Released on October 9th 1998 by Hudson, this is a fun arcade tennis game. In
Europe the game was released in 1999 as Centre Court Tennis while in Japan it
was amusingly called Let’s Smash! Beating Mario Tennis to the market by two
years, this is the first tennis game on the N64.
Tim Weaver reviewed the Japanese version for the British publication N64
magazine, giving it 63%. He criticized the lack of shot types and the overly
simple but unresponsive controls, but in the end praised the game as an
“entertaining jolly little game.”
On the surface this game seems to be quite bare bones compared to other tennis
games of the time. However, the game features true analog aiming, meaning that
once you are familiar with the controls, you will be able to hit the ball
anywhere you like on the court. If you master the spin mechanics you will even
be able to spin the ball AROUND THE SIDE of the net! Something that is possible
in table tennis, but never seen in professional tennis! If you can convince 4
people to learn this game then you are in for a very entertaining and high paced
battle.
According to some websites the in-game voices in the PAL version were not
re-recorded so everything is pronounced with a Japanese accent. This suggests
that the PAL conversion was done hastily and with little expense by Big Ben
Interactive, probably because they wanted to rush the game out for the tennis
season.
The PAL version of this game is becoming slightly harder to find due to the low
print run. On the other hand, the Japanese version of the game is quite easy to
come across, and can be played in an American N64, unlike the PAL version. For
that reason, I will translate all of the menus, as I know many people opt to buy
Japanese versions of the games to save money these days.
Back of the box
Challenge unique courts loaded with various tricks and obstacles! Enjoy the
excitement of these lighthearted yet challenging courts! Increase the strength
and ability of your players by collecting different Items! Battle opponents in
fierce competition to capture even more Items! Acquire even further Items in the
mini games that get really exciting before you know it! Put your skills to the
test on a variety of courts against a variety of players!
On the PAL version of the game they accidently pasted this text twice with minor
variations. More evidence to suggest that the localization was a rushed job.
Walkthrough
First, we will go through the controls and the menus, and then I will explain
how to play the game well.
Controls
3D Stick – Move your player, add direction or spin to the ball
A – Strong serve, Stroke Shot, Punch ball (at the net)
B – Weak serve, lob shot, Drop volley (at the net)
C Buttons – Change the camera angle
Tap R – Taunt
Hold R – Victory pose
A and Z – Super Shot
Start – Pause
The main menu gives you the following 4 options, from left to right:
Normal Mode
Challenge Mode
Create a Character
Options
In Normal Mode you have the following options:
Exhibitions – Play a single game against the AI.
Practice – See below
Tournament – You need to win this mode to beat the game.
In Practice Mode you have the follow practice games:
Serve practice
Volley practice
Stroke practice
Smash practice
If you do well in practice mode your coach will give you items of clothing.
Challenge Mode gives you the following options
Challenge – Wager one of your items to try and win an item in return.
Mini-games – See below
Dressing Room – Change your character’s outfit
Your character outfits in this game boost your players base stats. You can win
items of clothing in most of the game modes. There are several complete outfit
sets to collect. If you collect and wear the full set a secret ability will
activate. These can be very helpful in the Normal mode, tournament mode and
challenge mode, but do not work in the mini game mode. Some of the sets on offer
are;
The Santa set – You will not slip on ice.
The gentleman set – Stops you from taunting or victory posing.
The Cat set - You will not slip on ice. Move a bit faster.
The Kaiju set – Magama and Scorpions do not hurt you. More power but slower.
The angel set - You will not slip on ice, better control.
The demon set – Magama and Scorpions do not hurt you. Stroke is more powerful.
PE kit – Stronger stroke, better control
Coaches set - Stronger stroke, better control
Bunny set – Move a bit faster
The Challenge Mode has a few special courts
Music Box
The moving turn table is hard to stand and play shots on.
Ice Floe
A court surrounded by ice walls, you can hit the penguins at your opponent.
Volcano
If you stand on the magma your character will not be able to move for a while.
Skyscraper
Both you and the ball can fall of the sides of this tall building.
Desert
You can hit the scorpions at your opponent to stop them from moving.
Mid Air court
4 birds carrying a giant grass court high above the ground.
There are several other special courts which only differ in bounce type
Plateau – A quiet, misty green field on a mountain top.
Street – A back alley court in a noisy city.
If you wear certain items and the press Z when selecting a court in normal mode,
it will allow you to play on a court from challenge mode instead.
Straw Hat – UK – Desert court
Frill skirt – France – Music box court
Kaiju legs – America – Volcano court
Angel wings - Australia – Mid Air court
Santa’s sack – Plateau – Ice Floe
Long black gloves – Streets - Skyscraper
There are 4 mini games to choose from (localized names). If you get a high score
in a mini game you will win items of clothing.
Knock‘em down – Knock over the Daruma doll tower.
Burning Barrels – Destroy all the barrels as fast as possible.
Run and Gun – Return the balls as fast as possible, but avoid the bombs.
Tennis Court Bingo – Turn over the panels with your lob shot.
The options menu has the following... options..
Sound – stereo or mono
Music on or off
Tv mode – normal or wide screen
Show the place the ball will bounce on or off
Show the height of a ball on or off
Replay on or off
Difficulty – easy normal or hard
Reset
Go back
The ball bouncing icon and ball height icon can be quite helpful for beginners.
On the character creation screen you have the following options
First head to the character creation screen and make your character. In the
Japanese version of the game you have 3 options at the side of the screen which
allow you to enter your name in hiragana, katakana or the English alphabet. You
will then be asked to choose the gender of your character, and then their
dominant hand, left ひだり or right みぎ. The hand you choose has an impact on the
game so choose the one you are comfortable with. Your character’s gender has no
effect on their abilities.
After choosing your starting clothes, you will be able to decide your characters
stats. The manual recommends that new players put points into the player
movement speeds, the serve and stroke stats. You can’t change your characters
basic stats, but you can alter them by wearing certain clothes. The manual also
recommends that you try to learn the various shot types by making characters
that are good at smashing, volleys, and spin. Once you have found a style of
playing that suits you, you can build a character around that. For anyone
playing the Japanese version, the stats are as follows;
Serve
Smash
Volley
Lob
Stroke
Spin
Back and forth movement
Left and right movement
To beat this game, you will need fine control of the ball, and an understanding
of how to return the ball well. First head to the practice mode and get a feel
of how to play.
You can turn the ball indicator on in the options menu. This shows you where the
ball will bounce. If you stand on the marker the ball will just bounce right
through you. You should be standing behind and to the left/right (depending on
which hand your character uses) of that marker to return the ball well. You
should swing when the ball reaches the highest point in the bounce to get the
highest power out of your shot. After you get a feel for where the ball will
bounce you can turn the marker off.
Before and after you serve / return the ball there is a brief window in which
you can add direction to the ball. This is a very delicate input, if you push
the stick all the way to the edge the ball will most likely go off court. If you
master this mechanic you will be able to return aces against the CPU very
easily. The direction you can send balls is decided using the 3D stick in the
following way
These locations are reversed if you are playing on the top court. You can avoid
this by changing the camera angle settings in the options.
Directly after your character hits the ball with their racket you can add spin
to the ball by holding in 1 of 5 directions with the 3D stick as follows. This
is vital in confusing your opponent and making them miss the ball.
- 2 -
| |
4 1 5
| |
- 3 –
1 – Front Spin
2 – Top Spin
3 – Back spin
4 – Left side spin
5 – Right side spin
The power of your returns is determined by both the timing you hit the ball, and
the height of the ball when you hit it. But you can always play a weak shot by
just tapping the A button.
To play a Smash your characters dominant arm should be in a high position when
it connects with the ball. If their arm is too high you will swing and miss.
Memorize the timing in the practice mode. You will do a strong smash with the A
button and a weak smash with the B button.
Super Shots are played by pressing the A and Z button, these have a higher speed
than normal shots. You can add direction and spin in the same way you do with
normal shots.
If you hit a ball with your nondominant hand you will automatically do a Back
Hander. This is useful in a pinch, but you mainly want to return balls using
your dominant hand because forehand shots have much better power. You can’t
smash using your nondominant hand for example. If you are just a little bit too
far to reach a ball then you may also do a diving shot automatically.
When you are playing at the top of the screen it can be harder to judge the
position of the ball due to how the camera perspective warps the distance. To
avoid this, make sure you change the camera angle using the C buttons.
To beat the game, you will need to win all 4 of the Grand Slam Tournaments in
Tournament mode. Once you win a tournament you will be given outfit items. These
items actually boost your stats a lot so make sure you equip them in the
Dressing Room screen in the Challenge Mode menu. The items you win from Grand
Slams are the best in the game, better than any you could win in Challenge Mode.
Winning all the tournaments and beating the game takes about 2 hours.
3.Characters
On the character select screen the following characters are available. Each of
the CPU players has their own playing style, they will be strong at some things
and weaker at others. There are 16 players to choose from at the start, but if
you win tournaments you will unlock 8 more players. I will list their localized
names rather than the Japanese original names. Their Japanese names seem to be
jokes based on famous tennis players of the time. I will list them from left to
right, top to bottom
Tim
Patrick
Steve
Carlo
Pete
Max
Chris
Arthur
Mark
Rob
Mike
Joe
Ann
Jackie
Georgia
Tanya
Nancy
Feona
Katelyn
Shelia
Michelle
Lauren
Mary
Julia
