There have been a few games done under the years, but every now and then you get a series that didn't enjoy the level of success and attention. So is Namco Smash Court Tennis the franchise, which has been consistently using high-quality tennis action, but – perhaps because its previous titles have never seen an American release – has never really been in agreement when people topped the list of some of Namco's most popular entities.
Smash Tennis is the fifth game in the series, following a handful of Arcade, Famicom and TurboGrafx-16 titles under the names International Court and Family Tennis (this one is called Super Family Tennis in Japan). Since only Japan and Europe received Smash Tennis back when it was first introduced in 1993, its addition to Swingch Online library marks its official release in North America.
At first glance, it shares much in common with Tonkin House & # 39; s Nintendo-published Super Tennis. It uses the same perspective, incorporates the same cutesy style, chunky characters and focuses more on arcade-style action and controls that are less convenient than trying to duplicate the game in a logical, profound way.
Despite its simple appearance, Smash Tennis is a good tennis match; some would say it's the best of the famous Tonkin House effort, in fact. Armed with only three types of hits – strong, weak and lob – but somehow this sounds like enough to deal with any kind of situation in court. This is mainly used by the aiming mechanic, which is a basic part of any tennis game and one that many continue to deteriorate to this day.
Simply put, your lashes usually go where you want them to be comfortable. Hold left as you turn and you will hit left. Hold on, and you'll hit a deep shot in the back of the court. Hold on and you'll try to throw a short one into the net. Each of the 20 instrumentals you play has their own stats too, so some can be better with their backhand than others, and some may be slower but can send a hell of a shot in the line.
None of this would have sounded like a variable, but at the time it was actually strange to find a tennis match with this level of control. Anyone who has ever played a favorite Andre Agassi Tennis, An amazing Tennis by David Crane either Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour – all that had come to the SNES last year – you would have known the pain of not having a tennis match simply putting the ball where you wanted it without needing a long fix. All you need to do at Smash Tennis is learn how to use the time for your workouts, and everything else it works.
What can you do to make all this accuracy easily available? Yes, the main mode is Taffa, which initially looks like a quarter-final bracket in the Namco Open tournament. Play three games, win all, and get your medal. Instead of being the end of the story, however, winning the first medal and qualifying for the four tournaments – America, Asia, Aussie and Euro Opens – and you get a & # 39; Grand Slam & # 39; (which in this case means defeating them all).
This is not the longest mode in the world; if you get control delivery fast enough you can hit the whole mode and enjoy important spelling error
Racing mode aside, all that remains is the ability to play one Exhibition game, but in reality these are more fun because of the addition of the five back courts that are more fun to play than the basic, hard and muddy grass courts. you will find it in great mode. Here you can play in a ski resort, a forest setting, in front of a Japanese mansion, on the beach or at the top of a large mountain, and each place is a treat with a lot of detailed views.
Ideally the special set pieces in each court, which help you stay on your toes. The sleep court starts with a fog, for example, that doesn't affect your ability to play the game but looks good. As you continue to play in the fog, the sun is shining and the floor of the court begins to show the shadows of the trees behind you. It's fun to see. Much less interesting (though much fun) is the occasional flock of birds that decide to fly as they are about to work.
These quirky little ones extend to other courts too, from the cat that comes out when you hit the ball in the shadows, to the sea bar that can be hit by a coconut when your bud hits a tree next to him. Best of all, the mountain court rider, who always tries to reach the summit as you play and can sometimes fall a little when a bullet is shot from the edge of the court and is heard passing him. When he finally reaches the top, he plants a marker and excites you.
It's not a flawless game: it has one problem especially when it comes to character selection. Although there are 20 players to choose from, each with very different stats, you get a list of names. You don't get to see those stats, and you don't get to see what the character looks like, so unless you know the difference between Tony, Carol and Helen who's in a big trial and error until you find someone with her skills (or looks, if you're weird like us) that best fits your style.
This is the only notable problem, however, in a game that is not in a good way. There are a few better multiplayer titles on the SNES – playing competitive mode in a co-op is a blast – hopefully the release of switchch Online, marking its official launch in North America, finally find the love and the right thing to do.
Conclusion
Super Tennis may be the first game most people think of when it comes to 16-bit innovations, but Smash Tennis is the same in almost every way, and probably also almost as expensive in terms of likes, control, number of players and so on. Its absence from the United States so far has kept it firmly under the radars of many players, but make no mistake: this is one of the best 16-game games, a standout.
