Virtua Tennis FAQ
Created 07-20-00
Version 2.0
Ganon99@freewwweb.com
1. Introduction
2. Main Menu
A. Arcade
B. Exhibition
C. Circuit Mode
D. Options
3. Courts
A. Australia Challenge
B. French Cup
C. U.S. SuperTennis
D. The Old England Championships
E. Sweden Grand Prix
F. Germany Men's Indoor
G. Russia Men's Classic
H. Spain International
I. Sega Grand Match
J. SPT Masters
4. Players
A. Jim Courier
B. Cedric Pioline
C. Tim Henman
D. Tommy Haas
E. Mark Philippousis
F. Carlos Moya
G. Thomas Johansson
H. Yevgeny Kafelnikov
I. Pieter Tinbergen
J. Rolf Euler
K. Davor Tesla
L. Gilles Altman
M. Shyam Singth
N. Bruno Costa
O. Raf Ventura
P. Masayuki Inoue
Q. Master
R. King
5. Circuit Mode Challenges
A. Giant Ball
B. Cannon Ball
C. Smash Box
D. Drum Shooter
E. Pin Crasher
F. Bulls Eye
G. Return Ace
H. Big Wall
6. Strategies
A. Singles Strategies
B. Doubles Strategies
C. How To Locate King
D. How to Beat King
E. How to Locate Master
F. How to Beat Master
G. How to Locate King and Master in Doubles
H. How to Defeat King and Master in Doubles
I. Circuit Mode Challenge Strategies
1. Introduction
Virtua Tennis is simplistic in control but depth runs rampant in this arcade
smash turned Dreamcast port. In Virtua Tennis you use only the "A" and "b"
buttons for Shot and Lob which may seem simple at first but after about 20
minutes of playing you'll be glad that the computer doesn't have more shot
options to grind you into the ground with. With arcade perfect graphics running
at a smooth 60 fps if you don't watch it you will be lulled into thinking that
you are watching a real tennis match only more exciting. With 8 internationally
ranked tennis players ready to run you into the ground on 4 different sufaces
you'll be wondering if the massacre will ever end and thankfully it will due to
a fully customizable difficulty setting. Along with the difficulty setting you
can also customize the match length, If you want deuce on or not, vibration on
or off for you with a jump pack. Also, included in the options screen is a
rankings stat page to view your single and doubles rankings, an
audio,music,backround and sound effects testing mode. Then there are the three
modes of play you can choose from which range from Arcade to Exhibition and
Circuit Mode. Well, get ready cause your getting ready to play the first 128
bit tennis game so sit back and enjoy cause your going to go on one heck of a
ride.
2. Main Menu
A. Arcade-Challenge the computer and see if you can come away with the
championship which comes from winning 5 strenuous matches in either singles or
doubles competition
B. Exhibition-go against the computer or a friend in an exhibition match of
singles or doubles in a match where you choose the opponent and the court you
wish to play on
C. Circuit Mode-Scratch and claw your way through various challenges which
range from bowling to target practice and ever improving computer challenges in
singles and doubles on your way to the coveted #1 world ranking.
D. Options-Customize the way you want to play the game. Options include
changing the match length to listening to the different sound effects heard
throughout the game.
3. Courts
A. Australia Challenge (Hard)
Location: Melbourne, Australia
B. French Cup (Clay)
Location: Paris, France
C. U.S. SuperTennis (Hard)
Location: New York, New York
D. The Old England Championships (Grass)
Location: London, England
E. Sweden Grand Prix (Hard)
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
F. Germany Men's Indoor (Hard)
Location: Berlin, Germany
G. Russia Tennis Classic (Carpet)
Location: Moscow, Russia
H. Spain International (Clay)
Location: Barcelona, Spain
I. Sega Grand Match (Carpet)
Location: Los Angeles, California
J. SPT Masters (Grass)
Location: Tokyo, Japan
4. Players
A. Jim Courier: U.S.A. Various Shots
As: Not bad in anything but not exceptional in anything
Against: Pretty easy, Very predictable
B. Cedric Pioline: France All-Around Player
As: Same as Courier but better
Against: Hard, Comes to the net and is fast. Will hit back down the
line several times. Patience is the key
C. Tim Henman: England Volley Master
As: Fairly fast,good at net decent groundstroke
Against: Moderate, comes right to the net, susceptible to the lob but
don't over use. Beat him to the net and you will win easily
D. Tommy Haas: Germany Strong Forehand
As: Pretty slow but great forehand bad at volleys
Against: Moderate, keep ball to his backhand and he is screwed
E. Mark Philippoussis: Australia Big Server
As: Quick for size, great serve, good at volleys, great reach
Against: Easy, A real siv, make him run match will be quick
F. Carlos Moya: Spain Powerful Stroke
As: Decent, very slow but great groundstroke, bad vollier
Against: Moderate, make him run if you don't you will lose
G. Tomas Johansson: Sweden Fast Mover
As: He is fast, decent vollier but thats it
Against: Easy, just stay calm and he will miss eventually
H. Yevgeny Kafelnikov: Russia Strong Backhand
As: Good for beginners, great backhand, decent forehand
Against: Moderate, just use common sense and will be history
I. Pieter Tinbergen: Netherlands Serve and Volley
As: Decent, okay serve, good vollier, decent speed
Against: Cakewalk, easiest opponent in game. Play blindfolded if you
want a challenge from this guy.
J. Rolf Euler: Switzerland Volley Virtuoso
As: So-So, no better than Henman but with worse reach
Against: Can be easy or can be tough all depends on your positioning,
will volley you to death so try and keep him away from the net or it will be a
lot tougher than it could be.
K. Davor Tesla: Croatia Wide-Angle Shots
As: Terrible, slow, bad vollier, bad reach
Against: He is slow but watch out can get tricky really fast
L. Gilles Altman Canada Big Server
As: Great Serve but thats it, he is really slow
Against: Moderate, If you can handle his serve you will be fine
M. Shyam Singth India All-Around Player
As: Decent, just like Pioline and courier (best partner)
Against: Hard, tricky, he changes up his shots very well plus he is
left handed so everything is backwards
N. Bruno Costa Brazil Strong Forehand
As: Decent, Best forehand in the game but kind of slow
Against: Can be a pain, don't let him set up or your in trouble
O. Raf Ventura Italy Hard Hitter
As: Good if you play baseline terrible if you like to volley
Against: if you can get to the net he is easy but getting to the net
isn't.
P. Masayuki Inoue Japan Fast Mover
As: Good, faster than Johansson and hits harder
Against: Insane, gets to everything. Be patient
Q. Master High Performer Secret Character
As: Great, no weaknesses
Against: There's a section on how to beat him, how easy do you think he
is
R. King Perfect Player Secret Character
As: Awesome, best in the game, great lob shot
Against: See Above in "Against" in Q section
5. Circuit Mode Challenges
A. Giant Ball: Using strong shots you have to knock off from 3 to 6
gigantic balls.
B. Cannon Ball: A game where machines shoot out red and yellow balls. The
object is to hit the machines with the yellow balls to turn off the machines but
the catch is if a red ball hits you a machine will turn back on.
C. Smash Box: Using your smash skills you have to knock boxes off the
court within a certain time limit
D. Drum Shooter: Using your lobbing skills you have to be able to lob the
balls in oil drums which are in various positions.
E. Pin Crasher: Using you serve you trying to knock down all 10 pins
within two serves. You get five frames to get a certain score.
F. Bulls Eye: Accuracy is the key to this game. You have to return
groundstrokes into a gigantic bullseye.
G. Return Ace: Using your return skills you have to try and hit boxes that
are placed on the court in all positions.
H. Big Wall: Testing your accuracy, lob, and reaction skills your test is
to turn the 10 panels on the "Big Wall" which is located where the net used to
be
6. Strategies
A. Singles Strategies:
Levels 1 and 2: This is pretty easy and you don't really have to worry about
anything. The opponent doesn't really react well and doesn't read into your
strategies so just keep hitting away from them and you will be to level 3 in no
time
Level 3: You have to outthink the computer on this skill level. If the
computer gets you leaning one way make sure you hit the ball the way you are
going (never try to go crosscourt, when you are leaning you cant get enough
angle on the ball and the computer will just hit the ball to the open court on
you). Getting your serve fairly high is a must and on your returns stay at or
just inside of your baseline. If you are going against a vollier keep them back
at all costs. Also, don't forget about your lob button it helps a lot.
B. Doubles Strategies:
Levels 1 and 2: The computer isn't too smart so you can just stay back if you
have someone with good groundstokes and if you have a vollier you can come
pretty much all the way to the net and just waste them. But don't hog the
ball(get whatever you can without having to reach or lunge for)
Level 3: These matches can take forever so just be patient and wait for the
computer to make a mistake. Don't get to close or far back from the net. Try
and stay right at the service line for best results. Always stay on your own
side any mispositioning on your part will result on a lost point against level 3
opponents.
C. How to get to King: In circuit mode you must win every match (you will
know if you have won by the trophy on screen) and you will be ranked 4th. Then
the match against king will appear. Beating King will result in the ability to
use him in Arcade and Exhibition modes
D. How to beat King:
On your serve: Hit to either the extreme center or sideline he will make
mincemeat out of you if you just hit it right at him. He will get you on the
run so when returning always make sure to hit the ball the way you are going or
it will be 6-0 before you know it. Use drop and lob shots but very sparingly
(just enough to keep him honest). If you are going to Serve & Volley make sure
you don't get to close to the net or he will lob over you constantly (also he
has the best lob in the game so be careful)
On his serve: He hits it like 150mph so learn to be quick with your reflexes.
Stay just inside the baseline and with you foot a little inside the sideline.
On your return never try and go crosscourt all you will do is hit it right into
the middle and he will pulverize it. Make sure you don't hit the shot button
too early either or you will be diving a lot and that equals quick match. Also,
assume he will get to every shot you make because he pretty much will no matter
how unbelievable it may seem. His diving shots always go in so if you have him
on the run don't get to close to the net cause you won't be able to get back in
time to get his diving shot.
E. How to locate Master:
In arcade mode with the difficulty setting at or above normal with games set
to anything you wish you must make it through all tournaments without losing a
single match and after the last match Master will challenge you.
F. How to defeat Master:
On your serve: If your anything like me you won't see him serve because you
had the games set on 1 but if you get a chance to serve use the same strategy as
King but remember Master will come to the net more so use some strategy you used
against the likes of Euler or Henman.
On his serve: He hits a little slower than King but watch out for his
underhand serve. Just watch his serve and you can tell if he is going to do it.
Also, his angles are wider than King's so expect to be running a lot. If he is
controlling the point your screwed so get to the net as fast as you can (also,
he will go back down the line a lot so watch out for it)
G. How to locate King and Master in doubles:
In arcade mode with the difficulty setting at or above normal with games set
to anything you wish you must make it through all tournaments (In Doubles)
without losing a single match and after the last match Master and King will
challenge you.
H. How to defeat King and Master in Doubles:
These guys hardly make mistakes but they do make them and that is how you
score. Using Singth(I've heard Costa is good also) have him set on Normal (not
Net-Play or Baseline) and hold your ground, stay on the service line and NEVER
get out of position. If you do the point is over. With Singth he will take a
lot of shots and he makes mistakes but the good outweighs the bad so let him do
his thing. Also, I've found that serving to the middle works better than to the
outside. If the opponent on the baseline keeps hitting to you then try and get
him outside the baseline then lob into the opposite court and if that works then
you have more options so try and get that in early. These guys are pretty easy
once you get the hang of it just remember how they play and it won't take you
very long.
I. Circuit Mode Challenge Strategies
1. Giant Ball: Beat before the timer turns red; This challenge really
blows,a lot of luck involved. Just hit the first with a strong hit and always
hit the ball that is on the side that you are on. Once you get down to only a
couple left they might get stuck in the back of the court, charge the net and
that should allow you to get them off regardless.
A: Fire Shirt with raquet with flames on it
2. Cannon Ball: Before timer turns red; Try and hit the cornermost cannons
with a ball and hopefully it caroms into another cannon. Besides that it is
pretty much luck and accuracy
A: Camouflage shirt with Walkie Talkie raquet
3. Smash Box: Have to have beat with 15 or more seconds left; I still don't
know how to do this one. :( When i beat it i was lucky
A: Zebra Shirt
4. Drum Shooter: Have to make every shot; when the balls are shot at you
you should just be able to hit them straight ahead so learn the distances. If
they aren't leave the sidemost drums till the end cause they are the easiest to
get and try to go in a row so you aren't trying to look and see which drums you
still need. Setup early and stay just inside the baseline.
A: Giraffe Shirt
5. Pin Crasher: All Strikes; The hardest of the challenges; Stay in the
same place at all times and learn all the angles (Remember that hitting the
hardest isn't always the answer, and using the second serve(b button) works a
lot also. Just practice practice practice.
A: Bowling shirt and a bowling pin as raquet
6. Bulls Eye: 7000 or more; stay just inside the baseline and use the lob
shot. should have this in no time.
A: Sunflower Raquet
7. Return Ace: Hit all boxes with 2 or less hits; On the first serve try
hitting the 2nd to the right box in the front row on the corner of it and it
should take out the first row along with most of the second and on your second
hit just use the boxes to the best availablility.
A: Japanese(chinese) shirt with a Wok as a raquet
8. Big Wall: Have to Beat before the timer turns red; Start off with a
normal hit and make your way towards the left as soon as you get to the far left
start up with the lobs and stay back (if you get to close your shot won't have
the height) proceed back to the right then once to the end use your normal shot
to get the last 2 or 3. Watch out cause when you start using your normal shot
you will probably smash it so be quick.
A: Tambourine raquet
This document Copyright 2000 Rob Kratz
