Genre: Sports

Year Released:1985 (NES). Also made an appearance in Animal Crossing (2002, Gamecube) and as Tennis-e (2002, GBA e-Reader).

Number of Players:1-2 simultaneously

Mario Cameo Appearance: Mario sits in the ref's chair and calls out advantages, scores, etc.

Turns out Mario Tennis wasn't the first time he took to the court. Well, even if he doesn't actually play, you can play against the computer or a friend to make your way to the top!

Graphics: Pretty simple, though it's not like the NES was exactly a graphics powerhouse. The court isn't terribly detailed, and the players are just different-colored versions of the same sprite. Still, not bad for 1985.

Play Control: Easy enough to control. Just use the control pad to move and A and B to serve and hit the ball. It's a little frustrating when a return it looks like you'll hit goes sailing past you, though.

Sound: Nothing special in this department. A few small music samples and simplistic sounds.

Challenge: Once you get the hang of the controls, you've still got a decent challenge. You can set the computer players to six different levels of difficulty, and you can play singles or doubles matches. Try playing with a friend.

The Bottom Line: This is where Nintendo sports games started, folks. It's a decent game and a fun diversion. If you want to try it out, you can try to find an original copy, rent Animal Crossing and try to get it, or buy a GBA e-Reader and the Tennis-e card pack. The choice is yours.

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