Retro TennisIn August of 1989, Tennis for the gameboy was released in North America. I vaguely remember playing this game as a kid. I don't remember when I had it though, but I do know enough about the game to review it because I played it right here on vizzed. I'm now going to start this review.
Graphics: 7/10 Tennis has good graphics for a gameboy game. Not only do the sprites look good, but also MARIO'S THE UMPIRE! I feel like having Mario be the umpire was a very smart move on Nintendo's part. I also think that the court and scoreboard look decent as well. The graphics certainly won't blow you away, but I think it's worthy of a 7.
Sound: 5/10 For a gameboy game, Tennis has an okay soundtrack. It's nothing that will blow you away, but at the same time, the soundtrack isn't that bad either. I've heard some 8 bit soundtracks before that have been horrendous. Tennis definitely does NOT fall into that category. Since the soundtrack is mediocre, I'm giving the sound a 5.
Addictiveness: 6/10 The gameplay for Tennis GB is pretty basic. All you do is run and hit the ball that's it. The gameplay isn't complicated at all, you just hit the ball and that's it. There's no fancy slices or topspin, so the gameplay is very bland. Also there's no extra game modes to keep you occupied. But since the game was made back in 1989, I'm going to go easy on the addictiveness and give it a 6.
Story: N/A This game doesn't have a story, therefore I'm leaving this category blank.
Depth: 3/10 Even for an early gameboy game, Tennis has very little to do. Once you win on the 4 difficulty levels, you've beaten the game. I fell like there should've been either another game mode or possibly a few more difficulty levels. Because of how little there is to do, I'm giving the depth a 3.
Difficulty: 3/10 Tennis has 4 difficulty modes: Level 1 being the easiest, then there's Level 2, Level 3, and finally the highest difficulty, level 4. Levels 1-3 are very easy. Level 4 on the other hand is the only level in my opinion that offers any sort of a challenge. Unfortunately though, Level 4 isn't very difficult either. I felt like the game didn't offer enough of a challenge, for that reason, I'm giving the difficulty a 3.
Overall Score: 5.5/10 Tennis is a very basic gameboy sports game that definitely shows it's age. With only 4 difficulty modes to choose from, no extra game modes to play, and very basic gameplay, Tennis for the gameboy is a mediocre 8 bit Tennis game. If you're looking for an 8 bit game to play, I'd definitely recommend playing Mario Tennis for the GBC rather than this game. While this game isn't bad, it's not a great game either, it's just ok. For these reasons, I'm giving Tennis for the gameboy a 5.5 out of 10. There are better 8 bit sports games out there. I know this review was pretty short, but I hope you found it helpful.
Graphics
7 Sound
5 Addictive
6 Depth
3