Top 10 Playable Characters in Mario Tennis Aces

Alright, now Chain Chomp was an amazingly obscure choice for a character in Mario Tennis Aces. Like, literally, who even thought of playing as a Chain Chomp in a tennis game? Well, not me. The fact that he managed to get into the game is enough for me to rank him super high. In fact, he was the first character I decided to play as in the game. This was actually one of the characters available when the game was first released. It's such an original choice, and I like how he holds the tennis racket in his mouth. He's definitely a powerful guy. He's a bit slow in matches, but the fact that he's here is enough proof that he deserves to be here.

Petey Piranha being in this game as a playable character is certainly an interesting choice. This makes Mario Tennis Aces most likely the only game in which there is a character who serves both as a playable character and as a boss battle. It's not a big problem, though, as you can only play as Mario in the story mode. Nevertheless, I just love that you can play as this character. It's such an obscure and interesting choice.

We are all tired of seeing him appear in every Mario game. In almost every single main game, we have Boom Boom taking on a role as one of the easiest and most basic bosses ever. He's been in Super Mario Bros. 3, New Super Mario Bros. U/Luigi U, Super Mario 3D Land, and Super Mario 3D World. We've encountered this lazy excuse around 40 times in total, and it's sad how Nintendo doesn't come up with original bosses.

However, this is just as a boss battle in main games. This list is about the best playable characters in Mario Tennis Aces, and Boom Boom is no "lazy unoriginal filler" as a playable character in spin-offs. I am really glad to see him here, as we don't often get him in spin-offs. In the story mode, there was a match near the end of the game you had with him, and he was actually pretty tough as well. So he is deserving of being on here.

A Fire Piranha Plant? Yes, they actually added it. Adding a Piranha Plant alone is something very unlikely, but not too unlikely, considering one was added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, they went further and picked a variety of a Piranha Plant: the Fire Piranha Plant! That is one of the most obscure choices I've ever thought of. It's the most obscure choice in the game. However, because I prefer other characters in general, this one is just in fourth place.

Pauline is a more obscure character in the Mario universe, but not as unexpected a choice for Mario Tennis Aces, especially considering her major role in Super Mario Odyssey. Nevertheless, her sudden appearance in Nintendo Switch games is excellent. She was, after all, the original damsel in distress before Peach took over the role back in the NES days. Since then, she has only appeared in Mario vs. Donkey Kong games. I especially like how her special shot includes parts of the song "Jump Up! Superstar," which is basically her song. She is deserving of being here.

Overall, personally, I've always felt like Birdo and Koopa Troopa are my default characters when playing spin-offs. They have all-around decent stats, and their designs don't get in the way when playing. They just sort of get me. It's strange how Koopa Troopas, like Goombas, are some of the most common enemies in Mario games, yet they make rare appearances as playable characters in Mario spin-offs. This is even rarer with Goombas. This gives them a nice yet obscure feel, which is cool.

Blooper is one of those characters that may occasionally appear in spin-offs, but he's still one of the most obscure characters in Mario spin-off games. So him being in the roster for Mario Tennis Aces is certainly a nice addition. I've always liked to play as Blooper in Mario Party 8, and he's certainly decent with stats in this game as well. He's my fifth favorite personally.

You all probably know by now that Birdo is my favorite Mario character of all time, so her being on this list shouldn't come as a surprise. She's one of the most interesting Mario characters, and her design with pink and red combined is just so nice. Unfortunately, she hasn't made many appearances in Mario games recently. She was absent from Mario Kart 8/Deluxe, modern Mario Party games (excluding 9), and Mario Kart 7. Luckily, she made appearances in Mario Sports Superstars and this game.

Spike is certainly an interesting choice that has appeared more frequently in spin-offs since the Wii U as a playable character. It's funny because he was a boss battle in Mario Party 9. He's a fan-favorite in my family that my siblings usually play as (either him or Shy Guy). Originally, when I got Mario Party 10, I was mind-blown that he was even in the game. Recently, I've become less interested in him, but he's still great for this list.

Kamek, or Magikoopa, is one of those semi-obscure choices in Mario games. He appears frequently, but at the same time, it's a bit rare to see him as a playable character. Mario Party 9, Mario Golf: World Tour, Mario Superstar Baseball, and Mario Super Sluggers are examples where Kamek/Magikoopa is available. These are really the only games, excluding Mario Tennis Aces, where he is featured. He was one of the last characters to have been added to Mario Tennis Aces, as recently as April 2019. He deserves to be here and is a great character.