‘Mario Tennis Fever’ Review: A Match Made in Heaven… Mostly

This review was made possible by Popped receiving a review code for Mario Tennis Fever on the Nintendo Switch 2.

Mario and friends have found themselves in the midst of heated battle against Bowser once again — but rather than duking it out with the typical ground pounds and spins, they’re taking things to court. The tennis court, that is! Mario Tennis Fever is the eighth installment in the most prominent series of Mario sports titles (the second for the Nintendo Switch family of systems), and while that could be cause for concern of the franchise growing stale, this game proves it’s far from it. Apart from one mode the misses the bar, Fever will have you leaping across the court and dancing between modes every second you can get, with its addictive gameplay and slew of options.

In ’Mario Tennis Fever,’ The Sport Has Never Felt Better

If you’re familiar with previous games in the series, the basics of Mario Tennis Fever are the same. As you chase the ball across the court you’ll choose whether to react with a topspin, slice, flat, lob, or drop shot. The first three are mapped to A, B, and Y, respectively, which you’ll use in combination with your control stick to change the shot’s direction. As for the lob and drop shot, they’re enacted by hitting A and B in quick succession, or they can be much more simply mapped to either of the shoulder buttons or triggers in the settings. Additionally, most shot types can be turned into a super charge shot by holding the chosen button, or a powerful shot by double-tapping it. Once you get a grasp on all of these, the game really clicks. It’s not just monotonous button-mashing — it takes quite a bit of strategy. It’s all about positioning and keeping your opponent on their toes… if they’re at the back of the court, catch them off guard with a short drop shot. If they’re off to one side, flick a fast flat the other way. And if they hit a powerful topspin toward you, respond with a slice to keep from getting knocked back. It’s a game of the mind as much as it is a test of reaction speed.

Of course, there’s a little more to worry about with this entry’s new gimmick: Fever Rackets. Once you choose your character for the match (out of a roster of 38!), you get your pick of Fever Racket. The list of 30 ranges from one that scatters banana peels, to another that spawns a Pokey, and others that wield elements of fire or ice to varying effect. Your FV Gauge will fill naturally during play, and once it does you can tap X to hit a Fever Shot. The tricky part is that hitting it isn’t enough; it has to land on the opponent’s side of the court to cause its special effect. Succeed, and you have a massive leg up on the competition for a short time. But fail, and your own Fever Shot gets parried back to your side of the net, plunging you into chaos. Depending what Fever Rackets are used, it can get quite silly — sometimes even overstimulating. But fret not! If you want to play good old-fashioned tennis without them, you can opt out of it in most game modes. Most of the time they actually keep things fresh and fun, but it’s nice to have the option.

A Wonderful Array Of Modes in ‘Mario Tennis Fever’

Speaking of options… boy, I was not prepared for all the game modes Mario Tennis Fever has to offer. Between Adventure, Free Play, Tournament, Trial Towers, and even the more modest Mix It Up and Swing Mode, there’s always something that has its hooks in me. First, let’s talk Free Play! It’s pretty self-explanatory — it’s where you go when you just want to hop in and play some tennis. You can adjust the match length and pick between Singles and Doubles, before choosing one of 14 tennis courts to play on. You even have additional options for different speed balls and a higher camera angle. Swing Mode is basically a carbon copy, except you’ll be swinging your Joy-Con rather than using buttons. It takes some getting used to, as there’s a much bigger emphasis on timing the drawback and flick of your swings, while there’s less to do in the way of character movement. Your swings are surprisingly precise too, as you aim a different direction for each type of shot. Swing Mode seems like it’d be great for multiplayer in your living room with friends and family, but otherwise, it’s ultimately a side mode.

Then there’s Tournament. Think Grand Prix in Mario Kart terms. There are three different cups of increasing difficulty for both singles and doubles. Each one will have you in a classic bracket tournament, completing matches to hopefully advance to the end. If you want something a little wackier, try Mix It Up! It’s full of weird objectives and dynamic courses. Play on a Waluigi Pinball court with bumpers, or perhaps a Super Mario Bros. Wonder court complete with trippy Wonder Flowers. Or if you wont something that’s crazy and competitive, that’s where the real star of the show comes in… Trial Towers. You start with the Tower of Growth — a gauntlet of 10 challenges with altered rules. You get 3 lives, but if you fail and lose them all, you have to start from the beginning. If you succeed the first tower, there are two more to unlock and play… and then even more challenges after that. It’s a really engaging experience that balances everything Fever does right. But besides that, the other modes, as mentioned, are just a blast through and through. Even Ranked Match, which is full of intensely competitive tryhards. Pop back and forth between all of them, and you likely won’t get bored for a long while. This is owed in part to the progression system too. There are dozens of characters, color variations, courses, and rackets to unlock — some simply by playing more matches, and some by completing specific challenges.

’Mario Tennis Fever’s Campaign Is Sub-Par

Now you may have noticed there’s one mode I haven’t detailed yet: Adventure. Camelot laid the foundations of the sports RPG with the original Mario Tennis and Mario Golf, so I was eager to see what was in store in Mario Tennis Fever’s Adventure, and if it was a promising return to form. What I ended up experiencing unfortunately missed the mark. It’s not downright awful, in fact I think it might be enjoyable for younger children. But it’s poorly paced, tedious, quite short, and lacking much reward. At the very least, the plot is quite charming, as Mario and Luigi have been turned into babies, and must train at the Tennis Academy before heading on a journey to defeat the monsters that de-aged them. Baby Wario and Baby Waluigi are here too, in adorably mischievous fashion, and of course Bowser’s up to no good as well.

The problems begin with the Academy simply taking too much time with needless reading and walking to and fro. Once you work your way up the ranks and head out on your quest, you can access the world map to continue onto the next level. At first these missions feel both freeing and delightful in tone. But as you continue on, each level ends up being a short paint-by-numbers task. They’re painfully easy, and by the time you finish them and reach the final boss, you’ve spent little more time beating them than you did working your way up through the Academy. The kicker for me is that once I completed Adventure, there was no big reward in store. No new mode, no Baby Mario (he’s confusingly unlocked a different way), and you can’t even return to the Academy just to chill out and talk to Toad if you wanted to. You can select specific challenges to replay, but that’s it. Overall, Adventure is a letdown, even given its cute Baby Mario-centric story.

‘Mario Tennis Fever’ – Final Thoughts

Mario Tennis Fever is the most enthralling sports game I’ve played in a while. A fast, kinetic battle of both wits and agility awaits you on the courts. Play with Fever Rackets for some extra flair, or play without them for a pure experience; no matter which you choose, you can’t go wrong. Adventure may be a bit lackluster in comparison to the other fantastic game modes, but there’s a solid array of different challenges and options for every play style.

Mario Tennis Fever is now available for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Check out the trailer below:

For more Nintendo Switch 2 games, check out our review of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.