Mario Tennis Fever

Mario Tennis Fever is primarily a party game that shines the most in local multiplayer and its creative modes, where chaos, power-ups, and classic Nintendo charm fully come to life. The single-player content, while also fun, leaves a weaker impression, as it feels fairly shallow and serves more as an introduction to the mechanics rather than a proper campaign capable of carrying the game on its own.

A fun and highly accessible tennis arcade game that works best as a chaotic party experience. Its well-balanced mix of classic tennis and over-the-top abilities creates exciting matches full of tense moments. However, a weaker single-player mode and lack of long-term motivation mean the fun quickly fades without other players.

Mario Tennis Fever is undeniably a fun game—if you know how and when to play it. If you’re looking for something to play solo, on the go, and as a serious sports-style challenge, we can tell you right away: this one isn’t for you. But if what you want is a game that delivers good times (and just enough friendly competition) with friends at home during a get-together, Fever doesn’t let you down. That said, it’s up to you whether it’s worth your money and your time, because it doesn’t bring many truly new ideas to the table if you’ve already been playing—or you already own—other tennis games.

Somewhat in line with what happened with Mario Kart World, this new Mario Tennis fails to break away from or expand on what its predecessors did, giving us a little more of the (good) stuff we already knew.

Mario Tennis Fever is what you might call a mixed bag. There's excitement in the Ranked matches and a relative balance when you master the characters and rackets, but the online friendly mode feels archaic and the overall experience doesn't offer as much enjoyment and depth as some of the previous, ironically simpler, games. The additional activities are welcome, but the story is a bore. The graphics are beautiful, but the amount of recycled assets reaches FIFA and PES levels... But in the end, it's a decent tennis party game, and given the state of the subgenre over the last decade, there is still value in it and it remains your best option, even if it is as elitist as the real sport.

After completing everything Mario Tennis Fever has to offer, the experience feels somewhat bittersweet. While it features a larger roster and more game modes, its underwhelming campaign and certain gameplay changes hold it back. That doesn’t make it a bad game—it’s definitely fun, especially with friends. However, it continues the unfortunate trend of recent Mario sports spin-offs feeling rushed and full of untapped potential. It may not stumble as hard as Mario Strikers: Battle League, but it’s disappointing that it didn’t build more directly on what Mario Tennis Aces achieved, opting instead for a different direction.

Mario Tennis Fever continues the series blend of fun, colourful and party-like tennis with a fresh entry on Nintendo Switch 2. Whilst there are glimpses of creativity and nods to past fan-favourites, the solo campaign feels over far too soon. There’s potential for Fever to have been a lengthy five setter, but the game doesn't quite reach those levels, unfortunately. DLC, if a future option, could well help. As a multiplayer romp, though, Mario Tennis Fever serves a good time overall for some hearty tennis action!

Mario Tennis Fever marks the franchise's triumphant return on the Nintendo Switch 2. Camelot and Nintendo deliver a fun, family-friendly installment designed for short, accessible play sessions for all ages. From the matches and mini-games to the animation and the integration of the frenetic tennis rackets, everything is geared towards simple entertainment. However, this casual approach comes at the expense of a genuine challenge. The overly forgiving AI and the lack of real difficulty in any game mode will push players more towards multiplayer. But even then, the title will appeal more to those seeking fun and social experiences than to hardcore competitors.

As a solid tennis simulator, with layers of novelty to differentiate it from its nearest competitors and plenty of unique modes to conquer, Mario Tennis Fever is an absolute racket. While odd in parts, it remains charming and bright-eyed throughout its many rounds.

Mario Tennis Fever is a visual powerhouse that showcases the Switch 2’s potential with vibrant graphics and lightning-fast load times, yet it struggles to find its footing on the court. While the "Fever" mechanics and chaotic multiplayer modes make it an instant party-night favorite, veteran players will be disappointed by floaty physics and a lack of mechanical precision compared to Aces. Without the heart of a deep story mode or a robust tennis engine, it stands as a polished, high-octane spectacle that prioritizes casual fun over competitive depth.

The Adventure mode in Mario Tennis Aces was a long-requested feature, and eight years later I was expecting something more evolved. Instead, I was left disappointed by an Adventure mode that acts as a painful tutorial for almost half of its runtime. That said, it is only one part of the game, and the rest of Mario Tennis Fever is very enjoyable. The Fever Rackets add a new dimension to the gameplay, and the expanded character roster makes finding the best combinations even more challenging. The side-show modes are the real stars here, and they make it clear where the game truly shines. More time spent on zany tennis ideas like these, and less on Adventure mode for the next one.

Mario Tennis Fever is a ton of fun with friends thanks to its wacky new abilities and huge character roster, but it’s once again let down by a bland Adventure mode that’s little more than an extended tutorial.

Nintendo serves up an immediately accessible and hilariously chaotic multiplayer experience, but a duff single-player campaign and hodgepodge assortment of other modes leaves you feeling that Mario Tennis Fever hasn't quite aced the complete package.

Mario Tennis Fever boasts an impressive roster and a robust multiplayer offering, but its single-player content is thin and the Story mode feels like little more than a red herring. Controller in hand, the gameplay ranks among the best the series has delivered, yet it’s not enough to justify a full-price purchase. Switch 2 needs true heavy hitters, and Camelot’s latest effort ultimately falls short of that mark.

Mario Tennis Fever builds on its predecessor's solid presentation and arcade tennis action with more content than before and a new mechanic that's a recipe for Mario Kart-style courtside mayhem. Although the underwhelming Adventure mode doesn't last long, it doesn't mean you won't have fun during a match.

Mario Tennis Fever is a fun and polished arcade tennis game, but it plays things too safe. The gameplay is enjoyable and accessible, yet the lack of risk, low difficulty, and overly forgiving court remove much of the tension. The campaign is charming but over-tutorialized, and the visuals feel simpler than expected for a Switch 2 exclusive. With good modes and solid presentation, it works best as a casual party game, but it lacks the depth and staying power to fully justify its launch price.

Mario Tennis Fever still scores points for its core gameplay, particularly when playing against other people, but the game’s frustrating new Fever Racket gimmick and underwhelming single-player modes don’t bring all that much to the court. The result is a game that can be fun at times, but doesn’t stand out from other recent Mario Tennis games in a way that’s likely to raise Switch 2 owners’ temperatures.

The biggest issue with Mario Tennis Fever is that it seems too heavily targeted at children. While the colorful presentation, forgiving gameplay, and simple challenges make it accessible, for older players it feels like the game takes too few risks. Nintendo has chosen safety over depth, a decision that ultimately holds the game back. The franchise has proven in the past that it is possible to strike a balance between accessibility and technical finesse, but Fever fails to find that equilibrium.

This is certainly the MOST tennis Camelot has served up, if not the smartest or slickest. [Issue#422, p.108]

If you’re specifically looking for a non-traditional, colorful tennis game to play with your friends, then Mario Tennis Fever will fill the void. Unfortunately, the latest Switch 2 entry into the subseries does little memorable and enticing outside of this. It has solid gameplay mechanics, with a variety of characters and rackets to choose from, but there’s not much of note outside of this. It doesn’t help that the Adventure mode is a glorified tutorial. In the end, all Mario Tennis Fever amounts to is a short distraction with friends with minimal enjoyment outside of that.

After nearly a decade off the courts, the Mario Tennis series returns on the Nintendo Switch 2 with a different approach and it's disapointing. Unlike previous entries, which balanced solid tennis gameplay with fun, arcade-style elements, Mario Tennis Fever isn’t really about precision or timing anymore. It’s immediate, flashy, and chaotic, with frenzied rackets and over-the-top effects designed to get laughs (or frustration) rather than reward skill.The downside is that this focus on spectacle comes at the expense of balance. Some powers feel overpowered, defense is limited, and the depth that made Mario Tennis Aces satisfying is largely gone. Online matches can quickly feel repetitive, even frustrating. The Adventure mode doesn’t help: short, overly wordy, and heavy on tutorials, it feels more like a drawn-out lesson than a proper solo campaign.Fortunately, the game’s overall content softens the blow. A generous roster, dozens of rackets, mini-games, and multiple modes keep the experience lively—but after eight years of waiting, it still feels a little light.

If you’re just looking to enjoy Mario Tennis Fever alongside family and friends in the same room, or even in ranked online play, there’s a great deal of fun to be had here. The tennis mechanics and the fever racket system combine to deliver the best (albeit most hectic) gameplay the series has seen in ages. It’s just such a shame that Mario Tennis Fever’s stellar multiplayer action feels so let down by the single player and other modes that surround it.

Mario Tennis Fever is yet another Mario sports game that gets by on being passingly entertaining, while failing to do anything particularly new or exciting. I think I like it a bit better than 2018’s Mario Tennis Aces, but the two games share so many similarities, both good and bad, that it’s hard to tell for sure. If you love the Mario Tennis series, you’ll probably like this. But for everyone else, I’m hard-pressed to tell you there’s anything special about Mario Tennis Fever.

Mario Tennis Fever has me worried for Nintendo’s sports games on Switch 2. It’s not worse than any of the sports games on Switch 1, but it’s also not any better. The trouble is that it commits almost all of the same sins: the mechanics are solid, but nothing outside of the core tennis gameplay is that much fun.

Mario Tennis Fever is also a letdown as one of the first Switch 2 exclusives. There’s little that feels truly current-gen, and some of the visuals are surprisingly basic and rough.

If you’re buying Mario Tennis Fever to have a few rounds of tennis with friends the way you would Mario Kart, then you’ll have a good time. It’s a solid arcade tennis game with some unique powers and cute character moments. But as an overall experience, it’s shallow, a little unbalanced, deeply lacking in creativity, and seems to deliver the bare minimum of options outside of its roster and rackets.

Mario Tennis Fever is another solid enough sports game from Camelot, but a disappointingly short single-player offering and a real risk of imbalance – whether using Fever Rackets or not – means what could have been fantastic will have to settle for simply being good.

Mario Tennis Fever tries to innovate by adding powers to the rackets, but honestly the result ends up hindering more than helping, since unbalanced abilities completely break matches and turn them into an exercise in frustration, whether playing solo or with others. Adding to that a campaign mode that helps teach how to play but quickly becomes dragged out and dull, I can only recommend this game to those who are truly fans of the franchise, which I imagine is not many people.

For all its faults, the charm of Mario Tennis Fever did shine through in the end. In these sporty spinoffs, it's important to remember that fun is at the core of the experience, and while there were some detractors from that, I kept coming back time and time again to see if I could take on the latest Trial Tower, or just see if I could take my main man Diddy Kong to the heights of the Mario Tennis world.

On the Game Cube app, there is Mario Strikers. That is an excellent example of a time where Nintendo and its party sports developers had a handle over the balance between capturing the basics of the sport and making it arcade fun. Now, though, they’ve lost the plot entirely. I genuinely don’t understand who this is for, but it isn’t me. Or anyone that I know who loved what Mario Tennis once was.