SEGA has long strived to make Sonic the Hedgehog its signature mascot much like Nintendo has done with Mario. Sonic has been featured in numerous titles and when SEGA made the switch from console maker to strictly game publisher it was able to push Sonic onto multiple platforms. With SEGA Superstars Tennis the hedgehog dream has been kept alive in a sports title that features Sonic as well as fifteen other SEGA branded characters.
If you are expecting a realistic tennis simulation this isn’t the court you’ve been looking for. At its core SST is a simplified arcade tennis game that mixes the mechanics of tennis with the over the top abilities of its cartoon competitors. Since whacking a ball back and forth over a net on its own merit may quickly grow tiresome SST also features a plethora of minigames that mix tennis with the gameplay elements of the various SEGA games represented. Over one hundred of these minigames challenges combined with a fairly robust online mode helps strengthen what is very close to being just another lackluster crossover sports title.
Modes of play consist of match, tournament, games, superstars, and Xbox Live online games. Match mode lets you square off against the AI controlled characters or up to three real live folks in both doubles and singles match ups. Tournament mode allows you to go up against randomly selected AI controlled opponents in five singles matches, or three doubles matches. Standard tennis rules apply to each of these modes. The characters are ranked by their prowess in speed, spin, power, control, or balanced abilities. In addition each character has a special bonus attack which can be released once you have charged your star meter via normal play.
Both superstars and games modes contain all the extra minigame content. Superstars mode consists of a series of “zones” each based on one of the SEGA franchises. Each zone includes roughly fifteen different challenges that progressively unlock as you defeat previous ones allowing you to move down the ladder and eventually conquer that zone. Doing so rewards you with additional zones, characters, courts, and musical tracks to play with. These challenges can be either minigames or regular tennis matches and tend to vary greatly in difficulty. Playing through superstars mode also unlocks minigames within the games mode. The minigames found within the games mode can be played solo or against up to three local friends.
In Xbox Live games mode you can take on others from around the world in both singles or doubles matches at the exhibition or ranked level. The online game lobbies appear to be rather empty and finding others out there to play with can be a challenge in itself. If you are unable to find anyone to play you can always go check out the TV section which features highlights as well as full length matches of people who were successful in finding an online opponent to play.
The control scheme in SST is straightforward and effortless. You move your character with the left analog stick which also serves to aim your shots after you hit the ball. The A button is used for topspin shots, and your X button is used for slice shots. Either one of those buttons will work on serves which has the standard rolling power meter that’s been used in sports titles for years. You can pull off lobs and drop shots using a combination of the A and X buttons but chances are you will rarely use them. The only other button used is the right trigger to engage your power move once your star meter is full. Truthfully you can play through the entire game using nothing but your left analog stick and whichever shot button you feel most comfortable with mashing.
