When comparing Puyo Puyo Tetris vs Mario Tennis Aces, the Slant community recommends Mario Tennis Aces for most people. In the question“What are the best couch/local co-op games for the Nintendo Switch?” Mario Tennis Aces is ranked 34th while Puyo Puyo Tetris is ranked 48th. The most important reason people chose Mario Tennis Aces is:
Playing with a friend right beside you makes the game much more enjoyable. Reacting to each other in real-time is just better than playing against a computer opponent. There's no online co-op -- only multiplayer matches against random people -- meaning you'll have to be in the same room together to play.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Two strategic, classic games in one
This game combines the fun and strategy of Tetris and Puyo Puyo together.
In Tetris, shapes drop from the top of the screen at varying speeds. You can rotate these shapes around to form lines at the bottom of the screen. When a line is formed, it clears out space on your screen, which allows you more room for more matches. Tetris is a beloved classic that has stood the test of time.
Puyo Puyo is a color matching game. Colored pieces fall from the top of the screen onto a tile-based board. By matching four pieces of the same color in rows or columns, all the matched pieces will disappear (called "popping") which gives you more room for more matches. The real fun in Puyo Puyo comes from making strategic matches that cause large amounts of tiles on your screen to pop and cause a chain reaction of matches (called "chaining").
Whether it's the shape-matching of Tetris, or the color-matching of Puyo Puyo, both games offer a lot of room for strategy. Getting both games (not to mention the dozen different game modes) in one package is a great deal.
Pro Fast and frantic competitive play
The smooth mix of Tetris versus Puyo Puyo really lends itself well to competitive play. Getting matches on your side and sending your friend trash pieces (while they do the same to you) is a great way to blend the two games into some frantic head to head action. Scrambling to outplay your friends is made even more interesting by the fact that you're playing two completely separate games side by side. In some modes, your boards will even swap at random meaning you'll have to pay attention to the action on both boards at the same time.
Pro Very interesting gameplay premise
Putting the shape-matching nature of Tetris head to head with the color-matching style of Puyo Puyo sounds weird, but it works. One player will be playing Tetris, while the other is playing Puyo Puyo. The goal is to make as many matches as fast as you can, which will send trash pieces to your friend's board. The seamless blend of two different games combined with over a dozen different modes results in matches that play out in extremely interesting and creative ways.
Pro Tons of game modes
There are training modes that teach you how to play, a story mode where you can watch an adventure play out, and even a free mode where you choose the rules. Some interesting multiplayer modes include: a mode where your boards swap at random, a mode where you both play the same game, and a mode where one player plays Tetris while the other plays Puyo Puyo.
In total, there are six challenge modes, five arcade modes, three lesson modes, and also an adventure mode with a hundred stages. Regardless of your play style, you'll easily be able to find an exciting mode that suits your tastes.
Pro Great online experience
The online community for this game is very friendly and welcoming of new players. Finding quick matches with others is also quick and easy due to the rather large pool of players who actively play this game.
Pro Level skip for tricky puzzles
A handy level skip keeps adventure mode fun without being frustrating. If you're ever stuck on a certain level for way too long, you can just skip over it and keep progressing to watch the story play out.
Pro Couch co-op with a friend is tons of fun
Playing with a friend right beside you makes the game much more enjoyable. Reacting to each other in real-time is just better than playing against a computer opponent. There's no online co-op -- only multiplayer matches against random people -- meaning you'll have to be in the same room together to play.
Pro Solid roster of Nintendo characters to play as
There's a good variety of characters you can play as. If you're familiar with first party Nintendo games, then you'll see a lot of familiar faces here, like Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Peach, and of course Mario. Everyone has their own playing styles, with bigger characters like Bowser and Donkey Kong favoring hard-hitting power shots, and others like Yoshi and Mario that have a more balanced approach. You can go with whichever style or character you prefer, practicing with them until you master everything. Getting to see all of these characters together in one game is great for fanservice as well.
Pro You can compete against others online in multiplayer
When you run out of single-player content to enjoy, you can hop online to play against random opponents. The main game mode is the tournaments you can play, which rewards you with special characters if you score well. Online connectivity is good too, especially with the choice to drop out of matches beforehand against players who have bad connections. Playing online is a really great way to test your skills and improve your play, since anyone you get matched with is an actual player who has their own strengths and weaknesses.
Pro Intense and engaging tennis matches
Mario Tennis Aces is incredibly addicting to play. Matches are fast-paced and exciting, with one particular mechanic that keeps things unpredictable. Every time you successfully hit the tennis ball to your opponent's end of the court, you build up a power meter that you can use in a couple of different ways.
When you want to quickly finish off a match, you can slow down time and take aim at a vulnerable corner of your opponent's court for an instant win. Or, if they try to do that to you, you can instead expend some of your power meter to quickly reach the ball and hit it back. Things can get pretty tricky when you both use up your power meters at the same time, leading to some satisfying wins.
Cons
Con Unfair matchmaking in online mode
There is no organized skill ladder, and all online matches are completely random. This can lead to some very unfair games at times, especially when skilled, experienced players are matched up against new players.
Con Has some balance issues
When you go head to head with another player, one of you will be playing Tetris and one will be playing Puyo Puyo. Not only does each game feature different mechanics, but there are some overpowered tactics (on both sides) which can send way too many trash pieces onto your opponent's board. Some more tuning is definitely needed.
Con Tetris is slowed down
In order to be balanced with the speed of Puyo Puyo, the Tetris game has lots of artificial delays in pieces dropping which prevents you from playing as quick as you are capable. This can be frustrating to some, especially experienced Tetris players.
Con Story mode will not appeal to all
The characters in the story mode are from the Puyo Puyo anime. Unless you're a fan of the show and its characters, you probably won't get much entertainment out of it.
Con Very wide skill gap between experienced and inexperienced players
Mario Tennis Aces can be unwelcoming to new players. While playing co-op or online, it's tough to catch up with everyone else who knows how to time their power shots with the meter. If you don't pick up on this mechanic fairly quickly, you may feel like you're getting left behind. You don't necessarily have to use the mechanic if you and a friend agree not to, but this sadly makes matches pretty dull. Running against computer opponents is a good way to get your feet wet before moving up to other levels of play.
Con Limited gameplay options for solo players
If you're the type who prefers to game alone, then Mario Tennis Aces might not be for you. There's only one single-player mode, while the rest of the game is mostly dedicated to co-op and online play. The solo mode is also extremely short, clocking in at around four hours. Aside from that, there really isn't much else for you to do.
Con Certain characters are locked behind online tournaments
The primary way to unlock new characters is to win tournaments, but this isn't entirely fair. They're only available for a limited amount of time, with the rewards changing from tournament to tournament. Even though some of these characters are in the actual game as opponents in the single-player adventure mode, you can't get access to them unless you unlock them through these tournaments. If you don't like playing online, or if you don't have the means to pay for Nintendo's online service once it's implemented later on in 2018, then you're basically out of luck.
Con Single-player adventure mode is pretty difficult
The game's adventure mode makes up for its short length with some real difficulty. It's a rough introduction to the gameplay, as some of the matches and bosses are really hard. There's plenty of variety to things, like courts that have certain hazards in your way and uneven terrain such as tall grass, as well as inventive boss designs like a giant squid that shoots out tennis ball-shaped blobs of ink. But all of these things can get quite overwhelming, especially if you're using the single-player mode to get better at the game.