''Super Tennis'' is a 1991
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by
Tose
(also called Tose Software) is a Japanese video game developer based in Kyoto. It is mostly known for developing Nintendo's ''Game & Watch Gallery'' series, various ''Dragon Ball'' games, as well as contract work or assistance to other develo ...
and published by
Tonkin House
Tonkin House was a Japanese video game publisher owned by Tokyo Shoseki, which was active in late 1980s and early 2000s.
Video games
* '' Super Tennis'' (1991, Super NES)
* '' Dig & Spike Volleyball'' (1992, Super NES)
* ''Felicia'' (1995, S ...
for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
.
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles.
The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
localized the game and released it outside Japan. It utilizes
mode 7
Mode 7 is a graphics mode on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled on a scanline-by-scanline basis to create many different depth effects. It also supports wrapping eff ...
graphics.
Gameplay
The game itself features three different modes: Doubles mode, World Circuit mode, and Singles mode, in which the player competes against a human or chosen computer opponent.
In doubles mode, the player and a human teammate can face the CPU. Said-players can each pair with a CPU opponent, or one player can pair with a CPU opponent to face two other computer opponents. Circuit mode is the most unlike the other modes and featuring a wide range of sequential tours the player can choose to battle through each to earn ranking points, with aim to finish number one in the rankings. There are four minor tournaments and four major tournaments, each taking place on one of three surfaces that each have different effects on how the ball bounces; the tournaments are based on real-life counterparts and include nearly every world tournament in existence at that current time.
All tennis players, whether playable or the opponents, are
cute, short representations of the then-top world players, though their last names are left out of the game. Each playable tennis player has their own talents on the court. Multiple of the right-hand buttons of the SNES controller perform different tennis racket moves and the direction of the ball when hit is influenced by the
control pad
The D-pad (short for directional pad) is a compact input method developed for video games, designed to translate thumb movement into directional control through a flat, cross-shaped surface that rests on four internal switches. Each switch corres ...
, which also moves the player around their side of the tennis court in anticipation of the ball. ''Super Tennis'' takes time to master, as the game itself neither tells the player how to play, nor gives them any knowledge on how the many different playable characters subtly differ in play style.
Reception
''Super Tennis'' was met with critical acclaim by media in the United Kingdom and North America. ''
Mean Machines
''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game journalism, video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom.
History
In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generatio ...
'' magazine declared it to be "the best tennis game available
s of October 1991 and scored all aspects of the game very highly, from sound, to gameplay, to their impressions overall. They were impressed by the attention to detail, like how ball runners get the ball off of the court whenever it gets caught in the net.
''
Computer and Video Games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...
'' editors said that ''Super Tennis'' is "more fun than should be allowed" when a set is played against a friend. They also echoed the declaration that this was the best tennis game available up until that point.
Professional film critics
Siskel and Ebert
Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were an American film critic duo known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siske ...
featured the game in a brief segment to end a "Holiday Video Gift Guide" special which was syndicated on television in the United States in December 1991.
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert.
Siskel started writing for the '' ...
praised its realism and claimed it was his "favorite video game".
In a 2000s retrospective, Mean Machines' then-editor Damo stated that the game was still "the best representation of the sport to date" and also the most "fantastically competitive", but also said the single player was "nothing special". ''Super Tennis'' was included as one of the titles in the 2010 book ''
1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die
''1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die'' is a video game reference book first published in October 2010. It consists of a list of video games released between 1970 and 2013, arranged chronologically by release date. Each entry in the list ...
''.
''
IGN
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' ranked the game 84th in their "Top 100 SNES Games of All Time" list. In 1995, ''
Total!
''Total!'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc. It was published monthly for 58 issues, beginning in December 1991 (cover-dated January 1992), with the last issue bearing the cover-date October 1996. A "1993 ...
'' rated the game 40th on their "Top 100 SNES Games" list. They commented that ''Super Tennis'' is superb and it does not have as many features compared to ''
Smash Tennis
''Smash Tennis'' is a 1993 tennis video game developed and published by Namco for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan as It is a follow-up to ''Family Tennis'', originally published in 1987 for the Family Computer. ...
'' and praised the gameplay as "unbelievably slick".
Notes
References
External links
''Super Tennis''at
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...
''Super Tennis''at
Giant Bomb
''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Super Tennis
1991 video games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Nintendo games
Nintendo Classics games
Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
Tennis video games
Tokyo Shoseki games
Tonkin House games
Tose (company) games
Video games developed in Japan
Video games scored by Yoshiki Nishimura