Portable Mario Tennis with impeccable arcade play, paired with a genuinely lovable training RPG mode that grows a character from scratch. N64 connectivity for diehard fans. Camelot at the peak of its handheld craft.
Your verdict
Category
Sports4 players3+
Description
Mario and his friends compete on tennis courts in this first Game Boy Color entry in the Mario Tennis series. Published by Nintendo, released in Europe in July 2001. Arcade tennis with Mario characters, RPG training mode with a character to level up, link with Mario Tennis N64. Multilingual version.
GBC counterpart to N64 Mario Tennis, built by Camelot around a story mode at the Royal Tennis Academy where the player guides a human protagonist up the ranks. Collector appeal rests on that bespoke RPG layer, on the Transfer Pak bridge to the N64 version which unlocks bonus characters, and on its slot in the final wave of major GBC cartridges released just after the GBA launch, which trimmed Western print quantities.
Better with friends
Lively, accessible tennis that hides real tactical depth, perfect for matches of up to four where rallies quickly ramp up in intensity. The fun swings between snappy singles competition and the camaraderie of doubles, where covering your partner becomes a game within the game. Enjoying multiplayer calls for the Link Cable and several units, but once going, it strings together nerve-wracking match points and instant rematches.
Is Mario Tennis still worth playing in 2026?
On the court, the ball feel still stands out for its precision and clarity, qualities that many modern tennis games still struggle to match. The training role playing mode, completely absent from the N64 counterpart, gives real long term motivation by letting the player grow a character from scratch. Pacing stays brisk, matches have aged extremely well, and reading spins and lobs remains genuinely satisfying. A Camelot gem that holds very concrete appeal for fans of retro sports games and curious newcomers alike.
