Instant Tennis

Genre: Sports (Tennis)

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local), 2-8 (Local Tournament)

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Review:

Instant Tennis is a cartoony, family-friendly Tennis game that gives players the option to play the game using the Joy-Con controller’s motion controls, or using traditional controls, giving players a slew of different options to play what amounts to a pretty simple game of tennis.

The presentation in this game is pretty simple too The different courts are clean-looking but not terribly detailed, the character models are simple cartoony characters with big heads, but they fit in well with the bright colors and presentation of the rest of the game. There’s not much going on here, but everything is nevertheless presented with good resolution and framerates, and with some nice sound and appropriate music. It’s almost elegant how simple this game’s presentation is, but it works.

When it comes to the gameplay, this game has four control modes, all making use of different amounts of motion controls. Interestingly, I found each of these different ways to control the game to be distinctly different, and even more surprisingly, they’re all viable. Motion mode uses a single Joy-Con much in the same way Wii Sports does, but there are differences as well – the direction the ball is hit depends on where it is in relation to your character when you swing, a clever nuance I really appreciate. Mixed mode is similar to Motion mode, but now you use the control stick on the same Joy-Con to aim your swing. Button mode nixes the motion controls and simply has you using the stick to aim and having the length of your button press determine the power of your swing. Finally, Expert mode plays more like traditional Tennis games, having you controlling your character’s movement (this is the only control mode where your character doesn’t move automatically), and having the aiming determined by the direction you press the stick as you hit the ball.

I have to say, I’m delighted at the variety of control options here, as it’s sure to give players plenty of options to find what works best for them, and will be a great way to make the game playable to players of any skill level. I only wish you could mix-and-match these control modes in two player games, perhaps with a handicap to offset differing skill levels of players.

When it comes to that, the game’s biggest flaw is, with as much thought and effort that appears to have gone into ensuring that the game controls well, the game feels extremely slim on other options, only allowing you to select a single game or tournament, and then select a player and course (with many of those locked until you win a few matches). I can’t help but feel like this game would have had a great deal of potential to be something special if it had the content to deliver on its potential.

Still, Instant Tennis manages to deliver in the most important area for a Tennis game: the gameplay. While it’s not as deep as more serious tennis games, I honestly must say that this is the most fun I’ve had with the core gameplay of a Tennis game in a long while, and I’d argue that it trounces Mario Tennis Aces in that regard. It’s just a pity that the presentation isn’t quite as noteworthy as the gameplay, and the options and features are so slim – I would have loved to see what this game could have offered with a full slate of features. However, as-is, it’s still a superb game of Tennis well worth checking out, especially for younger players looking for a way to ease into the game with motion controls.

tl;dr – Instant Tennis is a cartoony, family-friendly Tennis game that offers multiple ways to play – both with traditional and motion-control, and surprisingly they’re all pretty good. The presentation is a bit plain and the game is bare-bones when it comes to content, but if you’re looking for solid Tennis gameplay well-suited to all types of players, Instant Tennis absolutely delivers.

Grade: B

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