Pocket Tennis Color review by MrBee

I have had Pocket Tennis Colour for about two weeks now having bought it at the same time as my system. Initially I was very impressed with the graphics which are clear, fast and blur free. The variety of courts to play on is diverse, from a normal court through a graffiti strewn 'street' court to the inside of a Japanese house, complete with lights that turn out! Player animations are very good, each character has its own celebration along with smooth shot, dive and running animations. The special character, Amiba, is a red blob who morphs into the shape of a racket when he takes a shot. Quite amazing to see for the first time!

Aurally, Pocket Tennis doesn't excel, in-game sound effects are limited, and the music is typical handheld fare, so there aren't many people who will play with the sound turned on with this game.

The player control system is simple and intuitive. There is a good selection of shots for both forehand and backhand, including a smash shot when appropriate. Directing the ball is sometimes a bit erratic, it seems as if the game chooses the most appropriate shot in some circumstances, but it rarely affects your game adversely.

The players each have their strengths and weaknesses, which are graphically displayed on the character-select screen. It is certainly possible to tell the difference between the players when using them in a game, from fast weak players to slow but very powerful ones. One feature of their play that I particularly like is the ability to dive for the ball when it is just out of reach, preventing the frustration element inherent in a lot of more advanced tennis games where you can't quite line up your racket with the ball. The CPU players are unfortunately a little weak, rarely taking advantage of an opportunity to lob over you when you're at the net, or smash the ball when you hit it high. They also tend to keep the play very close to the net, making baseline rallies a rare event. It is very easy to lure the opponent to the far side of the court, and then smash the ball past them on the other side. Their weakness leads to the primary fault of Pocket Tennis Colour - it is far too easy. There are many people who won?t mind this, as they will play a few quick games to pass the time, and not need a major challenge. Others will prefer the two player link-up mode, which will hopefully offer a more intelligent opponent (depending on the company you keep of course!). Trying to win all the cups is an ongoing one player challenge, with the data being stored on the NGP's battery backed-up memory, but it can get a bit tedious after long periods of playing endless 6-0 sets.

Having said all that, Pocket Tennis is definitely great fun, and a recommended purchase, especially if you like sports games.