Mario Tennis used to be a JRPG, and I miss those days

A friendly tennis match between two brothers sounds normal, but what happens when you throw Bowser into the mix? How can Goombas play baseball when they have no arms? Why is there lava on a golf course? The sports titles are fantastic party games that mix familiar real-world activities with the cartoony fantasy of the core series. But hidden on handhelds are some engaging single-player, story-driven Mario sports game that hardly feels like the Mushroom Kingdom at all until towards the end. They may have been short-lived, but Camelot! Software Planning's JRPG style Mario Tennis and Mario Golf games on Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance are neat little relics from Mario history.

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Mario meets the tennis prince

Sports games in general are meant to function as multiplayer experiences. It is undoubtedly Mario himself who set that standard. Ever since then Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64, the Mario sports titles have filled the niche of “multiplayer games for when the host of the party has not Mario Kart.” But while the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance had multiplayer capabilities, the necessity for each player to have their own system and copy of the game made planning a game night with friends more difficult than home consoles did. But the Game Boy was a sales success, so Nintendo knew it would be a hit to release games as casual as tennis and golf. But without that simple multiplayer attraction, much of the appeal of a sports or tennis game would be gone. Even Pokémon had a strong single player campaign to encourage kids without link cables to buy a copy. And then Camelot added a story mode.

Two twists made the early portable Mario Tennis and Mario Golf campaigns so interesting: their JRPG-inspired stat building system, and that the story wasn't about the main thing Mario thrown at all. Instead, a promising youngster has started attending a special academy for talented golfers or tennis players and they aim to rise through the ranks. While Mario and friends await the player's challenge after becoming the school's champion, roughly 90% of the adventure will focus on an all-original cast of anime teenagers.

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The Game Boy Advance versions, Mario Tennis: Power Tour and Mario Golf: Advance Tourare even direct sequels to the Game Boy games, bringing continuity to this little corner of Mario's world. But as adorable as Royal Tennis Academy and Marion Clubhouse are, they feel more like your typical sports anime than any of the game's most recognizable series. There are occasional comic book references before the red man himself appears in the flesh – the Game Boy Advance titles had some really sweet ones Mario-themed mini-games and courses – but you can't help but wonder if Camelot was planning a standalone game before Nintendo asked them to stick everyone's favorite plumber in it.

The stories themselves aren't that deep, and most of the new characters don't have much to do either. IN Mario Tennis the player's doubles partner is a completely different character based on whether they play as a boy or girl rather than just being the other playable main character, but they don't have much characterization outside of their animations during a tennis match. The Game Boy Advance duo are better at characterization, and the continuity between them and their predecessors makes you care when they reference the few memorable characters from the originals.

Overall, each of the four games tells simple stories about the new kid in town climbing the ranks to become the strongest tennis player or golfer. But the presentation does a lot of the heavy lifting anyway, with good character design and fun dialogue. They are bog-standard shōnen sports stories with a bit of Mario style, but no one picks up a sports bet – or really, a Mario game – for the story.

Mario Sports Games developed by Camelot! Software planning

The Secret Third Mario RPG series

Image via Nintendo

While the early Mario Golf and Mario Tennis games have useful stories for their campaigns, Camelot's RPG pedigree really shines through in the additional gameplay mechanics. The Golden sun developers gave each of the games a level-up and stat system, where the player can choose which stats they want to level up after winning matches or mini-games. Uniquely, if the player goes too many levels without upgrading a certain stat, that stat will actually begin to decay. Sports fans will be impressed by how the stats correlate to how the sport plays in real life, rather than just a simple “power” or “speed” stat.

For those who don't know the ins and outs of tennis or golf going in, the game has you covered. Each has a surprisingly detailed in-game dictionary that explains the sport's features. This way, you are more prepared when choosing which racket or golf club to use based on the composition of the course or how much sand is on the golf course.

Image via Nintendo

While Camelot was careful to ensure that the sports had true-to-life mechanics, these are still Mario game. And while the Mushroom Kingdom's denizens may not appear until the end, the wacky fantasy tropes still shine through in the minigames and clothing. Mario Tennis admittedly remains fairly mundane until after hitting the big tournament arc near the end, but Power Tour and that Golf games have lots of exposition and flavor text establishing that these things happen in Mario universe. The Game Boy Advance titles also use their updated graphics to really go all in on the game Mario theme with the training mini-games and unique courses. And Power Tour takes another page out Prince of Tennis playbook with the addition of power shots: tennis games that defy the laws of physics to aid offense and defense. After all, there is nothing more typical JRPG than a limit break.

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A brilliant idea… That Nintendo has no reason to replicate

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The recently released Mario tennis fever on the Nintendo Switch 2 has received generally good reviews from critics, although a common problem is that the single-player options are somewhat shallow. Many fans who grew up playing the original handheld Mario Tennis and Mario Golf games may be inclined to agree. But as sweet as the story modes were, the main focus of the franchise's sports games has always been multiplayer. While more recent entries have included campaigns, the advent of wi-fi means it's easier than ever to find a real opponent. And so Camelot and Nintendo have naturally focused on the multiplayer potential of what is essentially a party game. Even the infamous bare legs Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash could still provide some entertainment with a group of friends. For a series where the appeal is playing with others, there's little incentive to bring back the deeper single-player modes.

This does not mean that the Royal Tennis Academy or the Marion Clubhouse would be unwelcoming to new or casual players. The best of both worlds would be one Mario sports games that have deep single and multiplayer modes. But unfortunately, there isn't much reason to expect these characters to make a return. Never say never, especially since then Super Mario Odyssey introduced New Donk City and its realistically human inhabitants, but the priority of Mario sports games are the multiplayer experience. Both series have experimented with story modes since then, so even if they focus on the head Mario crew now, maybe yesterday's tennis wonder and golfer in training will at least make a cameo one day.

System

Released

February 12, 2026

ESRB

All / Mild Fantasy Violence

Publisher

Nintendo EPD

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