, speed of the ball, and the power shots, if turned on. Standard Courts for any court that is not Peach Dome must be unlocked first by completing the Gimmick Masters tournaments.
• Gimmick Court: The player participates in a tennis match, but with gimmicks that can help or hinder the player, unique to each court. The Peach Dome is the only court that lacks gimmicks of any sort whatsoever.
• Item Battle: The player can use special items to help them win against the opponent. Like the Mario Kart series, items can be acquired by hitting Item Boxes which move on top of the net. Possible items:
  • Green Koopa Shell: 3 shells zoom out in straight lines. If the player gets hit by one, they will stumble and lose time, possibly going as far as help the opponent gain a point.
  • Red Koopa Shell: One Red Shell comes out and chases after the opponent. The effect is similar to that of a green shell if contact has been initiated.
  • Mushroom: The Mushroom increases the player's movements for a brief moment of time. It also grows the player back into normal size quicker if they had been shrunk by Lightning.
  • Banana: A stationary banana gets shot out. If it hits the ground, the banana remains there. Slipping on a banana peel also has the same effect as shells.
  • Star: The Star increases the player's abilities and it makes the player invulnerable for a short period of time. It also grows the player back to normal size quicker, if the player was shrunk by Lightning.
  • Lightning: The Lightning strikes the opponents of the court and shrinks them to a tiny size. The opponent's speed, stature, and power will also decrease.

The content and number of item boxes depend on the court being played on:

Court	Effect
Peach Dome Courts	None
Luigi's Mansion Court	10% higher chance of lightning bolts
Delfino Plaza Court	10% higher chance of mushrooms
Wario Factory Court	The net holds twice as many item boxes
Gooper Blooper Court	10% higher chance of red and green shells
DK Jungle Court	10% higher chance of bananas
Bowser Castle Court	The court tilts like the gimmick version of the court
Mario Classic Court	10% higher chance of stars

• Ring Shot: The player scores points by hitting rings to win the game. The player Charged Points by hitting rings, with more points awarded by smaller rings. By winning the point in the game, their Charged Points are added to their total Ring Points. The losing player will get half their Ring Points added to their own total, with the other half going to the winning player's Charge. The amount of ring points needed to win the game ranges from 100, 200, and 500.

Tournament

Mario goes against opponents in the Planet Cup.

The player pits against simultaneous matches against computer opponents to win the trophy in a cup. The higher the cup level, the harder the computers will get. Once a character has completed Star Cup, the character receives a star ranking, strengthening hitting the ball. This rank also allows the character to participate in the Star Tournament, where the opponents also have the star ranking and are generally more difficult. The player can also participate in a Gimmick Tournament, which, as the name implies, enables the player to participate in Gimmick matches in courts against the computer. Although a Doubles Tournament is available, only one player can participate, forcing the player to be paired with an AI-controlled partner of their choice. Additionally, completing the World Open in Doubles does not grant the character a star ranking, so players must complete the Singles tournaments first to participate in Doubles Star Tournament.

World Open

These tournaments are held in the Peach Dome court.

• Mushroom Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals (hard surface)
• Flower Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 3-set finals (clay surface)
• Star Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (grass surface)

Gimmick Masters

• Fire Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals, held in the Luigi's Mansion, Gooper Blooper, and DK Jungle courts in no particular order
• Thunder Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals, held in the Delfino Plaza, Wario Factory, and Bowser's Castle or Mario Classic courts in no particular order

Star Tournament

Just like the World Open, these tournaments are held in the Peach Dome as well. However, as the tournament suggests, CPU opponents are all star characters.

• Rainbow Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals (hard surface)
• Moonlight Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (clay surface)
• Planet Cup: 3-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (grass surface)

Special Games

Players have the option to play special games as an alternative to going in tournament or exhibition mode. Up to four players can participate in the special games except for Gooper Blooper Volley and Mecha-Bowser Mayhem, which are only for one player. All courts have specific special games that are unique from one another.

Game	Player amount	Description
Artist on the Court	1-4	Players must color a design on a wall using paint balls to complete the minigame. In order to progress and achieve harder levels, the player must complete the designs within the time limit. Designs include Mario, Luigi, Diddy Kong, Bowser and Bowser Jr., and a rainbow of Yoshis, in increasing order of difficulty.
Terror Tennis	1-4	Players must prevent ghosts from coming out of the paintings and attacking them. They have to earn a certain number of points before the time runs out in order to proceed to more difficult levels. The player gets more points if they hit the ghost that is just about to come out of the painting.
Tic-Tac-Glow	1-4	The player must get three Shine Sprites in a row in order to earn points. They can do this by hitting balls to the other side of the court, while hitting the F.L.U.D.D. icons, in order to spray goop away from the site.
Chain-Chomp Challenge	1-4	Players must feed a hungry Chain Chomp with balls. Bob-ombs make the Chain Chomp turn red and earn the player two points for every ball, but hitting the Chain Chomp with another Bob-omb will let the Chain Chomp out and waste the player's time with the need to activate a switch. Water balls place angry Chain Chomps back into their normal positions, and put normal Chain Chomps to sleep. The player can wake the Chain Chomp up by smacking a Bob-omb into it. Players can also tamper with other players' progress.
Gooper Blooper Volley	1	The player must rebound hits from a Gooper Blooper in a regular tennis game. However, the player also must avoid rebounding their ball into the gray zone that changes constantly throughout the game. Rebounding the ball where the court is gray or sending the ball out ends the game.
Balloon Panic	1-4	Players must prevent Klaptraps from bursting their balloons by hitting balls at panels to make them change direction. The game ends when a Klaptrap pops a balloon.
Mecha-Bowser Mayhem	1	The player must defeat a Mecha-Bowser that produces beams of light by swinging its tennis racket. Mecha-Bowser can attack the player by breathing fire and shooting Bullet Bills. The game ends when either the player or Mecha-Bowser is defeated.
Coin Collectors	1-4	Players must earn coins that enter the court while avoiding fireballs. They can only move left and right, but they can hit tennis balls to hit the POW Block for more coins or the destruction of the fireballs. The player with the most coins wins the game.

Event Games

Multiplayer-exclusive, Event Games is a tiebreaker match with options for a 3, 5 or 7 points game. It is unlocked by holding and pressing on the title screen (holding and for a few seconds on the New Play Control! port), something that must be performed every time the game is booted-up.

Other modes

Continue

When the players select this option, they can resume a previously saved game. Players can save a game during the middle of a match or before a tournament is started. However, any midgame points gained will reset to 0-0. The game can hold up to three continue files.

Records

The Exhibition records.

Players can view records on all types of game modes played.

Exhibition

If the records are on Exhibition, they can view what character they played and won against. Note that this only applies to beaten computer players by the player shown in a table. The shape of the win depends on the difficulty of the computer:

• Novice: Triangle
• Intermediate: Circle
• Expert: Circle with a dot in the middle
• Pro: Moon
• Ace: Star

Also, the color of the shape depends on how the player beats a computer:

• Silver: The computer was beaten after resuming from a saved game (Affects all difficulties)
• Gold: The computer was beaten without saving (Affects all difficulties)
• Rainbow: The computer was beaten without saving and the player was not starred when the computer was starred (Ace difficulty only)

Plus, a small star icon on the top right corner indicates that the computer was beaten when starred regardless of the difficulty and the shape color.

Tournament

If the records are on Tournament, the players can view the trophies won in a singles or doubles match with the character the player chosen.

Special Games

In Special Games, the players can view how long and/or how many points they achieved and the difficulty played on.

Options

The players can adjust in game settings, such as setting the sound system to mono, stereo, or surround, turning music on and off, turning rumble on and off, and setting control options. Control options can be set to easy, normal, and technical, which differs the controls the players must use. The players can also choose to delete save data, but once it is deleted, it cannot be restored.

Playable characters

The complete character select screen. Characters that have won the Star Tournament have their icon borders colored gold.

A total of 18 characters are playable in Mario Power Tennis, of which 14 are default and the other 4 need to be unlocked before they can be played as. Diddy Kong, Bowser Jr., Fly Guy, Wiggler, and Petey Piranha are newly playable to the Mario Tennis series, with Koopa Troopa also being playable for the first time in the series proper after previously being playable in Mario's Tennis. Fly Guy and Wiggler also make their overall playable debuts. Characters are divided into 6 different play styles, listed below.

• All Around: A character that is above average in all categories.
• Speedy: A character that can get to the ball in time, but lacks raw strength and often reach.
• Power: A character that can hit the ball with great force, but lacks speed and ball control.
• Technique: A character that can place the ball on the corners of the net, but can lack speed and power.
• Tricky: A character that can curve the ball, but often lacks reach.
• Defensive: A character that can easily hit the ball from any position, but lacks power and speed.

Although their stats are not visible, each character has slightly different attributes from each other. For instance, Bowser has more power and reach compared to Wario, but Wario has better control, movement, and volleying.

Character	Skill Type	Offensive Power Shot	Defensive Power Shot	Instruction booklet description	Unlock criteria
Mario	All Around	Iron Hammer	Spin Jump Return	"With a powerful shot and quick movements, Mario's one player who excels at all types of tennis."	Available from the start
Luigi	All Around	Squeaky Mallet	Poltergust Return	"Luigi's got better ball control than his famous sibling and is especially skilled at volleying."	Available from the start
Peach	Technique	Super Peach Spin	Sweet Kiss Return	"Peach's superior ball control and graceful footwork make her game a beautiful thing to behold."	Available from the start
Daisy	Technique	Wonder Flower	Flowerbed Return	"Energetic and cheerful, Daisy sweeps across the court like a breath of fresh air."	Available from the start
Wario	Power	Thunder Cast Shot	Ultra-Hand Return	"Wario's bulk makes him appear comical, but his mighty shots are no joke as they thunder across the courts."	Available from the start
Waluigi	Defensive	Whirluigi	Swimming Return	"With his long arms and legs, there's rarely a shot that Waluigi can't get to and return."	Available from the start
Yoshi	Speedy	Rainbow Flutter	Rolling Egg Return	"Yoshi's not only fast, he's steady. He rarely makes mistakes and looks to outlast his opponents."	Available from the start
Koopa	Speedy	Water Bomb	Water Shell Dash	"Koopa Troopa relies on his amazing footwork to spin back and forth and outrace his opponents' shots."	Available from the start
Donkey Kong	Power	Barrel Cannon Blast	Boomerang Banana Return	"DK's every swing is a thing of heroic proportions as he relies on his simian strength to blow the ball by his opponents."	Available from the start
Diddy Kong (new)	Speedy	Acrobatic Banana	Barrel Jet	"He may be small, but Diddy's super-quick and much stronger than he looks."	Available from the start
Boo	Tricky	Boo Blast	Boo Brigade Return	"Boo scoots back and forth through the air, letting loose a barrage of surprising shots."	Available from the start
Shy Guy	Technique	Lightning Spear	Spear Dance Return	"Shy Guy's proud of his finesse game and loves to surprise people who underestimate him because of his height."	Available from the start
Bowser	Power	Fire Breath	Spinning Shell Dash	"The king of the Koopas puts his massive weight behind every shot, making each one a fast-moving missile!"	Available from the start
Bowser Jr. (new)	Tricky	Magic Paint	Rolling Brush Return	"Bowser Jr.'s as quick as they come, and his wildly curving shots are tough for opponents to handle."	Available from the start
Fly Guy (new)	Tricky	Tornado Twist	Tornado Return	-	Win all World Open cups (Mushroom, Flower, and Star) in Singles
Paratroopa	Technique	Energy Ball	Sky Dive	-	Win all World Open cups (Mushroom, Flower, and Star) in Doubles
Wiggler (new)	Defensive	Anger Management	Flutter Return	-	Win all Gimmick Masters cups (Fire and Thunder) in Singles
Petey Piranha (new)	Power	Sludge Racket	Piranha Swingback	-	Win all Gimmick Masters cups (Fire and Thunder) in Doubles