➤ Virtua Tennis Challenge, can you beat her? 🎮

A few days ago we analyzed the initial offer of SEGA Forever, the digital platform dedicated to the classics of the Japanese house. The idea behind the project is simple: to renew the line-up of titles available on iOS and Android terminals, introducing not only structural innovations but also and above all a freemium business model, which allows you to use every game for free as long as you tolerate some advertisements, or delete the advertisements by paying 2,29 euros. And so, after Sonic The Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Phantasy Star II, Kid Chameleon and Comix Zone, here comes the first title belonging to the playroom of the glorious Dreamcast: Virtua Tennis Challenge.

As for the other products, the application has been updated to adapt to the style of SEGA Forever, but in terms of the offer everything has remained unchanged: the initial menu allows you to try your hand at the SPT World Tour, with a single Exhibition, with the training to learn the various movements and with competitive multiplayer, usable locally via Bluetooth and online via Wi-Fi. From a control standpoint, there are four layouts to choose from, specifically a gesture solution and three different virtual controllers, equipped with more or less buttons on the screen. Adjusted these aspects of the experience, the first few bars are not only intuitive but also terribly solid, thanks to a faithful reproduction of the gameplay that even today SEGA fans remember well.

The tennis player's thumb

There is no doubt that Virtua Tennis has aged well: published for the first time in 2000 (but it had arrived in the room the year before), SEGA's arcade tennis has been revisited from a graphic point of view and the mobile version is very nice to look at, net of some edges of the polygonal models. The atmospheres are those of the original and the wide choice in terms of controls guarantees a fluid, engaging and fairly demanding experience. The developers have made sure to insert some assistance mechanisms that do not leave us at the mercy of ourselves and allow us to take advantage of the touch controls well, without extremes: a solution that works really well and gives life to spectacular exchanges, with an excellent yield of impacts to further excite.

The core of the game naturally lies in the SPT World Tour mode, with its various prize tournaments and a currency system that implies a certain degree of risk, as well as the need to "grind" a minimum in order to access the more advanced competitions. As for the online multiplayer, it is disappointing to discover that after many years the system still suffers from a minimum of lag that makes many maneuvers difficult., first of all the precision adjustment of the stop. In general, the validity of Virtua Tennis Challenge remains undoubtedly, the excellent technical realization and the solid gameplay and full of personality, but no substantial changes have been made to the same in conjunction with the relaunch on the SEGA Forever platform.

Comment

Tested version iPhone (2.2) Digital Delivery App Store, Google Play Price Free Resources4Gaming.com

8.0

Readers (5)

6.9

Your vote

Virtua Tennis Challenge is still confirmed today as a purebred arcade sportsman, immediate and fun, characterized on iOS and Android by a precise and reactive touch control system, but also widely customizable thanks to the four different layouts. The game offers good numbers in single player and an online multiplayer mode which, however, suffers from a bit of lag, but to disappoint with the debut on SEGA Forever is above all the lack of substantial news for the application. Of course, the free download is certainly tempting and the ads can be skipped in a few moments, so check it out.