Mario Tennis Aces

Mario and Sonc Tennis Aces
Mario and Sonic Tennis Aces is a multiplayer sports game for the Nintendo Switch and the eighth installment in the Mario and Sonic Tennis series. It is also the first game in the series since Mario Tennis: Power Tour on the Game Boy Advance to feature a story mode, in which Mario must advance through a number of missions and stop a powerful tennis racket, Lucien, from destroying the Kingdom of Bask, the game's setting. While the gameplay engine appears to be based on that of Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, it refines the traditional tennis gameplay of the series by introducing several new techniques. One of the prime features in this game is an energy gauge which can be charged throughout the course of a match by rallying the ball. Energy grants the ability to slow down the time during a match in order to catch a ball more easily. Under certain conditions, it can also be used to stop time and launch the ball from a first-person perspective to the other side of the court through Zone Shots and Special Shots. These are powerful types of shots that can damage or break the opponent's racket if not countered correctly.

The game capitalizes on online features, mostly through tournaments and co-op challenges, where players can participate to unlock exclusive content. Since release, the game has been updated with new playable characters, story mode levels, modes of play and tournament features, most notably a rank classification.

As in a game of tennis, players have to hit the ball back and forth until one side misses it. In normal matches, players who earn a successful shot score 15 points; at 40 points, players earn a game point, and have to score another successful shot in order to win the game. A deuce commences if both sides are tied at 40 points, where they need to score a two-point advantage to win the game. There are two games in one set, with the number of sets depending on the rules of the match. A tiebreaker is used to settle the match if the players are constantly tied throughout the match. In tiebreakers, players score one point for each successful shot. Seven points are required to win the tiebreaker and, by extension, the match. If players obtain a 6-point tie, they need a two-point lead in order to win.

Matches can be played in singles, involving only two players, or doubles, involving two pairs of players. In every match, there is a server and a receiver, who switch sides at the start of every game. The server has to launch the ball on the opposite side of the court, otherwise it will be a fault. Two consecutive faults (double fault) will cause the opponent to score. The speed of the ball is briefly displayed at the top of the screen when it gets served. The ball has to stay within the boundaries of the field; if it lands out of it, the opponent will score. Landing the ball on the court's sidelines has the same effect in singles matches, but this is allowed in doubles.

Special features
Characters have an energy gauge that can be used to perform Zone Shots, Zone Speed, or Special Shots.[8]  The energy gauge can be increased by simple rallies, by charging shots, or by performing Trick Shots, which require proper timing to hit the ball back. Zone Shots can be performed upon reaching a rotating star point on the ground, and allow the player to aim their shot anywhere on the court using motion controls. The longer they take to aim, the more energy it depletes. When energy is fully depleted while in a Zone Shot, the stroke loses form, resulting the ball flying high in the air. Zone Speed allows the player to slow down time to allow them to reach a far-off shot in time. Special Shots can be performed from anywhere on the court and require a full energy gauge. Zone Shots and Special Shots are able to damage rackets. Rackets can withstand three Zone Shots or one Special Shot before breaking, and after being broken they are replaced with a new one, forcing the player to retire when they no longer have any usable racket.[2]  With proper stroke timing, these shots can be blocked, increasing the character's energy gauge and protecting their racket from damage.

In doubles, each pair shares one energy gauge, and if a player's racket breaks during a rally, that player's team immediately loses the point. Also in doubles, each player has their own racket counter. When playing in doubles, the match will end if just one player loses all of their rackets (no matter how many rackets that player's teammate has remaining) and that player's team immediately loses. Exclusive to doubles, the result screen also shows X marks in the sections where a player's racket took damage, and the X marks are colored as appropriate to show which opponent did the damage to that player's racket.

Other than the base style of gameplay, the game also includes a "simple rules" mode which excludes the new types of shots.

Types of shots
Shots can be charged to increase their power by pressing their corresponding button early before the player hits the ball. Max Charges result in powerful, quick shots that can push the opponent back. These can be countered with certain shots to reduce the push. In matches with standard rules, charging up a shot confers the player energy which can be used to perform Zone Shots and Special Shots. However, simple rules only allow basic tennis shots.

Adventure Mode acts as the game's story mode, featuring cutscenes and levels like a typical Mario game. It is revealed that the game takes place in the Kingdom of Bask, which was destroyed in ancient times by a powerful tennis racket named Lucien. After being discovered and stolen from the Bask Ruins by Wario and Waluigi, Lucien is rewakened and proceeds to possess them and Luigi during a match on Marina Stadium. Lucien's motivation is to seek five Power Stones scattered throughout the kingdom, which conceal his true power. Under the guidance of Aster, a mysterious voice, Mario sets forth to retrieve the five Power Stones before Lucien and defeat him once and for all. On his journey, he must complete various missions and level up to become stronger.

Toad accompanies Mario throughout the jorney, acting as his spokesperson, as Mario does not talk. After selecting a mission on the map, a short dialogue between Toad and other involved parties will commence, then the player can begin the mission. Mario can exit to the world map or (as of version 1.2.0) retry the mission if the player pauses or fails it.

For more information about this mode's contents, see below.

Tournament
Tournaments are successions of matches (here also called rounds) in which the player can challenge computer opponents or online worldwide opponents in an 8-player bracket. They return from previous Mario Tennis games after being absent in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. Tournament matches feature up to three sets, each divided into two games. If players are tied by the end of these sets, there will be a tiebreaker that decides the winner of the match.

In computer tournaments, the player can choose to compete for the Mushroom, Flower, and Star Cups, each representing a different difficulty level. Computer tournaments consist of one preliminary round, semifinals, and finals. Each cup has a number of possible opponents that are selected from the game's base roster; in other words, they cannot be characters added after the game's release or characters in alternate costumes. The character used for winning one of these cups receives a small crown next to their name and under their icon on the character selection screen of that cup.

In this mode, players can use motion controls to play tennis. This mode is played solely with the left or right JoyCon, which may be chosen to suit the player's handedness. During matches, the camera is positioned lower and closer to the character than usual. There are multiple features in Swing Mode, all of which only allow simple tennis rules (i.e. no Zone Shots, Special Shots or Zone Speed).

Regular Ball
Matches can be played with a regular ball, just like in Free Play. Most rule options from Free Play are also present here, though the player cannot adjust the Play Style and, by extension, the KO Loss. One added option is to activate the challenge system, wherein the player is allowed to challenge the decision that the ball was shot out of the court. Up to four local players can join a match in Swing Mode.

While rallying a ball, players can hit it a bit early to send it towards the corner on the opposite side from their racket (pull shot) or a bit late to send it on towards the corner on the same side as their racket (push shot). If the ball is hit too early or too late, it will be sent at a low speed (similarly to leap shots), allowing the opponent to strike it with a flat shot and return it faster than usual.

If players have enabled the challenge system, they will be allowed to challenge whether the ball bounced very close to the court's bounds and was called out by the judge. During a challenge, the camera zooms into the spot where the ball bounced, showing precisely if it landed in or out of the court. If the ball has merely touched the boundary line, it is considered to be in the court. If the challenge is successful, the call will be overturned and the opponent will receive no points, but if it is not, the player will lose one challenge. The player can incorrectly challenge a call three times, after which they can no longer challenge a call during a match.

Big Ball
Matches can also be played with a large-sized ball, which is slower and easier to hit than a regular ball. All basic rules and features seen in regular ball matches apply here.

Special Game
In this feature, players can play the Boo Hunt minigame both cooperatively and competitively. Players can earn different high scores for each mode of play. In cooperative mode, they also receive a rank based on their high score. By pressing the  or  button while highlighting a minigame, players can view the rules of that minigame.

Rally Challenge
Similarly to Mega Ball Rally from Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, players have to rally a ball as long as possible. The game can be played with up to four players.

The ball starts out large-sized and moves slowly. With every 10 rallies, the ball's size decreases while its speed increases, changing colors to reflect this. If the ball lands on the sidelines of the court, it is not considered out, even if the game is played in singles. The game is over once one of the players/teams misses the ball. No high scores are recorded for this feature.

Change Number of Players
This feature enables secondary players to join or leave the game by synchronizing different JoyCons with the game.

Settings
In the Settings, the player can adjust miscellaneous functions in the game. These include:
 * enabling or disabling music during matches.
 * enabling or disabling Toad commentary during tournament matches.
 * displaying the ball speed in kilometers per hour or miles per hour.
 * player 1 default settings:
 * changing the handedness of the playable character.
 * enabling or disabling gyroscope controls for Zone Shots and Special Shots.
 * use normal or inverted horizontal camera control during Zone Shots and Special Shots.
 * use normal or inverted vertical camera control during Zone Shots and Special Shots.
 * change controls for Trick Shots.
 * change trigger controls for Zone Shots and Zone Speed.
 * change trigger controls for Special Shots and Cancel Charges.

Team Mario

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Wario
 * Walugi
 * Peach
 * Daisy
 * Rosalina
 * Toad
 * Toadette
 * Bowser
 * Bowser Jr
 * Boo
 * Yoshi
 * Donkey Kong
 * Spike
 * Chain Chomp
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Blooper
 * Diddy Kong
 * Birdo
 * Koopa Paratroopa
 * Shy Guy
 * Petey Piranha
 * Luma
 * Boom Boom
 * Pauline
 * Kamek
 * Dry Bones

Team Sonic

 * Sonic
 * Tails
 * Knuckles
 * Amy
 * Shadow
 * Rouge
 * Silver
 * Metal Sonic
 * Blaze
 * Vector
 * Espio
 * Cream
 * Charmy
 * Big
 * Sticks
 * Vector
 * Jet
 * Wave
 * Storm
 * Omega
 * Tails Doll
 * Metal Knuckles