Racket Attack
System: NES
Release Date: October 1988
Developer: TOSE
Publisher: Jaleco
Genre: Sports
The last time we saw TOSE and Jaleco, it was Bases Loaded, which I felt was the third best of the baseball games I’ve played so far. Racket Attack, on the other hand, is totally the best tennis game so far. We’ll start with the fact that you can play as either men or women. Men play the best 3 of 5 sets, the women play the best 2 of 3, so you have the option of game length. You also have eight players to choose from in both the men and women category. The game gives some strengths for each player and sometimes weaknesses.
There are three different types of courts to play on: Hard, which gives a high bounce and fast speed. Clay, which gives a small bounce and slow speed. And grass, which gives a medium bounce and fast speed. I’ll be honest, I didn’t notice too much of a difference as I played on each. The actual game is a tournament where you have to knock out all seven of the other players. You get a password after winning a match, so you don’t have to beat all seven at once.
Serving has some strategy to it, as you can hold the d-pad, left, right, diagonal, or up, to add spin, slice, or speed to the serve. Of course, you want to master the timing to not cause a fault. Once the ball is in play, you want to make sure you can control where you place the ball. You can hit the ball early or late to make it go left or right. You can also get some sweet slices and my favorite, the smash when you charge the net.
Graphics: 3.0
I really like the graphics in Racket Attack. This was probably TOSE’s best understanding of games.
Sound: 2.5
The music is pretty good and the digitized voice is quite good.
Gameplay: 2.5
Very easy to get into and play.
Difficulty: 1.5
Racket Attack lands on the pretty easy side. I smashed my opponents into oblivion.
Fun Factor: 3.0
Racket Attack is probably my favorite tennis game until Virtua Tennis.
Overall Grade: 2.5
Racket Attack earns a B-. Go ahead and give it a play.