Mario Tennis Aces Adds A New Free DLC Character

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate isn't the only Switch game to receive a major update this week. Nintendo has also rolled out a new patch for Mario Tennis Aces. The update arrived on January 31 and made a range of balance adjustments, marked the start of another Co-Op Challenge, and added a new playable character: Boom Boom.

Beginning February 1, players will be able to unlock the classic Super Mario Bros. 3 mid-boss by competing in the game's Online Tournament mode; everyone else, meanwhile, will unlock him automatically after March 1. You can get a look at Boom Boom in action in the trailer above.

In addition to Boom Boom, Nintendo has brought back the Boo Hunt Co-Op Challenge until March 2, giving players another opportunity to unlock special alternate costumes for Boo. This particular challenge uses Swing Mode and has players teaming up online to hit the ball at as many Boos within the time limit.

Beyond that, Nintendo has added a Hosted Match mode for online and LAN play. AI has also been improved, and a number of characters have received balance adjustment. You can read about all of the changes in the full patch notes.

A number of new characters have been added to Mario Tennis Aces since the game's launch, including Shy Guy, Diddy Kong, Petey Piranha, and most recently Luma, who arrived at the beginning of January. The game's next free character will be Pauline, and she'll be available in March.