Spring Break
Sega Superstars Tennis review
Phillip Kazanjian
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Released in the middle of March was a title that seemed like it may wind up being more of a fan service than a decent gaming experience. This game was Sega's Sega Superstars Tennis. Just as Nintendo has done successfully in the past, Sega felt that it would be a great idea to get some of their most popular (and some rather unknown) characters, bring them together and have them compete on clay courts in a grueling set of tennis!
The idea itself seems overly tacky, as it seems too easy to gather a roster of famous characters and have them compete in a sport; we have plenty of titles that have done this before and with Sega's beloved mascot now seeing the worst days of his life, is this title truly a good idea?
Well, it turns out that the concept isn't all bad, but this romp on the courts is still a bit short of being an ace. This title is filled with Sega material and it will make any long time player remember its hey days in the ´90s. The game features a nice variety of tennis courts, all of which are given a distinct Sega theme from various past titles such as Chu Chu Rocket, House of the Dead, and Outrun (my personal favorite). As you would expect, Sega Superstars Tennis tries to bring together characters new and old to form a memorable roster, but I feel the lineup chosen is actually one of the weak spots of this title. Sonic, NiGHTS, Amigo, Ulala, and Beat are all here which is all very good, but who cares for Gilius Thunderhead from Golden Axe? The eight unlockable characters really feel like D-list stars in a potentially A-list roster. Why could they have not included the Hornet car from Daytona USA, just like they did in Fighters Megamix back on the Saturn?
At any rate, after you pick your character, it is time to hit the courts. Once you start playing, you will realize that you have a rather solid title on your hands. The gameplay feels right and the controls feel tight as they should with this game being powered by the much praised Virtua Tennis 3 engine. While the controls do flow well with the gameplay, there are times when characters will fail to respond to particular button presses which ultimately lead to an advantage for your opposition and a slight headache for yourself. Once you have had enough with volleying the ball back and forth, you can go on to choose a variety of Sega inspired mini-games. Most of these mini-games are spin-offs from past titles from Sega and the game offers little to no instruction on how to play them; only if you have played them in years past will you automatically know how to complete a particular mini-game.
The mini-games, while varying in style, also drastically vary in difficulty level; actually, the entire game suffers from unbalanced difficulty. At times you may feel like you are being pampered and everything is far too easy, and there are other times when you feel like you are getting mercilessly pummeled into the ground with your own racket. A static or at least more gradual difficulty curve would have been much more appreciated than the sporadic mess you are given.
In the end, Sega Superstars Tennis, while rough around the edges, serves up some solid, if not basic tennis gameplay, but fails to bring back some of the more memorable Sega memories such as Space Harrier, Shining Force, or Daytona USA; even still, this game will definitely be enjoyed by Sega fans. Those who dislike Sega, however, should probably seek out another tennis-based game.
The idea itself seems overly tacky, as it seems too easy to gather a roster of famous characters and have them compete in a sport; we have plenty of titles that have done this before and with Sega's beloved mascot now seeing the worst days of his life, is this title truly a good idea?
Well, it turns out that the concept isn't all bad, but this romp on the courts is still a bit short of being an ace. This title is filled with Sega material and it will make any long time player remember its hey days in the ´90s. The game features a nice variety of tennis courts, all of which are given a distinct Sega theme from various past titles such as Chu Chu Rocket, House of the Dead, and Outrun (my personal favorite). As you would expect, Sega Superstars Tennis tries to bring together characters new and old to form a memorable roster, but I feel the lineup chosen is actually one of the weak spots of this title. Sonic, NiGHTS, Amigo, Ulala, and Beat are all here which is all very good, but who cares for Gilius Thunderhead from Golden Axe? The eight unlockable characters really feel like D-list stars in a potentially A-list roster. Why could they have not included the Hornet car from Daytona USA, just like they did in Fighters Megamix back on the Saturn?
At any rate, after you pick your character, it is time to hit the courts. Once you start playing, you will realize that you have a rather solid title on your hands. The gameplay feels right and the controls feel tight as they should with this game being powered by the much praised Virtua Tennis 3 engine. While the controls do flow well with the gameplay, there are times when characters will fail to respond to particular button presses which ultimately lead to an advantage for your opposition and a slight headache for yourself. Once you have had enough with volleying the ball back and forth, you can go on to choose a variety of Sega inspired mini-games. Most of these mini-games are spin-offs from past titles from Sega and the game offers little to no instruction on how to play them; only if you have played them in years past will you automatically know how to complete a particular mini-game.
The mini-games, while varying in style, also drastically vary in difficulty level; actually, the entire game suffers from unbalanced difficulty. At times you may feel like you are being pampered and everything is far too easy, and there are other times when you feel like you are getting mercilessly pummeled into the ground with your own racket. A static or at least more gradual difficulty curve would have been much more appreciated than the sporadic mess you are given.
In the end, Sega Superstars Tennis, while rough around the edges, serves up some solid, if not basic tennis gameplay, but fails to bring back some of the more memorable Sega memories such as Space Harrier, Shining Force, or Daytona USA; even still, this game will definitely be enjoyed by Sega fans. Those who dislike Sega, however, should probably seek out another tennis-based game.
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