Mario Tennis may have unleashed the terrible Waluigi onto the world, but it's still one of the finest Mario spin-offs and arcade-sports game franchises in general. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash ($49.99) is the first original console edition of Mario Tennis since the GameCube version over a decade ago. I recently got to play the near-finished version of the Wii U game at Nintendo's New York office. Here are a part-time tennis enthusiast and a full-time Mario fan's impressions of the new game. 

Smashing
The last Mario Tennis, Mario Tennis Open on the Nintendo 3DS, was a surprisingly subdued sports game. Without the wacky power-ups that define the Mario universe, there wasn't much separating the core game from a more-realistic tennis experience. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash thankfully injects some craziness back into the proceedings on the Wii U. The standout power-up is the Mega Mushroom, which supersizes your character into a towering giant for a limited period of time.

However, these flights of fancy don't mean that skill is irrelevant. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash features a variety of shot options, from slices to lobs, that you can activate by pressing various button combinations. As in the 3DS version, Ultra Smash has colorful glowing spots that occasionally appear on the court. If you stand in these spots and use the correct shot at the correct angle, you perform a powered-up trick shot. New in this version is the titular Ultra Smash technique, which players unleash by charging up a devastating jump shot when the conditions are right. 

Seven Days in the Mushroom Kingdom
I only got to play a handful of multiplayer matches, but the final game will feature modes like the Knockout Challenge, a gauntlet of tiebreaker matches against harder and harder opponents, and Mega Battle, a mad scramble for Mega Mushrooms. The game includes online play as well. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a split-screen option. Players in the same room have to look at the same viewing angle of the match, which favors the player whose character is closest to the front. Giving all the players their own views seems like a no-brainer, especially after you realize the Wii U already has a private gamepad screen. Maybe it'll be in the final release of the game.

Motion controls are another Wii U no-brainer. While many feel that the Wii remote's motion-sensing capabilities detracted from traditional games, tennis games on the platform were pretty great. Wii Sports Tennis alone sold millions of people on the system. The Wii U supports Wii remotes, but in Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash you must turn it sideways and use it as a classic controller, which is a shame.  

At least Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash takes advantage of the Wii U's other upgrades. The HD visuals make this one of the prettiest Mario sports game by far. Plus, you can scan in an amiibo figure of characters like Rosalina and Toad to use as a doubles partner. Figures even become more skilled the more you use them, as in Super Smash Bros. 

Mario Tennis, Anyone?
Since the release of Star Fox Zero has been pushed into next year, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash has to bear the burden of being the flagship holiday game for Nintendo's fledgling console. That may be an unfair amount of pressure, but, fortunately, the game is shaping up to be a fine addition to the franchise. Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash for the Wii U launches November 20, 2015.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.