The March 8 Nintendo Direct delivered a lot of information on Mario Tennis Aces including its release date, new characters and details on the new mechanics inthe latest installment of the Mario Tennis franchise.
More characters were confirmed for Mario Tennis Aces including franchise staples like Yoshi, Peach, Daisy, Bowser, Bowser Jr. Donkey Kong, Boo and Toad, and new additions in Toadette, Rosalina and even Chain Chomp. These additions, along with already announced characters Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi, bring the current roster size to 15.
Playstyle categories were also revealed in the presentation. Mario, Luigi, Daisy are in the All-Around group, Bowser Jr., and Waluigi make up the Defensive group, Peach and Toadette are in the Technical group, Yoshi and Toad are in the Speedy group, Boo and Rosalina are in the Tricky group, and Chain Chomp, Bowser, Wario and Donkey Kong in the Powerful group.
New features on court make playing tennis in Mario Tennis Aces deeper than ever before. The first notable feature is the Zone Shot, which lets players pinpoint the spot they want to hit the ball using the motion control on the Switch.
Using the Zone Shot can damage your opponent's racket, and if you or your opponent take three hits to the racket it breaks for an automatic loss. However, the Zone Shot can be blocked so it won't automatically damage a racket.
Zone Speed is a special defensive move that allows a player to slow down time to catch up to a ball. This and the Zone Shot can't be spammed because the moves depend on your Energy Gauge. The longer a rally goes, the more the Energy Gauge fills up.
A Trick Shot fills up the Energy Gauge too, but even faster. It's a tricky (get it?) technique and if you don't get the timing right you will be punished but master this move and you can turn the tide of battle.
The Special Shot is a character's ultimate strike. This move uses the most energy but can destroy the opponent's racket in one hit. It can be blocked, however, so be careful of a counter strike.
Players can set a match to Simple Rules to play some classic Mario Tennis action with no Special Shots or Zone Shots. The Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controller can also be used like a racket to really get players involved in every match.
Online tournaments will be a regular part of Mario Tennis Aces and it will be a place where players can get new clothes and even new characters. The Nintendo Direct had Koopa Troopa in a silhouette so you know he's going to be one of the first to be released.
Mario Tennis Aces will release for Nintendo Switch on June 22.
So what do you think of the upcoming Mario Tennis game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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