Review
SEGA Superstars Tennis Review (Xbox360)
The original Virtua Tennis was by far the most played game on my Dreamcast. In fact, I played it so often I actually cracked the centre of the disc and had to buy a replacement. Virtua Tennis 2 improved on everything the original had done and rightfully took its place. Unfortunately, the third in the series, although good, just wasn’t up to the high standards set by its predecessors. I can’t really put a finger on why; it just didn’t feel right. But when Sega Superstars Tennis was announced, I must admit to being more than a little bit excited. All of my favourite Sega characters, Sega themed tennis courts, mini-games aplenty and Virtua Tennis as the structure holding it all together.
Unfortunately, my expectations weren’t quite fulfilled. Amongst all of the excitement involving Sega awesomeness – a stage based on the fabulous OutRun series, Ulala, House of the Dead and Virtua Cop to name but a few things – I managed to avoid the issue that the Virtua Tennis game Superstars is based on is number three. The one with the “this isn’t as good as the old ones, but I can’t quite work out why” issue, and it comes through in the core of the gameplay. Yeah, it still plays a brilliant game of tennis, but we’ve had better in the past and that’s hard to forget. Fortunately, Sega Superstars Tennis makes up for this in a lot of ways, and it does deliver on its promise to give Sega fans a huge feast of tasty treats.
Actually playing Tennis in Superstars, although very similar to Virtua Tennis 3, is a little bit different. First of all, shot types aren’t assigned to completely dedicated buttons anymore. The A button still acts as powerful shot and the B button as soft shot, but holding one and pressing the other now performs lobs or drop-shots. The other major difference is the introduction of Superstar Mode. When performing decent shots in a game, the star underneath your player will grow, and once your star is full, a tug on the right or left trigger button will enter your player into Superstar Mode. A short animation will play and your character will have a specific power for three shots in a row. For example, Dr. Eggman fires spiky balls at the opposition upon returning the ball and Sonic’s shot will zigzag all over the place to confuse the other player. Every character has a Superstar shot and surprisingly it enhances the experience rather than getting in the way. I was a little concerned about the Superstar Mode because of how intrusive the special moves were in Mario Tennis, but it works very well here.
The main bulk of the game is found in Superstars mode where you choose from a bunch of classic Sega games including Sonic, House of the Dead (renamed Curien Mansion, presumably because of the Germans or something), Samba De Amigo, OutRun, Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe and you get the idea; there’s plenty in here. Each Sega game has a mission list, with only a few available at the beginning for each game and more unlocking as you progress. In order to progress, you must score an “A” rank or higher in each mission, with “AAA” being the highest. Completing missions also unlocks new characters, new Sega games and even classic Sega music – but more on that later.
The missions are reasonably varied, some of them are tennis tournaments set across a number of stages, but the majority of them are mini games. For example the Sonic ones usually involve collecting rings on a tennis court. This simple task eventually progresses to collecting rings whilst being pelted with spiky electrocuting balls and bombs, under a strict time limit. The early mini games are pretty easy, but eventually they become genuinely difficult, and in the case of one Sonic mini game, genuinely frustrating and unfair. I’ll let you decide which one that is when you play the game (hint: it’s the one where the bombs infuriatingly spawn under your feet, killing you and forcing you to start again, over and over and over.) Ridiculous unfairness and the odd bit of repetition aside, Superstars mode is great fun and will keep even the most hardened of Virtua Tennis veterans playing for a long time.
You can also play a one-off tennis match or a standalone tournament if you wish. There are also the excellent one and two player mini games available separately from Superstars mode. The aim with these ones is to bag the highest score you can, and they seem to go on indefinitely, allowing for some impressive scores. Evidence of which can be found in the online leader boards – unfortunately none of them were set by me. The House of the Dead mini game is my personal favourite, in which you have to knock the zombies down by hitting tennis balls at them.
Unlockables are a big part of Superstars Tennis. A bunch of characters and courts can be unlocked when progressing through the game, but the thing that impressed me the most is the music. Completing missions for a particular game will often unlock a classic piece of music from that game that you can then use as background music during tennis matches and other mini games. This might be seen as a nostalgic gimmick by some, but I loved it and it’s a genuine reward for all of your hard work.
Online multiplayer is pretty solid, but there aren’t many people playing at the moment. The couple of games I did manage to play were lag free and very similar to the Virtua Tennis 3 setup. You can also watch other people play on Superstars TV which is a nice touch. The leader boards aren’t quite as extensive as I hoped they would be, but there’s a scoreboard for most of the game modes so you can compare yourself with your friends and, well, anyone.
Overall, if it weren’t for the slightly lacklustre Virtua Tennis 3 gameplay in the actual tennis matches, Sega Superstars Tennis would be absolutely essential. As it stands, I’d still recommend the game to anyone because I love Sega and everything they do. But for the average person wanting a tennis game, you’d be better off picking up a Dreamcast and doing it properly. Mine’s always plugged in.
Top Moment: Finally beating the most annoying mini game in the world, ever.
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| Sonic's special move is star-shaped incontinence. | This stage looks awesome in real life. Well, on the telly. |
Unfortunately, my expectations weren’t quite fulfilled. Amongst all of the excitement involving Sega awesomeness – a stage based on the fabulous OutRun series, Ulala, House of the Dead and Virtua Cop to name but a few things – I managed to avoid the issue that the Virtua Tennis game Superstars is based on is number three. The one with the “this isn’t as good as the old ones, but I can’t quite work out why” issue, and it comes through in the core of the gameplay. Yeah, it still plays a brilliant game of tennis, but we’ve had better in the past and that’s hard to forget. Fortunately, Sega Superstars Tennis makes up for this in a lot of ways, and it does deliver on its promise to give Sega fans a huge feast of tasty treats.
Actually playing Tennis in Superstars, although very similar to Virtua Tennis 3, is a little bit different. First of all, shot types aren’t assigned to completely dedicated buttons anymore. The A button still acts as powerful shot and the B button as soft shot, but holding one and pressing the other now performs lobs or drop-shots. The other major difference is the introduction of Superstar Mode. When performing decent shots in a game, the star underneath your player will grow, and once your star is full, a tug on the right or left trigger button will enter your player into Superstar Mode. A short animation will play and your character will have a specific power for three shots in a row. For example, Dr. Eggman fires spiky balls at the opposition upon returning the ball and Sonic’s shot will zigzag all over the place to confuse the other player. Every character has a Superstar shot and surprisingly it enhances the experience rather than getting in the way. I was a little concerned about the Superstar Mode because of how intrusive the special moves were in Mario Tennis, but it works very well here.
The main bulk of the game is found in Superstars mode where you choose from a bunch of classic Sega games including Sonic, House of the Dead (renamed Curien Mansion, presumably because of the Germans or something), Samba De Amigo, OutRun, Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe and you get the idea; there’s plenty in here. Each Sega game has a mission list, with only a few available at the beginning for each game and more unlocking as you progress. In order to progress, you must score an “A” rank or higher in each mission, with “AAA” being the highest. Completing missions also unlocks new characters, new Sega games and even classic Sega music – but more on that later.
 |
 |
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| I don't use this camera angle. | One of the better mini games. |
The missions are reasonably varied, some of them are tennis tournaments set across a number of stages, but the majority of them are mini games. For example the Sonic ones usually involve collecting rings on a tennis court. This simple task eventually progresses to collecting rings whilst being pelted with spiky electrocuting balls and bombs, under a strict time limit. The early mini games are pretty easy, but eventually they become genuinely difficult, and in the case of one Sonic mini game, genuinely frustrating and unfair. I’ll let you decide which one that is when you play the game (hint: it’s the one where the bombs infuriatingly spawn under your feet, killing you and forcing you to start again, over and over and over.) Ridiculous unfairness and the odd bit of repetition aside, Superstars mode is great fun and will keep even the most hardened of Virtua Tennis veterans playing for a long time.
You can also play a one-off tennis match or a standalone tournament if you wish. There are also the excellent one and two player mini games available separately from Superstars mode. The aim with these ones is to bag the highest score you can, and they seem to go on indefinitely, allowing for some impressive scores. Evidence of which can be found in the online leader boards – unfortunately none of them were set by me. The House of the Dead mini game is my personal favourite, in which you have to knock the zombies down by hitting tennis balls at them.
Unlockables are a big part of Superstars Tennis. A bunch of characters and courts can be unlocked when progressing through the game, but the thing that impressed me the most is the music. Completing missions for a particular game will often unlock a classic piece of music from that game that you can then use as background music during tennis matches and other mini games. This might be seen as a nostalgic gimmick by some, but I loved it and it’s a genuine reward for all of your hard work.
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| Just wait until you see it moving. | This one is very similar to the infuriating one. But this is not it. |
Online multiplayer is pretty solid, but there aren’t many people playing at the moment. The couple of games I did manage to play were lag free and very similar to the Virtua Tennis 3 setup. You can also watch other people play on Superstars TV which is a nice touch. The leader boards aren’t quite as extensive as I hoped they would be, but there’s a scoreboard for most of the game modes so you can compare yourself with your friends and, well, anyone.
Overall, if it weren’t for the slightly lacklustre Virtua Tennis 3 gameplay in the actual tennis matches, Sega Superstars Tennis would be absolutely essential. As it stands, I’d still recommend the game to anyone because I love Sega and everything they do. But for the average person wanting a tennis game, you’d be better off picking up a Dreamcast and doing it properly. Mine’s always plugged in.
Top Moment: Finally beating the most annoying mini game in the world, ever.
