Sega Superstars Tennis

Sega Superstars Tennis
Developer(s)	Sumo Digital Feral Interactive (OS X)[1]
Publisher(s)	Sega Feral Interactive (OS X)
Composer(s)	Richard Jacques
Series	Sega Superstars
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 Wii Xbox 360 Nintendo DS Mac OS X
Release	NA: March 18, 2008 EU: March 20, 2008 AU: March 27, 2008 Mac OS X WW: October 17, 2013
Genre(s)	Sports game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Sega Superstars Tennis is a tennis video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega.^[2] The game was released in 2008, and includes sixteen playable characters and ten courts from various Sega franchises. In total, fifteen Sega franchises are represented in the game.

Gameplay[]

Superstar Mode allows the player to complete missions which include exhibition matches, tournaments and tasks based around a specific Sega game including Sonic the Hedgehog, Puyo Pop Fever and Virtua Cop. Completing missions unlocks items such as courts, stages, soundtracks and different characters. Exhibition Mode offers the chance to challenge a character to a match on one of many courts, including Sonic's home court of Green Hill Zone, or Amigo's Carnival Park court. Whichever court is chosen, there are a host of Sega celebrities cheering them on from court side. Tournament Mode allows the player to play in a series of matches against opponents chosen at random by the computer in an arena also chosen at random. There are several playable minigames in Sega Superstars Tennis, including ones from Sega games such as a House of the Dead meets Space Invaders game, in which the player has to hit moving targets in the form of zombies, a Space Harrier game, a Puyo Puyo game, and a Virtua Cop game.^[3]

Each character has its own unique 'special attack' giving the player more chance of scoring a point. For example: Gilius throws a magic bottle in the air and covers the opponent's side with thunderbolts, if they touch one the character will be stunned for a brief moment, or Sonic's signature "Super Sonic" attack, which causes the tennis ball to zig-zag in various directions around the court when he hits the ball.^[3]

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions both have online play, while the Wii version has three different control schemes (Wii Remote with Nunchuk, Wii Remote sideways and the Classic Controller). The Nintendo DS version of the game can be played with the standard control pad, or utilize the stylus.^[3]

Represented franchises[]

Playable characters[]

• Sonic the Hedgehog, of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
• AiAi, of the Super Monkey Ball franchise.
• NiGHTS, of the NiGHTS series.
• Ulala, of the Space Channel 5 series.
• Beat, of the Jet Set Radio series.
• Amigo, a playable character from the Samba De Amigo video games.
• Miles "Tails" Prower, of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
• Dr. Eggman, of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
• Shadow the Hedgehog, a supporting character from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
• MeeMee, of the Super Monkey Ball franchise.
• Reala, of the NiGHTS series.
• Pudding, of the Space Channel 5 series.
• Gum, of the Jet Set Radio series.
• Alex Kidd, of the Alex Kidd series.
• Gilius Thunderhead, of the Golden Axe series.
• Amy Rose, of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

Mini games[]

• Puyo Pop Fever, a mini game where the player must make combos, similar to its original game.
• ChuChu Rocket!, a mini game where the player must change the directional pads and make sure the ChuChus escape to their rockets.
• Super Monkey Ball, a mini game where the player must throw as many monkey balls into a portal before time runs out.
• Space Harrier, a mini game where the player must hit as many enemies as they possibly can before losing all their lives.
• Jet Set Radio, a mini game where the player must match the color of the graffiti on the opposite side of the court.
• Curien Mansion, a mini game where the player must eliminate as many zombies as they possibly can before they lose all their lives.
• Virtua Squad, a mini game where you eliminate as many criminals as possible before all your lives run out.
• Sonic the Hedgehog, a mini game where you dodge bombs, and collect rings and chaos emeralds to score.

Tennis courts[]

• Curien Mansion, a tennis court based on the mansion setting in the House of the Dead series.
• Spaceport 9, a tennis court based on the Spaceport 9 location in Space Channel 5 series.
• Splash Garden, a tennis court based on one of the reoccurring locations in the NiGHTS series.
• Green Hill Zone, a tennis court based on Green Hill Zone from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
• Scrap Brain Zone, a tennis court representing Scrap Brain Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog.
• Carrier Zone, a tennis court representing a major location from After Burner.
• Carnival Park, a tennis court representing Amigo's hometown from Samba De Amigo.
• Shiubuya DownTown, a tennis court based on the main setting of the Jet Set Radio series.
• Coconut Beach, a tennis court based on the location from the Outrun video game.
• Super Monkey Ball, a tennis court based on the main location, and island, from the Super Monkey Ball franchise.

Reception[]

Sega Superstars Tennis received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^{[32][30][31][33][29]}

Though it was praised for its multiplayer and enjoyable gameplay, the lack of graphical detail and online support was criticized. Eurogamer praised the Xbox 360 version for its fan service.^[6] Official Nintendo Magazine reviewed the Wii version, saying that it had great gameplay and fun minigames and was enjoyable in multiplayer. However, the game just missed out on a Gold Award (which is given to games that score 90% or higher in their reviews) due to the lack to Nintendo Wi-Fi support and blasted Sega for the omission due to Wi-Fi being supported on the Xbox and PS3, commenting that as Nintendo Wi-Fi had already proven its capabilities with other games, it appeared that Sega simply couldn't be bothered to include it.^[34] IGN called the Wii version "a tennis game that should have been better than it is." They criticized the lack of detail in the graphics, the muffled sound effects, simplistic gameplay, and the lack of an online mode, which is present in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions.^[23]

See also[]

• Virtua Tennis
• List of games featuring Sonic the Hedgehog

References[]

External links[]

• Sega Superstars Tennis at MobyGames