Mario Tennis Aces Switch Gameplay Show Off Story Mode And Charming Characters

Mario Tennis Aces will mark the eighth time the Mushroom Kingdom crew have taken up racquets for a bit of tennis. Developed by veteran Nintendo sports studio Camelot Software, Aces features the colorful and accessible mechanics you might be familiar with from past titles, but includes a number of new systems, like the "Zone Shot" which allowing you to aim and deliver a powerful hit, along with racquet damage, the ability to slow down time, and unique trick shot moves for each character. A number of these new features can be seen in our hands-on 1v1 gameplay video, seen above.

You do have the ability to play matches with all of these features turned off, however. The game's Simple Mode, as seen in the match between Yoshi and Toad, lets you play a more traditional variant of Mario Tennis on an even playing field, with only the innate styles of each character to consider. Mario Tennis Aces also features a Swing Mode, which allows you to use the motion controls in the Switch Joycons to play a version of the game more akin to Wii Sports Tennis

Mario Tennis Aces also features a story mode, which hasn't been seen in a Mario Tennis game since Power Tour on the Game Boy Advance. We got a brief hands-on, which you can see in the gameplay clip above. Aside from acting as a tutorial to introduce you to the mechanics, it features a variety of tennis-based challenges. In the video, you'll see examples of a custom match against Donkey Kong on a court whose nets feature Pirhana Plants that can catch and redirect your shots, and a shot control challenge where you return fireballs from Fire Pirhana Plants.

Nintendo is holding a Mario Tennis Aces Pre-Launch Online Tournament from June 1-3, so you'll get the chance to try Aces for yourself very soon. You'll be able to play as Mario, Peach, Yoshi, and Bowser to start, with the chance to unlock five additional characters if you perform well enough. Everyone who participates will be able to unlock a Mario costume--his traditional overalls--for use in the full game.

Mario Tennis Aces will release for Nintendo Switch on June 22.