Undiscovered Classics #1

Every system has a tennis game of some description. Today we have the Virtua Tennis and Top Spin series, as well as a version on Wii Sports. Tennis games remain popular be they trying to emulate the sport in simulation or in an arcade style.

Back in the day, there was a handheld console called the Game Gear. It was widely considered "Game Boy's Bitch", but it did have a number of games, many of which were graphically enhanced Master System ports. However, when I got mine, it came with a small collection of games. Sega Game Pack 4 in 1.



Sega Game Pack 4 in 1 is a collection of cut down games. Columns, Penalty Shootout, Rallying and, of course, Tennis. Three of these games are instantly forgettable, Columns is not a replacement for Tetris, Penalty Shootout is entirely based on luck, Rallying is difficult and not fun. Tennis, on the other hand, is as playable, as fun and as challenging as it was back in 1992.

4 difficulty levels, 1 and 3 set options and Sonic the Hedgehog playing umpire, in obvious reference to Mario playing umpire in the Nintendo tennis games. Tennis on the Game Gear was the cure for boredom on many a car trip (battery draining being the biggest barrier).



Due to having a hacked PSP and a Game Gear emulator, I was able to give the game another spin and it's still as addictive. My appreciation of tennis has grown and, in retrospect, so has my appreciation of this game that I'm certain no one but myself remembers. Tennis games have been a staple, like many sports games, but this is one I keep doing back to. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a perfect recreation of tennis. Some of the calls are iffy, the player movement is somewhat sluggish and you only really have two swings... but, it's such a fun game, it doesn't matter if it's not a perfect recreation of tennis, it's the most fun.

[LightofDarkness]

I had this on my Game Gear too. The racing game ate up most of my time with it, but the tennis was also good. Sonic Chaos, now that was a great GG game.