Just thought I would share my thoughts onthe game here for those interested.
Graphics & 3D - The graphics in this game are decent, very cute very colorful and vibrant. The tennis courts look fantastic the details on some of the tennis rackets looks great. Howver the 3D in this game is not so great..It honestly isn't very impressive to me at all and seems as if they didn't even try hard to make it worth turning the 3D on for this game.
Sound & Music - Sound effects are good your Mii actually has a voice now..That is if you consider s few grunts/shouts when hitting the tennis ball a voice. The music in this game is actually great Inxan't complain here. Definitely worth keeping your sound on for and playing with headphones on makes the experience that much better.
Gameplay - Gameplay in this game is pretty good the characters all have different types to balance each other out (tricky, all around, speedy, power and so on). There is a feature called chance shots in the game that can't be disabled to my knowledge but it's not a game breaker they aren't absolutely unstoppable although an option to disable them would be nice.
There are a few game modes I will go over below.
Single Player - from here you can play Tournament mode where you choose tonplay Singles or Doubles and then select your character and cup you wish to play in. In tournament mode you will face off against 3 AI opponents in total. You can also play exhibition matches against the AI singles or doubled as well.
Local/Online Multiplayer - You can play both local and online against other players as well. You can select to create a room and have your friends join in singles or doubles. When going online you can choose to have an open match of either quick extended or either. Quick is first to 7 wins and extended I think you play 2 sets. My online experience has been decent so far not the best it has been a bit laggy I am hoping it improves.
StreetPass - when selecting the StreetPass option you can do a few things.
StreetPass Match - You play here against other players you have StreetPassed in a 1-2 set match. If you win you get 100 coins and if you go on a win streak you get 100 more coins per win.
Ring Shot - This is a mini game you try snd hit the ball through rings in a timed fashion to earn coins. You can play this with players you meet through StreetPass.
StreetPass List - Here it just shows everyone you have met with Mario Tennis Open via StreetPass. All you can do is click on a Mii and rotate the camera to view them that's it.
Content - This game has a LOT of content to unlock! However..it's incredibly easy. You can pretty mch play on the easiest game mode keep winning and EVERY TIME you will unlock something new. I think this should have been made a bit harder to get a few unlockables.
Item Shop - Tons of items here you unlock by playing Tournament Mode. Once you unlock it you still have to earn coins to purchase them which is very tedious long and boring.
Change Outfit - Here you can view all the stuff you have unlocked and dress uo you're Mii with outfits, shoes, wristbands, tennis rackets the works.
Change Greeting - Here you can set a greeting to say to players you meet through StreetPass.
Records - Here you can view you're records for single player, local and online multiplayer and StreetPass.
Special Games - Here is where you play these Special Games for coins to use to buy stuff you have unlocked in the shop.
Ring Shot - Here you hit a tennis ball through rings in a timed fashion playing with an AI. There are a few different difficulty settings to unlock and play and can reward you with some hidden characters and costumes.
Super Mario Tennis - It is what it says it is you start a game of Super Mario Brothers and hit the ball to gather coins kill goombas and to slide the flag pole! Earn enough coins and you may find yourself unlocking some hidden content here.
Galaxy Rally - this game you play on a tennis court where you must hit pieces of a star to build a complete star on the court you can hit to earn yourself some coins. But be careful cause the longer you play this the more floor tiles disappear and the harder it gets. Get a lon enough hit string going and you will find yourself getting some hidden content.
Ink Showdown -In this game you will be on a tennis court faced with 3 ink shooting pirahna plants shooting ink balls at you and if you dont hit the ink ball they spit at you your screen will be covered with ink temporarily. You will also be faced against an AI don't hit the ball towards them cause if they hit it back you lose a ball/life. Keep up a long enough uit streak to unlock nee content and harder difficulties.
All in all Mario Tennis Open is a fun game but it does have it's flaws. The 3D is bare bones. Items are too easy to unlock, coins are boring and tedious to grind for. Online is laggy and doesn't offer many game modes. Gyro Controls are horrible in this game turn them off quickly. Also believe it or not but you can't even pause the game while the tennis ball is in play what genius developer thought of that idea? Thank God for the home button!
Verdict - I say hold off on this game until the price drops. This game is just another of the many Mario title cash ins that Nintendo knows they will make money off of no matter what because people buy Mario out the wazoo period.
Wait until this game drops to $19.99 or buy it used or during a buy 1 get 1 free sale.