Mario Golf

"A good game that is just a touch away from perfection."

Mario Golf is a great game for the GameBoy Color. It features good gameplay, graphics and okay sound. This is a game that no two rounds are the same(or at least it's pretty hard to be) and will keep you interested for many times to come. The replay value is very vast and will keep you occupied for many, many hours.

Graphics - 8
These are good graphics for being from 1999. The character models are well done and the course are okay. They aren't absolutely wonderful, with some mildly generic obstacles and such few courses.

Plot -8
The low point of the game. Basically, your character wants to be a golf master and has to beat the 4 clubs' tournaments and then beat Mario in a head to head battle. For a golf game, this is a good story. For any other game, it wouldn't be up to par.

Gameplay - 8
There is some fun to be had in Mario Golf. There are five 18 hole courses, Stars you can earn from practice, Leveling up and Clinics. These will teach you how to play the game and then you can play the courses. Some courses though, can only be open after you beat a different club's tournament. This means that not all the courses are open from the start. Also, every course can be replayed many times to improve your score. This gameplay will keep you busy for a quite a while, but the overall fun factor begins to wear off in the end.

Controls - 9
Each button has a function and there are so many actions that these do that you feel like your in total control.
The D-pad in-game changes the direction you aim and changes your club, while in the menu, you use it to move the cursor.
The main button is that and also the A button. The A button starts and ends the shot, accepts your aim and is used to select with the cursor in the menu. Very well designed.

Replayability - 8
You can keep on leveling up and replay the courses for more experience points, you can challenge a friend to a round and you can transfer your character to Mario Golf for the N64. The courses change because the wind is always different and play a large factor in your shot. This game will last forever and ever.

Sound - 7
The sound is the type of music that is catchy, but also quite cartoony and bland in different parts. It goes with the course and holes and also there are effect sounds like for Water Hazards, which are well done. The sound gets repetitive if you play a course over and over, though. Overall, the sound is only okay, but it is far from bad.

The Final Word - Buy/Rent
I would suggest buying if you enjoy Mario games or sports games. If not, I would rent before you buy. This is a great Game Boy Color game and it will be a prime example of handheld sports games for years to come.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/30/03, Updated 08/10/05