thewisefool's Full Review: SEGA SUPERSTARS TENNIS PS2 for PlayStation 2
The Super Mario franchise has given a shot at tennis, so why not Sonic? Finally, in 2008, Sega delivered Sega Superstars Tennis, releasing it on the three current gen consoles as well as the DS handheld and the aging but still popular PS2. Since I am always cheap and come to gaming systems late, I am reviewing the PS2 version.
On a basic gameplay level, Sega Superstars Tennis is remarkably similar to Mario Tennis: Power Tour, which I have for the GBA. As on that game, tennis is played from a vertical, aerial view. Also like the Mario game, you have a nifty little "power-up" you can gain after playing well, transforming your character into a "superstar" who has a "super hit" he or she can launch at the opponent (this hit *can* be successfully shot back, but it's remarkably difficult to do so). You can access that with the R1 button once you see the star underneath your player's feet fill up to the max.
That's where the important similarities end, though; Sega did pretty well to avoid being a carbon copy of Mario. I would have liked a storyline feature, however; it was fun to have characters interacting outside the tennis courts in some fashion, as you could on Power Tour. But unlike that game, it's nice to be able to play as non-generic characters from the get-go, including Sonic himself and pals like Tails. Dr. Robotnik is also on here (I refuse to call him by his goofy nickname Eggman, though that is what he is called on the game). In total, there are 16 playable Sega characters (not just Sonic-specific ones), although you have to unlock eight of them through special achievements, which I'll come to later (one unlockable character is Alex Kidd).
The basic tennis modes on the main menu are "Match" and "Tournament." A "Match" lets you play one match which you can customize by set number and so forth depending on how long you want it to last, and you can choose from singles or doubles. You also get to pick your opponent(s), and can even play against your twin if you like (for instance, if you pick Tails, you can also play against Tails). "Tournament" mode, as you might expect, has you play a series of matches for a trophy prize.
Another fun thing on Sega Superstars Tennis that distinguishes itself from Mario'sPower Tour are the varieties of terrain available on which to play. One such terrain is the "Outrun" beach. I can't imagine playing tennis on a beach in real life, but this is a great stage. As with the other stages, you can really see a lot of beautifully rendered background detail, like someone tanning on a towel (if you hit the tennis ball near that person, look for some hilarious startled movement). In fact, as a whole, the graphics on Sega Superstars Tennis are very good - the players too are crisp and precise, not blocky polygons; it seems the final games on the PS2 have really taken advantage of the upper limits of the system's hardware.
The controls are mostly intuitive. Ball placement in particular works well; the controls aren't finicky for that. The only real drawback on the controls is that sometimes it seems like your players gets their feet stuck in the ground too long after a hit even when you are clearly pushing down on the controller pad to move.
Sounds and music are also done well. The music always ties in mood-wise with whatever the theme is (the beach is laid-back, for instance), and the sounds are clear, ranging from the "pop" of the tennis ball to Tails' soft and fluffy declaration of "yes!" following a nice hit.
I also must add that players specialize in different facets of tennis. Just to name a few, Sonic specializes in speed (naturally), Tails specializes in spin, Robotnik excels in power, Ulala is best with control, and NiGHTS is an "all-round" (all-around) character.
One criticism I do have about this game is that it's a little too easy. Thankfully, you can adjust the difficulty level through "Options" on the main menu, but take note that even supposedly Normal difficulty isn't much of a challenge in most instances. A few other things you can adjust through "Options" include sound volume, button controls (if you don't want slice to be the default square button, for instance, you can assign it to another button), and what gender you want your umpire to be (I guess Sega wanted to be politically correct).
There are also some fun side features here in addition to basic quick tennis matches and longer tournaments. One such feature, simply called "Games" on the main menu screen, is actually a set of mini games with varying objectives. One hilarious mini game, Curien Mansion (based on House of the Dead game from Sega), has you attempting to hit and kill zombies with tennis balls shot out of a gargoyle machine. You build up points as you kill the zombies, and sometimes you can hit more than one zombie at a time for additional combo points. Bigger zombies also give more points, although it usually takes more hits to take them out of the picture.
Another interesting mini game is based directly on the first Sonic the Hedgehog video game for the Sega Genesis. On this one, you run along the tennis court, dodging spike balls and collecting rings for points (your character holds a racket, but no actual tennis is involved this time). You can also pick up shield bubbles or chaos emeralds, as on the original Sonic.
Finally, to address the special achievements and unlocking, you can find that via "Superstars" on the main menu. By completing various tennis "missions" (matches), you can unlock new missions, characters, music, mini games, and so forth. "Superstars" is a very nice thing to have around to keep the challenges and variety going on this game so that it doesn't get too repetitive.
In all, while Sega Superstars Tennis may not be especially groundbreaking or addicting, it's a nifty little tennis game that doesn't embarrass poor Sonic. It may not be realistic, but Sonic isn't supposed to be - he's supposed to be fun, and this game is definitely fun for short intervals.
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