For all the genteel imagery it evokes - crisp summer lawns, fresh strawberries and Cliff Richard singalongs - tennis can be a remarkably angry game. Kudos, then, to Mario Tennis Aces for getting you straight to the pure vitriol that spills forth when a fiercely contested point doesn't quite go your way, your racket breaking as an almost impossible-to-block shot tears through it, granting an instant win to your opponent. You cannot be serious.
Mario Tennis has never been overly serious, of course, but Aces might be its sternest - and deepest - offering yet. When played at full pelt, this is hardcore, an electric flurry of shots informed by systems that have been lifted straight from fighting games. After the flimsy Ultra Smash that was such a disappointment when it limped onto the Wii U back in 2015, this feels like something of an about-face, as well as an apology. Quite an effective one it is, too.
And so you have a full tournament mode, a succession of matches across different difficulty tiers where you compete for a variety of cups. So too is there an adventure mode, harking back to the single-player RPG that made GBA entry Power Tour so cherished, and a fine diversion it is too. Here you're taking Mario on a tour of an island, tracking down five Power Stones in what's a nice excuse to face off against five different bosses, those battles interspersed by several challenges that allow you to level up your abilities.
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