Top Rank Tennis is one of those early Game Boy sports games that somehow nails the simplicity of tennis while still feeling satisfying. You pick your player (no fancy stats, just different sprites), pick a court surface, and then it's straight into the match. The controls are basic—just a button for regular shots and another for lobs—but timing matters way more than you'd think at first.

What surprised me was how much the ball physics actually change depending on whether you're playing on grass or clay. Grass feels faster, almost slippery, while clay slows everything down just enough to make rallies drag out. Matches get tense when you're trading shots near the net, especially since the AI isn't a total pushover once you bump up the difficulty.

It's not flashy, but there's something weirdly addictive about how stripped-down it is. You'll either love the no-frills approach or bounce off it in five minutes.