Mario Golf

"This Game Rules"

Mario Golf is, in my opinion, the Nintendo game of the summer. Not only do I enjoy it over Pokemon Snap, but also over any Gameboy or Gameboy Color Game released in the summer of 1999 thus far. There are so many great aspects of the game, ranging from the long playing hours in order to unlock those bonus characters, to the incredibly addictive gameplay. Whether you're lonely and playing by yourself, or you have a few friends over, the game will give you a blast like you've never seen.

Graphics: 10/10 The graphics are immediately dazzling. There are 17 different Nintendo characters in the game, and as usual, their shape and figures look magnificent with no flaws. Also, there are an uncountable number of professional and miniature golf courses, which all look super throughout the entire game. The shades of grass really stands out when you go from the fairway, to the rough, to the green. You can see from this that Nintendo added those few extra touches just to make the game better. In addition to that, the courses are realistic with the fairway, rough, greens, sand traps, fringe, trees, tees, and other part of a real golf course. Don't expect to turn the game on and find yourself in a driving range..... The colors of the character's outfits are also nothing to worry about; they're the normal outfits you'd see in every game that they appear in.

Gameplay: 10/10 The first thing that you will notice about the gameplay is how addictive it is, and the replay value. After you're done, you'll immediately go back and try to beat your score, get a hole-in-one or accomplish another amazing feat. Secondly is the amount of time your eyes will be stuck to your TV screen because of the hidden characters. You only start off with 4 characters, meaning you will be playing until your thimb blisters to unlock all 13. And then, when you're all done unlocking all the characters and shooting a superb score on the course, you can head over to the miniature golf course and learn how good of a putter you really are... And yet another cool feature is the club selection. Each player has a set of clubs to choose from when you hit, so it's not like you'll have a driver, nine iron, and putter the entire way. And as if that isn't already enough, each character has his or her own attributes! What I mean by this is that some players can drive further than the others, while the weaker ones may have better control or something else that the others characters don't have.

Sound/Music: 8/10 You'll know from all of my other reviews that I'm no big stickler for sound effects and music in a game. In this one, the music is pretty good; it won't make you mute your TV, and the sound effects are decent as well. You won't hear sound errors or notice any other flaws. So all in all, the sound is nothing to go hiper about (being that it's a cartridge and not a CD), but it's not cheesy stuff that will stop you from playing.

Compared to others in its Genre: 10/10 In the sports genre, this is definetely the best game you'll find so far for the Nintendo 64. We'll first compare it to its only golf competition which is Waialae Country Club golf. This is certainly no match for Mario Party; not only does Mario Golf include more modes to play, more characters to be, and better all out graphics and sound, but it's also more fun with the use of some of your favorite Nintendo characters. Then there's all the other Nintendo 64 sports games. They're good for serious sports fans, but they're all no match for this game because it adds a stroke of fun. You don't even have to be a golf fan to enjoy this game!

Multiplayer: 10/10 If you're in the video store trying to pick out a game with a friend, don't hesitate when you see this game on the shelf. Competing with your friend is the best part about it; not only can you and your friend be one of your favorite Nintendo characters, but you can also have a blast playing the different game modes and staying up all night trying to unlock the other characters!

The amount of flaws in the game: 9/10 The only real stuff I can think of is that the music is not extraordinary, like something out of this world, and the amount of time it may take to unlock all the secret characters is a little crazy, even though most people (like myself) consider that a good thing. Is there room for improvement? The final thing I can think of is the penalty shot concept. If you hit a ball into the water, you don't get to decide where it is dropped, and personally, I like the golf games that ask you if you'd like to re-hit or drop, and give you an option.

In conclusion; Mario Golf is a stroke of brilliance. Once again, the Mario Crew (Nintendo) designs a Mario game that is a blast in every kind of way. The game is good because it has a large amount of characters, great graphics, decent music and good sound effects, something in it that makes it more addictive than nicotine, can become a multiplayer blast or a single player party, and it has an unlimited amount of playing hours (5 years from now you'll still be playing).

My final advice is: Don't rent it, just go out and buy it! If you rent it, you'll play it for five days, get extremely addicted to it, keep it for a few extra days, and pay a fine for it, coming to a total of $15 for the game. Why pay $15 to have the game for a week rather than paying $65 to have it forever?

Did the game hit prefection? Almost, but not quite. If you started off with another character or two, you'de be even more addicted to it than you already are.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99