Mario has been a regular on the courts for 30 years—from the headache-inducing Virtual Boy days to the complex Mario Tennis Aces on the original Switch. Now, he returns for the Nintendo Switch 2 with a charming installment that dials back the difficulty while amping up the multiplayer madness.
Game Modes: From Roguelikes to Baby Mario
The sheer variety of modes in Mario Tennis Fever is designed to please both Djokovic-esque veterans and total newcomers:
- Mix It Up: Features tennis derivatives like Forest Court (where Piranha Plants eat stray balls) and Pinball (complete with bumpers and barriers).
- Trial Towers: Essentially “Mario Tennis: The Roguelike.” You must complete increasingly tough challenges to ascend; three failures send you back to the very beginning.
- Adventure Mode: A four-hour tutorial where Mario and Luigi are transformed into babies. While it’s a bit of a grind, it’s a bright, silly callback to the Game Boy Color era.
Gameplay: The Art of the “Fever Racket”
The mechanics are easy to grasp but hard to master. While top spin, flat, and slice shots are mapped to single buttons, the true skill lies in timing and combos.
The game’s standout feature is the Fever Racket. These unlockable tools allow you to power up unique special moves during a rally:
- Fire: Sets your opponent’s side of the court ablaze.
- Bananas: litters the court with peels to make opponents slip.
- Swerve: Adds mind-bending curves to your shots.
The Catch: If your opponent returns a “Fever Shot” before it bounces, the effect is reversed against you. This creates frantic, high-stakes rallies at the net that level the playing field for less experienced players.
The Verdict: Classic Nintendo Polish
Mario Tennis Fever exudes that signature Nintendo charm. While the single-player narrative is threadbare, the local and online multiplayer modes offer layers of depth beneath a chaotic, colorful exterior. Whether you’re practicing perfectly timed drop shots or just trying to survive a flaming tennis ball, it’s a definitive win for the franchise.
Price: £58.99 | Platform: Nintendo Switch 2
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