Boom Boom is Mario Tennis Aces' next free playable character
And he arrives this week.
Despite launching on Switch all the way back in June last year, Mario Tennis Aces' impressive post-launch support shows no signs of abating. And there's more to come later this week, with the previously teased arrival of Mario series stalwart Boom Boom as a brand-new playable character.
If the name Boom Boom isn't immediately familiar, that's entirely forgivable. In the great pantheon of Mario universe character designs, he's certainly on the more forgettable side (and, yes, I realise I risk antagonising a hitherto unseen army of Boom Boom fans here). You'll know him when you see him though; Boom Boom has popped up as a Mario game mini-boss on numerous occasions, dazzling all with his sharp pirouettes before suffering an inevitably swift dispatch via a couple of stomps to the head. And look, here he is now...
Boom Boom's place in the Mario Tennis Aces line-up was first announced at the tail-end of 2018, where he was confirmed to be one of three characters arriving between January and March this year - the others being Luma (available now) and Pauline. Boom Boom is a Defensive character, just like Bowser Jr and Waluigi before him, meaning that he benefits from a longer reach compared to other classes. Boom Boom's Mario Tennis Aces reveal trailer above shows his standard, trick, and special shots in action.
Boom Boom is the ninth character to be added to Mario Tennis Aces post-launch, following on from Koopa Troopa, Blooper, Diddy Kong, Birdo, Koopa Paratroopa, Shy Guy, Petey Piranha, and Luma. As was the case with those characters, Nintendo Online subscribers will have first dibs on Boom Boom, starting this week. Those who play in an online tournament between February 1st and February 28th will unlock Boom Boom immediately. He'll be made available to everyone else after March 1st.
The current online-exclusive character, Luma, also gets a general release on February 1st, meaning it's probably safe to surmise that Pauline will make her Mario Tennis Aces debut from March 1st this year. Don't hold me to that though, just in case.