Mario Tennis: Power Tour

Mario Tennis: Power Tour
Developer	Camelot
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Game Boy Advance, Wii U Virtual Console
Release Date	Game Boy Advance JP September 13, 2005 EU November 18, 2005 AU December 1, 2005 US December 5, 2005 Wii U Virtual Console JP April 30, 2014 EU June 26, 2014 US July 3, 2014
Rating	ESRB: E

Mario Tennis: Power Tour (known as Mario Tennis Advance in Japan and as Mario Power Tennis in Europe) is a Mario-based tennis game that was released for the Game Boy Advance and is a sequel to Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color.

Story

The game's story mode, known as Power Tour, follows a player character known as Clay (if male) or Ace (if female) who has recently enrolled in the Royal Tennis Academy. The character is intrigued by reports of mysterious masked figures who have been challenging the school's high-ranking tennis players, and the decision is made by the player to work their way to the ranks in order to challenge these mysterious foes and learn their identities.

Gameplay

Power Tour modifies the tennis gameplay in a way similar to Power Tennis with the addition of Power Shots. The game's main feature is the Power Tour mode. As in the preceding game (and the accompanying Mario Golf handhelds), the Power Tour mode implements a series of RPG elements into the gameplay. The player builds up experience from tennis matches which can boost the character's skills. It is also possible to explore the school and talk to other characters between matches. As the game is made by Camelot, the game has some stylistic influence from Camelot's actual Game Boy Advance RPG, Golden Sun, and there is a more direct shout-out in that some Power Shot effects resemble Psynergy.

The game also contains the more casual Exhibition Mode, where the Mario characters are playable, as well as the usual collection of minigames. Power Tour also deviates from the previous Mario Tennis and Mario Golf games in that, while it acts as a handheld counterpart for Mario Power Tennis, the two games feature no connectivity.

Playable Characters

Clay and Ace are the main playable characters who the player must choose between in Power Tour mode, and they are also playable in Exhibition Mode. The other starting players of Exhibition Mode are the game's only playable Mario characters:

• Mario
• Princess Peach
• Luigi
• Waluigi
• Donkey Kong
• Bowser

Additionally, various original characters from the game can be unlocked as playable characters.

Legacy

Ports/Remakes

• In 2014, it was released for download on the Wii U as part of the Wii U Virtual Console.

Sequels

It was followed up years later by Mario Tennis Open for the Nintendo 3DS. That installment leaves behind the RPG elements in favor of something closer to the style employed by the console sports games.