Chris
08-26-2007, 09:18 AM
http://www.geocities.com/asialife2002/md/grand_slam.gif
A lost sibling.. ?
This might seem a bit curious, but a little tennis game I found recently, happens to play almost exactly like the legendary PC Engine classic.
I'm talking about Jennifer Capriati Tennis (or Grand Slam, how it's called in Europe (http://www.zonesega.com/covers/megadrive/Grand%20Slam%20%5BEUR%5D.jpg) and Japan (http://www.zonesega.com/covers/megadrive/Grand%20Slam%20Tennis%20%5BJAP%5D.jpg)). Actually the game isn't centered around Jennifer, you can choose between a healthy roster of male and female players, they just tacked on the licence for the american market.
But anyway, the similarities between this one and Final Match Tennis are all over the place and I'm even wondering if one of the developers left Human, to work for System Sacom (developers of Grand Slam).
From the button layout (3 different strokes: flat, slice, lob) to the dodgy animations and trashy but charming sound effects, everything seems familiar.
But best of all, both games play nearly identically. Okay, Final Match Tennis is a bit faster and smoother overall, but apart from that the way in which you have to positin yourself and the timing is strikingly similar.
The clone even has some advanteges, for example the AI feels more natural and organic (with double faults and stuff happening) and I was even able to score a point with a volley, something that I couldn't do in the PC Engine title yet. Another addition is the possibility to create your own character and alter his various stats to your liking. The only major drawback seems to be a lack of 4 player action, but otherwise I'd say that this is a hell of an underrated little gem.
Has anyone played it and why oh why isn't this one heralded as "the inofficial sequel" to one of the best games of all time?
Grand Slam (Jennifer Capriati Tennis)
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/5059/grandslamtennishn6.png
Final Match Tennis
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8523/finalmatchtennissf8.png
A lost sibling.. ?
This might seem a bit curious, but a little tennis game I found recently, happens to play almost exactly like the legendary PC Engine classic.
I'm talking about Jennifer Capriati Tennis (or Grand Slam, how it's called in Europe (http://www.zonesega.com/covers/megadrive/Grand%20Slam%20%5BEUR%5D.jpg) and Japan (http://www.zonesega.com/covers/megadrive/Grand%20Slam%20Tennis%20%5BJAP%5D.jpg)). Actually the game isn't centered around Jennifer, you can choose between a healthy roster of male and female players, they just tacked on the licence for the american market.
But anyway, the similarities between this one and Final Match Tennis are all over the place and I'm even wondering if one of the developers left Human, to work for System Sacom (developers of Grand Slam).
From the button layout (3 different strokes: flat, slice, lob) to the dodgy animations and trashy but charming sound effects, everything seems familiar.
But best of all, both games play nearly identically. Okay, Final Match Tennis is a bit faster and smoother overall, but apart from that the way in which you have to positin yourself and the timing is strikingly similar.
The clone even has some advanteges, for example the AI feels more natural and organic (with double faults and stuff happening) and I was even able to score a point with a volley, something that I couldn't do in the PC Engine title yet. Another addition is the possibility to create your own character and alter his various stats to your liking. The only major drawback seems to be a lack of 4 player action, but otherwise I'd say that this is a hell of an underrated little gem.
Has anyone played it and why oh why isn't this one heralded as "the inofficial sequel" to one of the best games of all time?
Grand Slam (Jennifer Capriati Tennis)
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/5059/grandslamtennishn6.png
Final Match Tennis
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/8523/finalmatchtennissf8.png