Mario Power Tennis
Mario Power Tennis is a sports game for the Nintendo GameCube and a re-release for the Wii as a game in the New Play Control! series. It is the sequel of Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64. In this game, Mario and his various friends and enemies meet up to play a few rounds of tennis. Like previous Mario sports titles, all the playable characters have special Power Shots to make the game more interesting. Additionally, there are courts in the game that have special effects and events during the game. Also, there are special games for each court to play with.
The Game's Opening
The game's opening begins with Mario and Luigi playing a match against Wario and Waluigi. The Mario Bros. win the match, as Wario and Waluigi complain about their loss. The next day, Wario & Waluigi see a picture of the Mario/Luigi team on the "Peach Dome Tournament" board and are furious to see that their opponents have knocked them out of the running. Wario & Waluigi vandalize the Mario/Luigi team picture, but the Buckethead police catch them in the act and pursue a chase to arrest them. Wario & Waluigi attempt to run for cover and try to hide in what they think is a janitor's closet, but the closet has no floor, and the two fall into a training room. As Wario wonders, "What's this dump?", 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 their plot to crash the "finals tournament" later that evening at the Peach Dome.
As Mario and Luigi are about to play a match against Yoshi and Donkey Kong during that time, Bowser takes the picture of Yoshi and DK and replaces it with Wario and Waluigi. Bowser shows up behind the picture. Peach, Toadsworth, and all the attendees are baffled as to why Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser invaded the Peach Dome to crash the tournament without warning. But Wario and Waluigi wasted no time catapulting Bob-ombs at the Mario Bros. However, Mario & Luigi reflect the same Bob-Ombs back at them with their tennis rackets. Bowser launches a Bullet Bill from his airship at them, and Mario knocks it back with his racket, causing a giant explosion. This revealed that the airship had an enormous amount of Bob-Ombs, and everyone couldn't believe the painful result to come - especially Peach who noticed the "massive Bob-Omb explosion threat" firsthand.
Bowser's airship starts to descend out of control, and unfortunately has Wario and Waluigi in its crosshairs. Wario and Waluigi try to get out of the way, but to no avail. The airship crashes down and creates the massive explosion with Bowser, Wario, and Waluigi being the "victims", as a result of their Peach Dome invasion attempt completely foiled.
Additional Snapshots
Toadsworth and Peach presiding over the "finals tournament" at the Peach Dome. 
Peach in shock after seeing that Bowser's downed airship contains a massive amount of Bob-Ombs.
Gameplay
Skill Types
- All Around: A character that is a little bit good in all categories.
- Speedy: A character that can get to the ball in time, but lacks raw strength.
- Power: A character that can hit the ball with great force, but lacks speed.
- Technique: A character that can place the ball on the corners of the net.
- Tricky: A character that can curve the ball, which can confuse the opponent on where it's going.
- Defense: A character that can easily hit the ball from any position.
Game Modes
Characters
Starting Participants
| Character | Skill type | Offensive Power Shot | Defensive Power Shot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario | All Around | Iron Hammer | Spin Jump Return |
| Luigi | All Around | Squeaky Mallet | Poltergust Return |
| Peach | Technique | Super Peach Spin | Sweet Kiss Return |
| Daisy | Technique | Wonder Flower | Flowerbed Return |
| Wario | Power | Thunder Cast Shot | Ultra-Hand Return |
| Waluigi | Defense | Whirluigi | Swimming Return |
| Bowser | Power | Fire Breath | Spinning Shell Dash |
| Donkey Kong | Power | Barrel Cannon Blast | Boomerang Banana Return |
| Diddy Kong | Speedy | Acrobatic Banana | Barrel Jet |
| Yoshi | Speedy | Rainbow Flutter | Rolling Egg Return |
| Bowser Jr. | Tricky | Magic Paint | Rolling Brush Return |
| Koopa Troopa | Speedy | Water Bomb | Water Shell Dash |
| Boo | Tricky | Boo Blast | Boo Brigade Return |
| Shy Guy | Technique | Lightning Spear | Spear Dance Return |
Unlockable Participants
| Character | Skill type | Offensive Power Shot | Defensive Power Shot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly Guy | Tricky | Tornado Twist | Tornado Return |
| Paratroopa | Technique | Energy Ball | Sky Dive |
| Wiggler | Defense | Anger Management | Flutter Return |
| Petey Piranha | Power | Sludge Racket | Piranha Swingback |
Non-Playable Characters
During the game, Toads, Piantas and Nokis are in the audience. During the intro, the crowd contains Piantas, Nokis, Birdos, Ukikis, Goombas, Paragoombas, Bumptys and Lakitus, and notably, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
Toad and Toadette are listed on the tournament board, though they are not playable in the game. Toadsworth presides over the tournament alongside Peach, but unlike the Princess, he is a participant.
Courts
| Name | Gimmick | Mini-Game | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peach Dome | None. A standard Court, with no gimmicks or add-ons whatsoever. | Artist On the Court | Default |
| Luigi's Mansion Court | Ghosts harass the players, slowing them down. | Terror Tennis | Default |
| Wario Factory Court | Conveyor belts either slow down or speed up a player. | Chain-Chomp Challenge | Default |
| Delfino Plaza Court | Piranha Plant's spit goop onto the field, slowing down a player. | Tic-Tac-Glow | Default |
| Gooper Blooper Court | Moving tiles make it easier to hit the water, thus, getting an out. | Gooper Blooper Volley | Default |
| DK Jungle Court | Klaptrap's cling onto players, slowing them down. | Balloon Panic | Unlockable |
| Bowser's Castle Court | Tilting stage, makes it difficult to hit the ball in the court. | Mecha-Bowser Mayhem | Unlockable |
| Mario Classic Court | Classic Mario Bros. enemies walk onto the court, blocking the players. | Coin Collectors | Unlockable |
"New Play Control!" Series
For the Nintendo Wii version of Mario Power Tennis (via the New Play Control! lineup), the controls are not like the Nintendo Gamecube version, since the game makes use of the Wii's motion controls. This version includes a tutorial movie to demonstrate how to use the Wii Remote in this game. It is also possible to play this game in 16:9 widescreen mode. Players can choose to play with the Wii Remote only, or with the Wii Remote/Nunchuck combination for advanced control of playable character participants.
Bloopers
This is the only Mario game so far that has blooper-reels in the credits. If the player wins the Star Cup or Thunder Cup, the player will see a blooper reel of the first half of the Opening Movie. These bloopers are as follows:
- When returning the ball, Mario accidentally smacks it against Luigi's nose, to which Mario apologizes.
- Wario and Waluigi trip and fall to the ground when leaving the tennis court.
- While defacing the Mario Bros. poster, Waluigi hits the camera with his pencil, taking it down. He then apologizes to the cameraman.
- One of the Buckethead officers falls down while giving chase to Wario and Waluigi.
- Wario and Waluigi find the door in which they will hide from the Bucketheads, but it slams shut before they can enter, making them smash face-first against it.
- In the same scene, they manage to enter through the door; however, Waluigi's leg gets stuck as the door closes.
- When Bowser activates his ball-serving machine, a malfunction sends the balls hurtling against him from somewhere else off-camera. He runs off, frightened, slamming against the cameraman, as Wario and Waluigi, offscreen, laugh their hearts out.
- When Bowser turns on a switch, it breaks off in his hand. He laughs.
- In the same scene, the switch electrocutes Bowser, and he faints. Waluigi rushes to aid him, but not before warning Bowser: Don't expect mouth-to-mouth [resuscitation]!
- Wario is weightlifting, and seems to make a huge effort with the massive weights. Suddenly, his cell phone rings and he picks it up with his left hand, without dropping the barbell in his right hand. It is seen that he was just pretending his effort, as he talks nonchalantly at the phone. Waluigi, displeased, calls the cut by placing his hand on the camera lens.
If the player wins the Planet Cup, a second set of bloopers will continue where the last set left off. These bloopers are as follows:
- Wario and Waluigi's Bob-omb launching device gets jammed by a stuck Bob-omb.
- Bowser's Bullet Bill Cannon explodes in his face when he fires.
- The Bullet Bill falls just ahead of Mario before he can return it at Bowser's Airship. Mario shrugs at the camera, laughing.
- When Wario and Waluigi jump down to the court to escape the damaged airship, Wario falls head-first into the ground, getting stuck in a hole, prompring Waluigi to laugh (even though Wario's falling body nearly missed him).
- When Bowser, Wario and Waluigi appear on the big screen behind Mario and Luigi after the threesome's defeat, somehow, they all start laughing.
Artwork
Character Artwork
- MarioMPT1.PNG
- MarioMPT2.PNG
Mario - MarioMPT3.PNG
Mario - MPTMario1.PNG
Mario - MPTLuigi.PNG
- MPTPeach1.PNG
- MPTDaisy1.PNG
- Yoshitennis.jpg
- MPTWario.PNG
- MPTWaluigi.PNG
- MPTDK.PNG
- MPTDiddy.PNG
- TennisBowser.jpg
- MPT KoopaTroopa.jpg
- MPTBoo.PNG
- FlyGuyMPT.png
Promotional Artwork
Game Logo 
Wii Game logo - MPTLogo.PNG
Japanese Logo 
Beta Logo (prior to final names) - MPTSpecial.PNG
Mario preparing to serve - MPTGroup.PNG
Group Picture (for U.S. and PAL boxarts) 
Japanese Logo- Wii Version 
European NEW PLAY CONTROL! Mario Power Tennis box cover
External Links
Enjoy with Wii: Mario Tennis GC website (Japanese)
