One of my biggest Nintendo blindspots has been Mario Tennis. Truthfully, I’ve never played any of the games, despite the series dating back to 1995’s Mario’s Tennis on the Virtual Boy and actually being the originator of one of my favourite Mario characters, Waluigi, in the eponymous 2000 game on the N64. That alone piqued my interest in the plumber’s latest sports game, Mario Tennis Fever, but after playing several rounds of it at a recent preview event in New York City, I found myself quickly falling in love.
Right off the bat, it reminded me of something Nintendo does best: taking highly technical genres like sports, racing and fighting and making them much more delightfully zany and approachable. That is certainly the case with Fever, which adopts a decidedly loose approach to tennis, as you’d expect. While I knew there’d be more of an arcade-y feel, which I very much prefer, I was surprised by one of Fever‘s newest mechanics: the Fever Rackets. With them, you’re able to unleash all kinds of special “Fever Shot” abilities on the court that shake things up in wonderful ways.
For part of the preview, there was a little wheel we spun to decide our gear, and I ended up getting the Golden Dash Racket, which lets you get a speed boost for last-second saves. But my teammate landed on the Shadow Racket, allowing him to create a ghostly clone to assist him. Other options from the selection of 30 Rackets include Fire and Ice (leave damaging flames or slippery ice on the court), Pokey (make enemies appear on your opponent’s side) and Mini Mushroom (turn your foe pint-sized). Many of these effects damage your opponent’s HP, which, when depleted, can severely hinder their speed or, in doubles, briefly knock them out of the match.
Overall, the sheer variety on display is glorious and makes for Mario Party-style chaos. At the same time, this system feels balanced because the Fever Shots are treated as supermoves that you can only activate once you fill a metre by successful rallying. Plus, a well-timed swing can actually reflect the shot back at your opponent, further rewarding skillful play. Given how much the Fever Rackets add to the experience, I’m honestly shocked that Fever marks their series’ debut; I can’t imagine playing without them.
We also got to sample some of Fever‘s many mode offerings, which Nintendo says is the series’ largest to date. Given how I’ve heard criticisms surrounding the lack of content in the last Mario Tennis game, 2018’s Aces, this is certainly good to hear. Admittedly, I couldn’t get a full bearing of this in the short demo, but even knowing general facts about Fever, like how it has 38 distinct characters at launch compared to Aces‘ paltry 16, is definitely reassuring.
But what I did get to see was some of the various unconventional game types through the Mix It Up mode. The one we actually tried out was Wonder Court Match, which cleverly draws inspiration from Super Mario Bros. Wonder that occasionally sees Warp Pipes of varying heights blocking the net and summoning Wonder Seeds that you have to collect to win. It felt like a fun “catch the Quidditch Snitch in Harry Potter” kind of element to add a different kind of objective using one of Wonder‘s standout mechanics. Other match types, which I didn’t get to experience, include Pinball (which can ping-pong you between bounce pads), Forest Court (expand the court by feeding tennis balls to Piranha Plants) and Ring Shot (precisely hit balls through small targets).
This is exactly the sort of thing I love seeing from Nintendo. They take the core idea of something like a “tennis game” and stretch it out beyond what you could possibly expect, and I’m eager to see what else is in store for the game. Nintendo is also teasing an expanded campaign-style Adventure Mode (something I heard Aces was lacking) that introduces the lovable Baby versions of characters like my boy Waluigi, which sounds promising.
All in all, my brief time with Fever was an absolute blast, and it has me clamouring to play more. Thankfully, the wait won’t be long, either, as the game launches exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on February 12.
For more on the Switch 2’s early 2026 lineup, check out my impressions of other games from the NYC preview event.
Image credit: Nintendo
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