Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 25/Feb 05:06

Mario Tennis Fever – Review

It’s been a while since we saw Mario and friends outside of a regular platforming adventure or the Mario Party series. Our last encounters were probably Mario Strikers: Battle League Football back in 2022 and Mario Golf: Super Rush back in 2021. Both of these gimmicky sports titles proved to have a solid foundation, but were a bit lacking in content. Mario Tennis Fever aims to change that with new modes, a massive character roster, and a new mechanic that makes matches even more chaotic. We put the game to the test, and we were pleasantly surprised by this new quirky Nintendo sports title. Story Mario Tennis Fever surprisingly has a story mode to play through, which actually came with an original premise. Daisy has fallen ill right before a big tennis tournament, and after days of her condition not improving, the dastardly duo of Wario and Waluigi come up with a solution: a magical golden fruit. Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and several others travel to the location of the golden fruit. When there, Wario and Waluigi set out to hunt for a legendary treasure, which was seemingly their real reason for suggesting the retrieval of the healing fruit. As always, the evil duo gets into trouble and is quickly pursued by monsters, and sadly, the four mustachioed men get struck by a curse of sorts, as they are all turned into their baby forms. Luckily, the fruit was retreived and Daisy is on her path to recovery, but the four tiny men will now have to train to play tennis all over again, as it’s the only way to beat the monsters with their newly acquired tennis skills. The story seems a bit far-fetched, but we actually liked the premise. The flow and story progression were perhaps a bit slow and shallow, but it was a nice premise nonetheless. Graphics Graphically, Mario Tennis Fever is a very good-looking title, which is not uncommon for Nintendo’s own IPs. The game has an impressive roster of characters that have never looked this good, and they are able to play tennis on a variety of differently themed tennis courts. The courts don’t only have different types of surfaces, they also have distinct backgrounds with a few things going on. Some courts change when certain conditions are met, while others have a slightly more realistic look. The new Fever effects also add a nice touch, as you can cover the other player(s)’ screen in ink, but you can also set the court ablaze or have it freeze over. Many nifty effects are making the experience a bit more impressive and chaotic. Sound Unsurprisingly, the sound design here is of top-notch quality, as is the case with pretty much all first-party Nintendo titles. The music is upbeat, and there’s enough variation to keep things enjoyable, and the supporting SFX are great too. There are quite a few iconic SFX thrown in the mix, and the on-court action has good audio feedback too. All the different characters on the roster also make their own sounds, grunts, and shouts, which make them all come to life. The announcer is also a nice touch, even though during the story mode, the announcements can get a bit annoying during the tutorial missions. Gameplay Mario Tennis Fever is a tennis game with a lot of wacky mechanics, many different characters to choose from, quirky modes to play through, and the new Fever mechanic that has been added in this latest installment of the series. The offset is very straightforward, as you can just choose the mode you wish to play, choose a character, and you’re good to go. Only the story mode restricts character choice in favor of the story. If you played previous titles in the series, you already pretty much know what to expect here, as Mario Tennis Fever is all about frantic arcade-like tennis action. As always, you’ll be able to perform traditional tennis moves, albeit with some wacky variations. The different characters have different specialities, where characters like Mario and Luigi will be more traditional picks with standard moves, while Magikoopa’s moves will have a more erratic nature. This allows you to pick a character that suits your playstyle, and you can also find nice combinations for doubles. Pair this with a variety of modes with different conditions, and you’re good to go for quite a few hours of fun. You’ll find specific tennis courts with special rules, where you may need to score points by hitting balls through rings, while another court may have you avoid bumpers while multiple balls are flying around. On top of all of this, there are now the Fever rackets, which add power-up moves to the mix. When your Fever bar is full, you can use your chosen ability, and you may torch the opposing side’s floor, summon a shadow player to assist you, cover the opposing team’s screen with ink, and so on. It’s a fun new mechanic that doesn’t feel too overpowered. Outside of the regular modes, there are also different types of challenges to beat in the tower mode, and the story mode also offers several new mini-games. We weren’t overly impressed by some of the latter, however. Conclusion Mario Tennis Fever is a fun new Mario Tennis game that has quite a few different modes to offer, a massive roster of characters, and a fun but short story to play through. The series has never looked better, and with local and online multiplayer options, the replay value is certainly off the charts for this one. If you were a fan of previous titles or similar games like Mario Golf: Super Rush, you can’t really go wrong with this one.