Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64): Difference between revisions

As [[Toad]] (who is the announcer) points and shouts, "What's-that!?", [[Bowser]] and the hovering [[Boo]] fall onto the court below, knocking Wario and Waluigi backwards. Everyone appears disgusted that Bowser would try to ruin a tennis match. To everyone's surprise, the pair announce they have come to play a friendly game of tennis. As everyone is baffled, Mario breaks the silence by exclaiming, "Let's all play!". As Peach and Daisy look to each other and agree, everyone, including Wario and Waluigi, follow suit. Out of nowhere, a [[Bob-omb]] makes its way onto the field. Without time to act, everyone is caught in the blast, and the game begins.

Including all the characters that can be transferred from the [[Game Boy Color]] version of ''[[Mario Tennis (Game Boy Color)|Mario Tennis]]'', the Nintendo 64 version of ''Mario Tennis'' features a total of 20 playable characters. Of these characters, 14 characters are default, 2 characters are unlockable through playing the Nintendo 64 game, and 4 characters can be transferred from the Game Boy Color game. Aside from the transferable characters, characters are divided into 5 different play styles, listed below. [[Waluigi]], [[Princess Daisy|Daisy]], [[Birdo]], [[Koopa Paratroopa|Paratroopa]], [[Boo]], and [[Shy Guy]] make their playable debuts, with Waluigi also making his first appearance in any game. Short Game and Tiebreaker are the only modes that can be played with the same characters. When two of the same character is selected, the second player to select said character will have an alternate palette swap of the character. All of the returning cast from ''[[Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)|Mario Golf]]'' retains a returning palette from that game. Alex, Nina, Harry, and Kate are not playable in the [[Virtual Console]] and [[Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Switch Online]] versions of the game due to the [[Wii]], [[Wii U]], and [[Nintendo Switch]] lacking an equivalent to the [[Nintendo 64]]/[[Game Boy Color]] Transfer Pak.

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!colspan=4 style="background:red;color:white"|Default characters

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:MarioMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Mario]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:WarioMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Wario]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:LuigiMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Luigi]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:WaluigiMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Waluigi]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:PeachMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Princess Peach|Peach]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:DaisyMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Princess Daisy|Daisy]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:BabyMarioMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Baby Mario]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:ToadMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Toad]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:YoshiMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Yoshi]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:BirdoMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Birdo]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:DKMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Donkey Kong]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:BowserMT64.png]]<br><big>'''[[Bowser]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:KoopaMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Koopa Paratroopa|Paratroopa]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:BooMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Boo]]'''</big>

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!colspan=4 style="background:red;color:white"|Unlockable characters

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:DKJRMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Donkey Kong Jr.]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:ShyGuyMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Shy Guy]]'''</big>

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!colspan=4 style="background:red;color:white"|Transfer Pak characters

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:AlexMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Alex]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:HarryMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Harry (Mario Tennis series)|Harry]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:NinaMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Nina (Mario Tennis series)|Nina]]'''</big>

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:KateMT.png]]<br><big>'''[[Kate]]'''</big>

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!colspan=4 style="background:red;color:white"|Non-playable participants

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!style="height:50px" align="center" colspan=3|<big>'''[[Piranha Plant]]s'''</big>

Note: The name before the dash is the player's character, and the name after the dash is the CPU.

*[[Mario]] - [[Luigi]]

*[[Luigi]] - [[Princess Daisy|Daisy]]

*[[Princess Peach|Peach]] - [[Mario]]

*[[Princess Daisy|Daisy]] - [[Birdo]]

*[[Toad]] - [[Princess Peach|Peach]]

*[[Waluigi]] - [[Koopa Paratroopa|Paratroopa]]

*[[Shy Guy]] - [[Bowser]]

*[[Wario]] - [[Waluigi]]

*[[Bowser]] - [[Boo]]

*[[Donkey Kong Jr.]] - [[Donkey Kong]]

*[[Donkey Kong]] - [[Toad]]

*[[Yoshi]] - [[Baby Mario]]

*[[Birdo]] - [[Yoshi]]

*[[Baby Mario]] - [[Donkey Kong]]

*[[Koopa Paratroopa|Paratroopa]] - [[Bowser]]

*[[Boo]] - [[Wario]]

[[File:MT64 PowerShot.png|150px|thumb|[[Wario]] misses a Smash Shot.]]

Doubles is a much different mode than singles. It can either be easier or harder than singles, depending on the player's perception of difficulty. The court is split into front and back sections. When the player is serving, it is their responsibility to cover the back. When they are not serving, they get to play the net. When being served to, the player's position will alternate. If the player is receiving the serve, they will play back on the point. If not, they've got the net. Another difference from singles play is that, on doubles play, the lateral extremities of the court count for the purpose of scoring, whereas in singles, when the ball lands in the side sections, it counts as out and the point goes to the opponent.

The exhibition mode offers the player a match in which they can customize their match. They may choose to either play singles or doubles, the length of the match, the difficulty of the opponent, and the court that they play on. The player can choose five different difficulties, which are Novice, Intermediate, Expert, Pro, and Ace. The player can also choose who their opponent or partner is.

There are three more tournaments available in ''Mario Tennis'', which need to be unlocked. To access the Rainbow, Moonlight and Planet Cups, the player needs to win all cups in singles and doubles with all 16 characters. Once done, the player must "star" a character by pressing and holding the {{button|N64|R}} shoulder button while selecting a player. This allows the player to participate in the Rainbow Cup. The player has to beat the Rainbow Cup to get to the Moonlight Cup, and win the Moonlight Cup to get to the Planet Cup. Beating all singles and doubles special cups with all 16 characters will unlock the Ace difficulty mode for computer players.

Short Game is a multiplayer mode where the character or team must score up to 5 points (with no two point requirement) to win the match. Tiebreaker is equivalent to Short Game, except it goes up to 7 points and players must win by two points. Short Game and Tiebreaker are only for two players for a Singles Match and four players for a Doubles match, with no AI opponents.

Ring Tournament is a Special Game challenge mode and service for players per copy of the game to have their high scores depending upon how many rings they each collected submitted to the leaderboard with the players' entered names to the Mario Tennis website. Before playing, the player was required to enter a code for each of the special cups, including character-based ones. The codes came from the former official N64 game website for that game which ran from 2000–2004, and would change from time to time. The service ended in 2004 after the game's sequels ''Mario Power Tennis'' and later ''Mario Tennis Open'' replaced it for that URL, and every possible code entry will end with the message "This code is incorrect". This Special Game mode remains visible in the Wii Virtual Console, but it cannot be selected because the cursor skips over it.

Every court plays a bit differently. Each court can be selected for Exhibition matches once unlocked. Like with the characters, the courts which require the Game Boy Color version of ''Mario Tennis'' cannot be unlocked in the Virtual Console releases.

*'''Donkey Kong:''' Donkey Kong beats his chest while holding the trophy up. However, seeing some bananas next to him, he throws the trophy away and goes after them instead.

*'''Donkey Kong Jr.:''' Donkey Kong Jr. hops from leg to leg holding the trophy up. Donkey Kong walks in, and Donkey Kong Jr. jumps into his arms and holds the trophy up.

*'''Shy Guy:''' An excited Shy Guy jumps around. A rotor comes out from him, turning him into Fly Guy, as he flies around.

Donkey Kong Jr MT64 art.png|[[Donkey Kong Jr.]]

DKandBabyMarioTennis.png|[[Donkey Kong]] and [[Baby Mario]]

[[Camelot Software Planning|Camelot]] suggested [[Goomba]], [[Bullet Bill]], and [[Whomp]] to be made playable, along with a potential bad counterpart to [[Princess Peach|Peach]] in the vein of [[Wario]] and [[Waluigi]], but these were all dismissed for varying reasons, such as Goomba and the ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' Bullet Bill's lack of hands, and Whomp's rigid posture. The idea for a Wario-like rival for the princess was dismissed by [[Nintendo]] for not being cute enough. [[Birdo]] and [[Princess Daisy|Daisy]] and were suggested by Nintendo in place of these characters.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20001209080900/http://www.camelot.co.jp/gimon/gimon13.html Japanese Camelot Q & A]. Retrieved May 28, 2008.</ref> Coincidentally, a「ワルピーチ」(''Warupīchi'', "Walu-Peach") previously appeared in the [[Super Mario (Kodansha manga)|Kodansha adaptation]] of ''[[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]'', but it was Peach temporarily consumed by her minor mischievousness and not a separate character.<ref>Kazuki, Motoyama. [[Super Mario (Kodansha manga)|KC Deluxe]] vol. 20 - ''Super Mario Land 2: 6-tsu no Kinka 2''. Pages 108-109.</ref> It was later revealed in a 2008 interview with Camelot vice president Shugo Takahashi that the real reason why a "warui" counterpart to [[Princess Peach|Peach]] was rejected by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] and other Nintendo staff was to avoid similarities to Doronjo and her lackeys, Tonzura and Boyacky (who bearing striking resemblances to [[Wario]] and [[Waluigi]], respectively), from the ''[[wikipedia:Yatterman|Yatterman]]'' anime series and, as a result, to prevent copyright infringement claims from the anime company [[wikipedia:Tatsunoko Production|Tatsunoko Production]].<ref>[https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/nintendo-rejected-a-wario-peach-character-to-avoid-being-an-anime-rip-off/ar-AA16uo5I?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=3c3e59d81d49402ba401025b687018e5 MSN - Nintendo rejected a 'Wario-Peach' character to avoid being an anime rip-off]. Retrieved January 18, 2023.</ref>

*If the player does not have any controllers plugged into the console, a scene is displayed featuring Luigi holding a [[Nintendo 64]] controller and Waluigi holding the console itself.

*[https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n01/n64/software/nus_p_nm8j/index.html Official Mario Tennis Japanese website]

*[https://m1.nintendo.net/docvc/NUS/USA/NM8E/NM8E_E.pdf American English manual]