I got Mario Tennis Aces and Super Mario Party for my birthday today! My thoughts on each:
Mario Tennis Aces is...pretty good, I must say. But I do have a few gripes--minor and major. My biggest issue is that, as a devoted player of Ultra Smash, I just can't get used to the overhauled controls. It was easy for me to make the jump from Open to Ultra Smash because Ultra Smash's controls were pretty much the same as Open's. But the jump in controls from Ultra Smash to Aces is so much bigger. I don't know how many times I activated Zone Speed when I intended to lunge. The Trick Shot, controlled with the R Stick instead, and it's so much more difficult to use than the old lunge. And why is the rule selection before the character selection? Why can't I make matches longer than one set? Why can't I have full control over doubles partners, or easily be able to choose a court? Also, the motion controls aren't great. But I've had quite a bit of fun nevertheless. Boo Hunt is one of the best Mario Tennis minigames I've ever played. The core gameplay itself seems even better than that of Ultra Smash; I just need to adapt to the new controls.
Super Mario Party is my new favorite Mario Party. Easily. It feels much more polished than MP8, and as nice as it was to see MP9 and MP10 shake things up, I'm happy to see a return to form. I have my gripes with this one too, though. The horizontal Joy-Con is a terrible controller to start with, and although this game uses it better than most, I'd still prefer other controllers that don't give me hand cramps, or require me to constantly switch the hand with the wrist strap on. But the minigames are great, as to be expected. As for the side modes? I haven't tried them all yet. But Sound Stage and River Survival are both fantastic. I have yet to try Partner Party, so I can't share thoughts on that yet. Toad's Rec Room is neat despite the fact I only own one Switch; Mini League Baseball in particular is a lot of fun, and Puzzle Hustle is great as well.
Will these games dethrone Mario Odyssey and Kirby Star Allies as my favorite Switch games? Probably not. But I enjoy them quite a bit nevertheless.