Tennis Video Games - from PONG to Wii Sports

[evert]

Mario Tennis on the consoles does indeed let you cancel your power shot, and this elevates it to a higher spot on my chart than other similar games. It is a great touch and lets you really go for creative shots.


I have Final Match Tennis on an emulator. Is it any different to the real thing? It is the only game I have ever played on an emulator so Im not sure if the games get altered in anyway. I have been able to beat the 4 slam tournaments. It is obvious that you can employ certain strategies to beat the CPUs without really having much skill at all at this game. However, it is also obvious that the control system is VERY deep and would take a long long time to master it and feel fully confident to hit any shot you wanted. Which is a good sign, specially for 2 player matches.


Anyone has any preference between TopSpin and TopSpin 2? Are there many differences?

[EDDIE M0NS00N]

I agree with most here re: VT 1/2/3, Super Tennis.
I really liked Jimmy Connors Tennis although I know some here werent keen on it. VT 1/2/3 & JCT were great to play single player & doubles too.

One which hasnt been mentioned which I have the fondest memories of both 1 player & doubles, is Davis Cup Tennis for the MegaDrive. It had a faster pace than other Tennis games at the time & you could query the Umpires decisions too which is something I still havent seen in Tennis games to this day. The querying of decisions wasnt just a novelty added on either as sometimes the Umpire would change his decision. The camera angle was a little closer & lower to the ground which also gave a feeling of being closer to the action.
If you want to play something a little different then I'm sure you can pick up DCT from eBay for pennies. I loved mine so much I've still got it & wouldnt dare part with it, & me & my bro have a bash every now n then. Ahhhhhhhh memories!!

[evert]

Sounds like a good game.

You can actually challenge calls in Smash Court 3 on the PSP. It is a fun option. As a game, it doesnt advance itself enough to separate it from Smash Court 2 to warrant a purchase.

[crocky-chocky]

Smash Court on the SNES...though I can't remember if it was called that or not.

Smash Court on PS1

Virtua Tennis

They all rocked hard and provided ace multiplayer moments. I'm about due another tennis game and I tend to opt for the cutesy manga flava'd ones. Anyone know if Everybody's Tennis or the GC Mario Tennis are spesh' in multiplayer?

[Shoju]

Virtua Tennis 2 is my favourite. It's one if the best sequels I've played as it improved on everything in VT1 and fixed the game breaking flaws. What I like best about is the vollying aspect which is by far the best I've seen in a tennis game. Chip and charge, approaches, positioning, countering half volleys are all well implemented. If you don't get it right though you'll get passed or lobbed though so it's nicely balanced.

The timing aspect is realistically done as well as it takes into account how long you've got to play the shot, the height of the bounce and the depth of the shot your receiving. It gives you the freedom to position yourself exactly how you want to set up different angles.

What was really important was that everything was so well balanced making all sorts of tactics possible unlike in certain games like Virtua Tennis 1 and AK's Smash Court Tennis on PS1.

[Ryo Saeba]

I have Final Match Tennis on an emulator. Is it any different to the real thing? It is the only game I have ever played on an emulator so Im not sure if the games get altered in anyway.

Afaik not, emulators like Magic Engine do a pretty nice job, although I've heard they chopp off a little bit at the top and bottom of the screen.
If you have a TV-out and a good gamepad for your PC then it shouldn't be noticably different.

I have been able to beat the 4 slam tournaments. It is obvious that you can employ certain strategies to beat the CPUs without really having much skill at all at this game.

Yeah, I remember reading a review in a gaming magazine back then, that gave FMT their highest rating ever for a tennis game (91&#37 and the only thing they criticized was the lack of difficulty.
Funny thing is, you get a code when you finish the game the first time, that allows you to access the difficulty menu


No one realized, cause it's in lovely japanese.
Anyway, in the box at the bottom it says something like holding Select and II in the main menu and then quickly pressing left 4 times and right 10 times.

And there it is (if you were fast enough).

And believe me, it makes all the difference. Try setting it on 5, and the CPU will read your serve like Psycho Mantis. You'll have to fight for pretty much every ball, I had a go at it yesterday and got my ass handed to me (2:6).

PS: Gotta love the engrish!
ending screen

I really liked Jimmy Connors Tennis although I know some here werent keen on it.

I love it too^^ it's an inofficial sequel to Great Courts I-II on the Amiga and imo even surprasses its excellent predeccedors.
Of course it's not as fast as FMT and you need your time to get into it, but then it's a blast.

Davis Cup Tennis for the MegaDrive. It had a faster pace than other Tennis games at the time & you could query the Umpires decisions too which is something I still havent seen in Tennis games to this day.

I played it and couldn't get into it.. I just hate the perspective and while the controls seemed a bit overambitious (full use of the six button pad) the actual shot placement felt shallow and players all kinda looked like longhaired muscleman. I also love the pacing though.
Btw I heard that the Atari ST version is the best? The PC Engine version looks nice too, maybe I'll try it as its dirt-cheap.
Btw: Afair you could also query decisions in this EA Tennis game for SNES.

Smash Court on the SNES...though I can't remember if it was called that or not.

Was called Smash Tennis over here and Super Family Tennis in Japan. It's my fav along with Jimmy Connoers on the SNES. Playing in a japanese shrine and on top of a mountain was ace

Virtua Tennis 2

Does anyone know the differences bewteen the PS2 and Dreamcast version? Which one is better? What about loading and PAL/60Hz?

[EDDIE M0NS00N]

^To Ryo Saeba:

VT2 Dreamcast version looks way better than the PS2 version. The PS2 version looked kinda blurry compared to the DC. I think they both had the 50/60Hz option too.
The EA Tennis game was called IMG Tennis. I had the MD version. I cant remember ever being able to query decisions but I remember the serve method was similar to the way we serve in current/last gen games i.e a power meter.

Does anyone remember Andre Agassi Tennis for the MD SNES? What utter crap!!

[Ryo Saeba]

Super Tennis (SNES)

I agree with most here re: VT 1/2/3, Super Tennis.

I wonder why Super Tennis is named so often when it comes to favourite Tennis games? It seems to be pretty popular, especially in the UK (there even is a fansite).

Has it gotten good reviews in magazines back then? I only remember one review where they gave it a rating of around 70% and said that it was good but not great and nowhere near Final Match Tennis quality.

I played it recently and I wonder what's so special about the game. Feels a bit clunky and slow and the mode-7 effects are annoying as hell (not a big problem es they can be skipped).
Is there a gem of a tennis game hidden in it, cause I really don't get it yet?

[EDDIE M0NS00N]

I think its because at the the time it looked pretty amazing over here in the UK & was a hell of a lot more challenging as I remember, compared to tennis games of that time. So much so that I remember most people who had a SNES in my area having to use a special cheat to make the game easier!! I have to admit that even I had to use it.
However, I played it again recently without the cheat & found the game fine w/out the cheat!! Weird eh!! And it still plays pretty good even today.

I still say Davis Cup on the MegaDrive is my favourite playability wise. Yeah sure all the graphics werent amazing especially by todays standards, & the characters look the same & are muscle bound dudes with perms but good graphics do not a good game make.

[Ryo Saeba]

Anyone knows some good Tennis games for my Playstation 1 or Game Boy Micro besides the obvious choices (Smash Court Tennis & Mario Tennis)?

[EDDIE M0NS00N]

GBA Virtua Tennis is pretty good as far as I remember. It was good single player & again me & my bro had a blast playing it doubles via a link up.

[J0e Musashi]

What's that JPN DS Prince of Tennis like?

[Charlie]

Super Tennis. Looks like crap now, granted, but in terms of gameplay it remains un-bettered in my opinion.

[evert]

Super tennis, best ever!


Anyway has anyone had a chance to play any preview version of Sega Superstar Tennis? I read that it is based on Vitrua Tennis style of play....which wont fit the Wii at all really!

Same question re Top Spin Tennis for the wii.....have there been any impressions? I have a lot of hopes resting on that game, but after Rockstar Table Tennis I fear there will be a host of control schemes, none of them being any good.