Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is a multiplayer sports game developed by Camelot Software Planning for the Wii U, released in November 2015. It is the third home-console installment in the Mario Tennis series and the seventh entry overall — and the first console Mario Tennis since Mario Power Tennis on the GameCube.

Like its predecessors, it pairs traditional tennis gameplay with Super Mario characters and gimmicks. It retains mechanics from Mario Power Tennis and Mario Tennis Open — such as Chance Shots and charged shots — while introducing three signature new ideas: Mega Battles (grow huge with Mega Mushrooms), Jump Shots (leap to hit faster, higher-bouncing shots), and the titular Ultra Smash (a powerful jumping overhead smash).

Up to four players can play locally, with two-player online support. The game offers nine courts in a single stadium, 16 playable characters, and amiibo integration. While accessible and polished, it landed to a lukewarm reception — critics and fans felt it was thin on modes and content compared to earlier Mario Tennis games.

At its core, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is straightforward tennis: serve, rally, and outplay your opponent across singles or doubles. The depth comes from its shot system and the situational Mega Mushroom mechanic.

Controls & Fundamentals

• Five core shot types — Topspin, Flat, Slice, Lob, and Drop Shot, each mapped to a button or combination
• Charging — hold the shot button before the ball arrives to charge it for extra power (movement slows while charging; the charge can be cancelled)
• Chance Shots — coloured rings appear on the court; hitting from one while using the matching shot triggers a powerful Chance Shot
• Jump Shots — tap a shot button twice to leap into the air for a faster, higher-bouncing return (works with Topspin, Slice and Flat)
• Simple vs Standard — a “Simple” rule set strips out Chance and Jump Shots for pure classic tennis, while “Standard” includes them

The five main shot types form the tactical backbone of every rally. Each can be charged for power and each has a Chance Shot variant when struck from a coloured ring.

The game’s namesake, the Ultra Smash, is a special, super-powerful overhead smash. When a lob sends the ball high, a player can leap up and unleash this devastating jumping smash — a near-unreturnable shot and the flashiest move in the game.

It’s the spectacle moment Ultra Smash is built around: the camera emphasises the leap, the character soars, and the ball rockets down with tremendous force. Mastering when to set up and land an Ultra Smash is central to high-level play.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash offers a focused set of modes built around its core tennis play.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash features 16 playable characters, sorted into play-style types: All-Round, Speed, Technical, Power, Defensive, and Tricky. Three are series newcomers — Rosalina, Toadette, and the Sprixie Princess (her first playable appearance in any game).

Mario

All-Round

Luigi

All-Round

Peach

Technical

Daisy

Technical

Rosalina

All-Round · NEW

Toad

Speed

Toadette

Speed · NEW

Yoshi

Speed

Bowser

Power

Bowser Jr.

Tricky

Dry Bowser

Power

Wario

Power

Waluigi

Defensive

Donkey Kong

Power

Boo

Tricky

Sprixie Princess

Tricky · NEW

Other notable roster facts: Toad returns as playable for the first time since the Nintendo 64 Mario Tennis, and Dry Bowser is playable on a home console for the first time. By character type there are three All-Round, two Speed, two Technical, four Power, two Defensive, and three Tricky characters.

Ultra Smash features nine different courts, all set within the same central stadium but each with its own ball speed, bounce strength, and gimmicks. Choosing a court is a tactical decision that suits different play styles.

Additional court variations round out the nine, each unlockable and offering subtle strategic differences in how the ball moves.

Ultra Smash makes notable use of amiibo through its amiibo Training system. Tap any compatible amiibo figure and that character becomes your trainable doubles partner in Knockout Challenge and online play.

Levelling Up Your amiibo

• As your amiibo plays matches, it levels up, and a random stat improves each time
• There are eight stats — Stroke, Serve, Acceleration, Speed, Curve, and others — each occupying a limited number of the ten total stat slots (e.g. max three Speed stats)
• Once all ten slots are filled, you can remove stats for 5,000 coins to reshape your partner’s build
• A well-trained amiibo becomes a genuinely powerful doubles ally

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash was developed by Camelot Software Planning, the studio that has handled virtually every Mario Tennis (and Mario Golf) game since the Nintendo 64 era.

• First console Mario Tennis since Mario Power Tennis (GameCube, 2004) — an 11-year gap on home consoles
• Revealed at E3 2015 and released in November the same year as a Wii U holiday title
• Built to be accessible and family-friendly, leaning on the pick-up-and-play Mega Battle mode

Official Nintendo trailers for Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash on Wii U.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash received a lukewarm to mixed reception, and is generally regarded as one of the weaker entries in the Mario Tennis series — not for poor mechanics, but for a perceived lack of content.

The Core Criticism: Too Thin

• Light on modes and content — the most common complaint. Reviewers felt the package was sparse, with no story/adventure mode, few courts in practice, and limited single-player depth beyond Knockout Challenge
• Solid but unspectacular tennis — the underlying tennis was praised as fundamentally sound and fun in multiplayer, but not enough to carry a thin overall offering
• Review scores hovered around the 6/10 range; Game Informer’s review was pointedly titled “Nintendo Drops The Volley”
• amiibo Training was singled out as a genuine highlight — one of the more creative uses of amiibo on Wii U

• Third home-console Mario Tennis and the seventh entry overall — the first on a console since Mario Power Tennis (2004).
• Developed by Camelot, the longtime Mario Tennis / Mario Golf studio.
• The Ultra Smash — a powerful jumping overhead smash — gives the game its name.
• Mega Battle, the default mode, has a Toad toss Mega Mushrooms onto the court so players can grow giant.
• Three series debuts: Rosalina, Toadette, and the Sprixie Princess — the latter playable for the first time in any game.
• Toad returns as playable for the first time since the Nintendo 64 Mario Tennis.
• Dry Bowser is playable on a home console for the first time.
• The last Mario Tennis to show Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi in their normal clothes — Aces gave them tennis uniforms.
• 16 playable characters across six play-style types.
• Nine courts in one stadium, each with different ball speed, bounce, and gimmicks.
• amiibo Training lets you raise a customisable doubles partner with eight tunable stats.
• Widely criticised as thin on content — Game Informer titled its review “Nintendo Drops The Volley.”

Box art and key artwork for Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash.

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