The March Nintendo Direct has been and gone, and it's left us with some huge new announcements, including a ton of new details for Mario Tennis Aces and a confirmation it's coming this summer on 22nd June. So what's new in the world of Nintendo-related court-side action?
There are 15 playable characters to choose from, each with their own unique abilities (including, we might add, actual Chain Chomp), and the option for four-player local multiplayer and online support. You'll also be able to use the Joy-Con's motion controls for some Wii Tennis-style slices and lobs.
Rackets can break (Breath Of The Wild-style) if you're not careful, but there are lots of special abilities to keep you in the arcade action. You can hit amazing Trick Shots when you're on offence, or hit Zone Speed to slow things down so you can hit a shot that should be out of reach. There's even a Special Shot for hitting over-the-top aces or smashing your opponent's racket to bits.
If you're a purist, there's also a mode that strips out all these crazy moves, so you can enjoy a 'sim' experience if that's your thing. Add in participation bonuses for online play and you've got one impressive little tennis-themed package. Oh, and there's a pre-launch online tournament due before the summer, so watch out for that.
So what do you make of the latest details for Mario Tennis Aces? Let us know in the comments below. New balls, please...
Comments 58
Can't wait! Yes, the last Mario Tennis was a bust but it looks like this one will be more fully featured, like some of the Mario sports games I grew up playing. I put countless hours in Mario Golf and Tennis on 64 as a kid and as an adult I put well over 200 hours into Mario Golf on 3ds. I really hope this lives up the my expectations because when done right, these games can be so much fun!
The leaks of 22nd June as the release date were true. There was the Japan Rakuten leak today which was quickly pulled but Amazon Spain had previously revealed the date last month.
Wait chain chomp is playable? If so I found my main!
The only game I was interested in seeing the direct. Only thing that was actually new
Finally, Wii Sports for the Switch.
(No sarcasm! Love it!)
Glad they have options to turn off all the trick shot stuff as that looked a bit too much. This lives or dies on its story/career mode for me
@Radbot42 watch the video if you haven’t, the Chomp with a racket in its mouth is hilarious/awesome/hilariously awesome!
June??? Aww...
"This lives or dies on its story/career mode for me"
Same here. Put countless hours into Virtua Tennis on the Vita and this could be great....though from what I've seen so far I doubt it will be.
I’m interested. I’m tired of tennis games ending up feeling same-y (there’s been so many by now) and the new mechanics seem to add a fresh layer of strategy without just relying on chaotic RNG.
Also there was an awesome clip of Waluigi in the video!
Desire Shot ?! (Aim the shot by choose the position)
Gosh !
Chain Chomp...
And yet probably no Kamek.
@electrolite77 haha that’s exactly what I’ll be judging it against. Was absolutely obsessed with virtua tennis career mode. So so good. So hoping this will be even half as good
I have to say this game impressed me. Not only are we getting a full blown story mode, but it appears they removed the chance shots and added a lot of on the fly decision making with the power gauge. Should make the game interesting as long as nothing is too overpowered. The characters, courts, and presentation look great, too. Especially since it appears to all run at 60fps.
And of course having Chain Chomp as a playable character is amazing. I'm looking forward to this!
Seems I'm the only one who wasn't impressed at all by this? These new gimmicks look like trash IMO. I loved the Power Shots in Mario Power Tennis, but this... no. I really want to love Mario Tennis again but they're making it incredibly difficult.
Here's hoping I just don't like it from the trailer's perspective and that I'll make a 180 once I actually play it.
Hopefully this has a story mode, also would like to see a new Mario Baseball and Golf game for the Switch.
I wasn’t too excited for this when it was announced but after watching the direct, I’m definetely looking forward to it. Looks like a lot of fun!
Motion controls!
Looks super great. Far better than the scam that was Ultra Smash. Aces seems to be using some of the same character models as Ultra Smash (smart and efficient and I really dont blame them). At least we have multiple courts, tournament mode, as well as the ability to play with friends back. (Saying all of that out loud really makes me realize how bare boned Ultra Smash really was)
@Dom can we get a quick write up on the new friends being added to Star Allies. I just want to gush a bit about how excited I am to see Rick, Coo, and Kine as playable characters again. If I remember correctly they haven't been playable since dreamland 3 which was over 20 years ago. Good lord
Not so sure on the broken racket mechanic tho but everything else looks like everything that Mario Tennis Ultra Smash could've been.
Came back to commenting NintendoLife (it's been a busy month, y'all) just for this Direct.
Thank goodness for the "normal play" option! The whole "you can break your racket" gives me the unnerving feeling that Nintendo got the wrong message from Breath Of The Wild's GOTY award.
@AlexSora89 Everything now will have a durability meter, even the switch itself lol. Play it too long and it breaks. (Jk)
@Oat
Mine has bent a teeny little bit so yeah.
Hopefully durability won't be mistaken as a game changer, because it is, but for the worst if not drip-fed.
I hope we get more diverse characters in this. Chain Chomp is a start,but there's so many Mario characters that can fit right in.
Will there be new Amiibos for this game?
can't wait!
I think I'll pass. The single mode seems more like a mission mode than an RPG mode, which was the bread and butter of the Mario sports games for me.
Looks good, but I know I'll be bored in a couple of hours with it.
very, very good, well, only to wait and buy day one!!
Mario Golf next please! Was skipped on Wii U! Mario Baseball wouldn’t be a bad idea either!
They made this look really good. I'm a lot more interested than I was before.
Not gonna lie, the idea of playing as a chain chomp is like 50% of why I am now thinking of buying this game.
Looks great. Lots of neat gameplay elements. Hopefully it'll be a bit better than their last tennis effort.
I think they did the video for this in the wrong order. With each new skill or special shot, broken rackets, over-the-top jumping reveal, I was losing interest...
...but the Simple version and motion control won me back. Just.
This was the only thing in the Direct that interested me - fingers crossed for some decent Nindie action
@1UP_MARIO The evidence is pointing toward Smash being SMA5H instead of a SM4SH port.
This looks every bit the game Ultra Smash should've been, and some much needed additional gameplay elements to freshen up the formula.
Blatant Ultra Smash copy (+ 3 more 'tricks' and tournament mode). So weird not to tell us a bit more about single player content.. I fear the worst.
The motion control (if done right) and Chain chomp character look nice though
This game looks deep, I am actually very excited for this game, I need a switch
This game looks absolutely rad...
The only Mario Tennis I've ever gotten into was the one on Wii, because the motion controls were just so fun to play and it was such a perfect fit for the game. I knew they would add motion controls for this and they did not let me down! Those trick shots and zone shots aiming in slomo with the joycons, racket durability, specials, local co-op and full MP, single player story mode and online tournaments, classic play, crazy characters like Chain Chomp?
Holy moly gimme gimme gimme! And bring some Mario Golf next, please!
@1UP_MARIO
Uh... Mario Tennis Aces, Octopath Traveller, No More Heroes Travis Strikes Again, Super Smash Bros (working title), Sushi Striker, WarioWare Gold...
There was a lot more "new" than just Mario Tennis.
That was a hard sell! Feel a little violated but yeah. Day one.
@JaxonH: The Wii entry was a motion-controls added-on version of Power Tennis for the (Game)Cube. Just letting you know.
@Everyone_Else: If this game turns out to be an excellent multiplayer game, at least one way, or both(local/online), then I suppose it could very well become an evergreen title, or near to it. What matters is how fun it is. The single-player mode can only add to this, especially if it's an rpg make/build-your-own-character.
@Capt_N
I didn't know that, actually. I never really played any of the other entries because they never really interested me.
But hey, it seems the motion controls were all that was needed to make it a must-have game. Just like Pikmin 1 and 2 with their New Play Control Wii entries. Couldn't really stand playing them on GameCube because the analog controls just... weren't that good. But once you could aim via motion? Masterpieces. Both of them. And Pikmin 3 took that concept and integrated it into the core game. Immaculate masterpiece, that one.
I see Mario Tennis the same way. I was holding off on my hype until I knew for sure they were going to add motion controls. I was fairly confident they would but I just wanted to be sure. Now that I know I can play this game the way I used to play Mario Tennis on Wii, I'm stoked! I'd say Mario Golf World Tour proves Golf can be fun even without motion, but... Wii Sports Club golf and Tiger Woods on Wii has me thirsty for more than just your standard button pressing fare
@JaxonH: Also, unlike their N64/GBC predecessors, Power Tennis, & the GBA Advance Tour did not have the connectivity that the N64/GBC entries had. The N64/GBC Mario Tennis/Golf games had connectivity via the N64 Transfer Pak.
Motion controls do quite a lot of awesome, under the right conditions. Just a few days ago I was playing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on my WU's Wii mode. I kinda forgot how fun motion controls can sometimes be.
This new entry gave me a lot of Mario Power Tennis vibes, which is a game I have a lot of fond memories of playing with my brother. It's honestly more exciting to me than Smash.
I absolutely love all this! Can not wait to take the game with me this Summer vacation!
Preordering this and definitely playing online tournaments. Love Mario Sports titles cause of the unique twists / items that shake up the gameplay. The whole trick shot meter mechanic has me totally on board.
All i want is Pauline and Shy Guy in this. Nothing else matters.
Okay... this game looks WAY deeper than I thought.
Seeing a Chain Chomp playing tennis is the hilarious. Guess I found my main.
Looks great. Haven’t played a Mario sport game in years(maybe decades) so I am really looking forward to this.
Looking forward to this one. I think I'd have to put myself in the purist camp so it's nice to know there's the option to switch off all the madness and special moves if and when you need too. Although no doubt I'll have a blast with both.
Also my Birthday is 20th June so falls perfectly
@Marios-love-child
And mine is on 19th June, which is also before the release date. Karabast!
@PigmaskFan
Only just though, an extra few days wont kill us
What about 4-P Splitscreen?
The new mechanics look horrible. I hope you can turn them off in Story mode and not just multiplayer mode
@Yosher
I'm undecided if I like the new gimmicks in this or not. But I am with you with the Power Shots in Mario Power Tennis, I've had many fun times playing against my friends with some close matches and some well timed Power Shots.
I've enjoyed all the Mario Tennis games (even Ultra Smash to a degree) and this one looks like it could do really well and luckily there is the option to have it off in the Simple Rules Mode but I don't really want to buy this just to spend most of my time in Simple Rules if I don't like the gimmicks and have to be forced to use them in the story and (hopefully) other game modes like in Mario Power Tennis!
@DToad64 I mean, even if you play with simple rules, you know you're going to be forced into the gimmick stuff anyway if you want to go through story mode.
Very late! So that means the only new Switch game this first half year is Kirby, wich doesn't look super-hot.
@Yosher
Yeah fair point, I will need to try it out before I can say for certain but I just hope there is more mini-games like in Power Tennis though.
I would also like to try the online and see how competitive people will be with using it or not, hopefully there will be an online Simple Mode as well for those not keen but I can see that not happening.
Tap here to load 58 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...