Mario Golf (1999)

This is one I don't really get the love for. The controls don't feel as intuitive as any other golf games I've played (Hot Shots, Pangya, etc), and you have to get real good to unlock basically anything. You start with just 1 or 2 courses, and like 3 or 4 characters (half of which are made up kids??? and no Mario??? lol). The strangest thing about this game is how... un-Mario it all is. The courses are just regular-ass golf courses. No Mario charm at all. (Like, maybe there will be a turtle shell somewhere in the distance?) I guess it was later games in the series that would attempt to have much of anything Mario-related in it. But this one is just regular drives and regular putting, and your opponents show zero mercy right from the get-go.

I did like the inclusion of mini-golf, but I hated how the whole screen was filled with wire grid for it. Couldn't find any way to turn it off. And again, nothing Mario-related about it all. A real-life Mario mini-golf course would be filled with cute Mario things right? This one's just... it's a mini-golf hole in the shape of the number three!

Finished all six tournaments using my Mario Golf GBC Character

• Played in anticipation of Mario Golf: Super Rush, since I never played the N64/GBC era of Mario Golf games previously.

My thoughts:

Same with Mario Golf GBC: It's a good starting point for the franchise despite being unrefined, but I found the difficulty of the game to be rather inconsistent. Even in the first Toad Highlands course, you can get crazy 20mph winds which is pretty brutal for a beginner. The N64/GBC era golf games also have no way to gauge distance, meaning you have to use a good amount of estimation to try to land your shot at the right distance.

Since I did not grow with this version of Mario Golf, I find it too rough to be fully enjoyable to me. The graphics are super low-rez and don't hold up to the point I almost can't tell where the Fringe is from the Green. Even so, putting feels tough because of how jagged the putting preview is.

I really did like how it tied with the Gameboy game though, and I thought this is the coolest interaction done with this tech. You can take the character you worked hard on the GBC version, and then see how the char fairs in the 3D Console version. Even so, your char still gains exp even when playing on console. I'm glad to see this interaction remain even for Toadstool Tour / Advance Tour, even though now this kind of game interactivity is now more of a product of its time.

While Mario Golf N64 is a neat first entry in the franchise (if we don't count NES Open Tournament), if I want my 3D Mario Golf fix I'll be returning to the much more refined Toadstool Tour in the end.

... Also what's up with the random human characters in this game like Charlie/Harry/etc? They aren't even tied to the GBC version which makes their appearance in this game even more... random.

Unlocked the Boo's Valley course yesterday along with 50 birdie's which got me Maple (whoever the hell that is!) Trying to unlock Bowser on the 'Get Character' mode but dude's such a tank! every one of his opening shots get near enough to the hole. I'll keep going, one day i will get him!

The above was posted 7 months ago, today was the day I finally took Bowser down! After years of torture both as a kid and an adult, after having to endure all of his ridiculous drives and insane Eagles I finally got him. This is one of those long overdue moments on my gaming checklist I needed to accomplish and I can now say I have.