Pocket Tennis review by substance J

Pocket Tennis, by Yumekobo, is part of the 1st wave of titles for SNK's Neo Geo Pocket, and one of the only portable Tennis games on the market. It also takes advantage of the Neo Geo Pocket's language option, and offers Japanese and American text for your viewing pleasure. On to the review!

Graphics - B-
Pocket Tennis is housed on a 4 megabit cart, and its sometimes a bit too easy to tell. The characters are rather small and short on animation. The screen scrolls well (always a concern in such a back-and-forth title), and the arenas are very well drawn. There are 4 arenas to chose from, each with its on individual theme - Pro court, Beach, City, and Jungle. The crowds really stand out, because of the art quality and diversity of the characters in them. The players just seem a bit lack-luster, when you compare them to other titles on the system. When you consider that Neo Geo Cup '98 can display around 5 characters of superior animation and art quality on screen at once, it makes you kind of wonder what Yumekobo was doing. The intro is rather good, with nice little animations and backgrounds. It might sound like quite an ugly title, but it's really not. It only when compared to the other impressive titles on NGP does it seem boring.

Music & Sound FX - B
Like most portable games, the sound is really nothing remarkable, but it gets the job done well enough. The nondescript music plays away in the background while the rather stereotypical, videogame-like sound effects pop up when needed.

Gameplay - B-
Well, it's Tennis, folks! Nothing more, nothing less. Select from one of 8 characters (4 male, 4 female) with varying attributes like Power, Speed, etc. Then pick from one of 3 modes - Single Exhibition, Tournament, and 2-Player link-up. You may then chose one of the 4 arenas mentioned above. All your usual (or, so I would imagine) Tennis strategy applies, while you play through the various sets. I can't really say how the gameplay compares to other Tennis titles, because I haven't played video Tennis since the NES days. But overall, it's your basic Arcade gameplay, as you'd expect.

Replay Value - B-
It's got the modes of play to keep you busy, but how much you reply Pocket Tennis will probably center on how much you like the sport of Tennis in general. I can't say I'm a fan of the sport, but the simple gameplay is good enough to keep me interested when in need. I imagine it's a blast in 2-Player mode, if you have the opportunity.

Overall - C+
While it may sound like a totally boring title, it's not bad by any standard. Your overall enjoyment of Pocket Tennis will mostly be tied to why you bought it in the first place. I was interested in the title, mainly because of the fact it's for Neo Geo Pocket, and would look great in my collection. As long as your expectations aren't overly high, you'll be pleased to own Pocket Tennis. If you're a fan of both Tennis and the NGP, it's a must-buy. Pocket Tennis is basically a filler title, and I don't think it was ever meant to be looked at as anything more. If your Neo Geo Pocket is on a tight budget, I would recommend staying away, and saving your money for a more fulfilling game like Neo Geo Cup '98, or Baseball Stars. But if you've been wanting to add Pocket Tennis to your library, by all means, pick it up.