Mario Power Tennis - Reception

Reception

Mario Power Tennis enjoyed a generally positive reception, with reviewers complimenting the variety of play and multiple minigames available. GameSpy's Raymond Padilla lauded the game's use of characters and the player categories, stating "When you put it all together, you have a broad cast of characters, each of whom offers a different feel." Despite this, the Gimmick courts were labeled by Matt Casamassina as a "distraction" and "annoyance", although he acknowledged that some courts were better than others. Additionally, Nintendo World Report's Michael Cole thought that most players would revert back to standard courts "after being 'unfairly defeated' by ghosts, paint, or some other trap." Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell welcomed Power Tennis's style, which he said emphasised gameplay over simulation and realism. When comparing the game to its predecessor, reviewers praised Power Tennis for its incorporation of the Mario franchise in the different scenarios and courts.

The gameplay features introduced to the game received a mixed response. IGN noted that the Special Games varied in quality between different games, with Casamassina commenting that "they certainly don't make or break the experience." The game's "Power Shots" was also met with an ambivalent reaction—the shot themselves were praised for adding strategy and character, although GameSpot's Ryan Davis commented that "it would have been nice if you could just skip past the animations and keep the wild moves." In general, the game's multiplayer modes were more popular than single-player, with the "predictable and basic" artificial intelligence contributing to a low difficulty level at times. GameSpy noted how the number of options and variables enhanced the multiplayer experience, and commented that "The game is very good on its own, but it excels when you bring friends into the mix." The mechanics of the tennis gameplay were also popular, with reviewers lauding the game's accessibility as well as its depth relating to the variety of shots available and how the position of the character affects the contact with the ball.

Most critics praised Power Tennis's presentation, with reviewers noting the game's opening sequence especially. Nintendo World Report complimented the level of detail given to the themed locations and character animations, stating that it " even the Mario Kart series to shame." IGN generally shared this view, although they criticised the background animations, commenting that "The crowds in particular are a repeating blob of the same sprites over and over". On the other hand, the audio received a mediocre response, despite the comical voice acting. Power Tennis sold 139,000 copies during its first week of release in Japan, and sold 377,000 copies altogether in the country from release to December 31, 2006. Power Tennis had sold 296,893 units in North America by January 31, 2005. The game was at fifth position in the Australian GameCube sales charts from October 16 to October 29, 2005.

In spite of the mostly positive reception the Nintendo GameCube version held, the reception for the Wii remake was mixed. It holds an average score of 65/100 and 69.36% at Metacritic and Game Rankings respectively. While it has been praised for the original game's graphics holding up to current Wii games, many editors have found fault in the controls. IGN editor Mark Bozon criticized its motion controls, describing them as imprecise, for ruining a "great game". X-Play editor Dana Vinson similarly disliked the controls, also describing the act of releasing GameCube titles for the Wii with motion controls as being lazy. GamePro editor Dave Rudden criticized the game for adding multiple moves into Wii Remote motions, commenting that it would have to be "twice as responsive" for it to work. Eurogamer editor Oli Welsh criticized both the inaccurate controls and limited improvements, stating that Wii Sports is a superior alternative. While GameDaily editor Robert Workman criticized the motion controls, he stated that everything else works. He also describes it as being mildly enjoyable with three other friends.

In spite of the negative reception, the Wii version has had some positive reception. While Official Nintendo Magazine UK editor Tom East similarly bemoaned the motion controls, he felt that the multiplayer still held up, as it becomes balanced since the other players would have the same problems with the controls. 1UP.com editor Justin Haywald agreed, stating that while it made single player modes difficult, the game was meant to be played with friends. Game Informer editor Matt Helgeson, however, found the motion controls to be good, commenting that other developers should learn from Nintendo. In spite of this, fellow Game Informer editor Matthew Kato described the controls as being only so-so. GameShark editor Danielle Riendeau, however, described the controls as excellent, though adding that it occasionally misreads her shots. In the first four days of the Wii version's release in Japan, Mario Power Tennis sold 56,000 copies. By January 3, 2010, it has sold 205,070 copies in Japan.