Koopa Troopa now playable in Mario Tennis Aces, single-player & online updated

As part of Nintendo’s ongoing support of the recently released Mario Tennis Aces, the green-shelled Koopa Troopa is now playable in online and offline modes, as part of an update making some welcome fixes and additions across the Adventure and online modes.

To unlock Koopa, all you have to do is participate in a single online match. Regardless of the result, Koopa will join the roster at the conclusion of the match. Although the online tournaments are one of Mario Tennis Aces’ strong points, people not so keen on playing online will see the good turtle boy spinning onto the scene in August.

Named as the fastest character in Aces yet, Koopa Troopa uses its shell to rapidly spin around the court, returning shots other characters can’t even reach. Although lacking in power, my time online with Koopa was competitive, speeding past the likes of Chain Chomp and Donkey Kong, who couldn’t keep up with Koopa’s swift court coverage. We’ll ignore the fact I got utterly wiped in the Championship match by Luigi, but the rest of the tournament was good! Failing all else, I’ll print out my own trophy to fill the void of an actual tournament win.

In addition to Koopa Troopa, the coming months will see the likes of Blooper, Diddy Kong, Birdo, and Koopa Paratrooper become playable characters. In the wake of the Splatoon series, Blooper may no longer be everyone’s favourite video game squid, but the way it enters the court from a bucket of water is adorable. Maybe Blooper’s addition to the roster is why the matches are so short; it would shrivel up and die if subjected to a five-set epic.

Moving onto Aces’ changes in Version 1.1.1, changes to the Adventure mode are now live, including how often opponents use Zone Shots and how much Energy is refilled across several levels. Excitingly, online tournaments have seen a welcome facelift with the addition of “Ratings”. In addition to the specific monthly tournament points, players will now receive a scored rating beginning at 2,000, which will raise or lower based on performance. It appears that players’ Ratings will not reset after each monthly tournament, which means it will likely be used as a measure to more effectively matchmake players of similar skills online.

Also, Nintendo has stated there will be character and game balance changes in future updates. Vooks’ own Daniel Vuckovic is keen to see Boo nerfed, much to my dismay, but these changes will likely address the dominance of Waluigi and Bowser Jr in the online meta. Both characters possess phenomenal reach and killer drop shots, making them a frustratingly difficult opponent to beat. Perhaps Waluigi’s overpowered nature is Nintendo’s way of making up for his omission in the upcoming Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Regardless, I recommend playing as Peach as a counter, due to her strong ability to position shots at difficult angles to return, opening up the court for devastating Zone and Special Shot combos.

What other changes would you like to see in Mario Tennis Aces? Let us know in the comments or on social media!

Official patch notes – Version 1.1.1

• Changes to Online Tournaments
  • The “Rating” feature will be added to the game on July 1, 2018. Ratings scores will start at 2,000 and go up after scoring points and go down when losing points in matches. It is a score that shows how strong the player is. (The in-game ranking board will continue to be based on Total Points.)
  • In cases where there is a disconnection during a match, ratings will go up or down based on the score in that match at that time.
  • When there is great discrepancy between players in ability, a player’s rating may not go up even if they win.
• Changes to missions in Adventure mode
  • Forest Practice Court: We have adjusted how often the opponent uses Zone Shots.
  • Forest Edge: We have adjusted how quickly the opponent responds to shots.
  • Reflection Room: We have adjusted how much Energy is refilled.
  • Royal Chamber: We have adjusted how much Energy is refilled.
• Other changes
  • Online Tournament: We have addressed an issue of settings not aligning with Options settings when starting a match.
  • Online Tournament: We have addressed an issue of the game freezing when pressing certain buttons after there is a communication error.
  • There will be further adjustments to game balance in matches and character performance.

Source: Nintendo of America