Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Air strikes, smashes, more Nintendo characters than I expected, and weird bat powers. Mario tennis fever It’s Nintendo’s first big game of 2026, and it’s a game Switch 2 Exclusive. I fell in love with its electric gameplay and deep set of abilities and challenges, yet I wonder: why does this game feel so weird now? For me the price: $70.
Nintendo returns to its sports games from time to time, and it’s a bit hard to believe that the last Mario Tennis game, Aces, came out in 2018 for the original Nintendo Switch. Fever outperforms Aces in almost every way, featuring more characters (38) with their own action perks, as well as “Fever Rackets” with special abilities that have various effects like setting the playing field on fire, making doppelgangers appear, disturbing the playing field, and all sorts of other clever ideas.
Fever has additional modes that offer additional specific challenges, flexible and deep customization for singles or doubles matches for one to four players, and there’s even an ‘Adventure Mode’ that walks players through gameplay strategies and contains a range of additional minigames and boss battles.
I think this is my favorite Mario sports game of all time, and I can see myself coming back to it because of the addictive and easy-to-get-into tennis battles. However, would I recommend it to anyone at $70? No, I wouldn’t, unless they’re die-hard Mario Tennis fans.
The Switch 2 is already 8 months old, approaching its one-year anniversary in June. Switch 2 exclusives are coming at a steady pace, but they’re accompanied by upgraded Switch 2 ports of Switch games with bits of new additions. I said Since the Switch 2 debuted Although Nintendo’s latest console is a great new upgrade for the Switch, it’s not a must-have yet. I still feel that way, even though I love deeply Donkey Kong BananzaAnd the world of Mario Kart and Kirby Air Riders.
Mario Tennis Fever adds another good game to the mix, but it feels like a B-side. Or I would have liked more to make this feel like a $70 purchase.
The mini-games and boss battles in Adventure mode add a lot of extra fun, which I appreciate. But don’t expect an RPG.
I played the game early thanks to Nintendo’s advanced code, and immersed myself in its various modes for several hours. I haven’t finished Adventure Mode yet, or completed the challenges in Trial Towers. I haven’t played with people online yet. There’s still a lot of gameplay to explore, and because it’s a battle-like sport, the replay value here is basically endless.
I like that there are weird and geeky parts to the game: Super Mario WonderThemed modes turn the playing field into growing tubes as you try to collect Wonder Seeds. A mode in which you try to collect points by putting the ball through the rings. Pinball-like mode with bumpers. All Fever Rackets also add unique chaos by adding disturbances to the playing field when your Fever Gauge reaches its maximum, just like Mario Kart power-ups.
What I would have really liked are more quirky minigames, like Mario Party or WarioWare. More types of courts, more unexpected chaos. Is it greedy of me to ask? I don’t think so, at this price. I expect a lot of games for $70.
Although Fever feels blocky in a way that makes me think of Mario Tennis Aces with the expansion pack, it’s only a tennis game. Even if it’s a cool, weird, Nintendo tennis game. After about five hours of playing, I started to feel like I was exhausting myself.
I can’t wait to see what other surprises Nintendo has to offer for the Switch 2 this year: hopefully new Mario Galaxy The game, or maybe we’ll hear more about the upcoming Splatoon soon. I’ll be saving for what’s coming, and wait until the sale goes on so I can enjoy future fever. In a few years, it will be a great piece of the library and I’ll be happy to release it. Right now, this isn’t exactly the kind of thing I was looking for to level up on the Switch 2.