After pouring over 150 hours into Mario Tennis Aces, battling it out in intense singles and doubles matches that felt more like a fighting game than traditional tennis, I’ve been ecstatic that we’re getting the next entry in the series so soon into the Switch 2 generation. We just received a brand-new overview trailer for Mario Tennis Fever and it’s shaping up to be exactly what I was looking for. Launching February 12 exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, it looks poised to deliver almost everything I loved about Aces while addressing nearly every criticism that kept it from reaching a wider audience.
Keeping it Competitive
Mario Tennis Aces was the best competitive game in the series by a mile. The Zone Shots, the strategic depth, the mind games—it all clicked in a way that had my friend and me grinding ranked matches for months. But I’ll admit, we were in the minority. Most players found Aces too focused on competitive play, lacking the casual charm and content variety that made earlier entries so beloved. The single-player mode particularly fell flat for many, and the launch roster felt disappointingly thin.
Mario Tennis Fever seems to have learned every lesson. The game retains what made Aces special while wrapping it in a package designed for everyone. The new Fever Rackets system evolves the Zone and Special Shot concepts in unique ways. Instead of breaking your opponent’s racket like in Aces (which I’ll admittedly miss a bit), you’ll be whittling down your opponent’s HP to knock them out. Fever Rackets have unique special abilities: The Ice Racket freezes parts of the court into a slippery tundra, the Mini Mushroom Racket shrinks opponents to bite-size, and the Shadow Racket creates duplicates to confuse your foes. Fill your Fever Gauge, unleash a Fever Shot to activate these abilities. If you’re quick enough on the receiving end, you can even send it back to turn the tables.
Series newcomers like Goomba, Nabbit, Piranha Plant, Baby Wario, and Baby Waluigi add fresh faces to a roster that already dwarfs Aces’ launch lineup. With 38 playable characters (the most in franchise history) combined with 30 unique Fever Rackets, that gives over 1,000 different strategic combinations. That’s an absurd amount of depth for players who want to optimize their playstyle.
More Content Than Ever
The mode variety addresses Aces‘ biggest weakness head-on. Trial Towers has you conquering challenges as you climb to the top. Mix It Up mode introduces unconventional rules like Ring Shot, where precision through rings scores points, and Forest Court Match, where you expand the court by feeding Piranha Plants tennis balls. Wonder Court Match brings Wonder Effects inspired by Super Mario Bros. Wonder, adding delightful unpredictability. Tournament mode returns with play-by-play commentary from a Talking Flower, and online play includes both casual Online Rooms with customizable rules and Ranked Matches for serious competitors. Swing Mode also returns for motion-controlled fun with the Joy-Con 2 controllers.
While I’m still holding out hope that Camelot will one day return to the single-player RPG glory of Mario Tennis Power Tour, the Adventure mode in Fever looks like a meaningful step in the right direction. The premise alone shows potential: mysterious monsters transform Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Wario, and Waluigi into babies, forcing them to re-master their tennis skills through various challenges and massive boss fights. It’s substantial single-player content that should satisfy players who want more than just quick matches against the CPU.
Other Tidbits
The art style represents a noticeable improvement over Aces, and with HDR support, the colors shine vividly and really make the courts and characters pop on screen. But perhaps the most exciting feature is GameShare functionality—if you own Mario Tennis Fever on Nintendo Switch 2, up to three players can join using their own Switch 2 or even original Switch systems without owning a copy of the game. Nintendo also announced a gorgeous new Joy-Con 2 colorway, releasing alongside Fever featuring Light Purple and Light Green accents. It really seems as though Nintendo and Camelot put a lot more thought and effort into this release than previous entries.
Final Thoughts
Mario Tennis Fever feels like the game Aces should have been from the start—keeping the competitive excellence while embracing the chaos, personality, and content variety that make Mario Sports titles special. Whether you’re a hardcore player ready to master every character-racket combination or a casual fan who just wants a great party game with friends, this game seems built for you.
