Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	10
Sound:	7
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	7
Overall:	8.4

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour Review
October 10, 2003 by Jody

by Jody - October 10, 2003

Unlike most golf games, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour was designed differently � first as a Mario-based Adventure game then as a sport-style golf game. By doing this, they have succeeded into making me love this title over every other golf game. The original Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64 was a classic � it defined the genre of �Mario Golf.� Now that the sequel is here, can it revamp it?

Mario has done everything!

At the core of Mario Golf's greatness is its gameplay. Ridiculously addictive and heavily polished, Mario Golf combines all of basic elements of golf and makes them fun. Despite not being a simulator, there is still quite a bit of depth here. I knew very little about golf going into this game, except what I learned from Sim Golf. I assumed that to make things easier Nintendo would do away with such a complex element of real traditional golf, but I was wrong. There are more than a dozen clubs in this game, ranging from woods (1W, 3W and 4W) to wedges (AW and SW) and irons (3I through 9I).

This wide range of clubs is one of the most important factors of the game. Mario Golf will automatically select one for you to use, but more often than not it is the wrong one for that particular shot. Or if it's not the wrong one, it'll be aimed too far ahead or too far back. You must learn to predict where the ball will land based on the easy-to-read simulation line and make assumptions as to what will happen if you screw up.

Your swing power depends on how good you are at timing your button taps. A bar at the bottom of the screen shows your power (the left side being the strongest, making the right side the weakest). You press the A button once to start the power and press it again to set it. Your golfer will then take his or her swing. For better results, you may want to try and hit the ball manually. To do that, you start the power meter by pressing A but this time press B to set the power. As the meter returns to what the booklet refers to as the "sweet spot" (the point on the far right where your spin is determined), press the indicated button combination. This doesn't increase your performance high enough to make it worth doing while learning, but after you've mastered the automatic swings, switching to manual could give you an edge.

Beyond the main single-player mode there are a few mini- and side-games. Two of the more impressive ones are Coin Attack and Ring Attack, the former of which requires you to collect the most amount of coins in two swings. Contrary to popular belief, Ring Attack has nothing to do with Peter Jackson's phenomenal film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. In that mini-game, you must hit the ball through however many rings are on the course and then sink it. Both are fun diversions and give you something else to do when the tournament mode is complete.

Mario Golf is another must-play release from Nintendo. For most it's a must-buy, but I'm sure there are at least a few gamers out there who just won't get it (mainly ones who don't have any patience). Not that this game requires you to be patient, but there is a learning curve involved and that takes time. Buyers of this game will be quickly rewarded with a great single- and multi-player experience.

Very colorful!

The graphics are awesome, simply put. Character models for the Mushroom Kingdom casts have never been looked nicer. Shiggy told the press that certain games will be reusing character models for Gamecube games to reduce development time. While I haven�t seen any of that taking place, I really hope another game uses these. The animation is incredibly detailed. You can see your player breathing on a regular basis, which is just cool. Different reactions are given to characters depending on how well they did on the hole. And 'reactions' is an understatement. If Mario got a birdie, he'll do a double back flip and flash his classic victory sign. They're fun to watch, and serve as some motivation to do well.

The courses are equally impressive. Camelot wasn't going for a very realistic look; the game is very colorful and vibrant. There's not a jaggy in sight either. The trees are high polygon recreations of the Mario 64 ones, which look great. Think really puffy ones, no visible branches. The sky has incredible cloud animations, which I really took note of. Frame rate can dip a little bit when a lot is going on (see: coin mode) but It's very rare. Overall, I was blown away by the look of this game, I never knew golf could be so pretty.

Repetitive at times, but it's Mario we're talking about.

Although the music is certainly competent, it�s not quite on par with the wonderful visuals. Original Mario tunes are used well, if a bit sparsely; the classic underground theme certainly ranks up the suspense on birdie attempts. But all the original music, while well composed and fitting with the theme of the game, is ultimately forgettable and sometimes a little repetitive.

The sound effects, however, are really quite perfect, but that isn�t saying too much considering they consist mostly of various bleeps and bloops for menu choices and the sounds of striking the ball with your clubs and its subsequent thump on various types of terrain. But they sure are fine sounding thumps, and it�s hard to imagine any of it sounding any better.

Fun for the entire family!

Since the actual gameplay in golf games are generally very similar, it�s usually the course designs that set these games apart. In this respect, Toadstool Tour is like no other game of golf around. While the first few courses are what you�ll typically see at your average golf resort, they eventually begin to draw from the wealth of Mario Bros. concepts to make course designs that are supremely imaginative. As if bunkers and water hazards weren�t bad enough, now you have to deal with Thwamps and Chain-Chomps! The most inspired addition is the warp pipes. Shoot your ball into one, and it�ll pop out of the other of the same color. But while they can offer a very nice short cut, miss getting your ball into the pipe and it�ll likely end up in a very bad spot, as most warp pipes are surrounded by various hazards and uneven terrain.

Even worse, if you accidentally get the ball in the wrong pipe, it might end up being shot out of a pipe that�s farther away from the cup. Obviously, courses designed around the warp pipes offer the most interesting options for your approach, thus making them the more exciting courses in the game.

Seeing as this is Mario Golf, there is of course the standard stock of Mario characters. Besides different rankings in power, control and spin, each character has one of five different shot trajectories�some shoot straight, some hook slightly to the left or to the right, and some hook extremely to the left or right. This makes the characters more unique and offers a good deal of variety, as each course becomes a slightly different challenge depending on the shot trajectory of your character.

Annoying camera angles!

The camera is easily the worst aspect of the game. It�s not entirely terrible, mind you, but it does prove itself to be rather unintuitive on a number of occasions. Since you can only move it along the trajectory of your shot, it can be difficult to get a good read of the entire course; it�s particularly annoying in courses with warp pipes, since it sometimes makes it a hassle to see where each pipe leads. Putting has camera problems of its own. You can never take your character off-screen or make it transparent, so some characters come with an innate handicap�for example, Birdo�s large snout or Donkey Kong�s bulbous hand obscures your view of the hole unless you zoom the camera in closer to it.

 

Mario Golf is a sport of its own.

Mario Golf is a refreshingly simple yet deep adventure. Fans of golfing games should eat this title up. Even if you don�t think that golf is your kind of thing, give it a rent. You might just get hopelessly addicted, like some people I know. Camelot did it again, and this time, there really is no room for improvement.