Mario Golf (series)
Mario Golf is a series of games that feature Mario and his friends hitting the links of the Mushroom World. Starting on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), this series has crossed over to five different platforms and utilized system linking in fun ways. The series is known for bringing the bright world and personality of the Mario universe to golf. The Game Boy versions stand out particularly as they combine role-playing game (RPG) elements into the single player campaigns.
The first two games were developed by Nintendo RD1. Every other game in the Mario Golf series has been developed by Camelot Software Planning.
Golf (NES and Nintendo PlayChoice-10 [arcade machine])
Made in 1984, this game is much older and less common then the others. The Nintendo PlayChoice-10 version was only made in America. Mario was the only playable character in the game, appearing in blue pants and a white shirt.
Golf (Famicom Disk System)
There were four separate titles made for this system. Golf: Japan Course is a simple update to the 1984 original, although Mario is in his normal outfit. Golf: US course, released 6 weeks later, is more open, and a bird's-eye-view of the courses is not available during gameplay, making it a bit more challenging. In this game, Mario wears a blue shirt and red-and-white striped overalls.
Golf: Japan Course was involved in a major contest. After finishing all the holes, players had an option of saving their score. If the score was high, the score could be recorded into a special blue disk that came with the game and sent via Disk Fax to Nintendo in Kyoto. The 100 top scorers received a plaque with their names on it, as well as a golden Famicom Disk System disk containing a harder golf course. 4900 other contestants also received the disk. This game is known as Golf: Japan Course (Gold).
The final golf game for the FDS is Golf: US Course (Gold), a harder version of Golf: US Course. While rare, it is unknown how these were originally obtainable. Although Golf: US Course had a contest similar to Golf: Japan Course, the main prize was a golden Punch-Out!!.
NES Open Tournament Golf (NES)
This NES game was made in both America and Japan, sporting simple, fun gameplay, and featuring the Mario Bros., Mario and Luigi, Princess Toadstool (Peach) and Princess Daisy. Also, various other humans made their appearance, including Steve (Beginner), Mark (Amateur), Tony (Semi-Professional), and Billy (Professional). In the American version, the graphics differ slightly, and the soundtrack has been changed.
A version of this game was made for the Nintendo Playchoice-10 in America, called Mario's Open Golf.
Mario Golf (N64)
One of two titles named Mario Golf, the Nintendo 64 version was a 3D golfing simulator featuring your standard cast of Mario characters along with some new ones that have not appeared since. Players could choose to play through tournaments and special challenges in the single player mode. The meat and potatoes of the multiplayer side of the game were the strokes and match play modes. Special modes included a mini-putt mode (called "Putt-Putt") and a practice mode.
This game could link up to Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color (GBC) with the use of the Transfer Pak. Characters trained in the GBC version could then be played in the N64 version like any other character.
The game also had human characters like Harry and Plum.
Mario Golf (GBC)
Instead of attempting to best the technologically superior Nintendo 64 version of Mario golf, developer Camelot instead included a feature in both games that allowed them to interact. The premise of the Game Boy Color version was also very different. There were still tournaments, stroke play, and many other modes, but what stood this version apart was that much of the single player mode was played as an RPG. Players chose one of four characters and conquered the challenges of the golf world.
The game also featured a multiplayer mode and special free-play modes for players interested solely in the golfing portion of the game and those who had finished or wanted a break from the main quest.
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
One of the first Mario spin-off titles to hit the Nintendo GameCube (GCN), Toadstool Tour took the basic formula of the N64 version and made only minor revisions. The main appeals of this version were the highly updated graphics and improved swing system. New guides on the interface showed players exactly how much power they needed to land the ball exactly where they wanted it. Players still needed to factor in the wind, the ball lie, and deal with their slicing or drawing the ball.
The game had the ability to upload characters from Mario Golf: Advance Tour via the GameCube Game Boy Advance Link Cable.
Mario Golf: Advance Tour
Continuing the plot of Mario Golf for GBC, Advance Tour followed Neil and Ella, two fledgling golfers, in their quest to become world-class golfers. It was very similar in content to its predecessor. The game was very impressive from a visual standpoint, using pre-rendered sprites and Mode 7 scaling for the golf courses.
To top it all off, players could upload their trained-up Neil and Ella characters onto Toadstool Tour, along with their custom taunts and support messages which could be used in game when playing with a CPU or human controlled character. Also, based on the number of Best Badges earned on Toadstool Tour, new features, such as special versions of every hole in Advance Tour, could be unlocked.
The Future
There is some worry among the gaming community that Mario Golf and its sister series, Mario Tennis may be in danger. If Nintendo decides to focus on the Wii Sports line of games (simple sports games that use the Wii Remote as a golf club, tennis racket, etc.), their may be no next generation versions of either series.
Also, the developer of every Mario Golf and Tennis game to date, Camelot, is for the first time branching away from Nintendo towards the PC industry. It is unknown at this time whether or not they will continue working for Nintendo at all. If they do not, Mario Golf will at the very least undergo a change in character in future entries, if not end completely.
