Games similar to Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color?

As a kid I was a huge Nintendo fan, I actually very much enjoyed games like Mario Tennis and Mario golf on the N64. So when I went to a local game store and saw a copy of Mario Tennis for the GBC I had to pick it up. I remember at the time I assumed it was probably very similar to the N64 version, boy was I wrong.

First of all the player character wasn't any of the typical Mario cast, it was just a boy who was attending a Tennis Academy. It wasn't until much later into the game that you actually had a chance to challenge any of the Mario cast. If I recall correctly it was the games end game tournament that introduced the cast for the first time. Until that point I don't even believe they were mentioned.

Furthermore the game featured a lot of RPG elements. So much so I would easily classify this game as an RPG. It was complete with a level system that would reward stat points upon leveling up that you could place into various skills. You could gain experience by participating in Tennis Matches (go figure) or there were training exercises that sort of let you grind if you felt under leveled. It also had this cool hub world you could explore. Unfortunately I don't remember much about the hub world, just that at the time I thought it was pretty damn cool to be included into a game I thought would just be another Mario Tennis game.

Other than this one instance I have never really seen a game before that seamlessly blended sports and RPG mechanics so well. I'm not a huge sports fan by any stretch of the imagination but I would easily say this is one of my favorite games from childhood. I would love to play another game like this one, the problem is I've never actually heard of one like this before. I looked up the sequel to this game that appeared on the GBA and apparently it shares a lot of similar features so I will likely try and find that game on ebay or something.

So I guess I just want to know if any of you have ever played a game similar to Mario Tennis GBC. It was such a unique experience for me as a kid and I sort of want to see if there are more games like this that I may have missed out on in my childhood or adulthood.

Thanks

Mario Golf on the GBC is really similar to that. Except you know, it's golfing.

It's a shame the new Mario Sports games aren't like those.

I'm pretty sure that the Mario Tennis and Golf games on the GBA are similarly RPG-esque and story based. I don't know of any other games like them though.

Nice! I'm definitely going to pick that game up. It really is a shame that other developers haven't tried something similar to this formula. It works really well.

If either of you are interested both Mario Tennis and Mario Golf are both available on the 3DS eshop. Hopefully the GBA sequels make their way onto the platform eventually

@maxxs: Those are two of my favorite games ever.

Fun Fact: The music for Mario Tennis and Mario Golf was composed by Motoi Sakuraba (Tales series, Valkyrie Profile, etc.). Most of the tracks are fairly simple, but his style comes through when the action picks up.

Also, there's an NES game called Base Wars which is similar in concept (RPG elements in a baseball game). However, the twist is you can't get tagged out, you enter combat. You earn cash and use it on upgrades for your players such as weapons, and stronger hitting/pitching. It's actually pretty awesome.