Super Swing Golf

"Play one of the world's oldest sports in a brand new way."

With the Wii controller it was only matter of time till a golfing game appeared on the Wii. Unlike the game on the console pack-in Wii Sports; this game is actually a lot of fun and well worth the price if you want a good time. I'm not a fan of golf and I hate sports games but this game is just plain good.

Gameplay: 10/10

It's golf. One of the world's oldest and most well known sports. Don't think I really need to go too far explaining it. Instead I'll just talk about the different modes. You have the Pangya Festa. This is the game's story mode. You play through the game with one of the characters facing other characters progressively with cut-scenes before and after each match. Winning here is not determined by the least number of strokes but by how many holes you win. In the event of a tie the Pang total (points awarded over the course of the game which is converted into money afterwards) determines the winner. You have Match play mode. This plays like Festa mode minus the cut-scenes. Same win condition too. Goal here is to clear all the challengers of which there are many. Then there is Stroke play mode. This plays out like a tournament. 18 holes, person with the fewest strokes wins.

On the multiplayer front you have all of these modes available minus the story mode obviously. There is also a new mode available called “Balloon Pop”. In this mode balloons are scattered around the course and winning is determined by how many balloons are popped over the course of the game. On all modes except for Balloon Pop, a single wiimote may be used and shared by everyone.

At the end of all of these modes you can use the pang awarded to you to buy gear for your characters ranging from clothes, clubs, balls, items to improve your performance, and much more. A lot of nice customization options are available to you.

Graphics: 9/10

This game looks nice, very nice. The character models look great. The courses in particular look very nice. Each of the game's 11 courses have a distinct feel to them. The back of the case says “fantasy golf” and in that they succeeded. You have a traditional course, a course high up on a mountain, a course set in a winter wonderland, a beach and more. The only real sore spot is that some of the textures are pretty poor in a few spots.

Sound: 7/10

Probably the game's weakest area. It's not its bad. It just doesn't stand out. The music ranges from energetic to boring, the sound effects are, well the sound effects are there. Pretty standard stuff. There really isn't much in the way of voice acting. Just a couple of clips here and there. Again not bad, but not great either.

Story: 8/10
Normally with a sport game you'd expect to see an N/A next to the rating. Not the case here. Every character has their own personality which shines through in the story mode's cut-scenes. On the load screen you get little blurbs giving background info on the character's and caddies. It's not going to give Final Fantasy or Xenosaga a run for it's money or anything, but it all works together to do an effective job of drawing you into the world of Pangya Island.

Control: 9/10

This is a golf game, and you're playing it on the Wii. You don't just sit there pressing buttons. You stand up. Select your club, bring your club (wiimote) around and follow through. Power is determined by how far back you bring the wiimote. Once you're at the power level you want, you hold A to lock it, and then follow through with your shot like you were holding a real golf club. Only sore spot is that it can be a tad unforgiving at times. Either you'll have shot go where you want it, or you slice it or hook it really far off target. This is obviously a problem for beginners. The Power Shot is even worse. You need to nail a Pangya (perfect) swing for it to even take effect. If it's not than the special doesn't activate and you get a worse slice or hook than usual, even if the swing would have normally been a standard good shot. Despite what I say above, Tecmo was nice enough for those who want it to include an option for button swing controls. Just like Hot Shots Golf if you're familiar with that. Press B to start up the power gauge, once again to stop it, and then again to make your swing when the line hits the mark. I prefer the motion swing controls but from what little I played of button it seemed like a good choice for those having too hard a time with the motion swing controls. I pretty much had to try to make a bad swing.

Replay Value: High
If you like the game there is certainly enough to keep you occupied. Story mode for the different characters, a heap of stroke tournaments and match play challenges will keep you busy. This game will last as long as you want it too.

Rent/Buy/Ignore: Buy
This game is well worth your money. It makes fantastic use of the Wii's unique abilities and is a game that will last a long time. This combined with the wonderful atmosphere and great cast will make for a very entertaining day on the green.

Final Average: 8.6

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/07