SEGA Superstars Tennis is as much or more about major SEGA franchises over the years as it is about the game of tennis. The Planet Superstars game mode has over 100 challenges distributed in various Game Zones, each of which is based on a major SEGA franchise, like Sonic, Super Monkey Ball, Gauntlet, Jet Set Radio, and House of the Dead, among others. Granted, many of the challenges in each zone involve playing a tennis match or a tennis tournament, but a good majority of these mini-games really have little to do with the actual game of tennis at all. You’ll find yourself collecting rings on a tennis court in Planet Sonic, and fighting off zombies by hitting tennis balls at them in Planet Curien Mansion, and so on.
“Tennis” is in the title after all, and exhibition tennis matches and a Tournament mode are also included, featuring the most popular SEGA characters from the featured titles. Tournament mode puts you in the quarterfinals of a tourney against random SEGA characters in a different SEGA environment for each round. You don’t get to pick the numbers of games or sets; the only variable is difficulty level, which is set in the Options menu.
Up to four players can play, including head-to-head doubles matches. Doubles can also be played in single player mode, with the computer filling out the rest of the teams. In addition, there’s a mode where two players can play some of the games available in the Game Zones in Planet Superstars. High scores are tracked for players and for the characters in the game. Online play is not available.
The characters are well-known from the SEGA game library and faithfully recreated, each with a special tennis skill (power, speed, spin, etc.) and a special type of shot when they are in the Superstar State. You get to the Superstar State by performing well and filling up your superstar meter, and then pressing either L1 or R1. The effects are ephemeral, but surreal, most of which involve either hitting a shot that switches directions quickly and unpredictably, and/or launching hazards at your opponent along with the shot.
You can hit baseline strokes, volleys, lobs, overhead smashes, and drop-shots. The quality of your shots is based upon your positioning when you swing and your swing timing. To model momentum, the game freezes your player slightly after making a shot, which is awkward, but effective in allowing for you or your opponent to be out of position to return the next hit from your opponent. The farther and harder you have to run to return a shot, the longer the “freeze.” The controls also fell a little “floaty” at times, and lack precision.
Rarely do shots go out, and they seemingly never hit the net. Aside from these abnormalities and the crazy superstar state shots, though, the tennis is decent, meaning you’ll need to work your opponent side-to-side and know when to charge the net to win points. However, it is by no means a game for tennis purists. There is also some fun to be had playing doubles, with long challenging rallies and fast and furious net play being the norm.
The non-tennis match/tournament mini-games basically involve dodging things or hitting things, usually with the context of the game of tennis, because the action takes place on tennis court environments and sometimes involves the use of your racket or tennis balls. They have a simple objective and a short time limit, and are really only re-playable so you can beat your high score or to unlock another challenge. Many get repetitive quickly and some are downright boring. There’s a bunch of them, though, which does add some depth to this title. And, the SEGA themes are very well done.
