Mario Tennis: Power Tour

Last updated
Mario Tennis: Power Tour
Mario Tennis - Power Tour Coverart.png
North American box art
Developer(s) Camelot Software Planning
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Director(s) Yutaka Yamamoto
Producer(s) Shinji Hatano
Hiroyuki Takahashi
Shugo Takahashi
Designer(s) Hiroyuki Takahashi
Shugo Takahashi
Composer(s) Motoi Sakuraba
Series Mario Tennis
Platform(s) Game Boy Advance
Release
  • JP: September 13, 2005
  • EU: November 18, 2005
  • AU: December 1, 2005 [1]
  • NA: December 5, 2005
Genre(s) Sports
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Mario Tennis: Power Tour, [lower-alpha 1] known as Mario Power Tennis in Europe, is a 2005 sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the sequel to the Game Boy Color version of Mario Tennis . While it is the handheld companion to Mario Power Tennis , released on GameCube, with the European release sharing its title, Power Tour lacks connectivity with Power Tennis, unlike how its predecessor features connectivity with its console counterpart on Nintendo 64. Power Tour was re-released on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2014.

Contents

Gameplay

The gameplay of Power Tour is similar to Mario Power Tennis’ gameplay. Players play tennis with other characters, in both doubles and singles, and there are several mechanics such as topspin, slice, and "Power Shots" (Special Shots in the Japanese version). There are both Offensive Power Shots and Defensive Power Shots which are earned further in the game. Offensive Power Shots are very powerful attacks; they power-up the ball and when they make contact with another player, they cause an effect such as being knocked back a little bit, running around dazed, etc. Defensive Power Shots can negate the secondary effects of Offensive Power Shots and they can reach balls which normally would be out of reach. There are topspin and slice, and topspin has more power than slice, while slice exchanges a tiny bit of power for more curve in the character's shot. As well as this, there is also a variety of shots, such as lobs or smashes.

Characters

There are several characters in Power Tour. The two main characters to choose from are Clay (Max in the European version; Norty in the Japanese version), a male power player, and Ace (Tina in the European version; Tabby in the Japanese version), a female technical player. The player can change the name of the character they choose to play as, and also choose the character's dominant hand for playing tennis (right or left). The character the player did not choose will be their doubles partner and his/her name cannot be changed.

The game features a variety of characters from the Mario Tennis game for Game Boy Color, who return as coaches. One of them is Alex, the male protagonist from the first game. His varsity teammates are featured as coaches at the various levels of play.

There are also the Mario gang with Mario, Luigi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Bowser and Waluigi; they do not appear until much later in the game. There are players returning from the previous game such as Alex (normally as coaches), and there are new faces such as Elroy, Tori, Whisker, and Paula. Playable previous human players are not available. Also, this is the only game where Waluigi appears without Wario.

Plot

The game starts as the main character wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings. Their partner explains that the protagonist has enrolled at the Royal Tennis Academy, and he/she is the character's doubles partner. Having passed out the previous day during the Welcome Workout, they decide to get some breakfast. When they arrive at the restaurant, it is deserted and they find out that masked challengers have challenged the top academy students, including Alex, who is implied to be the top-ranked player at the academy. After hearing that the masked players defeated the school champions, they set out to become the top ranked player, in order to enter the main tournament (The Island Open) and discover the masked players' true identities.

After defeating the Junior and Senior classes, the player advances to the Varsity Level. Learning that only the two highest ranked doubles pairs are guaranteed entry in the tournament, the main character defeats the entire Varsity class. The player, their partner, and two other players named Elroy (Excel in the Japanese version, who is also the varsity captain) and Tori enter the Island Open.

After the winning the Island Open, the players has not yet discovered the identities of the masked players. However, the morning following their win, the two main characters are approached by Alex and led to a secret airport near the academy. Here, they meet Mario, who is implied to have been one of the masked players, and are taken to Peach's Kingdom to participate in the Peach Tournament against the other characters in the game. Winning the tournament ends the doubles game.

Afterwards, the main character becomes the singles champion of the school and wins the Island Open on their own, again traveling to the Mushroom Kingdom to play in the Peach Tournament. Winning this Tournament effectively ends the Story Mode's main plot line, and the main character presumably goes home the hero of the academy.

Reception

Power Tour has received positive reviews. It currently holds a score of 80.76% at GameRankings [2] and 81 out of 100 at Metacritic. [3] IGN gave the game 9 out of 10, praising the RPG aspects of the game and the leveling system to improve the characters. [10] GameSpot gave it 8.5 out of 10, praising the game's selection of options and characters, as well as the power shots and Mario characters, but criticized the game's RPG mode, calling it too "involved". [7] Eurogamer gave it 8 out of 10, stating "as GBA titles go, Mario Power Tennis is a fantastic title to own - not least because it justifies its existence by being the best GBA tennis title by a mile" and calling it "Yet another shining example of the kind of simple, addictive brilliance that Nintendo seems to have a monopoly on these days." [5] GameSpy gave the game four stars out of five, commending the mini-games and single-player mode, but found the "ugly" 3D court models to be poor. [8] Nintendo World Report gave the game a perfect ten. [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Mario Tennis Advance (Japanese: マリオテニスアドバンス, Hepburn: Mario Tenisu Adobansu)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Boy Advance</span> Handheld game console by Nintendo

The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2001, and in mainland China as iQue Game Boy Advance on June 8, 2004.

Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games and a spin-off Mario franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses mostly from the Mario series as well as other gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero, Excitebike, and Splatoon.

<i>Mario Kart: Super Circuit</i> 2001 kart racing video game

Mario Kart: Super Circuit is a 2001 kart racing game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It is the third Mario Kart game and retains its predecessors' gameplay: as a Mario franchise character, the player races opponents around tracks based on locales from the Super Mario platform games. Tracks contain obstacles and power-ups that respectively hamper and aid the player's progress. Super Circuit includes various single-player and multiplayer game modes, including a Grand Prix racing mode and a last man standing battle mode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Peach</span> Video game character

Princess Peach is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original Super Mario Bros. game as Princess Toadstool. She is the princess regnant and head of state of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in her castle along with Toads. Since her debut, she has appeared in the majority of Mario video games as the main female character and the romantic interest of Mario. She has been voiced by Samantha Kelly since 2007.

<i>Mario Tennis</i> 2000 video game

Mario Tennis is a 2000 sports video game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Following Mario's Tennis, it is the second game in the Mario Tennis series. The game is known for being the introduction of Luigi's arch-rival, Waluigi, and the re-introduction of Princess Daisy and Birdo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waluigi</span> Video game character

Waluigi is a character in the Mario franchise. He plays the role of Luigi's arch-rival and accompanies Wario in spin-offs from the main Mario series, often for the sake of causing mischief. He was created by Camelot employee Fumihide Aoki and was voiced from 2000 to 2022 by Charles Martinet, who described Waluigi as someone with a lot of self-pity. Waluigi's design is characterised by his tall stature, thin and lanky frame, and his purple and black outfit with purple hat, which displays an inverted yellow "L".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wario</span> Video game character

Wario is a character in Nintendo's Mario video game series that was designed as an archnemesis to Mario. Wario first appeared as the main antagonist and final boss in the 1992 Game Boy game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. His name is a portmanteau of the name Mario and the Japanese word warui, meaning "bad". He is usually portrayed as a greedy treasure hunter who routinely loses the treasure or artifacts he ultimately finds. Since his debut, he has appeared in the majority of Mario video games. Hiroji Kiyotake designed Wario, and Charles Martinet voiced the character from 1993 to 2023.

<i>Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour</i> 2003 video game

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, known in Japan as Mario Golf: Family Tour, is a 2003 sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the sequel to the 1999 Nintendo 64 title Mario Golf, and is the third game in the Mario Golf series. It was released in North America on July 28, 2003, in Japan on September 5, 2003, and in PAL regions in 2004.

<i>Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga</i> 2003 video game

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a 2003 role-playing game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2014, Nintendo Switch Online Service in 2023, and remade for the Nintendo 3DS as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions in 2017. In the game, Mario and Luigi travel to the Beanbean Kingdom in order to combat Cackletta and Fawful, who stole Princess Peach's voice for the purpose of harnessing the power of a special artifact called the Beanstar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo e-Reader</span> Add-on for the Game Boy Advance

The Nintendo e-Reader, commonly abbreviated as e-Reader, is an add-on manufactured by Nintendo for its Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It was released in Japan in December 2001, with a North American release following in September 2002. It has an LED scanner that reads "e-Reader cards", paper cards with specially encoded data printed on them.

<i>Mario Power Tennis</i> 2004 video game

Mario Power Tennis is a sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. The game is the sequel to the Nintendo 64 title Mario Tennis, and is the fourth game in the Mario Tennis series. Power Tennis was released for the GameCube in Japan and North America in late 2004, and in PAL regions in early 2005. The game was ported for the Wii in 2009 as part of the New Play Control! series, and was also re-released as a Nintendo Selects title in 2012. A companion handheld game, Mario Tennis: Power Tour, was also released on Game Boy Advance around the same time as the original GameCube release, bearing the same title as Power Tennis in Europe.

<i>Mario Superstar Baseball</i> 2005 video game

Mario Superstar Baseball is a 2005 sports video game developed by Namco and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The game was created in the vein of other Mario sports games such as Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Mario Power Tennis. A sequel, Mario Super Sluggers, was released for the Wii in 2008.

<i>Marios Tennis</i> 1995 video game

Mario's Tennis is a 1995 sports game developed by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy video game console. The game was released at the launch of the Virtual Boy, and later as a pack-in game in North America.

<i>Mario Pinball Land</i> 2004 video game

Mario Pinball Land, known in Europe and Japan as Super Mario Ball, is a pinball video game developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance, released in 2004. It is the ninth Mario game for the Game Boy Advance and is considered a spin-off into the Super Mario series of games. The game was later re-released for the Wii U Virtual Console.

<i>Mario Golf: Advance Tour</i> 2004 video game

Mario Golf: Advance Tour is a role-playing video game-styled sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in 2004. The game is the sequel to the Game Boy Color version of Mario Golf and the Game Boy Advance counterpart of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

<i>Mario Golf</i> (video game) 1999 video game

Mario Golf is a 1999 sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Mario, his friends, and his enemies play golf on a variety of Mario-themed courses. Following NES Open Tournament Golf, it is the second game in the Mario Golf series. Camelot also developed a Game Boy Color version, which adds role-playing elements.

<i>Mario</i> (franchise) Video game franchise

Mario is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for video game company Nintendo which produces and publishes its installments. Starring the titular Italian plumber Mario, it is primarily a video game franchise, but has extended to other forms of media, including television series, comic books, a 1993 feature film, a 2023 animated film and theme park attractions. The series' first installment was 1983's Mario Bros., although Mario had made his first appearance in 1981's arcade game Donkey Kong, and had already been featured in several games of the Donkey Kong and Game & Watch series. The Mario games have been developed by a wide variety of developers including Nintendo, Hudson Soft, and AlphaDream. Mario games have been released almost exclusively for Nintendo's various video game consoles and handhelds, from the third generation onward.

<i>Mario Tennis Open</i> 2012 video game

Mario Tennis Open is a 2012 Mario sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was developed by Camelot, the company that produced most of the previous Mario Tennis titles. The game was first released on May 20, 2012 in North America and in other regions the same month. It was later released as a downloadable title on the Nintendo eShop in late 2012 and Nintendo Selects in 2015/2016.

<i>Mario Tennis Aces</i> 2018 video game

Mario Tennis Aces is a 2018 tennis game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. The game is part of the Mario Tennis series and sold over four million copies by the end of 2021, making it one of the best-selling games on the Switch. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics.

References

  1. ↑ Jastrzab, Jeremy (November 28, 2005). "Updated Australian Release List - 28/11/05". PALGN. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Mario Tennis: Power Tour for Game Boy Advance". GameRankings . Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Mario Tennis: Power Tour for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  4. ↑ EGM staff (January 2006). "Mario Tennis: Power Tour". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 199. p. 135.
  5. 1 2 Reed, Kristan (December 24, 2005). "Mario Power Tennis (GBA)". Eurogamer . Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  6. ↑ Kato, Matthew (December 2005). "Mario Tennis: Power Tour". Game Informer . No. 152. p. 190.
  7. 1 2 Provo, Frank (December 15, 2005). "Mario Tennis: Power Tour Review". GameSpot . Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Klepek, Patrick (December 7, 2005). "GameSpy: Mario Tennis Power Tour". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 10, 2005. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  9. ↑ Zacarias, Eduardo (February 12, 2006). "Mario Tennis Power Tour - GBA - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Harris, Craig (December 9, 2005). "Mario Tennis Power Tour". IGN . Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Mario Power Tennis (GBA)". NGC Magazine . December 2005.
  12. ↑ "Mario Tennis: Power Tour". Nintendo Power . Vol. 199. January 2006. p. 108.
  13. 1 2 Ferguson, Stan (December 12, 2005). "Mario Tennis: Power Tour". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  14. ↑ Gardner, Omari (January 22, 2006). "'Mario Tennis: Power Tour'". Detroit Free Press . Archived from the original on February 18, 2006. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  15. ↑ Hill, Jason (February 2, 2006). "Mario Tennis Power [Tour]". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved January 22, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.