He or she who steals this FAQ will be subject to a duel at Tennis on Gameboy.
###Content###
1 Intro
2 Basic Info
3 Controls
4 Strategies
5 Other
6 Closing Remarks
### 1 Intro ###
This FAQ is intended to give high-level strategies with detailed instructions
on how to beat this game at the highest difficulty setting. At the same time,
it should be useful for players of all levels.
### 2 Basic info ###
In this FAQ I'm assuming you already know the general rules and terminology of
tennis. If you don't know these, see some of the other FAQs.
You can play the game with music on or off. There are four levels. Level one
is easy in that the ball and opponent move slowly. Level four is harder in
that the ball and opponent move much faster and the opponent appears to be
smarter. At first, even level one is difficult, but please be persistent. I
can't say that I have ever found a game that has a better spread of
difficulty settings that continue to add new challenges. As you tackle each
new level you will pick up new skills and strategies.
### 3 Controls ###
Serving:
You can move your player left and right before tossing up the ball. Any
button will toss up the ball.
A - hit a normal serve.
B - hit a slow, soft serve.
Pressing up while hitting the serve will hit it harder. Pressing down will
hit it softer. Left and right allows you to control the direction.
Controls on the court:
These are the controls for anywhere on the court except near the net. These
controls are pretty straight forward.
A - hit the ball normally, press up while hitting to hit it harder, down to
hit it softer (drop shot).
B - hit a lob, press up to hit it high and far, down to hit it not so high and
short.
Controls at the net:
While standing near the net, the controls are slightly different.
A - hit the ball normally
B - slice. The ball floats more and bounces softly.
Again, up for harder, down for softer, left or right to angle the shot.
### 4 Strategies ###
This is what the FAQ is all about. I will break it down by types of
strategies. Although strategies can vary in effectiveness at different
levels, I will focus on high level strategies that work for all difficulty
settings.
-Serving-
Most of the time what works best is to move the player close to the center of
the court and hit a hard serve to the outside corner. On some difficulty
settings this will get you an ace (depending on which side you are on while
serving). It is also good sometimes to hit it right down the center. I'll
leave it up to you to figure out this part, I think it's relatively easy to
serve.
-Receiving a serve-
The basic strategy I use is to return the ball close to the edge of the court
and with as much angle as possible. Now, here is the key to playing the
baseline on level 4---press back while hitting the ball to hit it softer.
This soft shot allows for a better angle and slows the game play enough for
you position yourself best for the next shot. Wait around the middle of the
baseline and you should be able to reach any return shot from the opponent.
One strategy that works most of the time on any difficulty setting is to
return a serve down the side line. The opponent usually can't reach the ball
and you get crowd applause for a return ace. The best way to do this requires
you to be quick on your toes (fingers). When the serve comes, move your
player so that his body is out of bounds and so that when he hits the ball he
swings the racket towards the inside of the court. This makes it so the ball
goes on a straight path with a slight angle towards the outside of the court.
Press up while hitting the ball for a strong, fast return. The ball should
land just inside the line and the opponent usually can't get to it on time.
One possible problem with this strategy is that the opponent may serve the
ball to the middle of the court and you won't be able to get it because you
are waiting so far to the side. But if you are quick enough, you can wait to
make sure the opponent is not serving to the center and then move the player
to the position described above. Another problem can arise in the case that
the opponent can actually reach the ball that you returned. If you are still
standing to the side, the opponent will hit the ball to the opposite side and
you won't be able to reach it. Just remember that you should move back to the
center of the court as soon as you hit the ball and you should be fine.
-Playing the baseline-
The key to playing the baseline on level 4 is to hit the ball towards either
side of the court with as much angle as possible. This makes the opponent do
all the running back and forth. In real life, this would wear out the other
player, but it also gives you the advantage as the other player ends up on one
side of the court. On level 4, the opponent usually has no trouble running to
the other side of the court quickly, but his options are still limited on the
return shot. You should use the drop shot (hold down when hitting the ball)
to achieve greater angle.
If you want to hit the ball to the left side, hit a forehand shot (racket
swings on the right side of the body) because this gives you more angle. If
you want to hit the ball to the right, use a backhand shot (racket swings on
the left side of the body). Forehand and backhand shots happen automatically
depending on which side of the player's body the ball is coming to. This
means that you have to make sure your player is standing in the right spot.
Keep your player near the center of the baseline. When you give the opponent
a shot to the side with a lot of angle, his choice to return the ball is
limited to hitting it to roughly the center of the court. Try your best to
stay in the middle of the court and keep the opponent on either side or
running back and forth. You can do a back and forth (left and right) pattern
but it is ok to hit the ball to one side two or three times in a row.
It is important to use the drop shot (press down while hitting the ball) most
of the time. This is kind of counter-intuitive because you would think that
hitting the ball harder and faster would be more effective. However, you
achieve more angle with the slow shots and they also allow you much more time
to get ready for the next shot. If you are sure you are ready to finish off
the opponent with a quick shot while he is on the other side, you can go for a
big hard hit.
Drop shots should not be used from behind the baseline. If you are too far
away, the ball won't clear the net and you will lose the point. However,
there is a certain distance where the ball will hit the net and bounce over to
the opponent's side. This is good because the opponent can rarely return this
shot.
If the opponent is at or approching the net, use the same strategy as above.
The drop shots are often hard for the opponent to return without hitting it
into the net. Just be careful not to let the opponent get the upper hand (he
might get you to start running back and forth and he will win that situation).
If the opponent starts getting the upper hand, try a hard lob over his head
(hold up while pressing B). This usually works pretty well but the game gets
a little out of control sometimes after a lob. When the opponent approaches
the net, someone is likely to lose the point very soon. You may want to go
straight for the lob just to get him to go back to his baseline. The opponent
sometimes has a hard time returning the lob, so this is often a good strategy.
-Playing the net-
If you want to approach the net, it is preferable that you do it after sending
a shot to one corner. As you approach, move towards the center of the net.
The opponent, having little choice where to return a shot from the corner,
will hit it roughly to the center of the net where you are. React quickly
with a shot to the opposite corner (using the A button). This also works if
you just served to the corner of the court, but it happens quickly so be ready.
When you approach the net, the opponent will likely do a lob shot especially
if you are playing on level 3 or 4. If the lob is short, you can do a smash
with the A button (hold up for a hard smash). Try to angle it away from the
opponent. This can be a very gratifying hit. However, if the lob is very
high, you will have to run back to around mid court. A smash with the A
button will not make it over the net. You can smash with the B button (while
pressing up to make sure it goes far enough to get over the net). This hits
the ball much softer and gives it some float, but it actually works very well
because when the ball bounces on the opponent's court it doesn't bounce high
enough for the opponent to hit it back. The opponent can rarely return this
kind of soft smash. Smashing (hitting an overhead shot) can be tricky to get
the hang of. You need to place yourself where the ball will land and you have
to time your shot well. With practice you can get good at it. As an
alternative, you can wait for the ball to bounce and just hit it normally back
to the opponent. This is often necessary if you can't get in place for a
smash in time or if the lob goes way to the back of the court.
### 5 Other ###
You can always win while you are serving with a little bug in the game's
programming. Toss the ball up, swing when it is too high, step under the
ball, and let it fall on your head. This sounds like a stupid thing to do,
but the game will give you the point.
### 6 Closing Remarks ###
Tennis is my all-time-favorite Gameboy game. I have a gameboy, gameboy color,
and GBA, but I most often play Tennis on my gameboy color. I also own Mario
Tennis for Gameboy Color, which is pretty good, but not as good as this game.
The simple, yet accurate physics of the game allow for a very pleasing and
deep gaming experience that is unhindered by needless graphics and gimics. I
have beaten this game many times on all levels. Just last night I beat it on
level 4 with a score of 6-1, 6-1 without really trying. I was playing the
baseline mostly and I do not use the little cheat mentioned above. I don't
doubt that I could beat level four without losing a single game except that I
usually start fooling around to discover new strategies and sometimes let too
many points go. I also like to serve softly to get a good volley going.
Enjoy the game and do not get discouraged. Remember to practice the
strategies detailed above and you too will be able to beat the game on level 4.
Please feel free to contact me at ajbryner[at]yahoo.com with questions or
comments about this FAQ.
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