It’s been nearly 10 years since gamers took their first swing into Hot Shots Golf, and it’s rather surprising it took this long for the franchise to find a new venue. Hot Shots Tennis bears no resemblance to the Strata arcade game from 1990 for the two people out there who might think this is a remake, and it sadly doesn’t do much to live up to the Hot Shots name either. It’s a mundane and drab tennis title in the midst of far better selections.
Rather obviously, the casual tone of the series means the game play will not offer much in terms of depth, and the low-speed setting is immediately going to turn off more involved fans of the sport. The basic game play won’t do much to involve casual players either, as the simplistic style leads to repetitive back and forth matches that rely on simply hitting the ball to the opposite court just out of reach of the opponent.
That opponent will likely be A.I. controlled since online play is missing from the options menu, along with any other mode worth delving into. The training fails to take note of what made Virtua Tennis a wild success for Sega, even though the quirky style would have fit right in. Instead, you’ll bat some balls into lighted squares for, well, nothing.
Since there are no stats to improve, character selection during career style play comes down to your favorite looking player. The solid, nicely rendered character models make for decent eye candy, especially when equipped with the various unlockable costumes (which also have no purpose).
At its core, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the game. It has a decent feel, collision is spot on, and the series hallmark (pick up and play) is in full effect. A glowing circle indicates where the ball will land, further adding to the inviting nature of Hot Shots.
Article comments
1 - hotshot
a great game. Jun is so hot![a 16 year old beauty from okinawa with a british-esque accent] probably one of the most sweetest looking girls i've seen in a cartoon game. what do you think of Jun? she looks even prettier in her schoolgirl outfit. this gal never dissappoints! oh, and Kaito is great too. actually all the characters look great! finally. play the songs:
*"buffalo stance" by neneh cherry [ashleys favorite]
*"twlight zone" by golden earring [Glorias favorite]
*"DARE" by Gorillaz [codys favorite]
might be a fantastic idea, eh?
enjoy the game, thx
2 - hotshot
heres another list of songs you can play while playing hot shots tennis[or browsing through the menus]:
Paradise by Sade [Juns favorite]
Too Shy by Kajagoogoo [another favorite for ashley]
funky cold medina & wild thing both by Tone Loc [JJ's favorite]
Shout by Tears For Fears [Momokos favorite]
these songs are great if youre into 80s new wave stuff.