Level 48 - Making a Racquet

Plumbers are sore losers.
Something to remember when you're playing New Mario Tennis
only on M60. 4.

Welcome to Remember 64, where
this week we're making a racket.

Welcome to the show, everyone.
My name is David Pitrangelo and

I am the tall, slender purple,
wearing moustache twirling, evildoer hell bent on winning
this particular tennis tournament against my rivals.
And apparently I'm the new arch nemesis of my guests today.
I I see ours line up because I am Luigi's apartment and I am
not afraid.

Oh, you should be, Sir.
You should be.

You know what time has borne out
that no, I should not have been.

You should.
You should not have been.

Yeah, yeah, I know, right?
I can't.

Wait to talk about this?
I cannot, cannot wait to talk about this too, if any of that
makes any sense to you.

You might have guessed that we
have played Mario Tennis for the

Nintendo 64.
And of course, that lovely voice you hear is Luigi's apartment.
Back to remember 64.

This this is awesome.
I'm so happy that we're doing this together.
Hey, me too.

Yeah, Great, man.
Great.

Hey, as long as we're both
happy, who cares what else happens?
That's all that matters.

Yeah, you know, it's just, you
know, let's just play some tennis.
Let's just play some tennis.

I I wrote down some notes about
how the game was made.

Couple of ideas that the team
came up with as they were making it.
This game came out in 2000,

August of 2000.
But there's quite a bit of I would say history with this game
as far as like for me growing up friends of mine that played this
game or one person had it and everybody came over and played
it.

Things like that.
It it's one of those we, I think we've talked about when we
talked about whether we talked about Star Wars or or Pokémon
Snap or Majora's Mask and all the episodes that we've done
together and stuff and even other ones where I've played
sort of like more obscure games.

I've always sort of mentioned
there's always like the staple

Mario games, like the Nintendo
titles that seems like everybody had or at least one friend had
at least one of those.

This was one of those titles.
Is that the same for you?

Did you have like it yourself or
like a friend or a family member of yours had this and it was
like a go to?

It was weirdly enough, it like
you you wouldn't take a tennis game, would be a go to game.
But yeah, we played this game a lot.
Yeah, I was very excited for this game.
The, you know, up to looking at

Nintendo's like online promotion
for it, like the website they had, you could, you know
interact with the website much like a lot of old Flash sites.
And so yeah, I was like, you know, I was hyped.
Nintendo had me hyped up for this game.
I I think like because it came out in 2000, they had some time
to figure that out, I guess in a way for some of these Mario
games.

I think that's part of it.
Like, it's a pretty late game because about a a year later I
know, so did I I thought it was like I because I played this so
much and because I remembered it so fondly, I thought, Oh yeah,
this is, you know, 98, let's say or something like that.
That's what I would have pegged at.
Yeah, exactly.

And and I think the 2000 Ness of
it, if that's the right way to say it, we'll get into how it
plays.

But I think the, the age of it
and and how late it is in the console's life cycle sort of
lends to the fact that it it plays pretty well.
And I think that's one of the reasons why it's kind of stuck
and it's like you never feel like you're being ripped off
when you played against other people and never really felt
unfair.

I don't think so.
I I I wish I'd Yeah, maybe.

I don't know.
That's that's my memory.

Oh, no, no, I'm agreeing.
OK, yeah, I'd say yeah, you're you're not wrong.
Yeah.

And that's and that's testament
to them, to them making the game, right.
So Speaking of that, it was made by Camelot Software.
Yeah.

So we've we've definitely had
experience with Camelot in the past.
Mario Golf was was one that I we did in on the show already and
that's one of my favorite franchises of all time.
I've said it before and I'll say it again Mario on, Mario Golf on
both Game Boy Color and Game Boy

Advance are some of my favorite
sports games ever.

I.
See, They just hit I.

Did.
I did and I I played.

I played a little bit of golf,
but I had never played the Mario

Tennis one I the game.
Boy Killer 1.

Yeah, I didn't know I I had.
I I mean, I knew it was out there.
But I It's so weird to me that the golf games were so popular
for me and loved them so much and I still love them to this
day.

And this particular game, Mario
Tennis, was so big for me too, that I can't believe I never
played it and never I honestly,

I'm I'm disappointed in myself.
I I had the the Gameboy Color one and got like way way way
into it.

Nice.
You know, like the G1, it's an

RPG, like a, you know, sports
RPG and you know you're you're trying to get different rackets,
headbands, dues to level your player up.
And I was playing it in like a health class, PE class.
Our our health PE teacher was the tennis coach and he caught
me playing it and confiscated it, but not because he was mad
because he would usually let me play video games, but because it
was a tennis game.

He had to play it.
No way.

So he took it away and played it
for the rest of class.

Yeah, why did shit?
You had the cool teachers, man.

What the?
Hell yeah, He was all right.

We liked.
It sounds sounds cool enough that that at that age an adult
would be like, hey, hey I need to play this game.
Give it to me.

You know one of those.
Yeah.

It's it's so I I played a boat.
I'm going to say it plays game.

Yeah.
Tennis game.

Yeah.
I'm.

I'll take it.
I'll.

Yeah, give me, give me that.
That was like me with my uncle we had, we had an NHLPA game.
This is before the NHL rights as we had that for Super Nintendo
back in the day.

And my it was like the first
sports game, one of the first games I had for the console when
I was younger.

My uncle who is 12 years, 13
years younger than my dad, so he felt kind of like young and cool
at all, you know, all the time.

I have an aunt like that.
Right.

He played that game and as like
a 7 year old, I was like, my uncle is playing video games.
Like they never grew up with them, 'cause they were of the
age where they never would have, and in a household that probably
couldn't afford it at the time or anything.
So it was like the coolest thing ever.
Yeah, I was like, Oh my God.

And you had a teacher that did
that.

I would have been like, Oh my
God.

Yeah, my aunt taught me a lot.
My uncle came to visit us in

California one time, and he and
his friend just played my NES constantly.
That's that's yeah my my family is very much not the video game
people.

It's me, my brother growing up
and mostly my friends and and that was that family, was not,
was not the video game people.

So I sort of am the the black
sheep or or maybe I'm the I'm

I'm just the sheep, you know.
I'm just the person that's that's following the cool
trends, 'cause I'm a cool kid.

You know one of those.
Digital sheep.

Digital The digital cool sheep,
yeah.

So, so tell me more about how
Camelot made this game.

OK, so as.
A wonderful place.

Yeah, it is.
And actually as of this recording we are in mid mid to
late March of 2023.

It is just a couple days removed
from the 25th anniversary of this company being founded which
is really cool.

At least this this version of
the of the company.

Sorry not 20 not 25353525 would
would be like just before this game came out.
Right.

That makes a little bit more
sense.

Yeah.
So it is this version of the company.
I you know, I had a couple iterations leading up to this
and stuff, but.

They made the games before that.
Yes, 100% they did.

This is the 6th Mario game for
the N64.

Mario Tennis brought 11 new
characters or not new characters, 11 characters to it,
including of course Waluigi and where he was introduced.
That is.

That is the biggest thing out of
all of the of the the information and everything that
I looked up to try to figure out, you know, how how is this
game made and whatever.

I think it was really just
Camelot made golf.

They had a plan to make tennis,
the next tennis Nintendo game and it was just sort of like one
after the other.

It was just sort of like their
next task after golf.

So it's not like this overly
complicated or complex way that they kind of got to this.
It's it's tennis Use the same sort of attitude that you had
from golf.

I would say that's that's how I
would sort of describe what this is.
And and then they chose to create, Nintendo chose to
introduce and create Luigi's arch nemesis, which is Waluigi.
And that is the number one thing that pops up every time you
bring this game up is this is how Waluigi was introduced.
It was the ad campaign, yeah.

Right.
He he was it.

He was the ad campaign for this
game.

Yeah, that's like to to to go
back to 2000, that is what they were doing was shoving him the,
the, like when you would type in the URL and like the landing
page was like him like behind a brick wall or something, right.
Breaking through it and I was hyped.
I was like cool new guy.

He plays unfairly well and yeah,
it's pretty great.

It it's cool to have like I
guess, you know, Wario was introduced in a Game Boy game in
in the Mario Land series and he was sort of like very obvious as
as the bad guy, 'cause he's like, you know, sort of ruling
everything in in that game and every and then he has his own
games and stuff.

Actually, is it Wario Land?
I think when he had his first,

His first?
Solo game.

You know Wario Land, Mario Land
3 Wario Land I believe.

Yeah, that game like.
That I love having a complicated title like that.
I know, it's so weird, but I love that game.
I have that game too, and and fell in love with it as a kid
too.

Played a ton, yeah.
By the time like or by the time

Wario was was huge, like say
Mario Kart 64, Yeah, I was a huge fan of Wario and Luigi.
But like, Oh yeah, like I was on the Wario train.
I thought he was great.

I started out that way with this
purple thing too.

What?
What?

Happened.
He just makes no sense to me.

Well, OK, why explain?
Find him illogical because you know in in this narrative, Wario
is a greedy guy, right?

Why would he one?
He wouldn't have a partner.

He would have to share money
with them.

Like this makes no sense.
And and Luigi already has a rival.
It's Mario.

Oh, I see.
He's barely in the games.

He's got to fight his way to get
into them.

He doesn't need a rival, and
Nintendo has also never really acknowledged the existence of
this thing.

I I was gonna say, I feel like.
I feel like the man is what's is the the enemy of Luigi.
Yeah, which is, you know, just

Nintendo.
So I was like, he doesn't need a rival.
He's already like like, I'm not a huge Mario fan.
I think Mario sucks.

Yeah, it's.
It's just like he's kind of boring, right?
He's just kind of like he's

Mario.
He's Mario.

That's that's it.
Yeah.

I he can't jump that high.
Come on, he's.

A scrub but but, but while Luigi
doesn't need to jump, he can just reach.
He's so tall and.

And good Lord, the reach on that
character, It's insane.

It's.
Crazy.

He's like he's tall.
He's the tallest character you could possibly.
It's not fair.

It's really not fair.
I want to actually talk about just because if anyone's
watching the video version that we had like the the intro up of
the game, I don't know.

I don't know about you, but I
don't know if I ever watched, or at least I definitely don't
remember watching the full intro video of this and.
It's so it's.

So I don't know.
I I just don't recall it I guess is really what it is.
But it's hilarious because yes, while Luigi comes in and Wario
and they're like, oh, I challenge you Mario and Luigi,
cause OK, typical whatever, right?
Yeah, whatever.

And then, OK, Bowser comes in
and it seems like they're all buddy, buddy, we're just gonna
have a tournament, you know, without actually using words,
just noises.

And then?
These are the the FMV cutscenes that everybody wants.
Right, right, right.

That's what everyone wants,
yeah.

And then a bomb comes in and
just kind of strolls in and blows everybody up.
Is that what happens 'cause that's what it looks like like?
Mayhap's or it's just like, hey, we're I'm gonna, I'm gonna be
the guy who decides who's the real.
Look at this, everyone's like,

Oh no, it's a bomb.
And then?

It is a bomb.
Literally boom and then it goes to the menu screen.
Tennis explosion.

Tennis.
That's how tennis happens.

You didn't you?
Have you never watched the tennis match before?
Clearly.

I haven't watched enough to
realize.

Andre Agassi like lights, the
little walking bomb or, you know, or John McEnroe, you know,
someone old.

You know what, even.
Kids, yeah, you know, it explodes and the kids play
tennis.

Matt McEnroe actually tracks.
That actually tracks.

I think.
I think that's right.

If anyone would do it, it would
hang up.

Mom, yeah.
I just thought that was hilarious.
I was like, this is, they literally just blow everybody up
and they're like boom, tennis.

You know, like sort of like a
like a, a smoke bomb tennis.

I mean cause like the Mario
Party games do that.

The like all the Camelot sports
games do that.

Like you know, the game cube
ones.

There's just some dumb crap at
the beginning.

That's really what it is.
Yeah, it is just dumb.

Yeah.
Oh, like they're all mad, you know?
Like they they like to make

Wario and Waluigi, like scheming
in the bushes, like trying to trying to, you know, screw up
their golf game or something.

Yeah, yeah, just just, they're
just bad guys doing the bad thing, you know, that's that's
kind of.

That's kind of what they're.
Yeah.

That's pretty.
Let them.

Let them have that, if that's
what they want.

I like Wario better.
You know, the R&D one Wario where he he's, you know, trying
to get gold and he's weird and greedy and bald.
Yeah, he wears his funny spiked hats and, you know, things like
that.

Yeah, yeah.
When he gets injured, he looks stupid.
Yeah, it's, it's great.

And I'm I'm playing.
I played one of my first RE pickups of this game have the
actual cartridge that I decided to play and I decided to we'll
talk about characters and sort of what we choose in a bit.
But part of the the the choice of why certain characters are in
this not just, well, Luigi, but

Daisy is one of them, right.
And for me growing growing up and not even, I don't even know,
maybe not even that recently I just assumed Daisy was also
introduced in this game.

Like I didn't never really
thought too much of it or maybe she was in Mario Party or
something.

I was like, oh OK, yeah, like
that's where I first saw her and that's just where she was
introduced.

Whatever.
Right.

But it's not.
And I don't know that I really realized where she came from,
so.

Just the reference to to Mario
Land one Speaking of Mario lands.
Yeah, yeah, so yeah.

So at Nintendo's suggestion is
what what I have here at

Nintendo's suggestion, Princess
Daisy was brought back from obscurity after only ever
appearing in Super Mario Land and NES Open Tournament Golf.
This was in order to give Luigi a Double S partner and have that
the same as Marion Peach.

So you know the Open Tournament
Golf is sort of like the predecessor to Mario Golf in 64.
And then the same thing with the tennis Game.
This is sort of like the quote

UN quote sequel to what they had
at that time.

So I didn't realize that.
They're both very competent tennis games.
Yes, 100%.

Yeah.
I I didn't.

I didn't really realize that.
I don't know.

I don't know why I didn't.
I don't know if I just never really paid attention to it and
stuff, but I thought that was interesting.
I was more, I mean like as a kid

I was more confused about it.
I was like, is that is that what this is supposed to be?
Is it?

Is it?
Are they saying Daisy's been here the whole time?
Right.

Like, OK, Daisy's here.
Still fine, I guess, although it's Canon that they that
they're they're a couple.

So there you go.
Right.

I get, Yeah.
I mean, if you're a double S partner online, if you're a
double S partner, you have to be a couple, right.
Is that just the?

Right, Yeah, that's The thing is
you have to consummate the relationship before the match.
After the explosion, right first couple.
Yeah, yeah.

Or is that what causes the
explosion maybe?

The explosion?
No, they are unrelated, but they happen around the same time.
OK.

OK.
Well, hey kids, Science.

There you go.
We learn.

We learn something.
Science.

Sports.
Sports.

Science.
Sports science, that's why you come to the show for sports
sciences, everybody and and we've been learned.
There we go.

And very competent tennis games
'cause this is one of those.

Yes, yes, it really is.
Yeah.

So go, go for it.
It it's it, it plays, it plays nicely, right.
Like how?

How did it?
How does it feel to you when you when you're able to play this
'cause I think you said either before we hit record or just
beginning that you you you were playing this on Switch, I think
on the on the Switch service,

How did how did it feels playing
on that?

Yeah.
Oh it it feels great.

This is the this was the first
game I booted up when the Switch

N64 channel was launched.
I went right for this.

Just the the the realization I
had David playing it.

It was like, Oh well, I have to
unlock star character.

Luigi, of course.
And that means playing through all of the tournaments.
You know, there's like an easy medium and a hard tournament.
And very quickly the the, the slow grin that came over my face
and I was like, oh, I'm going to have to do this for every single
character the way I did on the cartridge back in the day.
It's not just one.

This is gonna be great.
So yeah, every now and then I go back and and make, you know, put
a dent in it.

I've been working on Daisy
lately.

Oh, OK.
How, How's the progress on it going?
How many have you done?

Not many.
It's very hard 'cause I don't go back to it often and you have to
be like you have to be on your game, so.
Especially on the tougher matches 100% man this is it's
it's rough sometimes it it's I if anyone's watching it at the
moment I'm I'm playing the really the easiest mushroom
tournament or whatever you know you might you might lose a game
but but that's that's kind of it it's it's pretty easy and the
matches are quick but.

But the but the final match on
the Star Cup against Berto.

Like get out.
I I didn't make it that far.

I went and played all the other
modes.

But I'm I'm, I'm scared to do
it.

I'm scared.
It's it's tough.

I thought I would, you know, be
up and running in no time and and I couldn't.
I could not get past Berto.

It's the it's, it's it's us as
olds.

I I guess that's just sort of
sort of what it is, right?

I mean it's true too though.
Like if this is one of those games where I think you sort of
have, if you're playing it off and on fairly consistently,
you'll probably have some muscle memory for it and be able to,
you know, read the play a little bit more, a little bit
differently.

But, but they do play better.
Like the AI is just better as you go along.
It's not like they're it's not like, Oh well, I'm playing the
character that is faster or the character that has more power.
No, they they just, they're just smarter and they hit better
shots and that and that's it.

And.
And I I think I if I were playing as Luigi, I would be
doing better because I'm just very used to how that character
works, no matter, you know, whatever it is.
And so is Daisy is who I was playing as is a technique and I
don't.

I don't, I don't know what that
is.

I don't know how to take
advantage of any of the technique stuff.
I don't.

Know what the technique means?
Either cause so is Waluigi.

Well, Luigi is a technique as
well, so.

I just stick.
I stick with my my all rounder and and I know how to make that
work.

I played mostly.
I think I remember mostly playing as the Koopa growing up.
They have, they have the tricky shots where like I think it's, I
think it's the backspin one or something Curves.
On that.

Yeah, you get the curves.
I think that's why I did it, 'cause it's like, I'm so good.
But really, it was just the mechanic of the game.
Like it.

It's unwieldy, but it it works.
The other thing I don't know if

Cuba does this, Boo does this.
Where when you start to charge up your like your hit because
you can if you can be in place to where the ball is gonna go,
you can start your hit early and start gaining power and Boo will
just keep sliding.

Oh, OK.
So I don't know if I have it on the on my on the video that I
recorded of me playing, I played as Boo just randomly.
I'm like, oh, I'm gonna pick Boo on the one of the the piranha
mode where they just shoot a bunch of balls at you and you
just have to yeah, it's kind of like survive as long as you can.
And I kept missing because he just kept going and I was like
what?

What is happening?
I don't what am I doing wrong?

Is something wrong with my
controller?

I'm not playing an emulator like
nothing's like what's happening here.
No, it's Boo, so Boo is with that.
Boo is a dangerous weapon.

I've never been good at it, but
I had a friend who one of the people I played this like the
most with cause 'cause like a lot of 64 games.
I played this a lot like in my 20s, too, where, like, people
would be over for band practice.

Or like, waiting for one of the
other bands to get done with practice and like, oh, Mario
Tennis.

Like, yeah, like, let's, let's
play.

I had AI had a roommate who got
obsessed with Mario Tennis.

Yeah, let's do it right.
It's like you fire it up.

It's a it's a great game that
just kind of fire up and play, play with someone, yeah.
But but when one of those times happened my friend, an old you
know, an old friend of mine came over and I was like hey we need
lots of Mario.

Tennis has been happening.
You need to come over.

We need to shut everybody in the
house down because he plays as

Boo.
I play as Luigi and we are like an unstoppable double S team
just like we like we cover each other's like weaknesses pretty
well.

And he's, he got really good at.
You can start Boo's shot early and slide.
So if you know where you want

Boo to end his slide at, yeah,
it's it's I've seen.

I've seen that man do insane
things with that character.

Yeah.
On a tennis court, it's it's ridiculous.
He is.

He is unsafe while he controls
that character.

No, it's it's wrong.
The things that Boo can do in this game are very wrong, OK?
So, so that's part of what it is, is is it.
It is specifically a mechanic for that character.
OK, that's that's cool.

It's very tricky.
So yeah, so if you can, it literally holds the tricky name
and it runs with that kind of thing.
OK, that that's pretty cool.

I mean, I I think that.
It's pretty great.

Yeah, it's it's great.
But it also I feel like is the sort of cheat code if you can,
if you can figure it out you know.
It's it's like learning spin in

Wii Tennis.
Like eventually if you messed around with it long enough, you
could turn the the Wii Mote in such a way that you would get
top spin or backspin on it and you know.
Game over.

Your friend or your aunt who
just plays it whenever they hang out with you, doesn't know how
to do that.

But you don't tell them I right?
Like why would you tell them?

Yeah, no way.
No way.

It's easy.
Look.

It's like this.
Look.

Look what I'm doing.
Do what I'm doing.

It's just like that.
See.

I mean you.
You almost got it.

You almost got it.
Boom, I went.

Oh, sorry, Oops.
Well, you know, just get good.

That's.
That's what is it about tennis video games.
They're really good.

They are really good.
I I think you know what?

Like I I really like watching
tennis.

I find the athleticism of it.
I find the competition of it to be obviously very impressive.
I mean these people are just crazy good athletes.
But I I find it to be really interesting like because it's
it's there's enough going on in tennis, whether it's real life
or in a game, but it's still simple enough.
It's back and forth.

You know, it's ping pong.
Everybody knows what ping pong is.
Everyone knows what pong is.

You know, that's why pong works.
So I think like, I think that's part of it maybe and and and if
you have mechanics to to back it up, which I, you know, I think
we both agree that this game largely does, then there's just
enough under the surface for it to feel like there's more going
on than just press A or press B and walk back and forth and
that's it.

Yeah, I don't.
Know because you know it is kind of about leverage almost.
It's like, you know, getting the the getting your opponent off
balance or getting them, like you know on a certain place of
the court that you want them to be at, you can take advantage of
something else.

And but in order to do that, you
have to not fall to their trick, 'cause they're gonna be trying
to mess with you.

And so yeah.
The the thinking, like thinking two or three moves ahead
potentially, is really fun.

A little bit.
I I like that part of it.

Like, it's a little bit of a
mind game in a way.

Like you're saying, like, I
think that's it feels rewarding, right?
Because if you are doing that and you are, let's say, whether
you're playing, you know, you know, solo or playing with
people, if you do that, it feels like, Oh yeah, yeah, that works.
Hell yeah.

But we've unlocked something,
yeah.

Yeah, look, what I just did.
Suck it Like, you know, like one of those.
You know, eventually you can get the computer to do what you want
it to do, right?

Just like tuck one in the corner
and then and then split them down the, you know, down the
middle.

Yeah, yeah.
I think this, this has the has the, I think it's it's double
tap A or double tap B, right?

Where you get a little extra
spin.

Is it spin a certain way?
I think if you just I just I just start mashing the button.
Basically whatever button I want like A is top spin, B is slice.
That's what it is, yeah.

That's what it is.
Yeah.

And then both of them together
is the power shot.

Yeah, the the purple or pink
stream, that's that's behind it.

That's how you know what the
shots gonna be.

So I actually think that's
interesting too, that, that the game, I mean, yeah, makes it a
little bit more cartoony, I guess, 'cause there's more
colors flashing around.

But it also lets your opponent
know at the same time, like, oh, this could be one of those shots
that's gonna be a back spin or.

Or a forward spin.
Yeah.

And I think that that helps a
little bit to create, like, more of a chance of a rally, which is
what's happening in the game that I'm playing right now, that
I'm showing where I'm just like, oh crap, yeah, just go on like
this insane.

Yeah, these insane rallies in
this game I find to be so fun, especially in these ring modes
where you have to.

Ring mode's pretty good, I.
Love the ring mode, man.

I love it.
To me, it's my favorite part.

It's my favorite.
I was playing earlier and you always get to the 4th, 1:00, and
it's with Wario.

And Wario doesn't like, he,
like, wants to play tennis.

Donkey Kong does too.
Donkey Kong always return it.

Yeah, dude, come on, just just
give me a back.

Like, no, no, I'm going to, I'm
going to like, you know, just dunk on you.
Like nobody can hear these rings.
Yeah, yeah.

Isn't that why we're both?
Don't you see these rings?

Aren't we both here for the same
reason, like?

What are you doing?
Well, like they, they hit the net and the computer, like,
takes that out on me and I'm like, come on.
It's true.

I ran into, I ran into Warrior
on Donkey Kong a few times.

I was like, dude, stop.
Yeah, wait.

Just.
I like how you you faulted right there, like, egregiously, just
to, like, pick up a couple rings just to grab a couple rings
there again.

Yeah, like that was pretty good.
Yeah, I like that.

I'm, I'm playing I'm playing the
game.

You know I gotta you gotta you
gotta milk the game a little bit.
It it's it's so interesting too.

Who?
Cares the default.

It doesn't matter the fault the
only, but you have to win.

You have to win the point in
order to keep the rings that you hit, which I think is also an
interesting way of doing it too.

So you don't just hit the ball
through the rings, You have to make sure that you don't lose
that point.

So there was a couple points
where I was playing that, I don't know, maybe it was one of
the ones that had like 70 or 100 rings you have to get.
And I'm sitting, I'm sitting at most of them in one long rally
and then I miss it and I'm like, fuck, like, God damn it, and it
doesn't end the game, but it's kind of frustrating.
Oh, here, now I'm gonna play

Donkey Kong.
Here we go.

Now he he's gonna show up and
try and beat me.

Yeah.
I really like the ring thing.

I I think because I really like
the way that the rallies feel in this.
And I think that the AI, despite

Wario and Donkey Kong, kind of
like feeling like they just really want to beat you instead
of helping you other than.

That right now.
This one's not bad.

Yeah, it's not too bad.
Or maybe Or maybe I'm just really good.
Maybe that.

And then and then there's like
the the battle mode in here, which is always kind of kind of
weird.

Yeah, I like.
I wish you could do the battle mode.
Like not on the rickety structure.
Yeah, the like keep.

The items but not have that like
nonsense happening, yeah.

It's so it's you're on like the
I think it's the Bowser mode or

Bowser stage or something like.
Bowser's cat.

Yeah.
Bowser's Castle.

Yeah, they're hanging from
chains.

Yeah, you're.
Floating above the lava like, yeah, this game's violent bands.
Like, you know, I wanna kill them, yes, but like, I wanna.
I wanna see what I'm doing.

Yeah.
So it I, I yeah, it's a little bit difficult sometimes to see
what's happening.

If it feels like a little bit
too busy.

I get the idea.
I think.

I think it's it's fine, but I
agree.

I think without the sort.
Of funny.

Tilting weird thing.
Just picking up items like you do in Mario Kart isn't, I think
is enough.

You know, like I don't.
Yeah, like you don't have to do any more than that.
Be good.

I mean, 'cause that's basically
what it is.

It's just a bunch of Mario Kart
items in in this game.

Yeah, in tennis.
You leave, you leave nanners on the ground like you attach a
banana to the ball and wherever it bounces, it stays there on
the other.

Side yeah, yeah, the key.
The key is to also milk that mode a little bit too, and put
the banana on before your serve or as you're serving and then
it'll half.

It has to hit the the ground
first, it has to hit the court before it actually gets to the
person.

So it automatically is.
I love. 'Cause they can't, like, smack
it back on you.

Yeah, exactly.
So it's only when it hits the ground that it actually sits.
You know it can be on.

If you're just rallying back and
forth, back and forth against each other, then it actually
doesn't doesn't work that way.

But yeah, I, I, oh, I guess I
played it a little bit.

I didn't even realize it's it's
it's it's it's OK.

It's OK.
It's, yeah.

It's fine.
I prefer the I.

Prefer the ring one.
And I think, yeah, you're right that the items are enough.
I mean, I remember there being a not to like compare the GameCube
Camelot Mario sports games, the 64 Camelot Mario sports games.
I remember there being a lot more side stuff in the game Cube
One, but I don't like the game

Cube ones like gameplay, like
the tennis aspect.

Oh, the actual gameplay.
OK.

Yeah, like like the superpowers.
I I I think it just like it.

It it leads to the same things
happening over and over again and I think you just just get
rid of it.

I don't, I don't like it.
Just play tennis.

Yeah, if you overload it, it
feels like that.

That's one of the things that I
mentioned when I was when I did the Mario Golf Episode 2 is
like, it's just it's very simple.
The set up of Mario Golf, and most of this game too, is pretty
simple.

Just play the sport, just go and
play it and do a tournament that's better.
I think.

Feel like they're a little bit
too short in my opinion, but they're still fine.
Mario Golf's the same thing.

Play the tournament, pick your
character, get a few like coins, unlock some stuff.
You maybe have to go back and win the tournament again to get
more coins or points or whatever to get the next.
Cool, fine, no problem, right?

But when you when you put a
little too much into it, then it feels like now you're not
playing that.

Now you're just playing some
arcade thing with an overloaded sort of crowding of of items
and.

Where where is the, the Switch
one that came out the Mario

Tennis Aces.
Yeah, I never played.

I liked, I didn't play it.
I liked that one.

The balance of the superpowers
they give you.

But like you have a meter that
you're trying to fill up and you can use that meter to like save
yourself.

Like it creates this back and
forth of like, you know you have choices and and what are you
going to do with that?

Where is where is with the game
cube.

One you use your superpower and
then they use their super save and then you use the superpower
and they use their super save or like whatever, it just keep it's
the same thing over and over.

Like you said, it's a little bit
boring, a little bit repetitive of of a cycle kind.
Of thing.

Yeah, like it should be cool.
And like, you know, when Luigi's using his mansion vacuum to suck
the ball up and everything, like, that's cool?
Yeah, yeah.

But it just gets after a while,
it's like, OK, it's it just kind of gets boring again.
Let's just play tennis at this point.
I mean because.

Because again, it's.
Turned it off.

Because again if if like the the
mechanic of tennis or of golf or of the soccer games or baseball
games that they've done.

If that plays well you you just
don't need the other stuff as much and and that's fine.
And I think that's why this is a good game to kind of always go
back to and stuff too because it still has that.
It always feels like it's always a core set of mechanics that
that work I think and just enough different types of of
characters where some are speed some are the the technical,
which I I agree with you, I don't really know what they do
I.

I don't either I.
Don't I?

Maybe.
Maybe the spin and stuff is stronger.
Maybe that's what it is.

I should look it up.
But that would be that would be my guess.
I'm gonna.

I'm gonna look it up.
Actually, Mario, I should have.

Whatever it is, I don't jive
with it.

Yeah, I don't.
I don't.

I don't like it.
Mario Tennis Technical technical specifications No, that's
probably not it.

Yeah, I don't.
I don't.

We don't need the specs for this
game.

Technical characters.
Technique.

Oh yeah, Technique characters,
yeah.

Oh, they're able to pinpoint
parts of the court a little bit more so you can pick your
corners.

So a little bit better accuracy,
I guess.

And in later games they have
better footwork.

So whatever that means for
better footwork and stuff, so.

The accuracy I could see 'cause
I was like whenever I would get my purple shots in, they were
just hitting the corners, so that's cool.
OK.

So it's that's something, I mean
I think, I think that matters, I mean it's going to matter in
tennis, especially if you want to hit it across court and
stuff.

So OK.
I wasn't hitting it out of bounds as much as I probably
would have as Ouija.

Sure, exactly.
Wailing on it.

Or of the power characters who
just pretty much, you know,

Wario and and Donkey Kong and
Bowser, just I I like playing as them, but they also feel a
little bit slow, like they should, I think.
I like that.

I like playing against them.
You'd like playing against them.

Because they're slow.
Oh, because they're slow.

Yeah, as long as you can get.
As long as you can get back from the the serve, you got a chance.
That's the key, 'cause they have a a significantly stronger serve
which which is tough to serve in this.
If you if you get against a power character and and you
can't return that serve, well you're you're it's it's hard to
recover.

It takes you a few hits to kind
of recover back from that.

So I I I think it's I like, I
like the balance of the characters the the technical or
technique characters.

I guess that makes sense and
more accurate.

That works.
Let's.

Let that one go out of bounds,
buddy.

I know, I saw that too.
You just, yeah, I mean, I won anyway, 'cause like, suck it
while Luigi.

But was gonna say, oh, that's
the other thing.

Since we're talking about some
of some of the characters, I have a a list of different names
for the characters in the

Japanese version of this game
and also the.

Characters right here.
Yeah, and also the audio recording of what each of what
Mario says and the characters say in the game when it's like
when you choose them.

So I have to.
So so is is Don junior in this?

No, I don't.
I don't.

Not as far as I know.
Is he not one of the lockables?

Who are the 2 unlockables?
Unlockable.

I thought it was.
Oh my God, no.

Why is it?
I don't know.

Why am I losing?
I didn't unlock them.

Oh, it's a shy guy.
And Otis.

Otis, it is Junior.
You're right.

It is Junior.
Yeah.

Yeah.
Yeah, you're right.

I was thinking of something else
for some reason.

Yeah.
Might be his last game.

Oh.
Until like very recently, like in the last few years.
Right, Yeah.

He just wasn't around for like 2
decades.

Yeah, which it's so weird.
So weird.

Also, what's cool about this
too.

Speaking of the Game Boy Color
and other characters versions is just like in Mario Golf you can
import if you had the the adapter for six.
Freaking import your characters from the Game Boy game into
this.

Love that I I modern.
Technology, modern, modern technology kits.
I know I 100% did that in Mario

Golf, 'cause I also own that for
64.

So I I definitely did that with
the Gameboy Colour version, not with Advance, cause Advance was
past this this time, but or at least it wasn't able to read it
in in the adapter.

But I I I love that idea.
I think that is such a great idea.
Not only 'cause it gives you an extra reason to have both games,
and I'm sure that works out for them financially, but.
It it is fun.

It's fun to do that.
I mean, it's just a created character.
It's not anything too special or whatever, but.
No, it's cool.

I wish I could do it.
I know.

I wish I could do it too.
I I I need that adapter because

I have the actual Mario Tennis
that I need.

I need Mario Tennis for.
I got a character on there.

There you go exactly.
I have probably created 70 different characters in Mario
Golf on Gameboy, So one of them over the years.
Gotta make it one of them's.

Gotta make it in, right?
OK, where's the?

I'm gonna find the characters
thing here.

I have to switch my screen so we
can both hear it.

Change the windows.
I think now should work.

You can see it.
I do like how at the beginning of the game, in that cutscene,
Donkey Kong's just kind of like there, you know, he's like, oh,
oh, this is oh, this is scary, I guess.
Or something.

Like, he's not really.
He's nonplussed about all this.

Like, you know, he's not really
a member of the family.

He hasn't been around since
Mario Tzaki.

Kong Junior.
Really so.

He's bringing and bringing the
boy back and stuff too, right?

For for one last time,
apparently.

Or one.
I mean, that's like, that's it that they haven't been around
really, other than like sports games and party games like.
That's it, man.

They.
Donkey Kong 94, One of the best games ever made, yes?
Also, so maybe that was the last time.
Yes, that's true.

That's true.
There's there's a lot of missed opportunities.
I think with with a wide variety of Donkey Kong characters.
I would say Dixie is number one in my book.
Where the hell has Dixie Been?

Don't by Microsoft.
I I mean, maybe, maybe, I, I don't know for sure.
But the I'm pretty sure the last time she was in a game, like as
a playable character or even at all, is Diddy Kong Racing for DS
or 3DS, whichever one it was.

Yeah, DSDS.
That's that's it.

So that's 20 years ago.
Like, come on, come on.

Goodness.
Come on, what are you gonna do?

There are a number of names on
here.

So the international versions,
which are considered, you know,

North America and Europe and
everything, will be the names that we recognize.
Berto, Boo, Bowser, Paratroopa,

Shy Guy and Toad.
But they have corresponding

Japanese names that are not
anywhere close to that.

So Berto is actually called
Catherine Catherine.

Catherine.
Catherine.

Yeah, Boo is Teresa.
Teresa or Teresa?

Teresa, I guess.
Bowser.

Is the idea comes from, you
know, someone's wife nagging them for like, you know, working
their entire existence at

Nintendo, developing a game.
Is that where it comes from?

I did not know that.
Yeah, I think it's it's, oh, oh, why am I blanking on my favorite
Tzuka.

Tzuka.
Tzuka.

Not Tzuka.
Tzuka.

So yeah, Tzuka's wife was like,
you.

You work entirely too much.
Which she's right.

Well, probably, yeah.
And they like, slept there, so but yeah, that's where that
comes from.

I did not know that.
Oh, yeah.

OK, I see it now.
Yeah.

Yeah, so.
Oh yeah, What?

I didn't know that.
So Teresa, I guess, is was her name maybe Teresa?
I don't know if that's her name.

I don't know.
Maybe.

But I know that's where booze
come from, so that makes sense.

I would have a have.
A human name for it.

Yeah, Bowser, They.
Still call Bowser.

Kupa Bowser simply.
Just call him Bowser.

I know.
I mean, Bowser's a cool name until the guy that now runs
Nintendo is named Bowser, which is a little weird.
It's funny, It is.

It's so funny.
It's it was like it was meant to be.
How did this not happen yet?

What was taking this guy so
long?

Like, yeah, so he's just Koopa.
Paratroopa is Pata.

Pata.
Pata Pata.

Pata, Pata.
I like the way he says.

It.
It's a nice I.

It's weird but it's fine unless
I guess it has a meaning.

We just don't know.
Shy guy is hey Ho hey.

Ho, I love that.
Like.

I want to call him that.
I I think, I think what's funny is like, it's funny that they're
different names, but the way that they're voiced in Mario
Tennis, like Hey Ho and Pata

Pata, like they sound pretty
good.

Like, I like the voice over of
it better than Shy Guy, you know?
Good job, Charles.

Yeah, right, exactly.
Yeah.

He's, he's got a sound good.
Yeah.

And then Toad is Pinnopio I
think.

Pinnopio.
Pinnopio.

It's like it's like Pinocchio
but Keynopio.

But Keynopio, I thought that
was.

I thought that was really fun
and funny.

I think I think it's kind of
cool that that that's actually a thing and is able for me to
find.

So I'm gonna give myself a pat
on the back.

I think it's funny that they
just like recycled the voices from the Japanese voices from
Mario Kart 64.

Yeah.
For Mario Party One, So they like it was like, ah, just throw
those in there, just it's fine.

It's it's OK.
It's enough.

We also we don't have the
apparently we don't have the time and space to to make
something new.

So just.
Oh, I missed.

Yeah, it's OK.
When it really comes down to it,

Mario Tennis is a fantastic
game.

I think it's really great.
I I think it's one of the best or better sports games, at least
so far.

I know I've, I've sort of
haven't played all of them or replayed all of them since
starting the show and everything.
But so far this and Mario Golf are really damn good, man.
Like they're just they're just sharp.
They're just fun.

They're easy to pick up.
It's Arcadie but but also kind of SIM.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Yeah, I do wish, and I think I
said this about Mario Golf as well.
I do really wish that these games had the RPG Ish stuff of
the Gameboy titles.

I think if if they could have
pulled that off, I really like these would have been the best
games of all time like these would have.
Just that's where that's why you play the Gameboy one.
Yeah, the The Golf, The Switch

Golf.
That was supposed to be.

The point was that they were
adding in like the RPG aspect of it and it and it was OK, but it
it didn't really.

It was just nothing to do in
that game, man.

It was just let down.
I was disappointed too, because because I was so in love with
the previous ones.

I was like this this is going to
be.

It's awesome that there's like
RPG thing is in there and everything.
I totally agree.

I totally agree with you.
They're doing the console and the handheld all in one package.
It's going to be great.

No, no, no, it wasn't.
Yeah.

It it was, I think the golf part
of it, you know, felt OK and everything but.
Yeah, it's a fine golf game, yeah.
But just a fine golf game.

Like just.
All I wanted was, yeah, all I wanted was Gamecube's Toadstool
tour online.

That's all I want.
You mean that I'm happy because

I like Toadstool Tour better?
Oh, do you?

OK.
I have so little experience with that one that I can't say like,
oh, that's the one I want.

There there's more quality of
life features in it and I really love it.
And that's all I need in my life is online Toadstool Tour, so I'm
sure there's some way to do it with Dolphin.
I just don't know.

There's probably a way, yeah.
I was just going to say there's there's got to be a way
somewhere, yeah.

Nintendo would just give us the
damn GameCube channel.

Oh my God.
Just like just make it happen.

I have so little experience with
GameCube.

I would absolutely love that.
Yeah, just like, I don't care.

Even if it's just like five
games and that's all we get.

And one of them's Geist.
I don't care.

As long as one of them is that,
yeah.

Oh, well, I don't.
I don't need one of them to be

Geist.
But I won't care when Geist shows up.
Like, that's fine.

Whatever.
We finally got our thing.

At least we got what we need
otherwise.

Yeah.
Like, yeah, People I know who do not care about tennis got real
into this game.

Sure.
In a serious way, yeah.

And which speaks to the
testament of It's just solid.

You can pick it up, you can play
it, you know, tell people like, hey, tap the button a little
earlier to get your power shot and them both at the same time
to get your power shot.

But that's really all you need
to know.

That's that's fine.
That's totally fine, you know, and and I think like you said,
you're, you're picking up, oh, here's my little boob play that
I could not figure out.

Oh God, I guess the piranhas.
Yeah, I guess the Piranhas too.

Yeah, I I was missing shots all
over the place.

I think.
What's good about this too, like you mentioned earlier, picking
up and and playing it at at random times or picking up and
yeah, see, I was just like going right through the ball.
Hey, I got one.

So bad it It really is tough to.
It looks it looks like I am just

I have never played a sports
game in my life watching this replay, right?
Now, but if you like, if you like really back up what like a
the slice, the B button.

But you can get that thing to
hook like around Wario.

I think that's why I played
those characters growing up, because I was like, oh man, I I
can, I can do these shots now.

I just couldn't figure it out
but.

Yeah, but you'll get there.
I'll I'll get there.

So that and, and that's what's
great too.

Like, honestly, this is one of
those games that I think it's great that this is one that they
put on Switch, 'cause it's definitely a game where you
could just play a tournament for 15 minutes, play one of these
Piranha matches for 10 minutes.

You know you can do that with
games.

Like this?
Exactly.

I think, I think it's it's
definitely one of those games that benefits from that and and
that's great.

I I think that's one of the one
of the few I I have.

I have some issues with the
choices of what they have on

Switch Online between this and
especially Game Boy.

It's just not enough.
There's not enough.

I I know it's not that simple,
but come on.

But at least.
This is on there, at least there's not.
It's like like more please, more like.
Yeah, add more stuff to your service, please.
Especially Game Boy Advance.

What are they doing?
Gosh, Donkey Kong 94 is not even on the Game Boy.
Like, like DK 94 needs to be on that.
Whatever.

I don't.
Let's not.

Let's not.
Let's not get into.

It.
But yeah, I like this game a lot, as do I.
You know, just sometimes it's just one of those things where
like, like, Oh my God, I'm like,

I've gotten really good at this
game again.

I don't know why, Like, like my
friends and I just happened to be around and like all of a
sudden we're doing tournaments of this game.
Yes, yes.

And it's fun.
It is.

It's a lot of fun overall.
If you haven't played it before or haven't played it for a very
long time.

Play Mario Tennis people.
I I, you know if it's if you're sort of on the fence about it.
We've kind of been raving about it here and there and at some
points but like just just play this game it is.
It is a recommended play whether you have Switch online or where
they have another way of playing it.
I think you're just gonna have a good time, plain and simple.
I think you're just going to have a good time with this.
Yeah, it is good.

So it's.
Exactly what you want out of a tennis game.
In a lot of ways, what you'd expect, but not in a bad way.
You know it, it doesn't doesn't necessarily surprise you, but
that's OK.

It does what it needs to do and
does it well.

And I think that's really the
the best way.

It doesn't do too much, which
like I said, maybe some more side game features.
But for the most part, you know, there's a lot here.
You can just keep playing tennis with your friends.
That's cool.

Yeah, yeah, especially with
other people.

It is a perfect game for that.
So I agree, Mario Tennis now behind us on Remember 64, but
more Mario games and sports titles coming, lots of them.
We have lots of them.

We have sport I I guess, I guess
you could call racing games, sport games, but.
Racing is sport.

Racing is a sport, but is San
Francisco Rush a sport?

Sir is San.
Francisco, San Francisco.

Rush is life, Rush's life.
Rush's life.

So the reason why I'm mentioning
that is because no matter when we end up doing it or how we end
up doing it, Luigi has always raved about the Rush games,
especially two, and we are 100% going to be doing that together.
I am very excited because one of the games that you said way back
when that you really wanted to play were the Kengriff Junior
games.

I had a great time with those.
I fully expect to be loving the, or at least very much enjoying
myself playing the Rush game.

So I I'm excited for that, so.
Rush is a good another example of a good arcade.
Slash SIM combo.

Yeah, yeah.
But what you really want to be doing is playing Rush 2 Stunt
mode and just like trying to spin those cars as many times as
you can while landing all four tires on the ground and not
blowing up.

OK, OK.
Yeah, go go find stunt mode on two and just let that become
your new religion 'cause it's great.
Well, I've I fully.

I am.
I am all in on trying this.

We're not gonna put an exact
date on it yet for everybody that's listening, but we will.
But we will be doing it.

And there is no way anyone else
is going to be doing that episode but you, Sir.
Because hell yeah, not only is it always a joy to be talking to
you about games and have you with me on the show, but but to
play games that, that, that a guest or anyone else brings that
really has a passion for it, that I've never played.
That's what I love about doing this is being able to experience
those.

So very excited, very excited to
tease ahead to that.

Yeah, I I want to make you play
Ogre Battle, but I don't want to make you play Ogre Battle.
That's the other one.

So that's going to be you know
what it is we'll we'll also queue that up.
But it's going to have to be like this long term, like, hey,
we planned for it and six months later, we've got it behind now
we're now we're ready.

Like even back back, way back
when I was like this, this has to be like a multi like we have
to, yeah.

Multi step.
Process.

It would be a check in sort of
thing.

That's totally fine with me.
I'm down with that.

So it's going to be an Ogre
battle series almost.

Almost because that's that's
always what I've always wanted to do with that game is have a
very you know long play series with it because it is it's a lot
that's.

OK.
A lot is OK.

But it's it's a lot of good
stuff so and and I I was playing that a lot this year because I
was getting really excited for

Unicorn Overlord and now Unicorn
Overlord is here.

That has arrived.
It's very Ogre Battle 64.

It's it's what I wanted.
So I'm happy with that.

Excellent, excellent.
OK, everyone.

So that's that's a little tease
ahead for what we're going to work on together.
But until that time, of course, you can always find Remember 64
online at Remember 64 show, including on Patreon where you
can support the show for as little as a buck a month, get
episodes early, get extra content that I'm making.
I'm doing like mini reviews.

I'm starting to do some free
stuff as well, like polls and stuff.
I'm opening up for things that will you know, if anyone wants
to hear me talk about a game that I'm playing away for the
N64, that I'll either, you know, write a mini review down or
record it.

It'll be available to everybody,
but I want to know what people want to hear about.
I don't want to just do some random things.
So patreon.com/remember 64 Show is where you can find that.
And yeah, check it out.

I mean, if if you don't want to
or can't support, no problem, check out the free stuff
anyways.

But it's always up there, and
you'll always get a chance to get episodes early if you do
support the show for as little as a buck a month.
So yeah, that's it, man.

That's all of it.
Thank you everyone for listening, Luigi, as always a
pleasure to speak with you, Sir.

Oh yeah, it's great.
So this is this is awesome to get back into it together and to
continue to do more more awesome stuff on the show.
Ogre Battle and and the Rush series are happening.
Whether people, yeah.

Whether people like it or not,
we're.

On your calendar.
Put it in the calendar.

We'll let you know when in the
calendar.

But where?
Yeah, we'll just just let you know.
It's in the.

It should be in your calendar
somewhere.

Yeah, it's so you know.
Put it in there and and whether you've done it or we've done it
for you, it will be there.

Yeah.
All right, everyone.

Thanks for listening.
Luigi.

Thanks for being here.
And we will see everybody next time on Remember 64.
Farewell.