Games for Lunch: Sega Superstars Tennis
In a nutshell: Unforgettable characters play forgettable tennis.
2/25/2009 7:48 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 4
Developer: Sumo Digital
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: March 17, 2008
System: Wii (reviewed), PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS
ESRB Rating: E-10+
Official Web site
0:00 What can I say, ever since I played
Mario Golf/
Tennis, I'm a sucker for cute characters in unpopular sports (See:
Hot Shots Tennis,
We Love Golf, etc.). I'm a big Sega fan in general, too, so I'm looking forward to playing with some classic characters.
0:01 Aiai from
Super Monkey Ball bounces a ball and serves to Beat from
Jet Set Radio. Ulala from
Space Channel 5 returns the ball with an overhead Smash, then Amigo from
Samba de Amigo does some wall jumps off a cliff and hits it back. Nights from, er,
NiGHTS hits it to Dr. Eggman from Sonic, who uses an octo-handed backpack to smash it at Sonic. The Hedgehog runs through a loop, jumps off a springboard, and bends the racket as he smashes the ball into Eggman's face! Confetti falls and everyone (except Eggman) is jumping and happy as the title screen appears. I'm pretty sure they aren't playing tennis by the real rules, though.
0:03 There are three different control modes ... one that's like
Wii Sports Tennis where you just swing the Wii Remote, one where you swing and move around with the Nunchuk, and one where you hold the Remote like an NES controller. Let's try the Nunchuk/swinging hybrid. Wait, that means I have to stand up, huh? Grooooan.
0:05 I can choose between Male and Female umpire voices? GAME OF THE YEAR!
0:06 Superstars mode lets me "Explore classic SEGA games and complete [sic] to win prizes." The initial level choices are Sonic, Samba, Jet Set, Space Channel 5, Monkey Ball and some game I've never heard of called Curien Mansion...? Let's see some Space Channel 5, please. Hello Ulala!
0:08 It's a tournament singles match. I can choose Sonic, Aiai, Nights, Ulala, Beat, Amigo, Tails or Eggman. There are eight more mystery characters still locked, but I don't care. Let's see some ULALA! My first match is against Gum from Jet Set. The camera zooms in from outside a stadium that looks like a
Space Channel 5 spaceship. Some catchy
SC5 music plays as Ulala shakes her hips, waiting for me to make her serve. Let's do this!
0:11 The first point is a looong back-and-forth rally, with both of us easily knocking the ball back to the other with minimal movement needed. The game doesn't seem to care how or exactly when I swing the Remote ... as long as the ball is anywhere near my character, she hits it perfectly over the net. On the one hand, it's nice not to worry about how I'm swinging. On the other hand, it makes the motion controls seem a little superfluous.
0:12 As I play the hollow star under Ulala me fills in, which I assume means superstar mode is available. I hold down A and B to activate it with a short
Sailor Moon-style close-up dance move. Now every shot I hit goes in a crazy "5" pattern in the air and three Morolians come onto the court to say "chu chu chu." Doesn't seem quite as organic as the Power Shots in
Mario Tennis, but still cute.
