Mario & Sonic Ultimate Tennis

Mario & Sonic Ultimate Tennis, is a sports game for the Nintendo Switch It is the first installment in the Mario & Sonic Tennis series. In this game, Mario, Sonic and their various friends and enemies meet up to play tennis. Like previous Mario & Sonic At the Olympic Games sports titles, all the playable characters have incredibly powerful Power Shots. Additionally, there are courts in the game that have special effects and events during the game. For each court, there are also special games to play.

Contents
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 * Opening
 * Additional snapshots
 * Gameplay
 * Controls
 * Menu screen controls
 * Game controls
 * Game modes
 * Exhibition
 * Tournament
 * World Open
 * Gimmick Masters
 * Star Tournament
 * Special Games
 * Other modes
 * Characters
 * Starting participants
 * Unlockable participants
 * Unlock criteria
 * Courts
 * Pre-release and unused content
 * References to other games
 * References in later games
 * Celebration animations
 * Glitches
 * Critical reception
 * Gallery
 * Media
 * Staff
 * References
 * External links

Opening
The game's opening begins with Mario and Sonic playing a match against Bowser Jr and Metal Sonic. Team Mario wins the match and celebrate as Bowser Jr and Metal Sonic complain about their loss. Bowser and Eggman are seen surveying the match through hidden cameras. The next day, Bowser Jr and Metal Sonic see a pictures of Mario, Sonic, Tails and Luigi on the "Peach and Amy Dome Tournament" board and are furious to see that their opponents have knocked them out of the running. Bowser Jr and Metal Sonic vandalize the pictures of Mario, Sonic, Tails, and Luigi, but the police pursue to arrest them. Bowser Jr and Metal Sonic escape into a janitor's closet, but they fall into what appears to be a training room. Bowser and Eggman approaches them and offers an alliance to get revenge against Team Mario. After hours of training and seeing others playing their tennis matches, they carry out a plan to attack the final tournament later that evening at the Peach and Amy Dome.

As Mario and Sonic are about to play the final match of the tournament against Tails and Luigi, Bowser and Eggman shows up on an airship-shaped blimp and rigs the tournament so that Bowser Jr and Metal Sonic can have their rematch with Team Mario, shocking the tournament hosts, Princess Peach, Amy Rose, Big the Cat and Toadsworth. Everyone gets furious at Metal Sonic, Bowser Jr, Eggman, and Bowser wanting them to leave, but Bowser Jr and Metal Sonic silence them by setting up a machine that fires Bob-ombs at Team Mario. Bowser and Eggman in the meantime, throws Bob-ombs at them. However, Mario and Sonic deflect the incoming Bob-ombs back at them with their tennis rackets. Other characters, such as Rouge and Omega, are briefly seen helping Team Mario fending off the Bob-ombs as the spectators evacuate from the stadium; running and screaming for their lives. As a last resort, Bowser and Eggman launches a Bullet Bill from the blimp at them, and Mario knocks it back with his racket, which fires back and hits Wario's Bob-omb launcher. Waluigi is about to retrieve the launcher, but Wario falls and crushes him. The launcher, flipped from the explosion, accidentally fires a Bob-omb at Bowser's blimp, destroying it and revealing Bowser's stock of Bob-ombs below his blimp, shocking Peach, Amy, Big, Toadsworth, Mario, Sonic, Tails, and Luigi.

Bowser's blimp starts to descend out of control and falls toward Wario and Waluigi. Wario and Waluigi attempt to escape, but Bowser crashes to them with the Bob-ombs onboard, causing them to blow up on impact creating a large explosion.

Afterwards, the trio falls unconscious after the blast, and their plan to attack Mario and his friends has completely failed, despite the damage they have done to the stadium. Mario and Luigi are relieved and unharmed, and Mario breaks the fourth wall by saying "Mama mia" at the camera before the scene ends.

Gameplay
Players participate in a tennis game, just as its precedents in the Mario & Sonic Tennis series. To win, the player must score points by hitting the ball into the other side of the court and not making the opponent rebound the ball, just as the traditional way of playing tennis. Players earn 15 points for every shot that is successful and can win the game by earning set, game, and match points by earning 60 points on each game. The amount of set and game points can be set by the player in exhibition mode, but not in tournament mode.

Menu screen controls

 * : The players can use the Joy-Con Stick Stick to scroll through menu items.
 * : The players can select menu items
 * : The players can cancel any action they took
 * : The players can return to game they were playing
 * : Pressing the button once makes a selected character left-handed. Pressing it again makes the character right-handed.
 * : Pressing the button once makes a star for the character. Pressing it again removes the star. Stars are only obtained by beating the Star Cup.

Game controls
The controls here are assumed the normal control style. The control options are changed in the options menu and before the start of a match.
 * : The players can move around and also aim direction of ball they just hit.
 * : The players execute a topspin shot (if the players hit the button twice, they will execute a strong shot). Topspin shots are faster with a higher trajectory than slice shots and the ball's trail is colored red when a topspin shot has been taken.
 * when ball is on the other side of the court: The player will taunt at the opponent. If the animation finishes, the glow around the opponent's racket grows smaller.
 * : The players execute a slice shot (if the players hit the button twice, they will execute a strong shot). Slices are slower with a lower trajectory than topspin shots and the ball's trail is colored blue when a slice shot has been taken.
 * then : The player can lob, which can send the ball flying up in the air. It can fly over the opponents' heads.
 * then : The player can perform a drop shot which is a very weak shot that goes barely past the net. It is performed to deter players who like to go far away from the net.
 * and : The player can perform a flat shot. When the ball is lobbed, a smash point appears and the player can perform a smash shot instead of a flat shot. Flat shots' trails are colored green while smash shots' trails are colored purple.
 * and either  or : The player performs a powerful Offensive Power Shot if power shots are turned on and if the player's racket glows to a certain amount of intensity. The power shot depends on the character. The players also must be in a certain distance or they will perform a defensive power shot instead. Note that any offensive power shots that occur before this still has an effect on the player who will use the power shot.
 * and either  or : The player performs a Defensive Power Shot, which can cover the ball to great distances if power shots are turned on and if the players' racket glows to a certain intensity. This power shot also depends on the characters, but not as much as offensive power shots. Any offensive power shot that has been execute before this will not have any effect on the players if they use the defensive power shot.
 * : The players can cancel charge shots.
 * and either  or : The players can jump towards the ball.
 * : The players can change the camera view. The options are stationary, player, and dynamic.

Exhibition[edit]
Players participating in Item Battle Mode.

Up to four players can participate in this versus mode. The players can choose their characters, a court, and what type of game that they can play. The player can also adjust rules in versus match, such as turning power shots on and off, setting the numbers of games and sets, and choose which character to pair with when playing in doubles. Computer levels can also be set by the player, and they range from easiest to hardest: novice, intermediate, expert, pro, and the unlockable ace difficulty. There are three types of games that the player can play. The content and number of the item boxes depends on the court being played on.
 * Standard Court: The player and the opponent participates in a chosen course with no gimmicks of any kind. The only gimmicks present are the bounce intensity, speed of the ball, and the power shots, if turned on. Standard Courts for any court that is not Peach Dome must be unlocked first by completing the Gimmick Masters tournaments.
 * Gimmick Court: The player participates in the same game as in the court, but with gimmicks that can help or hinder the player, unique to each court. The Peach Dome is the only court that cannot have gimmicks of any sort whatsoever.
 * Item Battle: The player can use special items to help them win against the opponent. To do so, the player must hit an Item Box with the ball and receive a random item, very much like in the Mario Kart series, except that the item received isn't dependent if the player is losing or not.
 * Green Koopa Shell: 3 shells zoom out in straight lines. If the player gets hit by one, they will stumble and lose time, possibly going as far as help the opponent gain a point.
 * Red Koopa Shell: One Red Shell comes out and chases after the opponent. The effect is similar to that of a green shell if contact has been initiated.
 * Mushroom: The Mushroom increases the player's movements for a brief moment of time. It also grows the player back into normal size quicker if they had been shrunk by Lightning.
 * Banana: A stationary banana gets shot out. If it hits the ground, the banana remains there. Slipping on a banana peel also has the same effect as shells.
 * Star: The Star increases the player's abilities and it makes the player invulnerable for a short period of time. It also grows the player back to normal size quicker, if the player was shrunk by Lightning.
 * Lightning: The Lightning strikes the opponents of the court and shrinks them to a tiny size. The opponent's speed, stature, and power will also decrease.
 * Peach Dome Courts: None
 * Luigi's Mansion: 10% higher chance of lightning bolts.
 * Delfino Plaza Court: 10% higher chance of mushrooms.
 * Wario Factory: Twice as many item boxes.
 * Gooper Blooper Court: 10% higher chance of red and green shells.
 * Donkey Kong Jungle Court: 10% higher chance of bananas.
 * Bowser Castle Court: Same as Bowser Castle Gimmick Court.
 * Mario Classic Court: 10% higher chance of stars.


 * Ring Shot: The player scores points by hitting rings to win the game. The player earns the points in the rings by winning the point in the game, which depends on how many rings the player has shot. The losing player will give half of their points to the winning player in charge amount. The amount of ring points needed to win the game ranges from 100, 200, and 500.

Tournament[edit]
Mario pits against opponents in the Planet Cup.

The player pits against simultaneous matches against computer opponents to win the trophy in a cup. The higher the cup level, the harder the computers will get. Once a character has completed Star Cup, the character receives a star ranking, strengthening hitting the ball. This rank also allows the character to participate in the Star Tournament, where the opponents also have the star ranking and are generally more difficult. The player can also participate in a Gimmick Tournament, which, as the name implies, enables the player to participate in Gimmick matches in courts against the computer. Although a Doubles Tournament is available, only one player can participate, forcing the player to be paired with an AI-controlled partner of their choice. Additionally, completing the World Open in Doubles does not grant the character a star ranking, so players must complete the Singles tournaments first to participate in Doubles Star Tournament.

World Open[edit]
These tournaments are held in the Peach Dome court.
 * Mushroom Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals (hard surface)
 * Flower Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 3-set finals (clay surface)
 * Star Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (grass surface)

Gimmick Masters[edit]

 * Fire Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals, held in the Luigi's Mansion, Gooper Blooper, and DK Jungle courts in no particular order
 * Thunder Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals, held in the Delfino Plaza, Wario Factory, and Bowser's Castle or Mario Classic courts in no particular order

Star Tournament[edit]
Just like the World Open, these tournaments are held in the Peach Dome as well. However, as the tournament suggests, CPU opponents are all star characters.
 * Rainbow Cup: 1-set starting round, 1-set semifinals, 3-set finals (hard surface)
 * Moonlight Cup: 1-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (clay surface)
 * Planet Cup: 3-set starting round, 3-set semifinals, 5-set finals (grass surface)

Special Games[edit]
Players participating in "Artist on the Court".

Players have the option to play special games as an alternative to going in tournament or exhibition mode. Up to four players can participate in the special games except for Gooper Blooper Volley and Mecha-Bowser Mayhem, which are only for one player. All courts have specific special games that are unique from one another.
 * Artist On the Court: Players must color a design on a wall using paint balls to complete the minigame. In order to progress and achieve harder levels, the player must complete the designs within the time limit. Designs include Mario, Luigi, Diddy Kong, Bowser and Bowser Jr., and a rainbow of Yoshis, in increasing order of difficulty.
 * Balloon Panic: Players must prevent Klaptraps from bursting their balloons by hitting balls at panels to make them change direction. The game ends when a Klaptrap pops a balloon.
 * Chain-Chomp Challenge: Players must feed a hungry Chain Chomp with balls. Bob-ombs make the Chain Chomp turn red and earn the player two points for every ball, but hitting the Chain Chomp with another Bob-omb will let the Chain Chomp out and waste the player's time with the need to activate a switch. Water balls place angry Chain Chomps back into their normal positions, and put normal Chain Chomps to sleep. The player can wake the Chain Chomp up by smacking a Bob-omb into it. Players can also tamper with other players' progress.
 * Gooper Blooper Volley: Players must rebound hits from a Gooper Blooper in a regular tennis game. However, the player also must avoid rebounding their ball into the gray zone that changes constantly throughout the game. Messing up ends the game.
 * Mecha-Bowser Mayhem: Players must defeat a Mecha Bowser that produces beams of light by swinging its tennis racket. Mecha Bowser can attack the player by breathing fire and shooting Bullet Bills. The game ends when either the player or Mecha Bowser is defeated.
 * Terror Tennis: The players must prevent ghosts from coming out of the paintings and attacking them. They have to earn a certain amount of points before the time runs out in order to proceed to more difficult levels. The player gets more points if they hit the ghost that is just about to come out of the painting.
 * Tic-Tac-Glow: The player must get three Shine Sprites in a row in order to earn points. They can do this by hitting balls to the other side of the court, while hitting the FLUDD icons, in order to spray goop away from the site.
 * Coin Collectors: The player must earn coins that enter the court while avoiding fireballs. They can only move left and right, but they can hit tennis balls to hit the POW block for more coins or the destruction of the fireballs. The player with the most coins wins the game.

Other modes[edit]
The Exhibition records.
 * Continue: When the players select this option, they can resume a previously saved game. Players can save a game during the middle of a match or before a tournament is started. However, any midgame points gained will reset to 0-0. The game can hold up to three continue files.
 * Records: Players can view records on all types of game modes played. If the records are on Exhibition, they can view what character they played and won against. Note that this only applies to beaten computer players by the player shown in a table. The shape of the win depends on the difficulty of the computer (a triangle means novice, a circle means intermediate, a circle with a dot in the middle means expert, a moon means pro, and a star means ace. Plus, a small star icon on the top right corner indicates that the computer was beaten when starred). If the records are on Tournament, the players can view the trophies won in a singles or doubles match with the character the player chosen. In Special Games, the players can view how long and/or how many points they achieved and the difficulty played on.
 * Options: The players can adjust in game settings, such as setting the sound system to mono, stereo, or surround, turning music on and off, turning rumble on and off, and setting control options. Control options can be set to easy, normal, and technical, which differs the controls the players must use. The players can also choose to delete save data, but once it is deleted, it cannot be restored.

Characters[edit]
The character select screen.

A total of 18 characters are playable in Mario Power Tennis, of which 14 are default and the other 4 need to be unlocked before they can be played as. Characters are divided into 6 different play styles, listed below. Although their stats are not visible, each character has slightly different attributes from each other. For instance, Bowser has more power and reach compared to Wario, but Wario has better control, movement, and volleying.
 * All Around: A character that is above average in all categories.
 * Speedy: A character that can get to the ball in time, but lacks raw strength and often reach.
 * Power: A character that can hit the ball with great force, but lacks speed and ball control.
 * Technique: A character that can place the ball on the corners of the net, but can lack speed and power.
 * Tricky: A character that can curve the ball, but often lacks reach.
 * Defense: A character that can easily hit the ball from any position, but lacks power and speed.

"New Play Control!" series[edit]
Box art of the Wii "New Play Control!" version for Mario Power Tennis.

For the Wii version of Mario Power Tennis (via the New Play Control! lineup), the game makes use of the Wii's motion controls instead of the Nintendo GameCube controller (which this specified version cannot be played using the latter). This version includes a tutorial movie to demonstrate how to use the Wii Remote in this game. It is also possible to play this game in 16:9 widescreen mode. Players can choose to play with the Wii Remote only, or with the Wii Remote/Nunchuk combination for advanced control of playable character participants.