Super Tennis Blast

I've probably put about 1000 hours into Tennis Elbow (another tennis game) over years and years, I've played about every tennis game out there on every system, NES, SNES, N64, Playstation, Gamecube, Wii, you name it.
I'll preface this with saying I like to only play tennis games single player.
This is a very solid tennis game, however it has a big flaw once you get deeper into it, and that is that it gets too easy, especially on World Tour mode as you level up your character. I do have a suggestion to those playing it once you get much better at the game. You level up your World Tour character to about 75 on every stat. That should keep it difficult enough in where you can barely win tournaments and make it feel like you really have to work hard to win.
The main problem is this: The flat shot (A button on Xbox controllers) is just too powerful, it's far too OP. I really like the dynamic of how you hit top spin to get the CPU so that they can't just hit a flat hard shot back, and you hit slice to get yourself back in position. This works very very well.
The problem I have is that once you get your character past about 78 I'd say....maybe 80 in stats on forehand and backhand you can just hit nicely timed flat shots over and over to win the game. My biggest suggestion to the developers? SLOW DOWN THE FLAT SHOT!
As a multiplayer party game this one is amazing, though, the Super Blast mode you can configure the ball to go faster and faster and your character to get more and more tired....I just wish this option was in the World Tour mode.

It's a perfect blend of Top Spin, Mario Tennis, and Wii Sports with a bit of the retro flair from Super Tennis on the SNES. Gameplay is very timing-based and surprisingly deep. Much like the tennis games of old, the AI will kick your ass on higher difficulties. This is the best arcade tennis title; for a simulation, your best bet is still Tennis Elbow or Full Ace Tennis, but this game is for everyone else.

If you ever enjoyed the old Namco Smash Court games on the PlayStation, then you will love this.
Gameplay is wonderful, and it has that Virtua Tennis vibe, where you get in position early and charge up your shot.
The best tennis game on Steam, although there are a few niggles that I'd love to see ironed out.
Smash-court-tastic!!

£2.84 on sale right now! Great game - plays like Smash Tennis on the SNES but with way more options. This game is a steal at this price. Totally recommend it. Plays brilliantly with some great rallies. A game I'll be playing a lot of and got for a stupidly low price.

I love it!! But, where is Don J?
I am old enough to remember Super Tennis on the SNES, one of three carts I had when I first got the system. As such, I played it to death.
I adored Super Tennis. I loved the art style, the simple gameplay, it was cute, fun, and challenging.
And this title, Super Tennis Blast, is its twin (minus the Nintendo branding). I love it. I have hunted for years for a Tennis title that brought back the simple fun of Super Tennis and Smash Court.
It took me about 37 seconds to get back into the groove, it is like I never stopped playing. I love it. I love it. I love it. Why has it never popped up before when I have hunted for Tennis titles I do not know.
Not the most realistic title in the world but it isn't meant to be. It isn't over the top either. It sits just right. It is perfect.
Fantastic nostalgic fun!
Don J/10
Bring on Super Soccer.

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Super Tennis Blast is a fun arcade style tennis game with a decent amount of depth. It looks to have enough content to keep a party of up to four players entertained, but also has enough single-player modes to be a single-player game.
The character customization functionality is fantastic. Kind of has that look and feel that brings you back to the first Mii character creation days of the Wii. It's not quite as versatile, but it has enough to keep you entertained for quite some time even if that's all you did. You can also choose from some absurd number (roughly 400) premade characters. But of course you are here to play arcade-style tennis, so let's move along with our discussion.
The controls were a bit difficult to work through in terms of the tutorial, mainly because of needing to decipher the poorly localized instructions. And even after learning the controls properly, the first game or two felt a bit awkward. But not long after, the controls really felt quite smooth. I do find that there's a good amount of balance between automation and manual controls so that you can fairly finely control the shots should you wish.
If you are a tennis player, it might feel awkward to strike that "action" button on the gamepad early or late and still be able to land a good hit on the ball. But for the casual non-reactionary gamer who wants to join in the multiplayer party, this is fantastic. Instead, the timing of the action button is purely a intuitive reaction of when to press when the ball is relatively close to your character. And you use your joystick to aim the direction of your shot. You really have to play it to get used to the controls, it's very easy and very forgiving. This is a great trait for a party game.
Is this the be all and end all of tennis games and does it offer everything you ever wanted in a tennis game? Of course not. But I find a good balance in here and the game clearly took a good amount of thought on the part of the developer to give it that good balance to give all players an equal chance of winning the next point. Seriously, you could be standing a bit farther away, try to strike your button 1 whole second early or late (which is a definite whiff in tennis), and your ball still goes over and lands in. This gives all of the players a good amount of time to get used to the controls and to have some laughs with keeping a pretty lively volley going. It's always nice to see a good volley in a sports match, and that excitement will keep building for the greater majority of these volleys as well. And when you and your friends get used to the controls, you can start messing with each other and firing away deep into the opposite corners without worrying too much about keeping the ball in-bounds.
Here's my first half hour or so fumbling blindly with the game:
Controls
Once you get used to a gamepad, I doubt you would want to switch, so I definitely recommend getting one or multiple ready to play this game.
Graphics
Artsy-fartsy cartoonish style is really charming. That character creation function has got options to keep you busy for a while.
Music
To be honest, it was there, I wasn't paying that much attention.
Audience
Good balance for players of all skills to have fun. This is not easily accomplished. We need to give credit to the folks at Unfinished Pixel for making a game potentially fun for everyone and allowing players to be competitive across skill levels.
Pricing
$14.99 USD at launch is a reasonable price. There is a career mode too with three save slots. You can find singles/doubles instant matches/tournaments for up to 4 players locally. There are a few mini-games to hone your skills. Game launched almost a week ago at 20% discount, so if you think you might like it, definitely grab it while the discount is still live!
Conclusion
I was super tired from work the last couple of days and lack of sleep was really threatening to have my face hit the keyboard as soon as I launched the next game. That danger is totally real on a lot of days and I was happy to pick up something so casual and inclusive in terms of a decent indie title to review. I am happy with the overall product even though it really needs better localization, but once you get used to the controls, who cares what the small amount of texts say in the tutorial. You would probably want to have at least figure out the tutorial for one person in a party to then teach the others, because the controls take a little bit of time (matter of minutes/a couple of tennis games) to get used to. So while not perfect, it is fun indeed.
Thank you for reading.
I received the product for free. I did not receive any compensation to write this review. The opinions represented here are entirely my own and were not influenced in any way.

This game needs to have online playability.
Devs must add host or something, so disappointing that you can't host games.
Otherwise the game is pretty good but I certainly don't think it's worth the price tag. Even on this 50% sale it's pushing it.