This article is about the GameCube version. For the Game Boy Advance game called Mario Power Tennis in Europe, see Mario Tennis: Power Tour.

Mario Power Tennis
Developer(s)	Camelot Software Planning
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Haruki Kodera
Producer(s)	Shinji Hatano Hiroyuki Takahashi Shugo Takahashi
Designer(s)	Hiroyuki Takahashi Shugo Takahashi
Composer(s)	Motoi Sakuraba
Series	Mario Tennis
Platform(s)	GameCube, Wii
Releasedate(s)	Nintendo GameCube‹See Tfd› JP: October 28, 2004 NA: November 8, 2004 PAL: February 25, 2005 Wii (New Play Control!)‹See Tfd› JP: January 15, 2009 EU: March 6, 2009 ‹See Tfd› NA: March 9, 2009 AUS: March 26, 2009 Wii (Nintendo Selects) ‹See Tfd› NA: June 10, 2012 EU: June 22, 2012
Genre(s)	Sports
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Mario Tennis: Power Tour; Also known as: Mario Power Tennis (EU/AU), Mario Tennis Advance. A GBA tie-in for the GameCube's Mario Power Tennis. Programming is incomplete. He appears in the match as a distorted, colored square, and said square actually has Clay's sprite present. Also, Chet can't hit the ball far at all. Even with a 'NICE!' Sheet: Nearly all sprites From: Mario Golf: Advance Tour Images: 0 Credit: Atrius Sheet: Nearly all sprites From: Mario Tennis: Power Tour Images: 0 Credit: Atrius Sheets: 40. Game Boy Advance - Mario Tennis: Power Tour - The #1 source for video game sprites on the internet!

Mario Power Tennis, known in Japan as Mario Tennis GC(マリオテニスGCMario Tenisu Jī Shī), is a sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo for the GameCube in 2004. 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 in Japan on October 28, 2004, in North America on November 8, 2004, and in Australia on February 25, 2005. The game was re-released for the Wii in 2009 as part of the New Play Control! collection of titles, featuring GameCube games with added Wii controls. As of 2012, the title is available as part of the Nintendo Selects collection.

Power Tennis incorporates multiple characters, themes, and locations from the Mario series. The game includes standard tennis matches, but contains variants that feature different scoring formats and objectives. Other variants include 'Gimmick' courts, thematic areas with components and properties that directly affect gameplay. The game has 18 playable characters, each categorised by their style of play and each with a pair of unique moves known as 'Power Shots'. Power Tennis was developed simultaneously with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, and the pair shared similar technology and concepts with each other during production. Such similarities include an emphasis on the Mario theme in characters and settings as well as alternative game modes such as 'Ring Shot'.

The GameCube version was positively received in general, attaining an aggregate score of 81 percent from GameRankings and 80 out of 100 from Metacritic. Critics praised the game's depth and variety, but criticised the Power Shot animations, which could not be skipped. In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.^[1]

Gameplay

Mario Power Tennis includes variations of tennis matches consisting of characters, courts, and scenarios based on the Mario series. The range of courts includes the standard three types of tennis court, but consists predominantly of those themed upon games in the Mario series, known as 'Gimmick' courts. As well as adopting the style aesthetically, these feature thematic elements that influence how the match will be played on that surface, such as the ghosts in the Luigi's Mansion court, which hinder movement when the character comes into physical contact with them.^[2] Although standard tennis is available, variants of the sport can be played which adopt different rules and methods of victory. 'Ring Shot' involves the player earning points by hitting the ball through rings of varying sizes, with the number of points dependent on the difficulty of the shot.^[3] The player acquires the points whenever a winning shot is made adhering to standard rules; the match is won once the predetermined number of points is equaled or surpassed. A similar mode, 'Item Battle', involves the characters using items based on the Mario universe to interfere with each other's game and gain an advantage.^[4]The central mode of the game is 'Tournament Mode', which comprises a set of events with accumulating difficulty. These set of events must be finished successfully to unlock playable characters. This mode can be completed either in 'doubles' or 'singles', and is divided into Gimmick courts and standard courts.^[5] An alternative to these are 'Special Games', which involve the player trying to meet a tennis-related objective on a Gimmick court. These Special Games come in multiple forms, incorporating themes from past Nintendo games, such as 'Tic-Tac-Glow', which requires the player to hit balls of water to liberate Shine Sprites trapped in dirt,^[6] a reference to Super Mario Sunshine. Power Tennis supports the option for four-player multiplayer, which can be accessed during 'Exhibition Mode',^[5] the standard mode of play where the player can choose his or her opponents and the conditions of the match. Such options include the difficulty of the opponent, the court used, and the number of games and sets required to win the match.

Power Tennis features 18 playable characters, all of whom derive from the Mario franchise. Many characters, such as Wario, had already appeared in the game's predecessor and several other Mariospin-offs, while this was the first appearance for Wiggler as a playable character. All of the characters are categorised into six groups that reflect their playing style: all-around, technical, power, speed, defensive, and tricky.^[7] Inherent in each character is a set of two unique moves known as 'Power Shots'.^[2] These powerful moves, which are accompanied with an animation each time they are triggered, incorporate the character's specific qualities. They can only be triggered occasionally in the match, but will usually result in defending or scoring a point, depending on the type of shot chosen. Generic tennis moves, such as slices, dropshots, and lobs, can be applied at any time in the match.^[2]

Mario Tennis Power Tour Gba

Development

Power Tennis was developed by Camelot Software Planning, with a team of approximately 30 people, headed by brothers Hiroyuki and Shugo Takahashi.^[8] The game was first unveiled in a 2002 issue of the Japanese magazine Famitsu,^[9] and was later presented at the E3 conference of 2004. Before release, the brothers discussed multiple developmental processes in an interview with Famitsu. Camelot had been working on a previous GameCube version of Mario Tennis, but discontinued the project and began again using ideas and technology from Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, which was being developed simultaneously with the game.^[8] Shugo noted that the original would have been more serious and contained deeper gameplay, but with fewer 'Mario-esque' gimmicks. There was also a willingness not to update the graphics only without exploring advancements to concepts and gameplay, which Hiroyuki stated would be 'unacceptable for a Mario game'. Due to the success of its predecessor, the brothers felt pressure to make a game that was original and would not appear too similar to its predecessor on first sight.^[10]

Following release, IGN in

Mario Tennis Power Tour Sprites