Anyone who has been around me long enough knows I'm a sucker for first-party Nintendo titles. I'll buy anything from Mario pencil top erasers, to Metroid boxer shorts. With that said, if the game has the name "Mario" somewhere in the title; I'm on it like white on rice.
Simply by saying the word "Mario" somehow is a magic wand for Nintendo. One wave of their wand and money starts to roll in. Why? Not because the games are always "10's", but because of people like me. I'm an old-school, turtle-kickin', pipe fallin', flying mushroom romper that not only played the games, but also ate the Nintendo cereals and watched the cartoons. In essence, Nintendo has created a subculture that I am admittedly stuck in.
When I first heard of Mario Golf for the Cube back in E3, I was honestly excited. The N64 version was a blast to play and I assumed the follow-up on the Gamecube to be even better. For the most part my expectations were justified, but in the end the game ends up becoming a poor investment for the seasoned gamer.
No matter if you like playing Nintendo's prodigy boy's games or not; you have to give them credit for creating an atmosphere that is just fun to be in. Bright cheerful colors, great atmosphere, catchy music and lovable characters. The same theme still runs strong in MGTT.
At first glance the game is almost overwhelming. Nintendo gets a "hole in one" for their menu system, combing dozens of options with a wide variety of game modes. The modes of play range from a simple tutorial and practice, to some more obscure modes like trying to hit your ball through rings. Other modes include a classic tournament style and skins to some more unique modes like a "slots" type game where you get random club selection based on your "pull". If anything, you can tell that the big "N" didn't just slap together the game, because variety and depth in options and minigames; shows passion.
Once into the game my demeanor changes quite drastically. The first few rounds of play were addictively fun and strangely fast paced. But after learning the "basics" of the game, I delved into the manual a bit to uncover more "advanced" features. You see playing the game can be played by basically anyone at any age. This is a great feature that Nintendo has based much of their profitability on. Simply hitting your "A" button starts the swing process. Hit it again close the desired power and the character will automatically swing. Hitting it "just right" provides some commentary feedback like "Nice Shot!" accompanied by some slight visuals.
When the ball takes flight, one cannot help but be impressed with the beautiful environment and near perfect physics. The camera pans flawlessly and gives you a great sense of involvement. After the first drive, you can basically do the same process until completion... The clubs are automatically set up for you, along with the recommended power needed to reach the hole or next fairway. For the small percentage of players who care, on screen there are also a host of variables that change dynamically. This includes everything from the winds speed and direction, to the lay of the green. Even with the extensive on screen information, most will ignore it and simply hit the ball.
This is where Mr. Experienced Veteran Gamer comes in. Hah, I don't need no stinkin' auto hit. Since I am a l33t gamer and all, I chose to go with the "advanced controls". You can start the swing the same way, but once it gets to the desired power you hit the "B" button this time... As the meter heads down, you need to hit a button again in the "sweet spot" to cause the ball to fly just right. The "trickiness" comes in after hitting the ball in the sweet spot. By simply hitting the "A" or "B" button will cause the ball to be hit nearly identical the "auto way". But, if you hit a combination of button strokes in the sweet spot like: "A,A", "B,B" or "A,B", "B,A", it causes the ball to do one of four things: Backspin, topspin, super backspin or super topspin. Sure the concept is great, but in reality it's a wasted cause.
What keeps Mario Golf from becoming a classic is simply this... Inconsistencies. How can my eight year old daughter play as well as I do or even better simply by using the standard generic gameplay? The reason is because the game is inconsistent. I'll nail the ball perfectly, taking lie of the land and wind speed into consideration; yet the results are never what they should be. What I'm saying is, is that playing with the "auto" is much more productive than "playing for real". This really disappointed me. If Nintendo wasn't going to have wind speed truly effect gameplay; then why include it at all? And when the DO include it, it makes it even more frustrating. Putting (which has plagued many golf games over the years) is enigmatic at best. Sure you get a good feel for the land, but the physics just don't work. Most of the time the putting just doesn't make practical sense. I can't count how many times I missed a putt for over-shooting the hole or cutting myself short. These types of events are surely calculated by the grade of the land and your "certain" character attributes, right? Well, not all of the time and this is what puzzled me for the countless hours playing the game. I could never find a rhyme or reason to the oddity of putting. I'm sure many can argue this, but in reality the schematics don't work. The same goes for short distance chip shots or placement shots. I became so frustrated too many times because what I thought to be a perfect shot, ended up in the rough or blazing past the hole.
Another problematic area that Mario Golf suffers from is the quirky putting camera angles. With most putts (if you are going to come close to sinking it) will change the camera angle and give you some cool angles. Nice touch. But, far too often the camera angle will change mid putt and you can't see a thing. You have no idea if the putt made it (unless you hear a "thunk") or how close you were to the pin/hole. It was crazy the first few times I saw it, and now it just gets me angry... and you don't want to see me when I'm angry.
-ahem-
As mentioned, the visuals are classic Nintendo. Bright color schemes with wonderful almost Wind Waker-esque backgrounds and sky fill your visual senses. The crisp graphics perform well, but never come close to pushing the Cube "to the limit" (subtle Strong Bad reference). One disappointment was the audio. I realize that audio shouldn't be a huge concern in a golf game, but many of the old Nintendo/Mario remixes just weren't strong enough. I was also a bit disappointed in the lack of ambient sounds. According to the game menu you can have "surround sound", but I found little change. There are also a good bit of "voice overs", which do add to the atmosphere. Most of the voices come from "taunting" in multiplayer... Overall, a bit of a let down in the audio department...
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour isn't half as bad as I made it out to be. The very essence of the game is captured perfectly. It's light, cheerful and a blast to play. However, for gaming purists the lack of consistency ruins much of the entertainment. Even then the game isn't totally a loss. For those with multiple gamers in the house (especially families) this is a wonderful addition to your game collection. My daughter absolutely adores the game. She loves the simplicity in the game, as well as being able to be competitive with Dad. With up to four players going at it, this is an ideal light-hearted family game which everyone in my house appreciates.
When looking at my scoring, the overall really doesn't justify the game fully. I gave the replay value a very high score, because it is fun to play and there are tons of things to unlock and do. Still, for the average gamer, most will find this dull and better suited for a weekend rental.
