“I’d want to play a lot more before declaring Mario Tennis Fever a smash”
Mario Tennis Fever takes two big swings and aces them both: chaos and variety — and gamers won’t need to wait long until it’s served. Mario Tennis Fever is taking to the court on February 12th.
Featuring new fever rackets, these are no gimmick. From shots which shoot fire balls at your opponent to a special that summons tornadoes to automatically return shots, they force you to change strategies on the fly (effects can last for multiple points) and are unashamedly fun.
There are 30 unique rackets to partner with 38 playable characters. That’s an insane number of combos.
There’s a ‘ridiculous’ number of modes in Mario Tennis Fever — but one in particular has me the most excited
In my recent preview at Nintendo’s Melbourne office, I barely scratched the surface of what’s possible but Baby Waluigi with the Bullet Bill racket is brutally overpowered; turning shots into missiles that are near impossible to return.
There are eight new characters in Mario Tennis Fever compared to Nintendo’s previous tennis games, and a ridiculous number of modes to play in.
Adventure mode, Tournament, Trial Tower, Free Play, Mix It Up and Swing mode dominate an overwhelming menu screen alongside options to play in a Ranked Match, Online Room, Local Play, use Game Share or check in on your Achievements.
It’s an overwhelming number of options compared to its bare bones predecessor, Mario Tennis Aces.
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After sampling a little of everything, Mix It Up became my favourite way to play against a friend. It dials the chaos up to 11, allowing you to play on courts that change shape, trigger Wonder effects or have you bouncing between bumpers on a court inspired by Waluigi Pinball.
I also spent a solid 40 minutes with the game’s Adventure Mode.
Mario Tennis Fever seeks to feature a deeper story experience: ‘It’s nonsensical but it works’
Fans have been crying for a deeper story experience for a long time and Nintendo has (at first blush) delivered; starting with an exceptionally well animated cutscene.
Princess Daisy is sick and the cure, according to Wario and Waluigi, is a golden apple on a nearby island.
Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad set sail but when they arrive (to nobody’s surprise) Wario and Waluigi are more interested in searching for buried treasure than actually helping.
Mario nabs the apple but suddenly, the ground shakes. Wario and Waluigi have awakened an ancient force that engulfs our heroes and transforms them into babies!
Babies aren’t particularly good at tennis so, in a bid to defeat the monster and return to their adult forms, Mario and Luigi enrol in a tennis academy to beef up their skills. It’s nonsensical but it works.
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What follows is a blend of Mario Party minigames disguised as “training” to level up your character. What I played was very basic but I was starting from scratch. Colour me intrigued, but I’m really hoping the game ramps up the difficulty as you progress.
I’d want to play a lot more before declaring Mario Tennis Fever a smash, but the hour and a half I spent with the game was a surprisingly delightful first serve.
Mark Santomartino was invited by Nintendo to play a number of upcoming games at their Melbourne headquarters.
