Mario Tennis Aces -- 5 June 2021, Friend Matches #1

Описание: It's clearly the server's fault!
twitter.com/yuugijoou
discord.gg/bKT9pRW

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IF YOU'RE IMPATIENT LIKE WE WERE AND DON'T WANT TO WAIT FOR THE ACTUAL GAMEPLAY TO BEGIN, SKIP TO 5:14!

Along for the ride are my usual co-conspirators in such efforts:

Maidens (P2)
B-Squared (P3)
   / strategist9  
twitter.com/strategist9
Unagi (P4)
   / whitekhakis  
twitter.com/pantsmeister

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This was ACTUALLY meant to be a livestream affair, but for about a week there, my ISP was being a massive jerkstore about things and I couldn't squeeze out enough bandwidth to put on a good show. Or any show, actually. (Except maybe a slideshow.)

But I knew there was merit in this session, and I decided it needed to be kept an eye on in case it deserved posting for posterity... and here we are!

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It's been quite some time, and I have to say... I still really like the cut of this game's jib. Even if it had a huge train wreck of a time with what was delivered versus players' expectations... but... I mean, what else is new when it comes to that kind of thing?

I'm not in the mood to dismantle all the bizarre amounts of goalpost moving and massive amounts of disconnect between what people imagine a game like this should be versus what they actually are... I just want to play some tennis!

... ... ...wow, that last bit is clearly not something you'll ever hear me say in real life, though...

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One thing that's a pretty big differential from how it launched and how it ended up is that they added a lot of things afterwards. Some of them ere small and some of them have proven rather dramatic in their long-reaching implications.

Among the most noticeable of these has been the roster, expanded to nearly twice its starting size, and that's for a game that was widely derided by word of mouth for being... um... ... ... not what they wanted... in some ways?

Gosh, I hope Pauline gets the Rosalina treatment and gets to tag along in all the wacky multiplayer hijinks from now on, because she's kinda earned it, sitting on a shelf for decades until Odyssey decided to pick her up and let her really hit the high notes.

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[Best of 3, 2-Game Sets]
Piranha Plant Forest

Shy Guy (Maidens) & Pauline (YuuGiJoou)
vs.
Daisy (Unagi) & Birdo (B-Squared)

Naturally, there are enough players present that we needed to go directly to doubles play... it's massively chaotic, even without stage hazards and super powers getting in the way... and that's on top of the systemic refresh that makes Aces so much more refreshing to play than applying it to its "basic" gameplay.

I really wanted to use Pauline's special shot, but the special meter is shared... AND you can't really help it if the game falls into a rhythm where your chance to use one arrives, but the meter is needed elsewhere... ... ... or if you don't actually happen to be playing in a manner that will support a lot of special antics to begin with.

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[Best of 3, 2-Game Sets]
Marina Stadium

Fire Piranha Plant (YuuGiJoou) & Boom-Boom (Unagi)
vs.
Chain Chomp (B-Squared) & Luma (Maidens)

I've heard of minibosses getting the nod and becoming full playable given enough time and effort put in behind the grindstone... ... ... but a stage hazard?! It truly is a glorious time to be a Piranha Plant! ...just don't get me started on my thesis!