Mario Power Tennis | Nintendo Wii

Important: Game may not include original DLC, bonus-content, online-pass, season-pass, or other digital redemption codes. Any included codes may have already been redeemed or expired.

Preorder and launch bonuses, promotional or bonus inserts, and bundled bonus-game downloads are not guaranteed. Content supplied on the game disc or cartridge is unaffected.

Mushroom Kingdom tennis with Wii controls

Mario Power Tennis gives the familiar contest across a net a cast and rule book of its own. Mario, Peach, Bowser and the rest of the lineup bring different strengths to ordinary rallies, while character powers and unusual courts introduce the Mushroom Kingdom's sense of mischief. This Wii release is the New Play Control! version, which adapts the game around swings of the Wii Remote. A match can begin with recognizable serves, volleys and passing shots, then turn on a giant character move, a troublesome court obstacle or an item used at exactly the wrong moment for your opponent.

The opening animation establishes that playful mood through Wario and Waluigi's frustration with a tournament and their subsequent plotting with Bowser. It is a broad comedy introduction to a sports game whose personalities matter as much as its competition. On court, the cast falls into six playing styles: all-around, technical, power, speed, tricky and defensive. Mario provides a balanced approach, Peach emphasizes placement, Bowser brings force, Yoshi covers ground quickly, and Boo makes a rally harder to read through spin. Changing characters gives you a useful reason to approach the same opponent differently.

Build a rally around the shot you want

The Wii Remote acts as your racket, with different swings used for flat shots, topspin, slices, lobs and drop shots. Serving starts with a toss and then a timed swing, while the direction and timing of your motion shape the return you attempt. You can play with the Remote alone or attach a Nunchuk for control-stick movement. Learning the gestures takes some practice because choosing a shot and getting into position are connected tasks. A powerful return is more useful when it sends the other player away from the area you want to attack next.

A varied rally gives you more to work with than repeating the same swing. A lob asks an opponent near the net to cover space behind them; a shorter drop shot changes that demand in the opposite direction. Topspin and slice alter the ball's behavior, and a high incoming ball can create a smash opportunity marked on the court. These familiar tennis ideas remain useful even in a game with exaggerated powers. Establishing a reliable serve and return first gives you a base from which to experiment with the more specific motions and shot choices.

Each character has an attacking and a defensive Power Shot, available after the Power Gauge fills. The control settings let you decide how much of that system to handle yourself. Easy mode can trigger a ready Power Shot automatically; Normal and Technical settings give you more direct control over its use. That choice affects the rhythm of a match. Saving a defensive move can provide an answer to a difficult return, while committing your available power to an attack can put pressure on the next exchange. Character animation turns those decisions into some of the game's most conspicuous moments.

Change the court, the rules or the goal

Exhibition is the flexible route into singles or doubles, with local matches supporting up to four players. Standard tennis keeps the focus on winning points, while Ring Shot asks you to send the ball through suspended rings. Item Battle adds familiar Mario tools to the rally. A shell can trip up a player, a mushroom can increase speed, and lightning can shrink an opponent. Those rule changes encourage different priorities: the best shot for winning an ordinary point may not be the best line for collecting rings, and movement becomes less predictable when items enter the contest.

The courts also change the conditions around the ball. Peach Dome offers conventional surfaces, including grass and clay, while themed locations can be played with Gimmick rules that introduce obstacles and other interference. The setting becomes another part of the rally to watch. A clear path for your character or the ball cannot always be taken for granted, especially once the court begins disrupting the exchange. Moving between conventional and Gimmick play lets your group choose how much of that extra activity it wants around the underlying tennis match.

Tournament mode gives a solo player a sequence of opponents and cups to work through, with further competitions and other content unlocked through progress. Special Games provide a different kind of target practice. Artist on the Court uses tennis balls to paint a picture, Terror Tennis directs your shots at ghosts in portraits, and Chain-Chomp Challenge asks you to manage what you send toward the waiting Chomps. These activities take the same basic racket skills and place them inside different objectives, making them a change of pace from trying to outlast an opponent across a net.

The Wii presentation adds a widescreen option and replay features around the colorful courts, character voices and elaborate Power Shot animations. The result suits both a session spent working through cups and a local rivalry built around a favorite matchup. Its control options give you room to begin with simpler settings, then take greater responsibility for movement and special shots as the gestures become familiar. Mario Power Tennis has its strongest identity in that combination: recognizable tennis decisions, physical Wii Remote swings and enough character-specific surprises to make the next rally worth paying attention to.