Which Amiga Tennis Game Would I Play?

I am starting a new “Which Amiga Game Would I Play” article series where I will compare an all-time favorite game of mine on any console, handheld or computer system with 8/16/32-bit architecture and then find an Amiga game which will be the closest to my selection. If an Amiga game is my favorite, I will find an alternative on other systems. I hope this makes this series fun for all.

Game Genre #1: Sports/Tennis

I select the NEC PC Engine’s Final Match Tennis as my all-time favorite Tennis game. This pick-up-and-play game makes you satisfied with the time you spend with it.

For a tennis game to be great, it needs:

  1. Great controls which are not too difficult to use
  2. Smooth player movement
  3. A camera view at the right viewing height for the court
  4. To offer a challenge from the AI opponent – ie. doesn’t feel like Pong
  5. Bonus if it has multi-player options.

Final Match Tennis ticks all these boxes – a game that is easy to play yet somewhat difficult to master.

Final Match Tennis Title

Final Match Tennis

Released in 1991 by Human Entertainment exclusively for the PC Engine, this game is the first in a series of four games. An updated Final Match Tennis Ladies was part of a 3-game female sports compilation Human Sports Festival on Turbo CD. That game is almost the almost the same, aside from some tweaked art and all female players. Next came Super Final Match Tennis on the SNES – a good game, but it adds arcade-like presentation features with exaggerated physics. Finally, Hyper Final Match Tennis on the Playstation. As you might expect, is an early pseudo-3D game that has not aged well.

As Final Match Tennis was a PC Engine Japan-only release, it STILL needs to get the recognition it deserves. Why this was not translated and delivered on the TurboGrafx-16 is a mystery, as there are few phrases to translate. Final Match Tennis is the best Tennis game, period, even for me beating any modern Mario Tennis, Virtua Tennis and Top Spin title. 

Mode Selection

The game includes three play modes: Exhibition, World Tour and Training – allowing you to go deep with this game if you choose. I will focus on Exhibition mode because this is the mode I play the most. The next screen is where you decide if it’s a single or multiplayer game, and there are many options available, as shown by the screenshot. I’ll play against the COM.

Player Selection

Time to select your player, and the player’s names are in Japanese – why is the rest English and not these player names and scoring screen?

To give an English reference of those players:

Ivan Lendl (Best Forehand) Stefan Edberg (Best Backhand)
Boris Becker (Best Serve) John McEnroe (Best Volley)
Michael Chang (Great Overall) Andre Agassi
Mats Wilander Jimmy Conners
Mikael Pernfors Miloslav Mecir (Best Court Speed)
Shuzo Matsuoka Henri Leconte
Guillermo Vilas Bjorn Borg
Ken Rosewall Rod Laver

It is great that the outfits and general appearance match the player you select.

Court Selection

You next choose between three court surfaces: Hard, Grass and Clay. This is a critical selection, affecting the ball bounce height and speed. Clay offers a slower and higher bounce, whereas Grass is faster and lower – and the texture is more dithered and harder to see. Hard is the middle of the road for bounce height and speed, and I will choose this most of the time.

Game Length Selection

Now you will select a 3-set or 1-set match. I almost always choose a 1-set match to keep the pick-up and play feel of this game that I enjoy. You can see below I selected Ivan Lendl to play against Jimmy Conners.

Let’s Play!

Ok, now the game starts, and the fun begins! Sound-wise, there are only some sound effects and the standard tennis-type noises. There is no umpire announcing the scores, but there is a crowd cheer with a whistling sound at the end of a game and a crowd cheering on each passing shot point. There is in-menu music, but nothing in-game except before the first serve and after the last point of the match.

Gameplay is easy – 8-direction movement with A and B buttons only. The scores are displayed very clearly on-screen around the level of the net. A button is for power or topspin, depending on your player. B button is for kick topspin or slice, depending on your player. To play, you need to move your player towards the ball and then push in a direction when you hit A or B.

The serve requires some timing and feels satisfying when you ace your opponent. Volleys are achieved when you are up close to the net, and hitting lobs takes the most practice of all shots. Why not attempt a sneaky drop-shot pushing down when you hit the ball.

Final Match Tennis is such a fantastic tennis game. Here is the link to the World of Longplays video of Final Match Tennishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Orboh1oti4

Amiga Game: Super Tennis Champs

Yes, it might surprise people that I didn’t select the much-talked-about Great Courts 2, aka “Pro Tennis Tour 2” by Blue Byte. The main reason I didn’t is that the movement could be more fluid, and points often end up feeling like it’s Pong. Tennis is not a game where every rally results in 50+ shots between opponents, and this gets boring fast regardless of the other things it does well. I selected Super Tennis Champs because other good tennis games are slim pickings on the Amiga.

Released in 1995 by AudiogenicSuper Tennis Champs is the only game in the series, yet it ticks all the points of what makes a great tennis game. The controls are simple enough to learn, but this game takes more time than Final Match Tennis to master. It also supports two-button controllers and CD32 controllers to make particular shots like drop-shots easier.

Mode Selection

This game includes four play modes: Exhibition, Grand Slam, Tournament and League – offering many options to play. The primary point of difference here is character development. You can make and develop a character and focus on improving their skills. This, while grind-like, could add depth to this game. There are also character game disks that were made available and now are found via the Hall of Light game entry for this game here: https://hol.abime.net/2219 – and pay attention to Notes #3. 

I will focus on Exhibition mode for this game comparison as well. The next screen is where you choose if it’s a single or doubles game, and as there are only two options here, I’ll play singles against the COM.

Player Selection

Time to select your player and the players’ names are not based on real players. I guess in 1995 when this game was made, using real tennis player names involved some form of licensing similar to other sports titles – I think it’s fair to blame EA. The character art style on this select player screen is superb.

As with Final Match Tennis, some players have better abilities than others. For instance, Buzz is just a power player, while Roger is a technical player but becomes predictable the more you play against him. Ihara has some super speed but a poor serve, while Greg seems to have the best serve in the game.

Court and Game Length Selection

Both options are performed on one screen in Super Tennis Champs. The first selection is between three court surfaces: Hard, Grass and Clay. The only difference this time from Final Match Tennis is the ball speed of a Hard Court is as fast as it is on Grass, so you should select Clay when learning this game. Now you will choose the match length, and I also selected a 1-set match.

Let’s Play!

Ok, now the game starts, and the match is on! The game has some decent sound effects, and the standard tennis noises you expect are here too. This time, an umpire is clearly announcing the scores in the game, which is nice. There is in-menu music but nothing in-game unless I missed an option. Similarly, there is a crowd cheer with whistling sounds at the end of a game and a crowd cheering on each passing shot point.

I found the gameplay more challenging to master than Final Match Tennis – you have to work harder to get to the ball and hit it in time. The controls are 8-direction movement with the A button only unless you have a CD32 controller (which I don’t), which allows FOUR buttons to control the shots. The score is also displayed very clearly on the screen around the level of the net.

With only the A button, it is primarily a timing button to hit the ball, and you need to press the right combo to get the shot type you want. Press the button once for a flat shot. Press the button twice for a topspin shot. Hold the button down for a sliced slot. Using the directional pad, pushing upwards or downwards as you hit the ball increases or decreases the loft of the shot. Volleys are achieved when up close to the net.

Serving requires accurate timing and feels satisfying when you do ace your opponent. Via the options menu, you can put serving controls in easy mode. In easy mode, two targets appear to assist with serving rather than the controller-only pro-level option. 

Super Tennis Champs is a good game and the best tennis game on the Amiga. No World of Longplays link this time, so here is a Super Tennis Champs gameplay video courtesy of Amiga 101 Games: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7T5VOv18Us 

 

Final Thoughts

It will take an exceptional game to stop me from playing Final Match TennisSuper Tennis Champs is a good game and worth your time if you want to focus on the Amiga. The gameplay feels familiar but different enough to be its own game, which is a good thing. Play them both, and let me know your thoughts below. If you think I am crazy and should have picked different games, suggest them in the comments.

The following article in this series will be about Baseball games. 

One thought on “Which Amiga Tennis Game Would I Play?

  • February 14, 2023 at 12:28 pm
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    Oh, I see what you did there. A story released on Valentines Day, about a sport that uses the word “love” in its scoring.

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