Nintendo has taken the same tack with “Mario Tennis” as it has with the “Mario Golf” series: If it ain’t broke, fix it till it is. “Mario Tennis Open,” out now on the hand-held 3DS, ain’t broke, but it would be without online play.
The original “Mario Tennis” hit the Nintendo 64 in 2000 with ridiculous Mushroom Kingdom courts and special moves you’d never find at Wimbledon, but enough of the basics intact to stand as a solid tennis game. “Mario Tennis Open,” the latest in the series, lets you perform flat shots, lobs and all the rest, but takes away much of your autonomy.
| ‘Mario Tennis Open’ |
| » System: 3DS » Price: $39.99 |
| » Rating: 3 out of 5 stars |
When your opponent hits the ball, a circle appears somewhere in your court, telling you where to stand to return the ball. Not only that, the circle has a logo telling you which type of swing to perform. Of course, you can always ignore these suggestions, but doing the prescribed move gives you such a big bonus — hitting a slice while standing in a blue circle gives the ball such a laughable curve, you’re often guaranteed the point — that you rarely have any alternative.
The game’s salvation is its robust offering of online modes, where you can play singles and doubles matches with friends and strangers around the world. The human element means you can psych people out, standing in the bonus circle for a lob but shorting them with a drop shot instead.
Pleasure can also be found in the game’s bonus modes, which include one of the most surreal experiences in all of gaming. It’s called Super Mario Tennis, and has you hitting the ball against a wall where the original “Super Mario Bros.” game is scrolling left to right. The ball essentially takes the place of Mario, knocking out enemies, breaking blocks, collecting coins and even destroying that famous bridge Bowser is standing on.
If the game’s developers had enough time to make Super Mario Tennis, surely they had enough time to polish the main game, right? Instead, the little touches that make Nintendo games stand apart are missing here. Balls that bounce into the background go right through things — scoreboards, spectators, you name it — rather than bouncing off them. More fundamentally, it’s almost impossible for a ball to be counted out.
At least online, you can ignore the training wheels, and actually play tennis.
