Pete Sampras Tennis on the Genesis is one of those early 90s sports games that somehow nails the feel of tennis without overcomplicating things. You pick your player—Sampras is obviously the best, but I always liked messing around with the underdogs—and jump straight into matches where the ball physics actually make sense. Not all sports games from that era got that right.

The controls are simple: one button for regular shots, another for lobs, and timing matters way more than button mashing. First time I played, I kept whiffing serves because I didn’t realize you had to hold and release at the right moment. Once it clicks though, you get into these surprisingly tense rallies where positioning matters almost as much as reflexes.

It’s not flashy by today’s standards, but the animation is smooth for its time, and there’s something satisfying about how the players slide into position. If you’ve got a Genesis lying around, it’s still a solid way to kill an afternoon.