Game Review #5 - Fantasy Tennis Online

I would have never come across this game if not for the excessive amount of advertisement of this game on its release over the summer on TV in Taiwan. What attracted me at first was not the game play. Rather, it was the atmosphere established by its background music. Amused, I immediately googled the game and set out to experience its world. It was then I discovered an epic game of epic proportion.

Trust me, I am definitely not a sports game type of gamer. In fact, I usually find those kind of games somewhat pointless. However, this game completely changed my perspective on the matter. Fantasy Tennis Online offers two type of game play: Normal mode and Battle mode.



In normal mode, one would play it just like a normal tennis match. But then you would ask: Why is it called "fantasy" then? Well, the answer lies in the mechanics of the game. In normal mode, one would not experience the "fantasy" part of the game as much as one would in Battle mode. However, the mere thrill of using or defending against the SS shots ( available by using special in game rackets which players can buy when players save up enough in game money from playing ) is exciting on many levels. Below are the current known SS shots available in game:

Power Shot - ball travels at 2x the speed.

Eagle Shot - extremely fast lob.

Snake Shot - ball travels in "S" pattern.

Mole Shot - My personal favorite, the ball goes underground and pops up near the end of the court.

Dragon Shot - ball travels in such a way that it resembles a dragon ascending.

Return Curve Shot - Defensive shot, returns the ball from anywhere on the court and saves it by returning it in a curvy pattern.

Return Straight Shot - Defensive shot, returns the ball from anywhere on the court and saves it by returning it to midcourt.

( On a side note, there are two types of SS shot, offensive and defensive. Offensive shot can only be used when a players are within the hitting range of the ball. Defensive shot, on the other hand, can be used anywhere and anytime as long as the ball is on the player side of the court. Hence the name, defensive shot. )

Some racket may have one or two of the above mentioned special shots. However, most racket with two would require real money to obtain. However, having two special shots doesn't necessary give a better advantage. What really matters is the skill level of the game players. If one knows the shot very well, one can fend off anything. Players can purchase rackets in the in-game game shop as well as other avatar items to customize their own characters. Most items will provide stats bonus. Stats?! YES!!! This game isn't just your average sport game! Each character have stats which can be improved by leveling your character or utilizing the items' bonuses!



LEVEL?!?! WHAT??!?! That's right! Fantasy Tennis Online is a combination of sports game and RPG. There actually is a storyline in the game to help players advance the story. Players will gain money and experience regardless of win or lose per game. The amount gained also depends on the players' performances. As character advance a level, it will gain an ability point which can be allocated to enhance a stat.

In the beginning, players can choose between one of the two beginning characters: Nikki and Lunlun. To simply put, these two are very balanced and are basically good at everything. As players eventually save up enough money, one can purchase one of the 4 specialized characters.

Are stats really that important? YES!! ESPECIALLY IN BATTLE MODE! Battle mode is the purpose for the word "fantasy". In battle mode, players do not obtain victory by simply winning points. In fact, there is no points in the game. In place of it, there are the players' HP bars. When one side scores, the other side will suffer hell flame damage for a set amount of HP. Players can also decrease opponents' HP by obtaining crystals during the battle and use the provided items such as homing soul missles, mines, flame balls, blizzard storm, or even turn opponents into CHICKEN so they can't return the ball for one turn!

One can also choose to play Battle mode against a npc. That is known as the GUARDIAN mode. The first 4 maps' guardians are fairly simple. However, anything after that is nearly impossible to solo without a team of experienced players. However, it IS doable, just will cost a lot of game money. Above is a video of the Guardian mode battle, just a little taste of what it is like!

This is my evaluation of the game.Keep in mind this is out of 5 stars, with 5 being the best.

Rating: *****
Extremely entertaining game. Never gets old.

Grinding: ****
There really is no grinding in this game. If you really want me to name one, I guess that would be the need to level. Items have level requirement too. Hence, players would feel the urge to play the games in order to level faster. But is that really grinding? I call that playing!

Fun: *****
Really really fun game. Every match I play, I experience something unexpected. This game really keeps me on top of my toes. However, there is a downside. The server in the US does not exist. Hence, if you play now, it will automatically link you to the EUROPEAN server. Hence, you don't really see a lot of players on because it's working day light for them. You don't really see a lot of people that can speak English very well either. But hey, let the game do the talking!