Mario Tennis 64

That first round felt impossibly hard, but once I learned to use lob shots and returns to set up power serves, the AI’s challenge became addictive. The way the cuddly characters hide that punishing learning curve is genius.

I wasn’t expecting to actually need strategy beyond just swinging the racket, but the AI forces you to learn every shot type to win. The learning curve is steep but rewarding once you finally outsmart Bowser’s sadistic volleys.

The AI in single-player is no joke—I thought my drop shots were safe until it started reading them perfectly. Figuring out when to use a lob or a topspin slice really changes how you play each match.