Dream Roster: Mario Tennis Aces

Welcome to another Dream Roster article. If you missed out on any of our previous entries, be sure to check out the articles looking at Nintendo Kart, as well as MvC4, Kellogg’s vs. Capcom, Fire Emblem Warriors, Disney X Mario Kart, Nintendo vs. Capcom, Microsoft Smash-Up, Kirby Fighters, Pokken Port, 100 character Smash, Konami-Smash, Sonic & Sega All Star Racing 3, Dragon Ball Fighter Z, Simpsons Road Rage Racing and Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite!

Roster comprised by TheAnvil. With additional assistance provided by Tris, Nantenjex, Cart Boy and Spazzy.

Among the shock and awe of the tremendous Nintendo Direct Mini on the 11th January, a new Mario Tennis game; aptly named Mario Tennis Aces, was officially announced for the Nintendo Switch. With a release set some time for the spring (likely to cash in on some of that Wimbledon publicity), it’s fairly clear from the little we’ve seen so far that this will be definitively more involved than recent outings to the Tennis court.

Though our knowledge at present is modest, we already know of 5 playable characters, new boss battles and mini-games and new mechanics. Additionally, at least some of the characters will be dressing the part in this visually stunning game. Perhaps most importantly, we’re going to see the first story mode in a Mario Tennis game since the Game Boy Advance’s Mario Tennis Power Tour.

As such, in our first deviation away from fighting games and racing games, the Dream Roster series is very happy to be covering Mario Tennis: Aces. In my hopes that we’ll finally be getting another Mario Tennis game, beyond the somewhat lazy cash-grabs that have plagued the series recently. It’s encouraging to see new models, and I’d like to see something more compelling than the tediously bland rosters that we’re used to seeing in other Mario sports/crossover titles.

Characters were chosen based on several criteria. Many characters are established Mario Tennis veterans, while some others have only previously appeared in other sports titles like Mario Super Sluggers. Some, like Stan The Bug Man were added to give an existing character an appropriate doubles partner. And of course, like any compelling roster, new blood is needed (something better than Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach). There’s also Daisy.