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Mario Tennis Aces Discussion (Nintendo Switch) [game]
 
Mario Tennis Aces on the Switch
8.03/10 from 4 user ratings

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As someone who has been way down on the Mario Tennis franchise for probably a decade (of Chance Shots), Mario Tennis Aces looks freaking amazing. They've finally rehauled those tired, unintuitive mechanics. Into something that even less resembles tennis, granted, but it seems incredibly fun. Like a tennis fighting game! Blocks, Specials, a meter, Supers, Taunts, and a c-c-combo breaker! It has genuinely become one of my most anticipated games. I love the Block mechanic, since it actually prioritizes timing, whereas previous Mario Tennis games disdained it.

Story mode was nowhere near enough to hype me up. But these new mechanics are. And optional splitscreen for local multiplayer is such a great idea. If they balance it well, Mario Tennis Aces will be an absolute scream in multiplayer. Party in a cartridge.

Camelot has redeemed themselves. Now let's get some Mario Superstar Baseball, Namco!

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03/13/18, 00:57    Edited: 06/23/18, 18:44
 
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Anand said:
As someone who has been way down on the Mario Tennis franchise for probably a decade (of Chance Shots), Mario Tennis Aces looks freaking amazing. They've finally rehauled those tired, unintuitive mechanics. Into something that even less resembles tennis, granted, but it seems incredibly fun. Like a tennis fighting game! Blocks, Specials, a meter, Supers, Taunts, and a c-c-combo breaker!
Yeah, a fighting game is what came to mind when I saw the meter: it can be built up quicker with risky plays and it can be used for offense or defense, which is a pretty common dynamic in fighting games. And that perked my interest a bit, even though I've never really been sucked in by a tennis video game. Grand Slam Tennis with Wii MotionPlus came the closest thanks to its pretty good motion controls, but even that that fell out of my rotation pretty quickly.
03/13/18, 01:57   
@nate38
Grand Slam Tennis on the Wii was pretty cool!

I actually like a good tennis game, in general, from Atari 2600 Tennis to Super Tennis to Virtua Tennis to Top Spin to... real tennis. But Aces isn't even really a tennis game anymore. Luckily, I also like crazy arcade-style multiplayer games!

This game is pretty stacked, though. I don't have much faith in the Motion mode, since Camelot already fumbled them on New Play Control Mario Tennis on Wii. But maybe this time, it's simplified enough to work. I wonder how many modes will be playable online.
03/13/18, 05:00   
Edited: 03/13/18, 05:01
Hope it's as good as it looks... haven't bought a tennis game since Virtua Tennis on Dreamcast, but I might bite on this one!
03/13/18, 10:03   
Pretty great article on the history of Mario Sports games! Here's hoping Aces is the definitive version of tennis.
05/16/18, 19:49   
@Secret_Tunnel
Haha, it's way too weird to be a definitive tennis experience, but it has a decent chance to be the most fun.

I want some more Mario Baseball action.

Mario Golf: World Tour DX (with all DLC and a goofy story mode) would also be a surefire hit. It's pretty underrated.
05/16/18, 20:17   
Edited: 05/16/18, 20:18
@Anand

Definitive version of Mario Tennis, I mean!

What's your favorite one? I haven't played many Mario sports games aside from Toadstool Tour (which went over my head at the time) and a little bit of Superstar Baseball at friends' houses.
05/16/18, 20:19   
@Secret_Tunnel
The GameCube one. Power Tour, I think? It's fast, pretty, and furious, the gimmicks are optional, and there are no stupid chance shots.

Home console Mario Sports probably peaked on Gamecube. Before Wii Sports stole its thunder.

Speaking of which, I hope the motion mode in Aces is fun. (New Play Control Power Tour on Wii freaking sucked, though.)
05/16/18, 20:29   
Edited: 05/16/18, 20:33
Yo, if you download the Japanese client, you can play the Testswing now!

It's really fun! Camelot has finally redeemed themselves. It still plays like Mario Tennis, but the new elements make it enjoyable again.

I made it to the third round, but then I was disconnected. But then it reconnected me! And I lost! It appears that they aren't "real" tournaments with a fixed bracket. So your third round could be vs someone who beat his second round somewhere else. Or maybe it's based solely on skill level? I dunno. But that last match (with less connection bars) was hella laggy. The others were fine, though. Even against people in Japan.

It'll take a while to get those trick shots into my muscle memory, but they're pretty neat. And crazy. You can even trick forwards or backwards for lobs and drops. And the zone stuff feels really good. Zone shot opportunities take the place of chance shot opportunities, so an off-kilter return will set the opponent up for one, but it isn't just Simon Says anymore. Aiming with the gyro is awesome. The only problems are remembering the buttons and knowing when your special meter is empty.

The balance is pretty good, too. It takes a while to build up your meter, mostly through max charge shots (ugh, but at least there are other options now) and successful trick shots. What school is that bad trick shots deplete your meter, so you can just spend them. Blocking feels awesome too. Special shots get pretty tense.

I haven't seen any racquet-breaking yet in the short matches offered in this demo, but I would imagine that it also feels great. A Special can One-Shot KO a racquet, but it takes a while to build it up, since Zone Speed and Zone Shots also consume your meter. There's a nice variety of strategic options.

Intentionally being in the wrong spot so that you can use your Trick Shot is pretty weird, though. I wonder if different characters will have different ranges on their trick shots. Speaking of which, the demo has an unlockable side character! Play a few matches and you'll see. TriforceBun should be happy, though.

Although I didn't test it out with a single Joy Con (just double (nice HD rumble) and Pro), this will be a great game for local throwdowns (assuming the opponents are able to understand the mechanics). Doubles should be interesting, too. Like the ability to Trick Shot back to catch a successful lob or passing shot. The ability to negate a clear winner (point-ending shot) is fascinating. I guess we'll have to see how the mechanics hold up competitively, though.

The demo didn't include the Wii Sports-like mode, though. Which could fix that skill gap problem. I hope there's some handicapping in the main mode, too.
06/01/18, 17:26   
Edited: 06/01/18, 19:50
@Anand

Ooh, thanks for the tip!
06/01/18, 17:46   
I'll wait until the North American thing starts tonight at 9pm Eastern (I think?) and give it a try.

Anand said:
The demo didn't include the Wii Sports-like mode, though. Which could fix that skill gap problem. I hope there's some handicapping in the main mode, too.
That's disappointing, I was looking forward to trying out the motion controls and seeing how deep they are. I'm not expecting much more than Wii Tennis's waggle, but I could be pleasantly surprised.
06/02/18, 01:01   
Won a tournament!

My opponents kind of stank, though. The Japanese session was way harder!
06/02/18, 07:03   
@Anand

Nice job! I won one myself! It was pretty intense. Used the WAAAAAAAAA
06/02/18, 07:44   
I am really curious about the story mode. The tennis matches are fun, but not sure if $60 worth. I'm worried I might get bored fast like I did with Arms.
06/02/18, 13:00   
@TriforceBun
Nice! These online tests are basically the only time that I perform above an average level. Once a game has been out for a month or two and everyone else turns into a freaking cyborg, my lack of training and discipline betrays me (a la Arms).
06/02/18, 14:34   
Edited: 06/02/18, 14:37
I only ended up playing three matches last night, using Bowser. First two were easy wins, but then I got bopped by a Rosalina and her tricky shots.

My problem is that through the course of play I just sorta forget the special meter is a thing and just try to win by going for risky placement shots like I do IRL. But the fact that you can't hit a ball out of bounds takes away a lot of the risk (and precision) that makes that effective, plus the defensive slow-mo ability makes juking their pants off a lot less effective.

It seems like a good system they have, just not really what I'm looking for in a tennis game.
06/02/18, 17:49   
Edited: 06/02/18, 17:50
WOO I finally won a tourney! Me! Of all people!

It was kind of frustrating as many of my streaks were being ended by super laggy matches that I had pretty much no chance of winning. I can deal with ones that stutter a bit here and there, but there were ones where my button presses were delayed by over a second. How can I hope to do anything in a game that's all about fast reactions? Coincidentally, the laggiest matches I played, Waluigi was my opponent. Coincidence? I think not!

As for the game itself, it seems solid. While I was someone who enjoyed the gimmicks in Mario Power Tennis, the mechanics in this game feel more polished and balanced. The special meter seems to fill more slowly than in Power Tennis, and also the power shots aren't so overpowering that you still have a chance to counter if you don't have your own power shot ready. It's also more apparent when the shot is about to go off, making it easier to react than it was after Power's scenes, which is good. I also like how the special meter is used for more than just the power shot, so figuring out the best use of it is a fun part of the game.

Overall, I'm impressed with the game, but not with the online. But friend rooms should still be fine. I dare say this is easily the best Mario Tennis game yet.
06/02/18, 19:36   
Wow, yeah, that was the least fun I think I've ever had playing a tennis game.

In case anyone hasn't tried it yet, here are the controls:
A - Normal Shot
B - Slice Shot
Hold down R while rotating the left control stick 45 degrees and double tapping ZR plus X four times - Super power shot
Hold down R while rotating the left control stick 60 degrees and pressing ZB while toggling the G key on a nearby keyboard - Block Super Power Shot OH WAIT TOO LATE SORRY YOU LOSE BECAUSE BOWSER BROKE ALL YOUR RACKETS TOO BAD.

Miserable experience. Zero stars.
06/03/18, 00:48   
@J.K. Riki

What?

But anyway, this game is really, really good. I’ve never been too much into the Tennis games but the online portion, when it works right, is a ton of fun. Love how technical games can get with skilled players who know what they’re doing. Ridiculous intense! I played this match earlier, probably my favourite of this demo so far. Even found the guy on Twitter afterwards to share and let him know how it was such a fun match up haha.



Yeah, I think I’ll be buying this. The online with what should be a fun single player experience will make it a great game to own.
06/03/18, 05:10   
@VofEscaflowne
Wow! That was like a ballet. Great hustle on both sides of the court there.
06/03/18, 06:26   
@TriforceBun

I like how he threw out a taunt at the end thinking it was over (heck so did I haha) but I managed a trick shot at the last possible moment for a win. Crazy fun!
06/03/18, 06:38   
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