What Is the Best Mario Sports Game On Nintendo Switch?

What is the best Mario Sports Game on the Switch?

(KEep, Complete Delete)

Back in 2023, we were inspired by a very short segment on the Easy Allies podcast, which was a version of Kiss, Marry, Kill, but for video games. The idea is that there are three games, that are all very excellent in their own way and you need to make some very tough choices. Pick one game that you would get to keep forever , pick one game to fully complete one time only, and sadly, pick one game that gets deleted from existence. With the approval from Easy Allies to do this, let’s have some fun.

This time around we are going to be looking at Mario Sports on the Nintendo Switch with the choices being Mario Tennis Aces, Mario Strikers: Battle League and Mario Golf: Super Rush.

Keep Mario Strikers: Battle League

In terms of presentation, Mario Strikers: Battle League is the best on this list, but the biggest downside is Mario Strikers lacks a major single player component or adventure mode, which is too bad because the mechanics, style and presentation of this game are probably the best on the list. As for the gameplay itself, its a 4v4 arcade soccer that is closer to Blitz than it is to FIFA, but there actually is a level of strategy in the game akin to a fighting game with moves and items that can change the tide as well as super shots.

When it came to deciding which game to keep, the single player mode features offline mode where the player can grind for currency to unlock gear for all of the players on the roster to change their attributes might keep the player busiest for the longest amount of time with the tournament cups.

Mario Strikers also features impressive local co op where up to 8 players can play on one Switch at the same time. In addition to some great co-op, Mario Strikers has an online season mode where you can create or join a squad and then compete for promotions in addition to a standard online mode for quick play.

Complete Mario Tennis ACEs

Trying to decide between complete and keep was tricky, but ultimately came down to which game had a better single player mode. Out of these three games, Mario Tennis Aces had the best adventure mode and ultimately is the most balanced game, but offers more for completion. The single player adventure mode is plenty of fun and should take about 5 hours or so, which does a good job of showcasing all there is in Mario Tennis Aces.

Mario Tennis Aces has it all: Adventure mode, single player, co-op, and online. However, the most important thing about Mario Tennis Aces is that the gameplay has the perfect balance of easy to play, but hard to master in one of the best entries in the series, which sales can attest to with over 4 million as of the end of 2021. Most importantly, Mario Tennis Aces did exactly what a Mario Sports game is supposed to do: find the balance between whimsical Nintendo fun and serious gameplay.

Delete Mario Golf: Super Rush

Outside of NHL 94, Hot Shots Golf and Mario Golf have been the two sports games that I have spent the most time with over the years. After a seven year hiatus, Mario Golf was finally coming back to the Nintendo Switch with Super Rush. Unfortunately, Mario Golf Super Rush, the first entry since World Tour on the DS in 2014, wasn’t able to capture the same magic as many other entries in the series.

Camelot, the team behind the original Hot Shots Golf in 1997 and every Mario Golf game since 99, were still leading development, but something just never felt right with Mario Golf: Super Rush. The courses were a blend of realistic and whimsical Nintendo, which felt like a jack of all trades, master of none situation. The adventure mode felt uninspired and the big selling point, Super Rush wasn’t interesting or engaging.

Even if you stripped away everything, at its core, Mario golf lacked precision and fun. The best thing about the Hot Shots series or the Mario Golf series was that it was simple on the surface, but could reward players for mastering the game. The line is ultra thin with Mario Sports between whimsy and overboard and Mario golf Super Rush was never able to find the balance.

After long gaps between entries for some of these series including seven years for Mario Golf and 15 years for Strikers, the Nintendo Switch brought back many beloved Mario Sports series with mixed results. If you were a fan of the Mario Sports games, you likely found something to love.

As always, remember to be nice to your fellow gamer, but more importantly, be nice to your fellow human.