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Gameplay:
The gameplay is awesome. There is so many different things to do and complete. The addition of a storyline, although pretty basic, gives your character life. Basically you must work you way up the ranks at the Tennis Collage you attend, when in number one postion, you compete agaist other colleges. This takes a long, enjoyable time. When in the ellete squad you can purchase different shoes and raquets to customise the gameplay. Not only do you compete in tennis matches, but you can also train on the diffent tennis equiptment (my favourite is the automated serving machine!) Thorught competing ni matches and scoring new high scores in training, you will earn experience points that help you build up chosen skills, such as speed, power, control, and spin. Not only can you do all of this in singles, but also Doubles! The GameBoy will control your player and you can build up his/her skills with experience points also! Multiplayer on Mario Tennis is huge. Link up with friends and battle it out! There is also a quick match option. Oh, and all matches are full sets etc. like real tennis. The college is set out in an RPG style meaning you can go around and talk to anyone and challenge them to a tennis match or get useful tips from them. Gameplay is a definite 5 out of 5!

Graphics:
Can you say "PERFECT"? Because that's what the graphics for Mario Tennis are! The anime/RPG style characters work very well and feature nice smooth animation. The courts are well coloured and detailed and change dependin on if they are grass or synthetic, etc. Match graphics are great. Power hits have a nice charging animation that is followed by a coloured trail behind the ball. The ball has a shadow so you can tell where it is and how high it is easily. Menus also look great.

Sound:
Sound effects and music are great! All in game tennis sound are detailed and high quality. Music is original and good to listen to. Characters even have a tone based talking noise, they don't actually talk but have a tone that sounds so you know who is saying what. This also works very well.

Controls:
Can you say "PERFECT" again? These totally Natural and Instinctive controls took no getting used to. The directional pad moves you around the court, A and B buttons determine your hit (either normal, slice, forehand, or backhand), and Start is pause and game statistics. If you hold A or B you build up power, then *WHAM!* the ball flies back leaving a satisfying trail throught the air. The feature that tops the controls off is the customisation. When experience points are spent on different skills (as mentioned earlier), the character control changes. For example, he/she may go faster, hit harder, or handle better. It's up to you! Another Control detail is the effect different court surfaces (e.g. grass, clay, synthetic) has on the bounce of a ball. The harder the court, the greater the ball's bounce.

Final Comments:
I am ashamed to say that I once thought this game to be much like Snoopy Tennis. The fact is it has way better control and much more to the gameplay. This is sure to be huge (it is already), so where not already sold-out, buy a copy while you can! Also try Mario Golf as these go hand-in-hand (I didn't know the first thing about golf and still loved the game).

Score:
Gameplay
Graphics
Sound
Controls
Personal Opinion

Game by:
Nintendo / Camelot

Genre:
Sport

Players:
1-2

Save:
Battery (3 slot)

Released:
1999

Reviewed by:
GameBoy Guru
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