Tuesday Grudge Match: Virtua Tennis vs. Top Spin

[Kroogah]

The Sega Dreamcast is home to many near-perfect arcade games, not the least of which being Virtua Tennis. And just when we thought nothing would ever touch Virtua Tennis, Top Spin was released for the Xbox, with the almighty online play.
Tell us what game you prefer to get your serve on with, and why.

[NintendoMan]

I LOVE VIRTUA TENNIS! The game is just so perfect, me and my brother still play it lots all the time! I to like top spin, but have only played it a few times.
Tennis 2K2 on the dreamcast is also very good.

[Half Japanese]

I've got to go with Virtua Tennis as well. It is to tennis what Nintendo World Cup was to soccer: a great game regardless of whether or not you gave two shits about the sport. Top Spin, on the other hand, I just didn't enjoy. Sure it had online play and all that jazz, but it just didn't feel as polished and balanced as Sega's monumental effort. I've never met ANYONE who disliked Virtua Tennis.

[Flack]

Chalk another vote up for Virtua Tennis. Like others have said, I could care less about Tennis, but Virtua Tennis is just plain FUN! The controls are simple enough that you can just pick up and play, but there is enough depth in it to be able to place your balls wherever you like.

Er, wait ...

[Gapporin]

Virtua Tennis for me as well. I thought the career mode/minigames were pretty nifty.

[Jibbajaba]

I vote virtua tennis because it is the best tennis game that I have ever played, BUT I have never played top spin...

that seems to be a recurring problem for me with these grudge matches. It's always the case that I've played one game but not the other.

Chris

[digitalpress]

Wow this is tough.

I'm going to go with Virtua Tennis but only by the slightest of margins. The online play in a tighly-controlled game like Top Spin nearly gives it the nod - but the extra power buttons give the game an extra level of complexity that makes you wish you were playing Virtua Tennis sometimes.

So yeah, that's my vote.

[Gamereviewgod]

I hated Top Spin... all because of Virtua Tennis.

That pin-point control and very solid feel of VT is gone in TP. I constantly started running around in the wrong direction when I wanted to hit something. I can't really describe it here, but it you seen me play, you would understand. In VT, if you held the button to swing, you wouldn't move, which you let you set up for the nest shot. TP doesn't let you. It was infuriating. It's not so much a flaw of TP as it is my feelings that VT is one of the best sports games ever made.

[LiquidX01]

This is a tough choice, but I'm going alone in saying Top Spin. I was a fan or Virtua Tennis back on the DC but the addition of online play in Top Spin gives it the edge for me. It has easily become one of my favorite online games.

[norkusa]

Top Spin, without a doubt. Virtual Tennis is great for arcade style, two-button play but if you want *real* tennis, Top Spin is your game. It's got a full shot selection and the online play rules too. When I first got TS, it took me about a week to get a hang of the controls because I was so used to playing VT. Once I got over that, I was unstopable and my online ranking was always in the top 100.

Sure, the Risk Shots in TS can be very frustrating to get the hang of but once mastered, they add an entirely new level of intensity to the game that VT can't even compare to.

BTW If anyone is looking for a good online match, look me up. (GT: Norkusa) ;)

[LiquidX01]

BTW If anyone is looking for a good online match, look me up. (GT: Norkusa) ;)

I will take you up on that once I renew my subscription. It expired over the weekend. :( I didn't even notice it until yesturday.

[midgey]

Another one down for Virtua Tennis. Had Mario Tennis or Mario Power Tennis been on there though...

[LiquidX01]

Another one down for Virtua Tennis. Had Mario Tennis or Mario Power Tennis been on there though...

I think the thread starter was going with "realistic" tennis sims only.

[Cauterize]

Virtua Tennis All the way! I just picked it up last weekend too!

[dbiersdorf]

Virtua Tennis. The bowling mini game alone consumed well over 50 hours of my life. :P

[ubersaurus]

Virtua Tennis is the only tennis game I ever saw people play for money in (the arcade version, anyway, but they'd do it for console too).

That really should sum it up.

[cat-mince]

Virtua Tennis! Plus I haven't Played Top Spin but C'mon it's a SEGA game it's gotta be good :D