SUPER TENNIS!
What a great game. I have memories of playing this during summer holidays at high school and stuck it in my Super Famicom again recently, discovering that I had become utterly rubbish at it before rediscovering my form.
As far as 16-bit tennis simulations go, Super Tennis is probably the best known and most rounded package. The option to play on grass, clay or hard courts is present and match lengths are selectable from one, three or a full five sets. 20 selectable characters are also available, all with their different attributes to complement your desired play style.
Controls are fairly intuitive, face buttons offering ground strokes, top spin, lob and slice, all shots being obviously different from each other when played, with L and R enabling spin for that extra bit of opponent-beating after touch to take advantage of the court's angles.
Visually, Super Tennis is functional, but wholly effective. You don't need pyrotechnics on the tennis court, that sort of thing is reserved for Mario and chums. There aren't too many humerous touches or frivolities, but Super Tennis doesn't really need them. There's certainly no padding out of points with cut-aways, the likes of which plague Virtua Tennis series.
Initially, the perspective can be a bit hard to get used to but helpful markers such as the ball's shadow and bounce point aid you in soon becoming a pro.
You'll need to be a pro too, to be able to beat the hardest opponent, Don J, who appears to have a home court in something approximating hell, although going by a map he looks to have set up home in the Prince Edward Islands which are volcanic so I guess that suits him well.
The only features missing from Super Tennis that would have been welcome are multi-tap compatibility for four player action and battery back-up for your saves, 52-character long passwords being excessive to note down and input, even for stalwarts of the 16-bit days. Other than these minor ommissions though, Super Tennis offers a great tennis simulation that moves along at a good pace and most importantly remains fun 15 years on.
Super Tennis. It's still super.
8/10
What a great game. I have memories of playing this during summer holidays at high school and stuck it in my Super Famicom again recently, discovering that I had become utterly rubbish at it before rediscovering my form.
As far as 16-bit tennis simulations go, Super Tennis is probably the best known and most rounded package. The option to play on grass, clay or hard courts is present and match lengths are selectable from one, three or a full five sets. 20 selectable characters are also available, all with their different attributes to complement your desired play style.
Controls are fairly intuitive, face buttons offering ground strokes, top spin, lob and slice, all shots being obviously different from each other when played, with L and R enabling spin for that extra bit of opponent-beating after touch to take advantage of the court's angles.
Visually, Super Tennis is functional, but wholly effective. You don't need pyrotechnics on the tennis court, that sort of thing is reserved for Mario and chums. There aren't too many humerous touches or frivolities, but Super Tennis doesn't really need them. There's certainly no padding out of points with cut-aways, the likes of which plague Virtua Tennis series.
Initially, the perspective can be a bit hard to get used to but helpful markers such as the ball's shadow and bounce point aid you in soon becoming a pro.
You'll need to be a pro too, to be able to beat the hardest opponent, Don J, who appears to have a home court in something approximating hell, although going by a map he looks to have set up home in the Prince Edward Islands which are volcanic so I guess that suits him well.
The only features missing from Super Tennis that would have been welcome are multi-tap compatibility for four player action and battery back-up for your saves, 52-character long passwords being excessive to note down and input, even for stalwarts of the 16-bit days. Other than these minor ommissions though, Super Tennis offers a great tennis simulation that moves along at a good pace and most importantly remains fun 15 years on.
Super Tennis. It's still super.
8/10
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