------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIRTUA TENNIS 2 FAQ/WALKTHROUGH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This FAQ is an Official GamePlayWorld Game Guide Game : Virtua Tennis 2 / Sega Sports Tennis Platform : Sony PlayStation 2 Developer : SEGA Publisher : Acclaim Version : PAL FAQ Version: 1.03 Date : 06/10/05 (UK) Author : 5HAD0W E-mail : [email protected] ________________ /File 1: Contents\_____________________________________________________________ File 1 : Contents File 2 : Legal Stuff File 3 : Version Information File 4 : Introduction File 5 : F.A.Q. File 6 : Gameplay Info File 7 : Players File 8 : Courts File 9 : Gameplay Tips File 10: Main Menu File 11: World Tour File 12: Goodbye ___________________ /File 2: Legal Stuff\__________________________________________________________ This guide is Copyright 2005 Mark McCaigue. This guide may be reproduced for personal and private use only as long as the guide is kept in its full form and is completely un-edited in any way except by the author. This guide may not be re-published without first obtaining the permission of the author. This guide may not be sold without the permission of the author. If you would like to put this guide on your website you must obtain consent of the author, stating the name and URL of the website it would be appearing on. It is likely that permission will be given, but be sure to ask first. If permission is given I would request that once work is on your site a direct URL link would be sent to me via e-mail pointing directly to this guide on your site. Failure to adhere to the above rules can and will result in prosecution. You can e-mail me with any questions or queries at [email protected]. ___________________________ /File 3: Version Information\__________________________________________________ Version 1.03 6 October 05 Added in some info from reader mails about racquets and yet again more about King and Queen's levels. Corrected yet another minor formatting error. Version 1.02 10 September 05 Corrected an issue about King and Queen's levels. Version 1.01 31 August 05 Added an extra site for allowed hosting and cleared up a linking issue brought to my notice via e-mail. Also anointed this guide with it's title of "Official GamePlayWorld Game Guide" and made a very small change to the FAQ section. Also acknowledged the different title for other versions, which no doubt caused confusion for the readers before. Fixed a very minor formatting error and that's it for now. Barring a deluge of reader questions this will most likely be the last update for some time. AMMENDMENT: Only seconds before I updated I got an e-mail telling me how to level up King and Queen so that's added in as well. * I just re-read that summary and it sounded pretty ironic and very funny. More so than it did in my head when I was typing it. ;) * Version 1.00 21 July 05 Spell-checked and proofread the entire document. Everything is done so now I'm just waiting for any mail so I can add the FAQ section. This will (hopefully!) be the first published version. Version 0.98 21 July 05 Finished everything major. Some contents problems to be fixed, then whole guide to be spell-checked, but it's practically done. Version 0.76 19 July 05 Began the main section of the guide "Tournaments" in the WT file. Version 0.71 18 July 05 Found lost info for racquets, although I can't get any more challenge racquets. Do they exist?.. Anyway, all stats now COMPLETE. YES! Version 0.7 18 July 05 The mammoth racquets section now just needs minor tweaking so except for a couple of gimmick racquets I haven't got yet and some missing info it is finished. :) Version 0.6 July 05 Added the description of the Options and Game Modes, did the Training in the WT file and started on the racquets section. Also did the player building section. Version 0.3 July 05 Did the Intro, Formatting, then the player types and courts as well as Gameplay Info. ____________________ /File 4: Introduction\_________________________________________________________ 'Why write a guide for such an old game?' you may ask. Well, I very recently bought this game as a stand in for the tennis supremo, Smash Court Tennis. However, I was pleasantly surprised at not only the instant accessibility of the game, but also its amazing depth. While at first it seemed inferior, time has told it has its own special merits. To find out more about this game I consulted GameFAQs - expecting a barrage of FAQs for such a popular title. How wrong I was! I found just one guide, and closer inspection revealed that the author had chosen to concentrate on only the competitions available in World Tour Mode. I found this guide to be reliable, but thought perhaps people may be interested in information on other features as well as in-depth help for the status-building Training Options. Feel free to e-mail me with questions and suggestions, without sending me SPAM. Punishment for SPAM is no reply, e-mail deleted and you reported to my e-mail server, meaning you are blocked from mailing me again. So just don't. Just a note from me to thank the great readers. This guide has been online for not even 3 months at the time of writing, yet already I have received more e- mail and feedback than I have for some of my FAQs which have been online for more than a year. Not only has this been highly impressive, but add in the fact that this game is a good few years old now and it is nothing short of astounding. I'm not sure whether this is a cause or effect of the demand, but also this is the guide that I have received the most requests from webmasters to post on their sites. Again just look at the age of this game! Well, I guess what I want to say is thanks for the support and keep reading 5HAD0W! ______________ /File 5: F.A.Q.\_______________________________________________________________ I've had a few very specific questions, but nothing broad enough to put here. So until I get some, unfortunately this section remains blank. :( _____________________ /File 6: Gameplay Info\________________________________________________________ The gameplay in VT2 is based predominantly on positioning, intelligent reactions and anticipation. There only three main shot types, which initially seems a little restrictive, but with play you realise it is this simplicity that highlights the need for the above qualities. The hard, flat shot button present in so many other tennis games is almost a bail-me-out option. If you are on the back foot, this allows you to release winners from anywhere. None of this in VT2. Winning a rally is dependant on those key factors. To play a shot, you get into position, hold down the shot button and direct your shot. The earlier you were in position, the longer you have to hold down the shot button and the sweeter and more powerful your shot will be. Press too late and the shot will be weak, inaccurate and rushed. Press before you are in position and you will have to stretch or even dive to make the shot with the same results. _______________ /File 7: Players\______________________________________________________________ Players in the game fall into at least 10 different categories. These are: --------------------------------- Serve and Volley:(Rafter, Henman) --------------------------------- These players have a very fast and accurate serve, which they generally use to push the receiver wide. They will follow their serve to the net, with the intention of blasting the return past their helpless opponent. And it works! If the opponent returns this volley, these players will stay at the net hoping to overpower the opponent, who must try risky passing shots (down the line) or lobs (over their head) to avoid setting them up. Budding players shouldn't even consider making this their primary strategy as you need VERY high level serve and volley (duh!) stats to make this work. Once you have those, though, you're on fire! ------------------------------------------------------------- All-Round Player:(Pioline, Kafelnikov, V.Williams, Davenport) ------------------------------------------------------------- These guys are generally GOOD at everything and sometimes GREAT at one particular thing as well. They like to keep the rally going with consistent and varied shots, but are able to finish it at the net should it be necessary. These guys are difficult to win points off as they make few errors, but return most of your shots. However, if you play the waiting game they are bound to make mistakes and they will generally be unable to stop you going for the quick kill. Trying winners off their serves is an effective, although unnecessary option at the lower levels. This is a good bracket to aim for, but still allows improvement for some areas e.g. serve, forehand. ------------------------------ Strong Forehand:(Haas, Pierce) ------------------------------ They will constantly surprise you with the very high pace and accuracy they can get on their forehand volleys, strokes and to some extent, serves. They are passable at most areas as well, but play to their backhands and they will lose their advantage. If you concentrate all early training on strokes and to a lesser extent volleys you could find yourself as this type. I don't recommend going for this one-sided (geddit? One-sided? Oh, never mind...) approach, though. ------------------------------------ Strong Backhand:(Enqvist, Stevenson) ------------------------------------ Same as above except the other side. ------------------------------ Fast Runner:(Norman, Sugiyama) ------------------------------ High footwork stats are key here. Rallies can be hard to end against these speedy players, but they seem to be lacking in the shot department. Serve and Volley and Net Play can yield rewards, but without a high volley stat, these guys can be very tough as they will reach most of your strokes and serves. I don't recommend this either for your WT as you will need good shots come the end of the game. ------------------------------------ Powerful Strokes:(Moya, S. Williams) ------------------------------------ If the ball bounces before they hit it - they will hit it well. Simple. This does not however, mean they can't smash. Ohh, no...found that out the hard way... Make them volley to set you up. They may also be slow, but that doesn't matter 'cause they will make YOU run. This is a somewhat imbalanced, although effective strategy to go for in world tour. ------------------- Hard Hitter:(Seles) ------------------- All of their shots are good. Their serve and footwork may be poor, so try to go for points off their serve and also make them run. A nice, though unreliable against other power players or volleyers, tactic to use in the WT. ------------------------------- Various Shots:(Sanchez-Vicario) ------------------------------- Good at everything. Just like a harder-to-beat All-Rounder. Seriously, these players are impossible on the higher levels. Try powerful Volleying, but these guys aren't fair. Good thing there's only one in the COM roster, though. ------------------ Net Play:(WT only) ------------------ I'm not sure if this exists, I thought it did but I may have imagined seeing it somewhere. Oh, well...these are strong volleyers who play aggressively. They take more time to play the court and gradually make their way to the net. They find an opening with their strokes, then come in to pick it apart with their volleys. An OK rounded strategy. ------------------ New Face:(WT only) ------------------ What you'll be at the beginning. Rubbish. No style. A Blank Canvas. Easy To Beat, Hard To Be. Have Fun. ...lol... -------------------- Big Server:(WT only) -------------------- This is when your serve is your best asset. In the whole game I've only ever served about 10 aces in WT mode so this seems a poor tactic to employ and although a good serve is vital, you can't afford for it to be your best quality. -------------------- Master:(King, Queen) -------------------- The best it is possible to be at everything. No more needs said. ______________ /File 8: Courts\_______________________________________________________________ There are 4 main surfaces: -------- Clay/Mud -------- These are quite soft but the ball bounces nice and high off the surface. Also the clay takes a lot of speed off the ball at every bounce. As such clay is a good surface to learn on, but can be very frustrating as long baseline rallies are very common and are the only way to win. Net Play is sometimes passable, however Serve and Volley is asking for trouble due to all the speed being taken off your serve and even the volleys. Making your opponent run is key. ---------- Grass/Lawn ---------- This is very fast and has low bounces. A power game is everything so serve-and- volley is good and aces are most possible to serve on this court than any other surface. Serves apart from aces play a large role in the deciding of games due to speed and a very fast and accurate is an advantage and some may even say a must to succeed on grass. Matches on this surface are fast and furious and baseliners can find the going hard, although they can still do well with deep, accurate drives to alternating corners. You will need very quick footwork and a rocket of a serve. Whether your game is volleying or baselining you will need to have refined it to an art. Always be careful on grass as winners can be hit from nearly any situation. ------------------------------- Hardcourt/Hard/Asphalt/Concrete ------------------------------- Hardcourt calls for well-rounded players with powerful shots. Serve is _vital_ here as so many points can be won by your opponent on the return (play Australia Championship in WT for proof) so don't make it easy. Play to your strengths and mix it up. The courts themselves are fast like grass, but with a high bounce like clay. --------------------- Carpet/Astroturf/Turf --------------------- Astroturf courts are very variable. The instructions say turf is slow with normal bounces but most are IMHO very fast (more than grass) with a normal-low bounce. You will want a hard serve and NEED very quick feet as well as the ability to hammer both groundstrokes and volleys past your opponent. Clay courters may have trouble. _____________________ /File 9: Gameplay Tips\________________________________________________________ While there are many gameplay tips specific to your style, your opponent's style and the court you are playing on, here are some more general ones. -Always serve to the weak side. With the exception of Enqvist and Stevenson this will be the backhand. -Serve MAX in the corners. On second serve go for either MAX down the middle or a weaker serve right in the corners. The former is easier, the latter harder to return. -When serving you can always push up on the analog stick. This will make the serve bounce closer to your opponent (good thing) but you will rarely if ever serve long (bad thing). -When returning a number of shots will work at least once (lower levels maybe more, higher levels maybe less) to 'confuse your opponent' (the third being most effective). -Slice down far line -Topspin down far line -*Slice back to server's side* -Topspin back to server -After you use these once per match the opponent will probably not fall for them again. -It is also easy to win points immediately off serve if you have a good stroke (around Lv.12 will do the trick). Just point the analog stick in the direction of the far corner and unleash a topspin. A great strategy countless times in any situation. -'Confuse them mid-rally' -If you repeatedly hit to the side they're on (lower levels), they will eventually run back to the middle and leave you with an open shot. -WARNING: At the higher levels they will do this to you due to the instinct to get back to the middle of the court. Particularly Moya, Davenport and Stevenson. -On a similar note, anticipating their shots usually mean running to the side opposite to where you are now...lol... -The opposite of this is to hit it away from them. This makes them run. Playing slices to one side then topspinning to the other works wonders. I call this 'playing the court'. When combined with net play this is even more devastating. -When playing at the net stand at the T of the service courts to avoid lobs. -You can hit them back as smash winners standing here. Any closer is vulnerable, any further away you won't get enough angle on other volleys. -In mixed doubles always control the male. I find this serve easier to control and much more reliable. The COM will not serve double faults even as the female. Generally. -Play to the female where intelligent to do so as they generally have less raw power to smash back in your face. -In doubles pick a partner whose game COMPLIMENTS your own, not someone who has an identical style. -When at the net on your partner's serve, volley the return out to the line closest to you with some slice. 4 out of 10 times you'll get the point, but regardless it really opens up the court. -Always keep the controls at 'Normal'. Your partner will IMHO have a greater range of reactions and they respond well in the situations anyway, moving around the court automatically as play dictates. -Play to your strengths. If you build a serve and volleyer, try not to get into long rallies, but do play close to the net. -Be creative. Ever heard the saying 'The ball's in your court?' Play on... _________________ /File 10:Main Menu\____________________________________________________________ ------- Options ------- -Tournament- (These options apply to the tournament and exhibition modes) -Com Level (Dictates how skilled the COM is) Ranges from EASY to VERY HARD with _NORMAL_ being recommended and the default. -Game Count(COM) (How many games need to be won to progress against the COM) Ranges from 1 to 6 with _2_ being the default. -Game Count(VS) (How many games need to be won against a human opponent to progress) Ranges from 1 to 6 with _2_ being the default. -Tie Break(VS) (Dictates whether to play a tiebreaker against a human opponent) YES or NO with _NO_ being the default and YES being recommended. -Sound- These settings all apply to your own personal tastes and TV specifications so adjust these accordingly. The options will automatically save when they are changed and you have a memory card inserted with a VT2 save and have not disabled the autosave. ---------- Tournament ---------- This is basically an arcade mode, but it is good fun. Men cannot play women and vice versa except during a mixed doubles match. If you choose singles, you must win 5 progressively harder matches on various surfaces, gaining money for each win. If you wish you may use a player from the WT on a memory card. You may play the first round against a human opponent, but the winner will face COM opposition all the way through with the human player going out. If you choose doubles there will be three rounds and again you may use WT players from memory cards. You can have a maximum of 4 players here with a Multitap, but players that lose will be put out of the competition. High Scores can be viewed by pressing no buttons whilst on the main menu. ---------- Exhibition ---------- A fully customisable single match featuring up to 4 players with a multitap. WT players can be used. Men cannot play women and vice versa except during a mixed doubles match. ---------- World Tour ---------- The main mode. This has it's own file below. __________________ /File 11:World Tour\___________________________________________________________ -------------------- Creation of a Legend -------------------- World tour is a very deep and entertaining mode with many aspects and challenges, the object of which is to become the world number one tennis players. Yes, players. With an 's'. Right. You must first 'build' one male player. The name takes the format of a first initial, followed immediately by a dot followed immediately by the surname. This is limited to 10 characters and has no affect on gameplay. You must then make a face and hairstyle of your choice. Make sure you like it as once you start, there is no going back! No effect on gameplay. Body is the important option here. The taller you are, the slower the player is, but they will have a longer reach and will be able to return more shots than a shorter player. A shorter player will be quicker but unable to reach as many balls. Lighter players are faster but weaker and heavier players have more power but less haste. Of course, all players can improve their stats, but "You can't teach height". Remember it. *SEE NOTE. You then choose your style. Playing left-handed may upset opponent's games as it is unusual. I've never tried it, but it could give you the edge. Give it a go if you want. Apart from this maybe, this has no effect on your difficulty. NB: Tried leftie in WT. No discernable effect. Apparel is your preference. You will soon be able to change items in the shop, so don't worry about this too much. You then move on to a female player and everything above applies the same, except max height and weight are lower as are the minimums. *NOTE: You should choose now the type of players you want. You can compensate for height by making them light and vice versa. You could make 2 average players which would be solid, but I prefer the 'chalk and cheese approach'. I recommend making the man MAX tall and min weight and training as a serve and volleyer. I recommend the woman min height and max weight. It'll look weird, but train her as a baseliner and the opponents won't be laughing. I choose this way around as the max height for a man is 4" greater than the woman, and even though the woman's power is lower, we can change that. You could also go for tall and heavy and short and light, which would mean an immovable serve and volley behemoth and an impassable weak player. Whichever floats your boat. However, if you think about it, a serve-and-volleyer doesn't NEED power to succeed - it is the placement of their shots that counts. Also, a baseliner has more time to react to the ball, so speed isn't as vital. So my money's still on the first one found immediately after 'chalk and cheese'. I've tried both and this one seems to work the best. --------------------------- Rising of a Star (Training) --------------------------- There are 4 training areas, serve, volley, footwork and strokes, with a total of 17 separate statistics to improve. Each area has two mini games, each of which take up one week on the calendar and drain your stamina. NOTE: Before your first tournament, concentrate on either stroke or volley depending on your player's build, see above. Serve allows you to improve speed and control and this does exactly what it says on the tin. The two games are PIN CRASHER You must serve to knock down pins. The key here is to use the 'X' serve and aim for the one pin at the front. Always try to hit MAX when possible. Use less power and the 'O' or 'X' serves when aiming for 1 or 2 particular pins in a follow up shot. When you knock over all the pins in one go "STRIKE" the score for the next go is doubled and it is very difficult to win without at least one strike. You should also know that it can get VERY frustrating with weird pin physics taking a central role in this. Expect to hit over 9 pins very often. Grrr... PRIZE SNIPER You need to hit items off the moving rails, the more luxurious, the more points. This is tricky, but fun. You can bounce the ball off a prize into another to gain big points for this chain. Otherwise the strategy is very similar to above except that movement has to be factored in for your aiming. Volley improves speed, control and angle of volley shots both forehand and backhand. The two games are BULL'S EYE A machine hits balls at you and you need to return them into the centre of the rings on the ground. This is unfairly hard as the machine often uses alternating sides of the court so you can't even reach the balls never mind return them. Don't bother with this ridiculous challenge. ALIEN FORCE The easiest of the volley by far. Volley the ball at the machines to burst them. Use 'X' when they are in front and 'O' when out to the side of you. Footwork is an oft-overlooked stat, but it is vital. It doesn't matter how good your shots are if you can't get to the ball. This stat is very difficult to raise quickly and requires years (in game) of training. You can improve TURN, SIDE DASH and NET DASH. DANGER FLAGS An incredibly frustrating challenge and the harder of the two at the beginning. You must collect flags and avoid the red balls. Holding 'X' will allow you to sidestep. Move constantly in all directions and double back to confuse the machines. Try to get all the flags from the area you are in before moving away to increase your chances. Just sprinting straight round yields rewards. STOMP MAN Your player has to stand on as many cans as possible. The key is to lob with 'SQUARE' to give yourself maximum time. Directing your shots to the side where there are more cans means you can stand on them and still return the ball. The key is keeping the ball in pay with lobs. Try to get all cans as otherwise this challenge doesn't give many points. Stroke training is probably the most important. Strokes are shots made after the ball bounces and you can improve power, angle and control on both forehand and backhand. DISC SHOOTER Hit a disc to turn it over. This is a repetitive, boring and annoying challenge that doesn't do much for your stats. Avoid. Read the summary when you select the challenge for all the info you'll need. TANK ATTACK A great challenge. You should use topspin shots here and always go for the green tank(s) first. The only annoying things are that this 'dead' tank can sometimes get in the way and sometimes the red tank goes off the court where your shots cannot. If this happens use slices to buy possible hits when it returns. This challenge improves your stats a lot and is v.easy with practice. The first few times it is hard, but practice makes perfect. I recommend standing as close to the net as possible (you can't get into keep out area). Points are awarded for power and accuracy when you hit the red tank. When you improve at these challenges the level will go up and minor changes will take place, but using these basic strats you should still be OK. The challenge levels go up to 4. Your personal stats will max out slightly above or below Lv.20 depending on physical build. ------------------------- A World of Choice (Shops) ------------------------- There are 5 shops. Caribou available from the beginning, then Equator, Nomad, Iceberg and finally Statue available from winning events. Apparel, ETC. and Stage categories will not be covered. Just buy whatever you want from here. Always make sure that you have $20,000 spare for partners, then buy racquets, then whatever. Don't buy anything till you've won a couple of tournaments. -Racquets- I haven't unlocked all of these yet, but the ones I have are available for inspection here. Ratings are out of 100. If you can't find a racquet look in case it is included in another category i.e. there will not be separate ratings for a racquet where the only difference is colour. Once you buy a racquet both players can use it via the apparel menu at HOME. These are in order with the best at the top. NOTE: Ratings are a guideline only and there is not very much difference at all between a 70 and a 75. Also some racquets concentrate on one area and lose out on others, gaining a lower Overall score, however, this one area may be an improvement to your personal playing style as opposed to a more-rounded racquet, so have a look in detail at the stats. NOTE2: To win a racquet you need to get a GOLD medal in that tournament, which means win it whilst conceding no more than a set number of games. I don't know what this number is, but win a tournament to love and you are practically guaranteed the racquet. NB: I think you must win a tournament whilst conceding either no more than 1 game, or no more than 1 game per round for the gold medal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : King Stinger 85 Cost : N/A Power : 85 Angle : 85 Control : 85 Overall : 85 Available: Win SPT Mixed Doubles Final ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : HEAD i.S18 chip system Cost : N/A Power : 95 Angle : 85 Control : 70 Overall : 83 Available: Win HEAD International Men's Doubles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : HEAD i.Radical 0S Cost : N/A Power : 70 Angle : 85 Control : 95 Overall : 83 Available: Win HEAD International Women's Singles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Hi-Guard 89 Cost : N/A Power : 65 Angle : 75 Control : 100 Overall : 80 Available: Win French Cup Men's Doubles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Super Classic.160a Cost : N/A Power : 50 Angle : 100 Control : 85 Overall : 78 Available: Win England Trophy Women's Doubles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Super Classic.150i Cost : N/A Power : 50 Angle : 85 Control : 100 Overall : 78 Available: Win England Trophy Men's Singles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Air Razor 230Ti Cost : N/A Power : 30 Angle : 100 Control : 100 Overall : 77 Available: Win US Super Tennis Women's Singles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Big Spoon 297c Cost : N/A (Hours of Sweat and Tears) Power : 45 Angle : 100 Control : 85 Overall : 77 Available: Win French Cup Women's Singles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Octex Ti 235 Cost : N/A Power : 65 Angle : 65 Control : 85 Overall : 72 Available: Win US Super Tennis Men's Doubles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Lite 2000 Cost : N/A Power : 65 Angle : 85 Control : 65 Overall : 72 Available: Win Australia Challenge Women's Doubles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : NW-256 Ti Cost : $86,000 Power : 65 Angle : 65 Control : 80 Overall : 70 Available: Statue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Extreme Ti 1000 Cost : $88,000 Power : 80 Angle : 65 Control : 65 Overall : 70 Available: Statue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : TripleZ 99Ti Cost : $82,000 Power : 65 Angle : 80 Control : 60 Overall : 68 Available: Statue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : DoubleX 108Ti Cost : $80,000 Power : 65 Angle : 70 Control : 65 Overall : 67 Available: Statue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Tornado. M270 Cost : $42,000 Power : 55 Angle : 70 Control : 70 Overall : 65 Available: Iceberg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Ti-Power 127 Cost : $84,000 Power : 70 Angle : 65 Control : 60 Overall : 65 Available: Statue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : 3DY. H300 Cost : $41,000 Power : 65 Angle : 55 Control : 70 Overall : 63 Available: Iceberg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : TGW. Pro-112 Cost : $40,000 Power : 60 Angle : 65 Control : 60 Overall : 62 Available: Iceberg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : St-98 Classic XC Cost : $90,000 Power : 50 Angle : 85 Control : 50 Overall : 62 Available: Statue ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Power-l3G Cost : N/A Power : 100 Angle : 40 Control : 40 Overall : 60 Available: Win Australia Challenge Men's Singles (I Think) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : G.AX 98 Cost : $43,000 Power : 55 Angle : 70 Control : 55 Overall : 60 Available: Iceberg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Ms.F-92 Cost : $21,000 Power : 55 Angle : 65 Control : 50 Overall : 57 Available: Nomad ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Double H.Ti 312 Cost : $44,000 Power : 70 Angle : 50 Control : 50 Overall : 57 Available: Iceberg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : UltraLite 88 Cost : $45,000 Power : 50 Angle : 70 Control : 50 Overall : 57 Available: Iceberg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : CW-305 Cost : $25,000 Power : 50 Angle : 65 Control : 50 Overall : 55 Available: Nomad ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : MB-124H Cost : $22,000 Power : 55 Angle : 45 Control : 60 Overall : 53 Available: Nomad ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Maximum-G 111 Cost : $20,000 Power : 50 Control : 50 Angle : 50 Overall : 50 Available: Nomad ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : VonT 268 Cost : $24,000 Power : 40 Angle : 65 Control : 45 Overall : 50 Available: Nomad ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : HD.Pro-503 Cost : $23,000 Power : 60 Angle : 45 Control : 40 Overall : 48 Available: Nomad ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Sharpness F285 Cost : N/A Power : 85 Angle : 50 Control : 5 (Yes, 5) Overall : 47 Available: Win Hitmaker Cup Mixed Doubles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : H2H-125 Cost : $11,000 Power : 45 Angle : 35 Control : 45 Overall : 42 Available: Equator ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : MBS-96H Cost : $12,000 Power : 35 Angle : 45 Control : 45 Overall : 42 Available: Equator ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : CC-113H Cost : $10,000 Power : 40 Angle : 40 Control : 40 Overall : 40 Available: Equator ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : ZN-280 Cost : $14,000 Power : 40 Angle : 50 Control : 25 Overall : 38 Available: Equator ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : Hyper Carbon 280 Cost : $8,000 Power : 30 Angle : 55 Control : 30 Overall : 38 Available: Equator ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : DDX 275 Cost : $13,000 Power : 50 Angle : 30 Control : 25 Overall : 35 Available: Equator ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : St.Pro-110 Cost : $5,000 Power : 30 Angle : 30 Control : 30 Overall : 30 Available: Caribou ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name : St-WH (Also St-BK, St-SV, St-BL and St-RD) Cost : First one free, then $1,000 per each racquet after that Power : 20 Angle : 20 Control : 20 Overall : 20 Available: Create-a-Player, Caribou ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...And... the rest... If you thought the Sharpness wasn't enough of a gimmick you ain't seen nothin' yet. When you complete a challenge fulfilling unsure criteria (score over 70,000?) you get a reward. These come in the form of racquets. These have no stats so I'll just describe them. Also I think there just HAS to be something special about these racquets, but what? Maybe there isn't and they're just crap... TANK ATTACK You are playing with a TANK (!) and the turret is the handle. Makes annoying noises when you hit the ball and is the most unimaginably crap racquet EVER (at least compared to the Chip System). Do NOT even be tempted to use this in a major tournament. I would like to thank Tim Gwinnett for the following information about extra rackets and their criteria to win them: "Just some info about the training game rackets from my personal experience. All rackets can only be obtained on level 4 of each game. Danger Flags Racket is a large version of one of the flags from this game. To obtain it, you must collect all the flags without being hit. Pin Crasher Racket is a large pin. To obtain, you must get a score of 150 (all strikes - in other words, you have to fluke it). Bull's Eye A target on a handle. To get it, get 12,000 points or more. Stomp Man An elongated tennis ball canister. You must get all cans (125 points). Prize Sniper A big golden trophy. Get a score of 10,000 points or more." Again, many thanks Tim. -Partners- This WAS going to be a pretty comprehensive section (and if there is enough demand it may still be) but for now I deem it pointless. There is not much I can say except pick Henman and V. Williams respectively for men and women's tournaments. These IMHO outstrip the opposition by FAR and I have never lost a major tournament with these partners. They are great all over the court and both will run and never give up on a shot. Also Henman has a great serve and hits MAX very often indeed. And Venus just has those ferocious volleys. And one more thing. Keep them on Normal position. Trust me. --------------------------------- The Stages of Glory (Tournaments) --------------------------------- Here I will help you through the tournaments as you can enter them, providing you have won all tournaments you enter. If there is one you lose and so can't enter a later one, add it to your schedule the next year round. Got it? Let's go! Prize money for the winner is a total of all the rounds. For example in a tournament with 2 rounds and a winner's prize of $20,000 you will get $10,000 for winning the first round and a further $10,000 for winning the next, giving a TOTAL PRIZE MONEY of $20,000. Also if you win a tournament and you get a silver medal instead of a gold one (see your calendar screen) it means you conceded too many games during the course of the tournament and you missed out on a special prize. Enter the tournament again and win whilst conceding as few games as possible to get the gold medal and the prize. So, here we go... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHALLENGERS I Men's Singles (Lv.1) (Rank 300) 3rd January 2 Rounds 2 Games $20,000 Hardcourt A nice easy beginning to the tour. Both you and your opponent will be weak players so I advise playing to your strengths and trying to end every point as soon as possible. Try to hit MAX serve to give you the edge. If you are having trouble, play close to the net and smash back any lobs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHALLENGERS II Women's Singles (Lv.1) (Rank 300) 4th February 2 Rounds 2 Games $20,000 Hardcourt This becomes more difficult as net play will result in frequent lobbing so you need good strokes here. Other than that you should return serve to the outside line with topspin. Still, you should have no real problem here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHALLENGERS III Men's Doubles (Lv.1) (Rank 300) 2nd April 2 Rounds 2 Games $20,000 Clay Your first doubles and clay match, and it's an easy one. Pick whomever you prefer, but Henman comes with my strongest recommendations. Moya and Pioline are also good. Keep the controls on Normal for your first go, but experiment if you begin to lose. All stats except footwork are important here. Also before this tournament I recommend buying the Pro racquet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FUJIFILM LADIES Women's Singles (Lv.2) (Rank 270) 4th April 3 Rounds 2 Games $33,000 Grass Net play is most definitely the best strat here, but if you are under 6'2" forget it. There is a 10ft restraining order between you and the net and violation results in a severe lob. You'll probably lose this first Lv.2 event, but Good Luck! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEIDER TENNIS CLASSIC Men's Singles (Lv.2) (Rank 280) 4th May 3 Rounds 2 Games $30,000 Clay A long tough event. Slightly easier than above because you've had more time to train, but you are playing on the most difficult surface here. Staying back and playing hard strokes is the way to go. Ironically for the last 2 tournaments I made my woman the baseliner and my man the volleyer. Which kind of came back and kicked me in the teeth. Hard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHALLENGERS IV Women's Doubles (Lv.1) (Rank 300) 4th June 2 Rounds 2 Games $20,000 (Equator) Grass Your first women's doubles match and I recommend V. Williams as your partner. Good volleys will be helpful but all styles will probably result in a win. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IBM TENNIS TOURNAMENT Men's Doubles (Lv.2) (Rank 220) 1st July 2 Rounds 3 Games $48,000 Clay Yet another easy doubles match-up. You shouldn't have any real trouble, but you can look to my tips section if you need advice. If you're tired of Henman you could try Moya as he is very good on this surface. You may consider setting him to baseline. I advise going into this tournament with good strokes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHALLENGERS V Men's Singles (Lv.1) (Rank 300) 3rd July 2 Rounds 2 Games $20,000 Clay No bother due to all of your training. Even playing right up at the net is sufficient for an impressive win. And that's probably the only time I'll say that about a clay court match. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHALLENGERS VI Women's Singles (Lv.1) (Rank 300) 4th September 2 Rounds 2 Games $20,000 Hardcourt Your opponents may be trickier to handle than you anticipated, but they also play very doggedly and never give up. The best advice I can give you is to play completely and utterly to your strengths and not try anything you aren't great at. Expect to win despite this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WILSON CUP Women's Doubles (Lv.2) (Rank 210) 2nd October 2 Rounds 3 Games $50,000 Grass A slightly longer tournament very close to your last, so rest in between. A good serve and volleys are key here and V. Williams is at her considerable best on this surface. Covering your partner's movement around court now gains new importance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHALLENGERS VII Men's Doubles (Lv.1) (Rank 300) 1st November 2 Rounds 2 Games $20,000 (Nomad) Hardcourt Picking Henman here virtually guarantees the (easy) win - especially as your man will be getting quite good at this stage. A hard serve really gives you the edge here before the rally has even begun. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DUNLOP MEN'S INDOOR Men's Singles (Lv.2) (Rank 240) 3rd November 3 Rounds 2 Games $42,000 Hardcourt A significant increase in opponent ability is notable here, so a new racquet would be in order. Good footwork is important here as are strokes for returns. You will be lobbed often if you play against the net, so stay about the T if you must volley. One of the harder tournaments first time round. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TENNIS MAGAZINE CUP Mixed Doubles (Lv.2) (Rank 200) 1st December 1 Round 6 Games $60,000 Hardcourt In case you were wondering, it is your male and your female player on the same team here and whatever player is selected on the top-right of the WT 'map' screen is the one you control. This is very important so remember this. This is probably the only time I'll condone changing the position instructions. If you've followed my advice the whole way through and made players as I suggested - then control the man and bring him to the net and use the commands to keep the woman at the baseline. If this isn't working switch back to normal. Just play into the space and this is a very easy win. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHALLENGERS VIII Women's Doubles (Lv.1) (Rank 300) 3rd December 2 Rounds 2 Games $20,000 (Iceberg) Hardcourt Yes these tournaments never die. Thankfully this eighth version is the last. It is a good idea here to pick whoever you want to take to the Bridgestone Cup as your contract will also cover that tournament. You won't need any advice. Trust me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRIDGESTONE CUP Women's Doubles (Lv.2) (Rank 250) 2nd January 2 Rounds 3 Games $40,000 Hardcourt The difficulty here takes a big step up from the previous tournament, even with your new racquet (hint). However, the old tournament was about as much hard work as doing absolutely nothing, so this one's about as hard as walking AND talking at the same time. (I know - wooh - big ask for some :) ). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EVIAN WORLD DOUBLES Men's Doubles (Lv.2) (Rank 260) 2nd March 2 Rounds 3 Games $36,000 Hardcourt The tournaments are now getting steadily more difficult, but if you play to space you should be fine. It's also worth noting that very good strokes are needed here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEL GRANDPRIX (Lv.3) (Rank 180) 1st May 2 Rounds 3 Games $64,000 Hardcourt You're playing with the pros now at Lv.3. This is a tricky event first time round needing very hard strokes and blistering volleys. Of course, being a doubles event there isn't *too* much challenge, so you should do just fine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEL GRANDPRIX (Lv.3) (Rank 170) 2nd May 3 Rounds 3 Games $66,000 Hardcourt The longest event so far, and the most difficult. You'll predominantly need a GREAT serve and RIVERDANCE footwork, plus either the strokes or volleys to finish it off. Also be careful not to get too close to the net. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLVO CHALLENGE Women's Doubles (Lv.3) (Rank 150) 1st August 2 Rounds 3 Games $72,000 (Statue) Hardcourt The women here will accurately pick apart any weak spots in your game, but if you play offensively this will only result in a couple of points dropped here and there. Quick reactions are important here and raw power has good results, both strokes and volleys. The opponent quality increases considerably for the final, so don't waste any opportunities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLVO CHALLENGE Men's Doubles (Lv.3) (Rank 160) 2nd August 2 Rounds 3 Games $70,000 Hardcourt Very similar to the women's event. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CITIZEN WOMEN'S HARDCOURT Women's Singles (Lv.2) (Rank 230) 4th August 3 Rounds 2 Games $45,000 Hardcourt Could you have entered this last year? I get the funny feeling I left this out, but I'm not sure... This event has quite a sedate pace so you should be able to comfortably control the play. Until you start moving up the rounds. This is actually a tough event, mainly because your opponents will get to EVERYTHING. Keep trying... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YONEX OPEN Men's Singles (Lv.3) (Rank 130) 3rd October 3 Rounds 3 Games $78,000 Carpet This is your first carpet match and it is a nightmare. All of your stats need to be very high and to be honest they won't be yet. Just try your best and remember - there's always next year :). I find that net play works very well here and I was very surprised when I won this tournament on my first go as normally I need 2 or even 3 attempts. The most important thing to remember is not to set your opponent up - always make them run or you will get shots smashed past you every single time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YONEX OPEN Women's Singles (Lv.3) (Rank 140) 4th October 3 Rounds 3 Games $75,000 Carpet Same as above except much harder and scratch that I won on the first go thing. I didn't in the women's. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HITMAKER CUP Mixed Doubles (Lv.3) (Rank 100) 2nd December 1 Round 6 Games $90,000/Sharpness F285 Grass This is an important tournament in game for your rankings - as are all the Mixed Doubles tournaments. Make sure you win first time. Just play whatever way suits you and use the same strategy as your last Mixed Doubles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUSTRALIA CHALLENGE Men's Singles (Lv.4) (Rank 80) 1st February 1 Round 6 Games $140,000/Power-l3G Hardcourt This will be your first grand slam and the toughest tournament to date. Strangely, if you draw Henman the whole thing seems to be much easier, so hope for that! Anyway, play to your strengths here and also you will need a great serve, so bring that up before entering. I again surprised myself by winning on my first go - so it shouldn't be that hard for you either. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUSTRALIA CHALLENGE Women's Doubles (Lv.4) (Rank 90) 2nd February 1 Round 6 Games $120,000/Lite 2000 Hardcourt Much easier than the men's event, especially as your partner will do most of the work for you! In case you're wondering, I chose (again) Venus Williams. The most important stat for this event is your serve again, so get a decent level before entering. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEAD INTERNATIONAL Men's Doubles (Lv.3) (Rank 120) 3rd March 2 Rounds 3 Games $80,000/HEAD i.S18 chip system Clay An easy enough event, although you may want to swap Henman for Moya and consider putting him at the baseline while you play net. I still think you'd be better to keep the controls on Normal, but it all depends on your playing style. You should try to win this first go, because you get what is IMHO (despite the stats) the best racquet in the game due to the distribution of the stats - you know you'd rather have power over control any day really. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HEAD INTERNATIONAL Women's Singles (Lv.3) (Rank 110) 4th March 3 Rounds 3 Games $81,000/HEAD i.Radical 0S Clay This event also yields a very good racquet, but is MUCH tougher to win. Just remember to keep your woman back and play the baseline game. You need a good serve, very good strokes and decent footwork and possibly even volleys for those times when you just have to come in. This took me longer to win than most of the Slams. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRENCH CUP Women's Singles (Lv.4) (Rank 60) 1st June 1 Round 6 Games $180,000/Big Spoon 297c Clay I believe this is by far the toughest event within the 4 levels. Opponents are nearly superhuman and the power they have is just unfair. You MUST stay back - any venture forward is insane. Trust me. Just play to opposite sides of the court and hope for a point. You will probably need at least Lv.16 strokes, great footwork and a very, very good serve. And lots of luck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRENCH CUP Men's Doubles (Lv.4) (Rank 70) 2nd June 1 Round 6 Games $160,000/Hi-Guard 89 Clay One of the tougher doubles events. I used Henman but you may consider Moya or Kafelnikov. A couple of tries and this should be in the bag for you. Just use the advantage of being able to volley on clay knowing your partner is watching your back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENGLAND TROPHY Women's Doubles (Lv.4) (Rank 50) 1st July 1 Round 6 Games $200,000/Super Classic 160a Grass On the grass you need to be a very good server and a very good volleyer. V Williams as usual or M. Seles are my pick of choice. This event is not that difficult if you play aggressively, close to the net and volley hard and accurately. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENGLAND TROPHY Men's Singles (Lv.4) (Rank 50) 2nd July 1 Round 6 Games $220,000/Super Classic 150i Grass Ah, Wimbledon, Tournament of the Aces. If you can get the stats of your serve so that when you hit MAX you serve almost exactly 180Kmh and if you press straight up on the analog stick you can serve aces down their throats all day. When playing Enqvist when I served like this he couldn't decide to hit it comfortably on his forehand or powerfully on the more difficult backhand. Consequently he shifted around twice, but by that time the ball was past him. You must get it exactly right, but this 'glitch' is exclusive to England. It won't work endlessly, so use it in your first service game for an early lead. Glitches aside, for the best tournament in the world, this is laughably easy - at least compared to what you were expecting. As long as all your stats are reasonable, you should do fine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- US SUPER TENNIS Men's Doubles (Lv.4) (Rank 30) 1st September 1 Round 6 Games $240,000/Octex Ti 235 Hardcourt Again, choose whatever partner works for you. This is an easy enough doubles tournament and it's getting to the stage now where I have given you all the advice I can so as a final word - play to your strengths and play to space. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- US SUPER TENNIS Women's Singles (Lv.4) (Rank 20) 2nd September 1 Round 6 Games $260,000/Air Razor 230 Ti Hardcourt A tough event, but as above you should do fine with intelligent play and good stats. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPT FINAL Mixed Doubles (Lv.4) (Rank 10) 3rd December 1 Round 6 Games $280,000/King Stinger 85 Carpet Before you enter this event make sure you A) have won every other event and B) take a rest on the 2nd before this tournament. I won this 6-0 on my first go so it shouldn't be too hard for you either by the time you've beaten everything else and trained in between. Be sure to win this event first go as if you don't you will have to train ALL YEAR with no new tournaments to enter. This happened to me during the final tournament - but that had the benefit of greatly improving my stats so it's not an 'end-of-the-world' deal. Winning this event unlocks the true final and the statistically best racquet in the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUPER EXHIBITION Mixed Doubles (Lv.5) (Rank 2) 4th December 1 Round 6 Games $300,000/Court Of The King Carpet Well, well, well. You've made it to the true final. Only the elite get here and only the masters progress. You will be up against King and Queen on their yacht and let me warn you now. They are good. More than good, in fact. Brilliant. They take your stats, double them, then laugh into your pathetic face. Their sheer power alone is enough to give Arnie nightmares. They judge their returns perfectly, yes, even those ones where you smash it down straight onto their racquet and force them to volley a 250KMH ball from a foot away. Even those. And about the returns - there will be returns. For it is very difficult to get anything past them. At all. And I haven't even mentioned their serves. Now, let's step back and look at the bigger picture for a minute. There have been other matches that have taken me much longer to win. The French Cup Women's Singles(*shiver*), for example. This match was NOT fun. It was tough and tedious. This match - against King and Queen - is much harder, but never tedious. In fact, it is without a doubt my favourite match of the entire tour. While they are better than you, it never seems unfair. And when you lose a point, you know you COULD have possibly had it. So there is a spark of hope. A spark which, when blown upon, ignites to a dancing flame of beauty and then you win. Ahem. So the moral is keep trying and don't give up. The first time I played these guys I won 2 games. 2. This is the same person who won the SPT Final 6-0. Not meaning to boast, it's just an example of the huge step-up in difficulty. But, as I said it never seems impossible. I won on my third try, but only by 7-5. There are no tricks, nothing I can tell you beyond what you have already learnt - except - if you can serve around at least 200KMH even these guys will make poor returns. So get your serve well up before re-entering. So Good Luck and Have Fun! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you finally beat King and Queen you can unlock them as additional characters. Simply win a 'Tournament' without using any continues and then King or Queen (men's and women's tournament respectively) will step down from the chair to challenge you. If you win they are yours to do with what you will. It must be noted, however, that they will be on 'Lv.1'. How do you level them up? I do not know. In fact, any information on the subject would be greatly appreciated. AMMENDMENT: I got a mail from MoonShadow, who has earned my many thanks, that told me how to level these guys up. But you won't like it. You have to beat them again in the Tournament. Each time you do they go up a few levels i.e. from 1 to 5. It is thought that the maximum level is either 99 or 100, but that has not been confirmed. 2ND AMMENDMENT: Many thanks to Densa2000 for confirming for me that Lv.99 is indeed the maximum level possible. Anyway, that's all for the walkthrough for now and my e-mail address is at the top should you need to contact me. And Congratulations for Winning! ________________ /File 12: Goodbye\_____________________________________________________________ Thanks for reading and I hope you found this useful and enjoyable. If you liked it, please tell me and take a look at my other work too! I would like to thank: Freewebs, Neoseeker, SuperCheats and GameFAQs for hosting this guide DarthMarth, Yergin, Swiftshark, Darrell Wong, H. M. Murdock and El Greco all for providing walkthroughs that I have used in the past Everyone who sent me a useful e-mail And...You for reading it! This guide may only be found on: www.freewebs.com/5hadowden (5hadowden) www.gamefaqs.com (GameFAQs) www.neoseeker.com (NeoSeeker) www.supercheats.com (SuperCheats) www.gameplayworld.com (GamePlayWorld) and may be linked to via www.gamespot.com (GameSpot). The most up-to-date version will always be found on GameFAQs. If you find it on any site except those named above as being allowed to host this guide please e-mail me. Thanks again for reading, Cheers, Mark "5HAD0W" McCaigue. _______________________________________________________________________________ All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. Copyright 2005 Mark McCaigue.