Nintendo finally shared all the important details about its first big Switch 2 release of the year, and it already looks like a significant improvement over its so-so predecessor. Mario Tennis Fever addresses every nagging issue from the last time Mario stepped onto the court. And it does so by pulling smart ideas from other modern Nintendo games and arcade classics.
There’s a lot riding on Mario Tennis Fever. Despite arguably being Mario’s best sports spinoff, the last game in the series, 2018’s Mario Tennis Aces, left a lot to be desired. A dearth of content, an unbelievably short single-player mode, and a lack of character customization made it feel unusually half-baked at launch. Nintendo added additional characters and improvements via game updates in the months that followed, but even the final, feature-complete package was a far cry from what Mario Tennis players were used to.
