OK, this next game, I have NEVER EVER once seen on eBay or for sell ANYWHERE on the net, period. I have looked like since 2002, maybe 2001 it's been so long I forgot. Geez, this game must be pretty hard to come by...

So what game is it, and did it turn out to be dud or stud?

Let's examine...

it's...


TENNIS ARENA


*gasp* it's a tennis game, but with a touch of "extreme"... there are 10 total characters, 5 male 5 female, 2 of which are hidden. There are 6 courts based around outlandish locations, 1 court is hidden. You have your regular tennis players, then some bizarre players like a sumo wearing a 5 pound heavy chainset... and the courts... they're all pretty cool, from a wooden court on an ocean cruise (my favorite, it actually slightly tilts too! SWEET!) to a clay court suspended in an ancient coliseum akin to the Greek period.




Yeah... Ubi Soft kinda tried to dub this "Tennis with Attitude" and in some ways, it is. It still plays like regular tennis however, so don't expect an EA-style "TENNIS STREET" game, but it does have some cool "out-there" characters and court locations, not to mention a power shot that scorches the ball across the court at a blistering rate, only rallied back by the most anticipated and readied players. This special shot is really cool and adds to the fun of the game.

My first match ever was one of those "wow, that's one for the books" types. So that put TA on my good side immediately, heh heh. I selected Pierre Seguin and faced off against African American Dave Woodward. Dave was crushing me 4 to 1... then I came roaring back, winning 3 straight to tie it 4 to 4!

Dave won the next set, making 5 to 4, if he won one more he'd win it all.

But I tied it 5 to 5.... and then won the next two sets to win 7-5! It was a great comeback and filled with drama all around... good stuff.

Yup, Tennis Arena is the best tennis title on Saturn by a LONG SHOT, but it doesn't have much competition since Breakpoint was mediocre and meh, and Virtual Open Tennis, which is flat out terrible, especially playing it after Tennis Arena.

I love the volleys you can get into. For example, I was on the upper court, and the CPU started hitting the ball just barely over the reach of the net, so I had to come charging in to hit it back, this quickly went back and forth for several plays -- he eventually got me on the far left... I hit the ball to him and IMMEDIATELY pushed "right" on the d-pad... sensing he would send the ball to the right. Sure enough, not only DID he, but it was his special POWER shot... the ball came screaming toward the right end of the upper court, but thanks in due part to my anticipation I was able to get there in the nick of time and responded with a POWER shot of my own, scorching the ball over his reach and far in the backcourt for the victory... man that was so sweet!

I set up the Action Replay feature and just sat there in awe of the beauty of it all... the back and forth up close volleys, followed by two straight power shots that saw me get the best of him... with the sweet sound effects of the power shot and the glow trail it leaves behind... what a thing of beauty! And keep in mind this game has no slowdown or really, any control flaws, so it was utterly satisfying to watch and control. DAMN.

Speaking of the upper court, in most tennis games I absolutely HATE being in the upper court, as it's hard to see and judge properly. Here in Tennis Arena, Ubi Soft did a hell of a job evening the playing field... I don't mind being upper court so much as in other tennis games. This amazed me and definitely added to my enjoyment of the game immensely.

Controls -- responsive and pretty damn good... what more could you want.

So I was playing this and my brother walked in and made his comments, as usual. I was playing on the ocean cruise stage. He said "Hey the playing field is tilting!" I grinned and said "hell yeah, it's on an ocean cruise" and he was like "cool" lol.

EGM was right in issue #101 calling "Tennis Arena a souped up modification of PONG"... back and forth til one cracks. It's so simple and addicting... anyone can pick it up. Oh yeah, and before I forget to mention, there's an 8 player mode (8 player tournament!), and a 4 player simultaneous option -- obviously found in DOUBLES mode. Simply ace! I love it. 1, 3 or 5 sets, you can play a quick game if you want, or just waste a couple hours with this game if you're playing with like-minded buds. I just dig simple, fun multiplayer easy-to-pick-up-hard-to-put-down games.




Oh sure, you could easily pick up the PS1 version, but the whole point is to have a playable tennis game on Saturn. But then you could be saying "It's still not better than Virtua Tennis on Dreamcast, why bother with the search and an inferior tennis game?" Well that's a good point, why bother? Bother coz you want a tennis game on Saturn you can proudly bust out and have fun with, Dreamcast notwithstanding... that's why.

SSM thought "fairly decently" of Tennis Arena themselves. Here's their review in issue #34

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Not exactly known for its amazing sport sims, Ubi Soft ventures into the world of nets, rackets and strawberries and cream with Tennis Arena. Receiving a glowing recommendation from none other than Lee Nutter himself last issue, the game arrives in import shops just in time for this Summer's lawn-based event and proves to be a solid sports title.

With a wealth of options and playability, Tennis Arena looks to be a surprise Saturn hit during the hot and sticky few months ahead. Players have access to a handful of polygon-constructed tennis pros and detailed courts before play commences, each of which affects the outcome of forthcoming matches. Pick indoor and outdoor courts and even play on the deck of a ship! Gameplay is as you'd expect spot-on, being both an accurate representation of the sport and fun for lengthy bouts of ball-bashing. With 'Super Shots' that blast their way across the court, Tennis Arena proves itself to be a real winner in our eyes.

GRAPHICS - 81%
SOUND - 83%
PLAYABILITY - 89%
LASTABILITY - 86%

OVERALL - 86%

There are hardly a wealth of quality bat 'n' ball titles on the Saturn and as such Tennis Arena is a smashing sports sim

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SSM pretty much summed it up. Recommended? Oh hell yeah. I'm surprised at how playable this game is... in fact, it's jump into my top 10 favorite Saturn games list, quite frankly. I paid only $12 for my copy, but gladly would have plunked down 50 with no regret, seeing as how I'll be playing this one a lot. Oh yeah, it's practically in 100% english, including the funky character profiles at the selection screen. And here's the code to crack the 2 hidden characters and extra court:

at the Smart Dog logo screen press Up, Down, Left, Right, Start. There ya go!

With multiple viewpoints to select from (I recommend TV) and a cool replay system to boot, Tennis Arena is ACE!

for front and back shots go here:

http://vgrebirth.org/games/game.asp?id=17261