Nintendo Is Finally Taking Advantage of the Switch 2 With This New Game

Since the Switch 2 released, we’ve had just a handful of new first-party exclusives. The console launched alongside Mario Kart World, with Donkey Kong Bananza and Kirby Air Riders not far behind. But many other big 2025 releases from Nintendo, including Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A also released on Switch. As we head into 2026, fewer first-party games from Nintendo will be simultaneously released for Switch and Switch 2. And that might be part of why this year’s first big Nintendo release looks like a step up.

With the cartoon graphics of Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, it can be hard to appreciate the visual level-up the Switch 2 provides. Mario Kart World certainly looked impressive compared with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. And I can tell a few more details with hairstyles and fur in the Switch 2 edition of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. That said, the difference doesn’t really stick out unless you’re actually looking at the games side by side. But after spending time with Mario Tennis Fever, I feel like this might be the first first-party game to truly showcase what the Switch 2 can do compared to prior entries in the series.

Mario Tennis Fever Brings Next-Level Detail to Mario Characters

When I sat down for a hands-on preview of Mario Tennis Fever, I was ready for a fun Mario sports game. The last thing I expected was to be impressed with the graphics. Since the Switch came out 10 years ago, it feels like cartoon-style graphics like the ones used in Mario games haven’t really changed much. Even watching footage from the first few Switch 2 games last year, the graphics looked fine, but nothing really stuck out to me as next-level. Mario Tennis Fever, on the other hand, kind of blew me away.

At first glance, Mario, Peach, and the gang look much the same. Their character designs haven’t changed a ton in recent years. What has changed in Mario Tennis Fever, though, is the level of detail. You can actually see the textures on the rackets and clothing, down to the weave of fabric on Luigi’s shirt. I never expected to see so much dimension from the outfits on Mario characters, and I came away impressed.

It didn’t take a side-by-side comparison for me to see how much the graphics have improved over Mario Tennis Aces. When I picked up that Switch 2 Pro controller to experience Mario Tennis Fever, I hadn’t revisited the 2018 game in at least 5 years. That leads me to believe that the newest entry really is an improvement on graphics that we’ve yet to see from a first-party Nintendo Switch 2 release.

The Details in Mario Tennis Fever Could Be Good News for the Next Super Mario

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Now that I’ve seen just how much more detailed Mario characters can get, I’m feeling even more excited for the eventual reveal of a new Super Mario game. Though a successor to Super Mario Bros. Wonder has not yet been revealed, a Switch 2 release is surely an inevitability… eventually.

The mini-games I played on the Switch 2 for Meetup at Bellabel Park did look good, but not nearly to the level that the brand-new Mario Tennis Fever delivered. It seems like enhanced Switch 2 editions can only go so far compared to games that are fully developed for the newer console. And that could mean big things in the future for Nintendo fans.

So far, we only know of a few major Switch 2 exclusive first-party titles for the year. But I expect they’re going to look better than we could have predicted. Games like Yoshi and the Mysterious Book could give us some of the best Nintendo graphics we’ve seen to date. And the next 3D Super Mario installment? I’m now feeling a lot more excited to see what it looks like on Switch 2.

What do you think of the graphics of Switch 2 games so far? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!