| Virtua Tennis | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sega AM-3 |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date(s) | 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Sports game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | Sega NAOMI |
| Display | Raster, medium resolution |
Virtua Tennis (Power Smash in Japan) is a 1999 tennis arcade game created by Sega-AM3. The player competes through tennis tournaments and various arcade modes. For the home console market the game was expanded with the introduction of the campaign mode. It was later ported to Dreamcast in 2000, and for Microsoft Windows in 2002. A Game Boy Advance version was also released in 2002.
A sequel, Virtua Tennis: World Tour was released for the PlayStation Portable. 2006 saw the release of Virtua Tennis 3 in the arcades (using the Sega Lindbergh hardware). Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PC versions were released in 2007. Virtua Tennis 2009, was released on June 9, 2009 on PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii platforms.[1][2] The latest addition to the franchise, Virtua Tennis 4, was released in May 10, 2011.
Contents |
The player must win 5 matches to win a tournament. Each match is played on a different surface:
| Match | Name | Real Counterpart | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Challenge | Australian Open | Hard |
| 2 | French Cup | French Open | Clay |
| 3 | US Super Tennis | US Open | Hard |
| 4 | The Old England Championships | Wimbledon | Grass |
| 5 | Sega Grand Match | None | Carpet |
This is a single match in which the options are customizable.
The match can be played as singles or doubles with up to 4 human players (2 for singles). The duration can be varied between one game and one set. Other options include the court that the match is played on and the skill of the opponent(s).
This is the main mode of the game. Users have to win matches and complete training exercises in order to progress and unlock new ones. The user enters with a rank of 300th, which improves as matches are won. These matches are unlocked by completing easier matches or training exercises.
The focus of the training exercises are to be fun, rather than realistic. Each exercise has three levels, with the difficulty increasing progressively. By completing the hardest difficulty with a certain amount of time left or points scored, an outfit is unlocked, which players can wear in all modes.
Characters include several real world tennis players, with their respective strengths:
| Player | Strength |
|---|---|
| Jim Courier | Various Shots |
| Tommy Haas | Forehand |
| Tim Henman | Volley |
| Thomas Johansson | Quickness |
| Yevgeny Kafelnikov | Backhand |
| Carlos Moyà | Groundstrokes |
| Mark Philippoussis* | Serve |
| Cédric Pioline | All-around |
The Dreamcast and PC ports include eight extra players, all of them fictitious:
| Player | Strength |
|---|---|
| Gilles Altman | Serve |
| Bruno Costa | Forehand |
| Rolf Euler | Volley |
| Masayuki Inoue | Speed |
| Shyam Singh | All-around |
| Davor Tesla | Wide Shots |
| Pieter Tinbergen | Serve and Volley |
| Raf Ventura | Strength |
And finally there are two bosses in the game.
| Player | Strength |
|---|---|
| Master | High Performer |
| King | Perfect Player |
*Mark Philippoussis was removed from the PC version as he was already featured in a licensed tennis title for that platform.
Virtua Tennis received very positive reviews from with the UK version of the Official Dreamcast Magazine rating it at 9/10, as well as overwhelmingly positive reviews from users [1]. Players were pleased with the quick learning curve and the wide variety of training exercises available. The game became one of the few Sega All Stars.
It has been ranked in the top 100 games of all time by IGN both in 2005 (#91) [3] and 2003 (#89).[4]
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