SEGA Superstars Tennis (Nintendo DS) - Review by Chris

Introduction

Sega has a proud history within the tennis genre of sports games having created the standard to which every other game has been measured against, this of course being the fantastic Virtua Tennis games. Yet, with Sega now moving their fallen mascot Sonic into the reaches of other genres and games, much in the same way Nintendo has done with their characters, they attempt to create a stellar tennis game built around the basics set about in the Virtua Tennis series while providing the nostalgic factor by including many characters from their various franchises. But is this simply a poor imitation of another company's similar treadings?

Gameplay

Sega Superstars Tennis, as the name would suggest, is a game with its most basic of roots in the tennis genre. The game forgoes the usual attempts of games in the genre to bring the best of the tennis world to a video game and instead brings with it a plethora of content, from characters to courts to mini-games, which harken back to the franchises on display here and hope to strike a nostalgic cord with the gamer. From the outset, options seem initially limiting. You have your standard Quick Play option, where the game will randomly select characters and a court for you to play on, as well as your single and multi-player options and going through all of these option, you will indeed see how limited the game really is. The single player option allots you the basic modes of play which you'd find in many other tennis games. Singles and doubles matches are present for you to play against the AI yet in here, they put up little challenge in either match type and so you'll breeze past any and all opposition. The major mode for single player play is that of the Tournament mode, which can be played again in either singles or doubles, where you have a selection of three cups which are unlocked progressively after the previous one is completed fully. It is here where the game actually puts up some challenge as you progress, as you'll have to place your shots carefully if you wish to make it through unscathed. Completing these in their fullest helps in the unlocking of new hidden characters, of which there are a good selection to go with an already established roster which adds enough variety.

Yet the best of the modes available is undoubtedly that titles Ball Games, where you can play through a succession of mini-games based around the various courts on offer in the game, such as killing zombies on the House of the Dead court or playing a game of Chu Chu Rocket and directing them with the tennis balls. These serve as a way to unlock the game's hidden courts and they are a joy to play. The pinnacle though has to be playing a tennis version of Space Harrier which really will bring back memories for those who have had the privilege of playing the original. These touches of nostalgic goodness make some of the single player offerings superb. The multiplayer supports both single and multi card play and both forms work well, although it is more likely you'll have to settle for single card play unless you know 3 others who will have access to their own cart. The of online support seems to be a missed opportunity as the game could clearly have handled it well.

The tennis itself takes some of the basics that Virtua Tennis laid before it, yet provides a much more withdrawn experience. You have two major shot options, topspin and slice, with a combination of these two leading to further, different shot types. Over the course of the game, for pulling off shots and winning points a star underneath your character will grow until the point where it starts to glow allows you to pull off a character specific shot. Each of the characters on offer will them hit the ball in a unique and crazy way making returns a difficult task. These make a great addition to the game as things can become mundane easily but these special shots really make you think on your feet for where the ball is finally going to bounce, with the likes of Beat's special zigzagging over the course so erratically that a level of tension appears. It plays out well, even with it being rather basic, yet it just doesn't level any sense of excitement or fulfilment that the aforementioned series does. It was obviously done to appeal to those who aren't strong fans of the sport but as far as games go, it does even stack up to the quality of other games in the genre on the handheld.

Controls

Touch screen controls and standard button based ones are included for you to play the game, but only one truly works as it should and it's not hard to guess which. The touch screen controls, something which has been attempted in many other tennis games on the console, have you tapping the touch screen to serve or swing your racket with slides across the screen being used to influence the direction of your shot. It's very basic but it's not very intuitive and falls far behind the robustness of the button controls, which are thankfully the basic setup from the moment the game is loaded. These button based controls work well, with one button for adding topspin to shots and another adding slice with combinations of these adding different effects and a tap of the shoulder buttons unleashing your special power. Characters respond well to movement inputs although due to some obscure walking mechanics, it can either be too easy or too difficult to reach a wide shot. Direction of shots isn't particularly easy regardless of setup, which is strange given the developers created perhaps the best tennis game in existence with Virtua Tennis, but in its most basic and apparent form, it works well enough.

Graphics

The game employs a mixture of 2d and 3d artwork to convey the game's happenings. Character models are all produced in 3d and are animated well, but their movement about the courts feels more like they are walking on thin air rather than solid terra firma. Yet this isn't always a help as the walking mechanics seem to be floaty for some characters and heavy for others making return shots a difficult procedure. The characters from the various Sega franchises all look as they should but some could have done with a little tidy up just to keep everything to the same standard. Courts are all themed after various franchises, such as Jet Grind Radio, Space Channel 5 and Virtua Cop with there being many more, and while they too look good, this is where the 2d work comes in as all the courts and their backgrounds are interwoven into one, albeit one which attempts to fool you it is all being produced in 3d but this notion is soon dispelled when you see the tennis ball bounce over the scenery as if it were a flat surface. It is a shame they haven't done fully 3d courts but even as it is, they do look good and are sure to bring back memories of playing these separate franchises.

Sound

Music is comprised solely of a mixture of tunes from the various franchises which the game pays homage to, some being remixes and other being straight up originals. They sound great and definitely ladle on the nostalgia feeling but in terms of their contribution to the sport of tennis, they don't sit quite as well as they should have, even with the courts being themed. Yet this really is a small demeanour when you consider the richness of the soundtrack and the games from which it takes those tunes.

Dual screen

The top screen shows all of the action while the touch screen shows a scoreboard. It's not a particularly great use of the two screens when playing but one of the screens was always going to be used as a scoreboard, regardless of whether you used a traditional button based control scheme or the touch screen controls.

Final comments

Sega Superstars Tennis comes across as a bit on the thin side in regards to content. It manages to bring the nostalgic feeling perfectly, giving a good selection of characters and courts to have your mind wander to those specific franchises but the content and the main crux of the gameplay lacks much in the way of charm outside of the otherwise superb mini-games. It is an enjoyable game but doesn't come anywhere close to being as fun as it should have been nor does it reach the levels that the Mario Tennis series does. As it is though, gamers looking for some tennis action on the handheld wrapped in the skin of some of their favourite characters will find solace here until something better comes along.

Pro: Great selection of characters and courts, button controls are solid for the most part, mini-games are superb especially the Space Harrier one
Con: Not much in the way of substantial content, courts should really have been done in 3d, gameplay lacks the punch of the sport
Final score: 6.3

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