(Credit: René Ramos/PCMag Composite/Nintendo)
Mario Tennis Fever, Nintendo's newest sports game starring the iconic plumber, was recently released on the Nintendo Switch 2, and I love it. I like that it blends tennis with unique character stats, over-the-top power-ups, and surprisingly competitive strategy for what appears to be a simple arcade-style game. However, what separates Mario Tennis Fever from its predecessor, Mario Tennis Aces, is its hook: Fever Rackets.
By using different Fever Rackets, Mario, Peach, Bowser, and other characters gain access to a variety of wacky special attacks and effects that can quickly turn the tide of battle. You activate the special movies using Fever Shots, which become available once you've filled at least one bar of your Fever Meter by returning enough shots. The effect lasts for a few seconds, until the bar is drained, typically enough time to score a point or two. Fever Rackets challenged me to think even more strategically about my on-court actions, and you'll probably feel the same way after a few matches.
Like finding a main character in a fighting game, you should experiment with each of the 30 Fever Rackets to find the one that best suits your playstyle. You won't have them all unlocked at the start; you begin the game with just six. But if you're looking for racket recommendations before battling friends locally or online, check out my five favorites for wrecking your opponents.
(Credit: Nintendo/PCMag)1. The Amp Racket: A Shockingly Good Tool
Many offensive rackets let you trip up opponents by placing traps on their side of the court, and the Amp Racket might be the most fiendish of them all if you aim your shots well. Each Amp-powered shot leaves a metal sphere on the court, and once multiple spheres land, they connect via lightning chains. So, if you place enough spheres in the right locations, you can make the court virtually impossible for opponents to navigate without getting shocked. It causes them to be temporarily locked in place and lose health.
(Credit: Nintendo/PCMag)2. The Ghost Racket: Now You See Me, Now You Don't
Well-played tennis is all about finding ways to break your opponent's rhythm, to disorient them until they fail to execute before you do. In that spirit, the Ghost Racket is truly frightening. For a few seconds, it turns your character and returned balls invisible. As a result, your opponent can't see anything that might give them a clue about what to anticipate. Good instincts can somewhat help them overcome the feeling of playing blindfolded, but it's still a significant disadvantage that puts the momentum on your side. There's a trade-off, though. Playing with an invisible character makes accurate court positioning tricky.
(Credit: Nintendo/PCMag)3. The Golden Dash Racket: A Game-Changing Speed Burst
While some Fever Rackets function more like weapons, the Golden Dash Racket operates like a power-up. Once activated, it greatly increases your character's speed, letting you dash across the court and hit faraway balls even at awkward angles. This is simply a net benefit, with none of the potential drawbacks associated with the more outlandish rackets. For the few moments it lasts, it expands your reach and tips the court control in your favor.
(Credit: Nintendo/PCMag)4. The Shadow Racket: It Takes Two to Make the Thing Go Right
Like singles? Dig doubles? With the Shadow Racket, you have the best of both worlds. This racket spawns a shadowy clone of your character that acts independently, effectively turning the game into a 2v1 match for a limited time. The extra backup always helps, and gives you additional cover when attempting especially aggressive plays at the net.
(Credit: Nintendo/PCMag)5. The Shova Racket: You've Got the Touch
The beauty of the Shova Racket is that it still helps you even if your opponent returns the ball. This racket pushes each ball back with heavy force, potentially knocking the returner out of position. A truly degenerate strategy is to use the Shova Racket to shove foes to the backcourt, and follow that up with a soft drop shot that leaves the ball bouncing out of reach.