Mario has a long history with sports, specifically Tennis. I want to dwell deep into the history of Mario Tennis, and go obscure and even not much talked about details. In fact Mario Sports was not really a thing until Mario Tennis on the Nintendo 64. Before that even if Mario Golf existed it felt like a one off thing.
Tennis NES 1984
Tennis GB 1989
The NES and Game Boy versions of Nintendo’s Tennis and even the arcade VS Tennis include Mario as the referree. The actual characters go unnamed and they’re meant to represent the players I guess. But they could be just humans from the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario Tennis 64 clearly pays respect to these games by featuring the blue Mario referee. The Game Boy version is more explicit in it taking place in a Mario esque world since the characters are far more cartoony and Mario is even featured in the ending and transitions. The Game Boy Color actually has an excellent custom palette built in for Tennis, so while it didn’t get a DX version, it might as well be.
Super Tennis SNES 1991
While clearly a sequel to Tennis on the NES, thisversion for the Super Nintendo looks a bit more realistic with its characters. While the Japanese version goes for a more anime look, the western version went for hyper realism in the art even if the sprites are mostly the same, in fact the US release quickly puts the female in a silhouette to hide the fact she’s more anime like. This is also one of the few Nintendo games that has an official pantyshot. With that said being a sequel to Tennis which clearly has Mario, would indicate this is a Mario game even if he’s not here, wait a second, that referee looks mighty suspecious..mamma mia! It’s Mario!
Mario’s tennis Virtual Boy 1995
While most consider Mario Tennis 64 to be the first entry since it’s the one that was made by Camelot and has the series’ name. Mario’s Tennis is the true first title. This game is hard, and while it’s gotten a bad rap over the years from people who have only played it in 2D, when it’s intentionally designed to be played in 3D so you can see where the ball is at. I’d like to make an emphasis that it had amazing sprite work, a wonderful look and music. Not to mention the pack-in launch title for the system.
Mario Tennis 2000 N64
Mario Tennis 2000, GBC
The first official entries and with transfer pack support so they could interact. The Nintendo 64 version is a lot of fun, Toys R Us had a tournament in its kiosk, with a random price when it launched. While no special gimmicks the Tennis was so good it made it great. The Game Boy Color version featured a full RPG mode with interesting characters you saw grow, a bit frustrating not to be able to select Mario characters but it was worth it. The transfer pack compatability allowed you to unlock the 4 original character in the N64 game and 6 new courts. Sadly none of these are unlocked on the Nintendo Classics version. You could unlock the missing Mario characters to the GBC, including 4 mini games and 1 new court. These did get included in the Nintendo Classics rerelease.
Mario Power Tennis 004 GCN New Play Control! 2009 Wii
Mario Tennis: Power Tour 2005, GBA
When it reached the next generation of Mario Tennis, the Gamecube and Game Boy Advance versions we got an updated version of their previous ones. They do feel like a sequels now with more characters and a few features to make it feel more like a Mario universe game with the addition of Power Shots and gimmick courts. The RPG mode does return in the handheld version though sadly despite the GCN to GBA link cable existing there was no compatability this time around. Mario Tennis did skip the next generation for the most part skipping the Nintendo DS and only having an updated port of the Gamecube game. The only differences were motion controls and widescreen (including a rerendered FMV with more details).
The Wii version gets a lot of bad reviews since it was competing with Wii Sports Tennis and the original release. The game feels like a more complex Wii Tennis so that’s where it excels at. However the game is a bit too complex for just motion controls which if you want it for more than just a party game and need precision a gamecube controller is best. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics only include Tennis in the 2012 3DS game which is a basic Tennis game, other games in the series only include Badminton or Table Tennis which are tennis adjacent but different sports.
Mario Sports Superstars 2017 3DS
Mario Tennis Open 2012 3DS
The next handheld version on 3DS sadly didn’t take advantage of skipping a generation, it feels like a less featured version of the console game now even if it featured the Chance Shots. Without the RPG mode the handheld versions had, it just felt like an inferior version, not a bad game, just more of the same. We did get another Tennis entry in Sports Superstars, since there are other sports here we don’t get a full featured version of Tennis, and I wouldn’t have minded a simpler version of the game since it wasn’t part of the main series, sadly it’s mostly the same game from 3DS adding the Ultra Smashes from the Wii U game. It plays nearly the same, a missed opportunity to make a different version instead you have what feels like an updated version of the 3DS game with the console gimmick added but without other modes..
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash 2015 Wii U
Mario Tennis Aces 2018 Switch
Mario Tennis Fever 2026 Switch 2
We now reach the HD era of Tennis where all the games have basically shared the same character models just updated with each entry. The first game feels a bit short on features, the chance shots return and the only new thing is Mega Muschrooms being added. Aces on the other hand felt like it ahd more time to make something new, the Zone shots gave an interesting new way to play for both experienced and new players. A story mode finally returns even if not a full RPG mode and even if it’s short. Fever released giving you a story mode again as well as new racket gimmicks which makes it a more party like experience the franchise needed.
While at first sight they all might seem too samey; Each Mario tennis for the most part offers a unique experience that you can easily want to play one version over the other for certain reasons. I do think that perhaps a generational break and/or bigger changes could be made to make each new entry feel unique. An expanded return of single player for example or RPG elements could breathe new life into the series.