Mario Tennis Fever Review: A Grand Slam for the Series

Out of all of Mario’s sports outings, the Mario Tennis games have been some of the most consistent. Besides the occasional misstep like Wii U’s Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, most Mario Tennis games deliver fun, arcade tennis action with plenty of the signature Super Mario franchise charm. Mario Tennis Fever is the latest Mario Tennis game, and it delivers exactly what you would expect if you have played any of the previous games, but does it with more polish and content than its predecessors. Considering all it brings to the table, Mario Tennis Fever is potentially the best game in the series to date.

Mario Tennis Fever‘s core tennis gameplay is fast-paced, exciting, and easy to pick-up-and-play, with simple controls that will have players pulling off drop shots and top spins in no time. It can be played as a purely “normal” tennis arcade game, and you could easily lose dozens of hours playing it that way, but like other games in the series, Mario Tennis Fever is full of wild gimmicks that help it stand out from other sports games.

This time around, Mario and friends can equip special Fever Rackets that can cause absolute chaos on the court. For example, there is a spinning fireball racket that, when players successfully pull off a Fever Shot, spawns the classic Super Mario Bros. hazard wherever the ball lands. This creates an obstacle for players to deal with when trying to return balls, forcing players to shake up how they’re moving around the court if they want to survive the ordeal. Other Fever Rackets include one that covers the court in ice and another that forms a small tornado, but those are just the tip of the iceberg.

Image via Nintendo

Mario Tennis Fever‘s Fever Rackets are a tremendous addition that make each tennis match that much more exciting and unpredictable. The rackets are not exclusive to any members of Mario Tennis Fever‘s roster either, so players are free to mix and match however they see fit. Purists may not like the Fever Rackets, but luckily, they can be turned off. Personally, I enjoy the havoc they wreak, and while they may seem overpowered, matches still boil down to skill since Fever Shots can be sent back across the net and inflicted on the other team. For especially competitive games, a Fever Shot rally can become incredibly tense, as whoever fails will have a much harder time mounting a comeback.

Mario Tennis Fever is $70, But Don’t Worry, You Will Get Your Money’s Worth

Mario Tennis Fever has perfected the franchise’s core gameplay, and honestly, that would be enough to make it an easy recommendation, but what really puts it over the top is the sheer amount of content available. Mario Tennis Fever has a sizable roster of characters from the Super Mario franchise, and even features the long-awaited debut of Baby Waluigi. The Mario Tennis Fever roster features 38 characters in total that can be matched with 30 Fever Rackets, ensuring a great deal of variety in any given match.

Instead of giving players access to all the characters, rackets, and courts out of the gate, Mario Tennis Fever smartly withholds most of its content as unlockables. The requirements for unlocking any given Mario Tennis Fever character or racket are clearly spelled out, so players know exactly what they have to do to unlock what they want, whether it’s a simple matter of playing a certain number of tennis matches or completing its tournaments.

Mario Tennis Fever has a few special tournaments players can complete in exchange for rewards, plus it has the Trial Tower gauntlets for players to really put their skills to the test. Those looking for a more casual experience will likely want to turn their attention to the mini-games found in the Mix-It-Up mode. All these modes are playable in local multiplayer, and while some things are restricted to two players, most modes support up to four. The Switch 2 already has plenty of excellent local multiplayer experiences thanks to games like Kirby Air Riders and Mario Kart World, but now Mario Tennis Fever can comfortably be added to the list. If you are looking for a fun local multiplayer game that you can sink a lot of hours into on the Switch 2, Mario Tennis Fever is a no-brainer.

Of course, Mario Tennis Fever has online multiplayer as well, and it works great in my experience. There is casual multiplayer and a Ranked option, and I have found the matchmaking to be fast and the performance to be rock-solid. I still think games like Mario Tennis Fever really excel when played locally with friends, and while the online may not be as extensive as in some other sports games, what’s here works and is still plenty of fun.

Mario Tennis Fever’s Single-Player Mode is a Letdown

Almost every mode in Mario Tennis Fever is a blast, and the steady stream of unlockables ensures that players always feel like they’re achieving something no matter what they’re doing. It’s the best Mario Tennis game to date, but there is one blemish that keeps it from reaching even greater heights.

Mario Tennis Fever has a single-player Adventure Mode that is an absolute slog. It’s hardly more than a glorified tutorial, and while it has some fun, well-animated cut-scenes, it’s mainly a bore. The bulk of it is spent at a tennis school learning different shots, and by the time the actual “adventure” begins, the game is practically over.

The good news is it’s at least mercifully short, so Mario Tennis Fever players can get the unlocks tied to it without wasting too much time. I managed to complete it in about three hours, though if the obvious padding were done away with, it would be a much shorter game. For example, at the academy, players talk to Toad in the middle of the building, follow the Super Mario Bros. Wonder Talking Flower to a mini-game, do the mini-game, walk back to Toad, and then walk to another mini-game. If it were structured a little differently, where players could knock out one mini-game after another, it would have been at least a little more tolerable.

Mario Tennis Fever features optional motion controls. They’re functional, but a significant downgrade from the default control scheme.

Speaking of the Talking Flower, Super Mario Bros. Wonder‘s fingerprints are all over Mario Tennis Fever. The Talking Flowers are dotted around Adventure Mode, and they also serve as commentators during matches. One of the Mix-It-Up mini-games is also Super Mario Bros. Wonder-themed, with players activating Wonder Flowers and collecting Wonder Seeds in the middle of tennis matches. As a big fan of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I definitely appreciated the nods to the excellent 2023 platformer.

Mario Tennis Fever‘s single-player is a letdown, but the overall package is stellar. The game looks great, has catchy music, features a variety of fun game modes, and most importantly, it absolutely nails the core gameplay. Mario Tennis Fever is the best Mario Tennis game yet, and sets a high bar for future Mario sports games on the Switch 2.