Mario Tennis Open

 3DS
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 135 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 135
  2. Mixed: 51 out of 135
  3. Negative: 19 out of 135
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  1. absol1082
    Jul 23, 2012
    5
    Nintendo's latest entry in the mario tennis is quite disappointing. the game is very light on content, i feel that nintendo made the gameplay a little to simplistic for experienced players, but very welcoming no newbies. but overtime the game gets way too repetitive due to the lack of extra game modes.
  2. Svampriket_se
    May 26, 2012
    5
    Two of the previous Mario Tennis titles (the GBA one and the GC one) are firmly on my list over the 50 best games of all time. That should give you an idea of how much I love this series, and how much I was looking forward to playing this game. But sadly, this is the biggest Nintendo disappointment I've had since Wave Race: Blue Storm. The only thing you really need to know about this gameTwo of the previous Mario Tennis titles (the GBA one and the GC one) are firmly on my list over the 50 best games of all time. That should give you an idea of how much I love this series, and how much I was looking forward to playing this game. But sadly, this is the biggest Nintendo disappointment I've had since Wave Race: Blue Storm. The only thing you really need to know about this game is that the players are randomly dealt super shots. So-called "chance areas" pop up randomly on the court, and if you stand in that circle when hitting the ball, you'll pull off a super shot. So every match I've played both offline and online has pretty much been a game of luck, where the person who gets the smash shot first wins that point. It's more about hoping you get the right areas before your opponent does, than about actually setting up your own shots with skill. And it ruins the game for me. Now, there are som redeeming qualities about the game. For example, the mini games are alright. And collecting better gear is quite addictive since you really notice the difference when you've made a big upgrade. You need to actually play the game in order to unlock them, though. And playing the game just isn't that much fun. Mario Tennis just went from Mario Kart competition, to Mario Party competition. And as long as you care about winning, it won't be much fun at all. You'll just become irritated when your opponent gets his/hers third smash circle in a row, while you get nothing. And when you're the one getting the smash circle, winning isn't satisfying since you know it's just luck and random chance. Mario Tennis Open is a huge disappointment, for sure.… Expand
  3. Nintenfan
    May 29, 2012
    6
    By all means this is a great tennis game.... is it a great mario tennis game however? No

    It was rushed and there is a lack of uniqueness which is disappointing.
  4. JDConspirator
    Jul 27, 2012
    7
    Mario Tennis Open has great pick up and play gameplay. The rapid succesion of powerful shots make tennis a hell of a lot more thrilling than in reality. This is reinforced with Mario specific trinkets and powerups that keep the game pulsing consistently. The locations are decent too, with a lovely SMG themed court with the infectious music to boot. However, not everything feelsMario Tennis Open has great pick up and play gameplay. The rapid succesion of powerful shots make tennis a hell of a lot more thrilling than in reality. This is reinforced with Mario specific trinkets and powerups that keep the game pulsing consistently. The locations are decent too, with a lovely SMG themed court with the infectious music to boot. However, not everything feels imaginatively incorporated. Most courts look generic with primary colours giving way to more generic tennis court environments. Also the absence of customisation beyond your Mii downplays the imaginative vibes the game gives off. I suppose the days of Bowser dressing in a Mario T-shirt with Toad Slippers are yet to come. Also the same powers are used by every player, with no specific powers for individual characters. Modes are also meagre, though these convey the pick up and play appeal. None of these issues detract from the core experience though, as Mario Tennis Open is still fast and plenty of fun to enjoy alone or with friends via multiplayer and Streetpass.… Expand
  5. funkydoodycool
    Mar 18, 2016
    7
    A decent enough Tennis game.

    I've never cared much for Tennis in real life or videogames, but saw an offer on this game and thought I'd give it a go. It's fun in itself, but suffers in some ways. The controls are marked on the touch screen and can be tapped there for something of an automatic gameplay mode. Markings on the court of particular colours can be translated to more    A decent enough Tennis game.

    I've never cared much for Tennis in real life or videogames, but saw an offer on this game and thought I'd give it a go. It's fun in itself, but suffers in some ways.

    The controls are marked on the touch screen and can be tapped there for something of an automatic gameplay mode. Markings on the court of particular colours can be translated to more powerful shots by matching that colour to the type of shot you make. Easy peasy on the touch screen, but harder to translate to the buttons if you're playing it more traditionally.

    All in all I found the game quite boring, and regret buying it. It's good for wasting a few minutes here and there, but with Mario Golf, or indeed New Super Mario Bros 2 or 3D land available on the console for some light Mario-related fun, there is no place for this besides for Tennis fans.    … Expand
  6. birdman3
    Mar 13, 2015
    7
    Mario Tennis Open brings nothing new really to the mix of Mario Tennis games, but it still packs solid gameplay mechanics. I think I would rate the game higher if I hadn't played the crud out of Mario Tennis for GBC back in the day; I was surprised to find that my old tactics and skills still worked in this iteration, but that also caused me to lose interest quicker because I felt like I'dMario Tennis Open brings nothing new really to the mix of Mario Tennis games, but it still packs solid gameplay mechanics. I think I would rate the game higher if I hadn't played the crud out of Mario Tennis for GBC back in the day; I was surprised to find that my old tactics and skills still worked in this iteration, but that also caused me to lose interest quicker because I felt like I'd already played this game before.… Expand
  7. GoombaJMR
    Jul 4, 2015
    7
    There aren't that many things that are bad about this game in the first place. This is a tennis game, and only a tennis game. Tennis is a game of skill, but sometimes there are times you get lucky. This game may get opponents slightly lucky and you frustrated, but there are many techniques you should learn to stop it. Many people here didn't experience all the characters on the roster andThere aren't that many things that are bad about this game in the first place. This is a tennis game, and only a tennis game. Tennis is a game of skill, but sometimes there are times you get lucky. This game may get opponents slightly lucky and you frustrated, but there are many techniques you should learn to stop it. Many people here didn't experience all the characters on the roster and find out which one fits them the best. I use the boo, as its spin can reject and trick every AI/Online enemy I meet as they try to slam shot me. slamming is not as OP as the people in the other reviews say. If they do that sort of thing to you, all you need to do is to press r and get it back, assuming your reaction is good enough. There are 8 cups, giving you about 3 or more hours of tournament, but the need for making more characters a star character(beat #4), getting new things for the clubroom, and special games greatly extends the game's gameplay hours to any time you'd want. I currently have 15 hours on this game. Unfortunately, there is one problem with the online, as not many people aren't online playing, you may have a hard time finding a match! Although the final score is a 7.5, I have to take it down to a 7 on metacritic because of the low quality of music (the music is good, but the quality itself is bad... very bad)

    Gameplay: 8/10
    Story: N/A
    Music: 7.5/10
    Presentation: 8/10
    Length: 7.5/10
    Overall: 7.5/10    … Expand
  8. GERCharon
    Feb 2, 2014
    6
    I adored the GBC-Version of Mario Tennis and gave this one a try. The game looks really good and the actual gameplay feels like the N64 Version. You can unlock some additional Nintendo characters and you can buy new gear for your Mii, who is a playable character, too.
    Since there is no story-mode like in the GBC-Version (which was so perfect and made it one of my favourite GBC games), you    I adored the GBC-Version of Mario Tennis and gave this one a try. The game looks really good and the actual gameplay feels like the N64 Version. You can unlock some additional Nintendo characters and you can buy new gear for your Mii, who is a playable character, too.
    Since there is no story-mode like in the GBC-Version (which was so perfect and made it one of my favourite GBC games), you will quickly find the singleplayer boring. You can play Single or Double with an AI-controlled partner. Additionally, there are some minigames in which you can earn coins. These coins are needed to buy some equipment for your Mii. I found myself relatively early having unlocked all cool unlockables and quickly loosing the fun of completing each tournament with each character.

    So far it sounds quite disappointing, but the game's true strength is its multiplayer. First, it features Download play, which I totally love. Second, online multiplayer is quite ok, too (as long as you don't try to play with your friends). Sadly you can only play Tiebreaks, there.

    I wouldn't give much points for the singleplayer experience but the multiplayer kind of saves the game in my opinion. Still, there could be much more cool unlockables, modes, courts, and characters (the roster is quite big, but there are a lot of different coloured Yoshis, wow!). The music is mostly some reworked stuff from the GBC title, which is kind of boring. I would have liked something new.    … Expand
  9. Danbliz
    Jul 14, 2015
    6
    No aporta nada con respecto a las versiones anteriores. Es jugable pero se extraña un modo historia en el cual nuestro personaje iba subiendo en el ranking y avanzando en los torneos. Si bien la idea era hacer un juego arcade y fácil de jugar creo que es momento de aportarle cosas de simulador.
  10. EpicLadySponge
    Jul 13, 2016
    7
    If anything, Mario Tennis Open should be more majestic and fun than it already is. Instead, we just only get limited of that. The fun will just only come in the first 30 minutes. Same with the majestic.
  11. Fifa20Legacy_No
    Mar 28, 2020
    5
    Mario Tennis Open is a mixed bag - it's got a great base but misses a lot of stuff from older releases (like the GBA version).

    The design of the game (e.g. themes, characters, controls) is good. It's simple to learn, more difficult to master. And the addition of multiplayer / online modes adds either a friendly or competitive aspect to the game. But for single player, it's VERY    Mario Tennis Open is a mixed bag - it's got a great base but misses a lot of stuff from older releases (like the GBA version).

    The design of the game (e.g. themes, characters, controls) is good. It's simple to learn, more difficult to master. And the addition of multiplayer / online modes adds either a friendly or competitive aspect to the game. But for single player, it's VERY incomplete.

    Back in Power Tour (GBA), you had a full story (RPG Tennis) mode. You chose from 2 characters (Ace or Clay) and worked your way through the Academy. Yes, most of the game was Tennis, but you Levelled up, and even could do Training. If you wanted a quick match, there was Exhibition, and you could replay minigames you've completed. And, you could set the difficulty of the story.

    Knowing that Nintendo re-released other GBA titles (e.g. Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga) for the 3DS (and enhanced them), I would've expected them to do the same with Power Tour. Maybe add more story elements, new worlds, power shots, mini games. But, it seems that hasn't gone to plan. Maybe the opposite occurs.

    Now instead of a full story mode, you've got a tournament mode which is only playing matches against Mario Characters. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not enough. Also, they forgot the difficulty setting. So, us Mario veterans are left feeling unimpressed by the overly easy Cups. At least, though, the mode is polished, and keeps us entertained for a short while.

    Exhibition is exhibition. Nothing you can really do about that (other than a character roster upgrade, which fortunately has been done). Minigames look fun - but there's only FOUR, and just one of them takes place off the tennis court. It becomes too repetitive after awhile; rather than trying something different (like Training), you're just playing Tennis with a twist. Yes, the game is a Tennis game, but side-games would make it way more interesting.

    Gameplay mechanics are good (as usual) except for the Chance Shots which just seem too random. I would understand if the Chances came at the right time, at the right place (e.g. topspin right, slice left) but unfortunately, it's random. Think Mario Party, but for Tennis.

    Have they added anything different? Yes, a "Club Room" where you can play dress-up with a Mii of your choice. But there's nothing incredibly fun about spending coins just to give your Mii a new pink tennis skirt, for example. It may boost stats, but it doesn't match the old RPG-style mechanics. Instead, they should have considered using dress-up as a bonus, on top of the original game, not to improve your player's performance.

    It's not all bad though. While the game is a bit incomplete and lacking in some elements, it has a solid base and friendly design, tailoring the game towards newcomers. The physics of the game are great (as with most Nintendo games), and it's easy to pick up and play.

    Overall, I'd say a 5/10 is reasonable. If you want a casual, social tennis game to play with friends, and they all play 3DS, it's enough reason to buy Mario Tennis Open. But if you want an interesting, enjoyable game, go back to the GBA - it's still fun nearly 15 years after its release.    … Expand
  12. Larxi
    Feb 3, 2023
    7
    Título correcto y divertido de la saga de tenis de Mario y compañía. Hace un buen uso del 3D de la consola, la jugabilidad es buena y adictiva, tenemos un buen elenco de personajes a elegir y buenas modalidades de juego aunque se queda algo corto en cuanto al modo un jugador. La dificultad es ajustada y hay varios enfrentamientos que hacen sudar la gota gorda y los minijuegos que tiene sonTítulo correcto y divertido de la saga de tenis de Mario y compañía. Hace un buen uso del 3D de la consola, la jugabilidad es buena y adictiva, tenemos un buen elenco de personajes a elegir y buenas modalidades de juego aunque se queda algo corto en cuanto al modo un jugador. La dificultad es ajustada y hay varios enfrentamientos que hacen sudar la gota gorda y los minijuegos que tiene son divertidos. Es un título correcto que podría ser mejor y tener más contenido pero prefirieron apostar por algo sencillo y cómodo.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best 3DS Game of 2012
9
#9 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2012
13
#13 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 58 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 58
  3. Negative: 1 out of 58
  1. Level7.nu
    Aug 3, 2012
    50
    A somewhat simplified version of earlier games of the series. There are some fun mini games and unlockables, but overall there's distinct a lack of content. And where is is the challenge?
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  2. Destructoid
    Aug 2, 2012
    75
    Mario Tennis Open feels a bit lifeless at first, simply because it doesn't give any other incentive for playing than to keep unlocking things and to just play more tennis.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 29, 2012
    70
    Seemingly average tennis arcade shows up as a perfectly playable and highly addictive, especially in multiplayer mode. [July 2012]
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