IGN: Mario Golf Review

October 5, 1999 - There are only a few games that are a must-have on the Game Boy Color. The Legend of Zelda DX, Tetris DX, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe...now add Mario Golf to that list of titles. This game is an absolutely brilliant rendition of golf, and a perfect game for the go.

Features

Tournament, Match, Practice, and Adventure modes
RPG-style storyline
Transfer Pak compatible for N64
Link Cable support for two players
Only for Game Boy Color

Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color was designed and developed by Camelot, the same Japanese development house responsible for the absolutely awesome Hot Shots Golf on the PlayStation, as well as Mario Golf on the N64 released back in July of 1999. What the Game Boy Color rendition is, is a 2D-ized version of the golf interface the company is known for. The Game Boy Color can't handle 3D graphics like the PlayStation and N64 hardware, so the company put the perspective mostly in an overhead viewpoint, other than the behind-the-character perspective when you're ready to hit the ball.

This incredibly deep golf game features four courses and ten different characters, three of the golfers are Mario veterans: Mario, Luigi, and Wario (hidden). The game excels in features and options that cover most every golf base there is ¿ tournament, stroke, and practice modes. But what you really want to do is take one character and build up his abilities by winning tournaments and individual challenges from the clubhouse pros. Only then will you acquire all the hidden goodies this game has to offer.

Like most golf games, Mario Golf depends on the "timing" interface to hit the ball. You first have to aim your shot and decide what club you want to use ¿ and you can also opt to use a limited number of power shots. Once your target has been selected, you begin your swing, timing the powerbar to how strong you wish to hit the ball. On the downswing of the powerbar, you time the button push to the marker which determines how accurate the shot will be. Too early, slice. Too late, hook. The putting interface is very easy ¿ look at the slope of the land (easily definable by the dark green arrows) and aim your shot accordingly, making sure you give it enough power to get the ball to roll the distance.

I can spend dozens of paragraphs going through every little option of Mario Golf, but space and time is limited. But one feature that really floored me is how much stuff is saved onto this cartridge. Not only does it keep track of the standings of three individual players you've created, but it will remember 20 of the best shots in the game. Score an awesome eagle, and you can watch it again and again in the Status menu. It also remembers tournament standings, character matches, experience points and trophies earned.

When you play through the game as a single character, it isn't just about being the best on the course ¿ Mario Golf features a detailed RPG-style adventure where you wander the land finding challenges on the way to each of the four golf courses. In one challenge, you have to help a girl gather golf balls thrown all over the course by hitting them into a circle patch of grass on the green. In others, a golfer will challenge you to a single shot to get as close to the pin as possible. It's these challenges that really give Mario Golf a ton of replay value.

What's more, the character that you build up on the Game Boy Color version of Mario Golf can be transferred over to the N64 version of the game through the yet-unreleased Transfer Pak peripheral. When you plug the Game Boy Color cartridge into the Transfer Pak and the Transfer Pak into an N64 controller, you can copy the character data over to the N64 version of Mario Golf. In essence, the character you created is completely playable in 3D on Mario Golf. What's more, whatever you do with that character on the N64 version of the game can be recorded onto the Game Boy cartridge. You can even transfer all the character standings from that Nintendo 64 cartridge onto the Game Boy cartridge, having a statistics report that you can carry along with you.

Graphically, I have to say, the game could have looked a little better. The colors just aren't as detailed as many exclusive Game Boy Color titles. It's almost as if the developer decided to make the game Game Boy Color exclusive at the last minute. But vibrant colors or no, the graphics do their job ¿ you can easily see the hill slopes, trees, water, and the tiny ball and characters. The RPG-style adventure even has that Japanese look with big-headed characters and small bodies. On the audio side of things, there's no digitized sound effects ¿ and the music is just bippy versions of the tunes found in the much more vibrant N64 version of the game. But for Game Boy standards, Mario Golf meets and exceeds what's expected.

Closing Comments
Guys and gals, I don't care if you're not into golf ¿ you must add Mario Golf to your library of Game Boy Color games. This game is the perfect title to complement your collection. It's got it all ¿ tons of variety, pick-up-and-play controls, N64 connectivity... and it's great fun, especially in the later levels. The early challenges from the pros are decidedly easy to get through ¿ you'll see them throw easy, five foot putts to give you the lead. But when you go up against Mario in the Tournaments, watch out. Mario Golf is by far the best portable version of golf ¿ and it even comes close to toppling some of the PC golf offerings as well.

IGN Ratings for Mario Golf (GBC)