Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

"Well worth the wait, an amazing game"

Simply put, Mario Golf:Toadstool Tour is the finest golf game I've ever played, and is an excellent installment in the Mario Golf series.

GRAPHICS 9/10
The graphics for this game are excellent. They are bright,crisp, and clear, and you can see every blade of grass in the fairway. An enormous amount of detail went into every character model and course, and the character celebrations after a hole are hilarious. The water is excellently done, from the waterfalls to the streams to the ponds, the water looks quite realistic. All of this was also done with no in game loading time, which is excellent and helps speed up the game play.

GAMEPLAY 10/10
There is no problem with the game play at all. If you've ever played Mario Golf for N64, the controls are very similar. People who are actually good at golf games can use the manual shot, and people who are new to golf games, or younger kids can use the auto shot, but will have slightly less control over where the ball goes. You can make the ball spin in any direction, and can make it hook or slice to miss a tree, or get through an elusive ring. One of the best things about this game is the ability to play multiplayer (up to four players) with only one controller. When your turn is done, simpley pass the controller on to your friend!

SOUND 8/10
Not amazing, but there's really no problem. There are four different cheers and taunts for every character. The music is good, I especially like the song played after you win a tournament (it reminds me of the world music in Golden Sun:The Lost age).^_^ Over all, no complaints, the music just wasn't good enough to give a higher score.

REPLAYABLILTY AND EXTRAS 9/10
Mario Golf:Toadstool tour has a huge amount of stuff to do, from trying to collect floating coins to trying to get that last elusive ring, from unlocking the four bonus characters (which are VERY cool by the way) to finally getting your first Albatross (a 2 on a par 5, nearly impossible). There are many, many modes to keep you and your friends occupied for hours on end, and with 6 courses and 18 holes each, it'll take even one person quite a while just to win all six tournaments (which start easy and get INSANELY difficult). My only gripe is that there is no mini golf, a very much enjoyed feature of Mario Golf 64. You can save up to fifteen videos each of birdies, eagles, hole in ones, and albatross', so you can prove to your friends that you actually got one, or you can just stare in wonder as you watch a video of your character sinking it in one shot. Another feature which isn't possible yet is being able to transfer your character from Mario Golf: Advance to this game, along with all of their stats.

Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 10/10
Sound 8/10
Replay and Extras 9/10

Over all, this is an outstanding game, well worth the wait. If it had mini golf, i just might've given it a ten, but for now I'm just having too much fun to care much.

SO....... BUY/RENT???
I would have to say BUY yourself a copy of this game: its outstanding, and well worth the $50.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/03, Updated 07/31/03