Sega Superstars Tennis

"Sega’s response to Super Smash Bros. – A Tennis Game."

Not only is Nintendo's Smash Bros franchise revered for its unique gameplay, but also because of its ability to bring together many different series in a unique and respectable way. And off somewhere, Sega is wringing their hands, saying they have the same rich, traditional history but were bankrupted and cut short. Most of their original series are either dead or in a state of mediocrity. Sure, Sonic got into Brawl, but that's not enough. Come up with something fun and quirky to revitalize the Sega fanbase, so they made Sega Superstars Tennis.

Sega Superstars Tennis is, in a nutshell, a tennis game with a bunch of Sega characters in it. You can play traditional singles or doubles tennis with sixteen different characters (eight unlockable). Of the initially available characters are Sonic, Tails, Eggman, NiGHTS, Amigo, Beat, Aiai, and Ulala from their respectable series. The other eight unlockable characters are mostly backups to the protagonists, such as Amy or Pudding—the only other characters from different series are Gilius and Alex Kidd. Not only can you play tennis, but you can also play a bunch of minigames loosely based off of classic Sega games, such as House of the Dead or Puyo Pop!, cleverly incorporated into the tennis gameplay mechanics.

As the traditional rules of tennis goes, the goal is to knock the ball across the racket in such a manner that your opponents can't return it. The game mechanics are loosely based off of Sega's Virtua Tennis, moreso than Mario Tennis. Controls are very simple to pick up—the right joystick runs back and forth and pressing X and A puts you in motion to swing. You can loosely aim the shot by using the left joystick and put some spin on the shot by holding the button. It's also possible to execute some lob shots by pressing X then A or vice versa, which was an unusual button choice since the Y and B buttons are basically unusued. There's no way to configure these shots to the buttons, too.

Of course, for a game that's quite simple, there's not a whole lot of room to take advantage of your opponent other than to continue whacking the ball at him. Generally, the game is quite forgiving in that if you're barely within reach of the ball, you'll hit it. However, on occasion, you can press the swing button and swear you made it in time, only to have your character not attempt to swing at it. I'm not sure if this is a glitch or the game's way of making it more difficult, but it feels a bit phony. The tennis isn't that bad and can be fun with several players, but it's not the greatest party game ever conceived, unfortunately.

To mix things up, you can charge your Superstar meter by rebounding shots and generally playing well. When you unleash it, your character's shots are enhanced by a beneficial effect. For instance, Sonic turns into Super Sonic and rips some powerful lobs while Beat calls upon some fellow skater to tag up the opponent's side, therefore causing them to slip and slide for a few seconds. It's a decent touch that allows you to break away a few shots now and then.

But forget about the tennis—this game features plenty of courts and characters from many different series, each one drenched in color and little bits of detail that would make any Sega fan squirm. Sonic the Hedgehog's courts are based off of a massive mockup of Green Hill Zone in a large canyon and a slick futuristic backdrop of Robotnik's factory. Samba de Amigo's court is in a festive Mexican town, Jet Set Radio's is smack in the middle of a flourishing Japanese city, and NiGHTS' is in a magical fountain. Some series that didn't get character representation actually got courts, such as House of the Dead, Outrun, and Afterburner. The only flaw is that the game's perspective is generally focused on the court, so you don't have much time to admire the scenery.

And don't forget about the minigames, which make up a chunk of the game's “career” mode. Of them are Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Monkey Ball, Jet Set Radio, House of the Dead, Chu Chu Rocket, Virtua Cop, Space Harrier, and Puyo Pop. Most of them actually follow the source material well. For instance, in House of the Dead (oddly renamed to "Curien Mansion"), you fend off zombies by hitting tennis balls back at them while not getting touched and in Space Harrier, you move around on a court while dodging mushrooms, fireballs, and spaceships under the illusion that you are running forward at an incredible speed. Space Harrier, Chu Chu Rocket, Virtua Cop, and Puyo Pop are essentially identical clones of the original games, except with some tennis movement going on. The rest are rather unusual—in Sonic the Hedgehog, you run around a court picking up rings while avoiding incoming fire, which is awfully generic. You can play up to four people on any minigame, which extends the game's value greatly. Seeing Amy and Ulala fight of hordes of zombies is something you'll never see again in a long time.

Of course, you'll be getting a good taste of tennis matches and minigames in the Planet Superstars mode, the game's campaign mode. You'll compete in different missions either by playing minigames under specific circumstances or entering tennis tournaments. You'll be ranked on how well you do, and one particular achievement rewards you for earning AAA-rankings for every single one of them. Perfectionists beware, because this game can become obscenely difficult. The AI in the latter tournaments will become ridiculously difficult, even when you're trying to unlock the last few characters, which is kind of aggravating, considering the game's simplistic mechanics.

As you're playing through the Planet Superstars mode, you'll realize the game's greatest culprit. Some game series just feel oddly represented—Outrun and Afterburner have courts but no minigames or characters, Golden Axe and Alex Kidd have characters but no minigames or courts, and Space Harrier, Virtua Cop, and Puyo Pop have minigames but no courts or characters (Space Harrier, for instance, takes place on an edited Green Hill Zone and Virtua Cop's harbor isn't really a court at all). Sure, it may have been weird to make a minigame based on Outrun, but not for Samba de Amigo or NiGHTS? Also, some characters and series feel oddly absent. No Daytona USA, Streets of Rage, Crazy Taxi, Billy Hatcher, Phantasy Star, Virtua Fighter, or Shenmue whatsoever. Not to mention that there feels like room for more character, particularly Knuckles who was kicked in favor of Shadow and Amy, which still baffles me today.

Simply put, the game feels like the content was sprinkled on rather than just poured out in abundance. For instance, Brawl has 35 characters. SST has 16. Maybe I'm delusional because I doubt a tennis could ever sell more copies than a Super Smash Bros. game, but it doesn't help to add more content.

On another note, the game's visuals are worth noting. All of the courts do well to show off their respectable game's backdrops. Character animations are rather smooth with characters hustling to hit the ball—for instance, Sonic jogs in his usual fashion, Beat skates around, and NiGHTS hovers majestically. The only catch is that some of the characters look too bright and clean, especially Gilius and Alex Kidd who look a bit on the cel-shaded side and a tad bit more unusual than the rest. Each court/minigame features a few pieces of music from that respectable series, which is just another nice bit of Sega nostalgia. A resounding “fomp” comes from every rebound of the ball. Characters have their own little voice clips which actually seem suitable from their original games. Hearing Beat talk trash has always made be laugh, and so has NiGHTS cheery “Weeee!” and Aiai's giggles.

Lastly, you can jump onto Xbox Live to play some tennis, bar the minigames. You can join existing games or watch footage of previously played games. The latency is pretty good so you won't be too disoriented in laggy games. The problem is there's hardly anyone online at the time of the game's release, so now, it seems reserved for achievement point seekers, not casual players.

Overall, Sega Superstars Tennis is a good game, but there's only a limited amount of content available. The tennis is good but not great. The game seems to rely mostly on Sega flair, as without it, it would be another generic tennis game. It's worth a look, especially if you want to appreciate some of Sega's most popular franchises, now removed.

Presentation: 8/10 – Sega characters in the same game, take that Nintendo.
Gameplay: 7/10 – The tennis is okay, and so are the minigames. Not great due to their overwhelming simplicity.
Graphics: 8/10 – Massive, colorful courts and smooth character animation are thwarted by overtly shiny characters.
Sound: 8/10 – Decent tennis ambience with a load of classic Sega tunes.
Replay Value: 7/10 – Rental length, at least. Tennis and minigames have some length, especially if you get friends to play. Online is dead, though.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/08

Game Release: Sega Superstars Tennis (US, 03/18/08)