Power Smash online functionality restored thanks to Dreamcast Live

Dreamcast Live is on a roll all of a sudden!

The online multiplayer of the Dreamcast Tennis classic Power Smash is back in full swing thanks to Dreamcast Live hero Shuouma, who just came off of restoring online multiplayer for the classic Dreamcast RTS Hundred Swords exactly two weeks ago.

If the name Power Smash doesn’t ring a bell, but the game still looks familiar to you, that’s because Power Smash released internationally as Virtua Tennis. However, Virtua Tennis released first in North America and Europe, then had online functionality added in for the Japanese release a few months later, so only the Japanese version can go over the net. (Pun intended) Up to two players can play in online matches, but two local players on both ends can be present for four player Doubles matches.

For details on how to get the game online, check in past the break below.

Power Smash (2009), or Virtua Tennis as it’s known internationally, is the start of a beloved series of arcade Tennis games from Sega. The games are all based in real life professional Tennis settings and feature famous Tennis athletes from the time of development. The original Power Smash features players like Jim Courier, Thomas Johansson, and Carlos Moyá. The original game and its sequel, Power Smash 2, were both made for the NAOMI series arcade boards and both were ported to Dreamcast, with Power Smash 2 coming out in North America as Sega Sports Tennis 2K2. The Dreamcast port is also well known for being compatible with the motion sensors in the Dreamcast Fishing Controller, allowing you to play by swinging the controller like a Tennis racket, long before Wii Sports (2006) (As well as the Wii versions of Virtua Tennis 2009 and Virtua Tennis 4 (2011)) did the same with the Wii Remote.

Unlike many other Dreamcast Live compatible Dreamcast games, including Hundred Swords, Power Smash does not require you to download and run a patched version of the game to connect online. Any original copy of Power Smash will do. Like Hundred Swords, the game was only coded to take advantage of the modem, so Broadband Adaptor owners are out of luck once again. You will require a DreamPi updated to the 2.0 software or higher to get your Dreamcast modem working over a broadband connection and connected to Dreamcast Live’s network for Power Smash. For more details, you can check out Dreamcast Live’s connection guide. Be sure to check out their full list of compatible games and see what else you’re currently able to play through their network.

So have you played Power Smash or Virtua Tennis before? Were you hoping to see Power Smash come back online? What game are you hoping Dreamcast Live brings back online next? Serve us a comment below.