Tennis is probably the one sport that the franchise has explored with the most over the last 30 years or so, beginning with Mario’s Tennis on the Virtual Boy. Camelot took over the Mario Tennis series starting with the N64 and Game Boy Color, and they really took things to the next level with Mario Power Tennis on GameCube and Power Tour on GBA.
Then for a long time not much happened. Power Tennis got a port to the Wii under the New Play Control line, but that was it until 2012. In the early- to mid-2010s the quality of tennis games plummeted, with the mediocre Mario Tennis Open on 3DS and the laughingstock Ultra Smash on Wii U. But after that whole fiasco, Camelot seemed to finally get their act together with the announcement of Mario Tennis Aces for the Switch.
When [this new entry was first announced](https://youtu.be/mMHT2vdWvpg) a little more than 5 years ago, it promised to offer more competitive depth for players than ever, fusing pure tennis with the tech skill and mindgames of a fighting game, while also offering the first single player story mode in the series since the GBA. It even had online tournaments and you could deny someone with a poor connection if you so choose, something we haven’t seen in a Mario sports game since Strikers Charged. It also promised to offer more playable characters and game modes well after launch with free content updates, including the [first playable appearance of Pauline ever](https://youtu.be/mvu9tF5m-0c).
Upon release, Mario Tennis Aces’s reviews eclipsed that of the previous two entries (which wasn’t a high bar to clear anyway), with outlets praising the game’s visuals, roster, online play, and depth/replayability with the new gameplay mechanics. But criticism was also thrown in for the lack of game modes, baffling menu options, and the lackluster story mode. It went on to sell over 4 million copies worldwide, making it the single best-selling Mario sports game of all time. Regardless after launch and for the next year or so, Mario Tennis Aces would see over a dozen new playable characters added monthly, as well as character rebalancing and the addition of new game modes like ring shot and limited time online co-op challenges.
As for me, I enjoyed what I’ve played of Aces. The new fighting game elements make this exceptionally fun to try to outwit my opponent, and the online was really solid in my experience (back when it was still free). I thought the story mode was neat even if it was riffing a bit on Infinity War; you had to travel across the land to find several multicolored stones to place inside a special golden tennis racket. It did have some cool boss fights that put your dodging and blocking skills to the test, even if it had some difficulty spikes here and there. I treat it like Splatoon’s single player in the end; an extended tutorial to prep you for multiplayer. And besides, what does “content” really mean in the context of a multiplayer-focused game anyway?
But it really was the core gameplay and strong multiplayer that kept me and so many others playing for nearly a year after launch. Some remember this game as a filler entry back when it came out, but there was a decent amount of hype going in, as this was Nintendo’s big multiplayer game for the summer that year. And unlike forthcoming first party sports titles which I thought were pretty meh to bad, I never felt ripped off for paying $60 bucks for it at launch. I got a lot of mileage and had a lot of fun with it, and the consistent post-launch support it got only added to my enjoyment whenever a new character came out. Easily in my top 3 Mario sports games alongside World Tour and Strikers Charged.