Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

"Very well done, but the 64 version was still better."

Mario Golf was created along the same lines as Mario Tennis. Make a sports game with a bunch of Mario characters in it. The first Mario Golf games were for the Nintendo 64 and the Game Boy Color, both of which were released about the same time. This one is being released in close proximity with a portable counterpart, as well, called Mario Golf: Advance Tour. But, enough about that, onto the review!

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay here is great. The concept is simple. You pick a Mario character, you select one of a few modes, and you golf. The control design is a stroke of pure genius. There are two ways to hit the ball. If you're a person who needs simple controls, the auto-swing is probably for you. The other swing, the manual swing, gives you more options, but is slightly harder to pull off. This may not seem like a whole lot of fun yet, huh? Well, don't judge a book by its cover. The overall fun in the game is the fact that there are so many ways to play! It gets harder as you advance farther into the game, just as it should. It starts out very easy with very simple courses. Even that guy next door could probably do it! The only thing that the gameplay fails in is that sometimes the game makes you very frustrated, but what good game doesn't do that at times?

Story: N/A
There are two reasons why there is not really a story. A) it is a Mario game! and B) it is a golf game! So, to make a long story short, there isn't a visible story, unless you count the intro as story, which I don't. But there is a basic concept for the game. You are a Mario character, you go golfing, whether it be in some weird accuracy test where you must hit the ball through something or onto something, a great big competition, or just relaxing from whatever weird things the character you choose does over the course of the day.

Graphics: 10/10
I love how this game looks! The environments are beautifully detailed, the courses look great, and the backgrounds are even better! The character models, the foliage, even the golf clubs and the golf balls are very well detailed! If there was one thing that this game has that many others don't, its the beautiful graphics. The characters do a little dance or something after they finish a hole. Depending on how well you did, the animation may range from the character beating himself up to going nutty and shouting and whooping.

Sound: 10/10
The sound, both music and sound effects, are wonderful in this game. You will probably be humming these songs in class or whatever place you work at. The songs are well suited to the atmosphere of whatever course you're playing, and the sound effects are anything you'd normally hear in a real golf game, plus more! There is even a sound for the your characters before they hit the ball, kind of a grunt of sorts.

Replayability: 10/10
I am not a person who likes to replay games again right after I beat them. But, Mario Golf is a very rare exception. Really, there isn't a way to beat it, but most games don't have one nowadays, do they? So I'll count the credits scrolling as beating this. But, even after the credits scroll, there are hours of fun still there! There are a good number of unlockables (not as many in the 64 version, but oh well) which you will have plenty of fun/frustrating torture getting, and you will have fun getting birdie after birdie and an occasional eagle, hole in one, or even an albatross! I love playing this game very often, and I think you will, too.

Overall Game Description
This game has a number of different modes, characters, unlockables. There are a number of play modes, each which can support a specific amount of players. Among these are the regular stroke-play mode, the way you record real golf, the tournament mode, which follows stroke rules, but with a tournament style and competitors and a score screen to show you how well you did against others. The way to hit the ball is by pressing A to start your swing, and then pressing A or B, depending on whether you do auto- or manual-swing, to stop your back swing, and then you're done. If you chose manual swing by pressing B, then can press another button or button combo to hit your golf ball's sweet spot and give it a nice spin if you'd like. Other modes include, but are not limited to, lessons to teach you to play, coin mode, doubles mode, ring mode, character match, side games, and training.

Buy or Rent?
BUY! BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY! I don't care if you buy it used or new, just buy it! This game is great, and you should still be coming back years later to play it. Now go and buy it NOW!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/04