It’s been a while since the last Mario Golf game was released. Now the wait is finally over thanks to Mario Golf: World Tour, only for Nintendo 3DS. Although golf isn’t an easy sport to understand nor to master, this World Tour is a very enjoyable Mario sports game.
Just like old times, this game is developed by Camelot so you’ll immediately feel at home when you start this game on your 3DS (or 2DS). The game looks great and sounds rather amazing for a sports game. The 3DS is able to deliver very bright and colorful courses which result in an amazing atmosphere. It feels and looks like a true Mario game and that’s without a doubt a blessing for the eye.
The game itself consists out of two major sections. The regular ‘Mario Golf’ and the ‘Castle Club’. The Mario Golf mode is a more traditional mode where you can easily play a round of golf. You can choose to play a classic round based on strokes or play against an opponent in Match Play. Aside of those ‘regular’ modes you can also pick ‘Speed Golf’ and ‘Point Play’ where you’ll need to complete a course as fast as possible or gain most points. All of these modes offer a classic Mario Golf experience and are best to kill some time during short breaks.
Castle Club.
Players who want a more adventurous golfing experience can go all out in the new Castle Club mode. This mode is the story mode for one player. In here you’ll be able to compete in several different tournament to unlock new courses or characters for your game. Castle Club is far more than just a regular chain of tournaments, it truly is a club.
You’ll find many other characters walking around in the castle, all with their own pieces of advice or funny stories. Talking to those characters really pays off since a few of those conversations truly are funny to read.
The biggest change in the Castle Club mode is that you’ll play with your own Mii. The more you play, the more outfits you’ll unlock. Changing different outfits and clubs is also part of the experience, as said before, Castle Club offers more than just golfing.
You can learn the basics, practice on the courses and even try to beat some of the challenges on Sky Island. Castle Club asks a lot of your time since you’ll need a lot of practice before you can start or win a tournament. It’s a very deep mode filled with things to discover and collect. Compared to the ‘Mario Golf’ mode, you’ll definitely need to take some time off to complete this mode.
You’ll also be able to compete in various online Tournaments in the club once the game launches in stores.
Hard to master but worth the shot.
How do you control the game.
The Mario Golf and Castle Club modes offer a lot of variation but in order to achieve your goal, you’ll need to understand the rather complex controls. The controls are rather complex because golf is a very different sport compared to tennis for example. Where the controls in Mario Tennis games are straightforward, you’ll need to invest some time to master the controls in Mario Golf.
You can learn everything in several in-game tutorials and we really recommend new players to play those. All the information you’ll need to prepare your swing can be found on the touchscreen. By pushing the A-button at the right time you can change the power of your swing. If you manage to time your swing just right, it will result in a great shot. When you set the controls on automatic, the game picks a random precision for your swing, resulting in less perfect swings than during the manual mode. If you play in manual mode you’ll need to push the A-button twice in order to time your swing, do this correctly and your character will deliver a great shot.
Aside of this ‘A-button bar’ you’ll also be able to change the camera on the touchscreen, activate some special, more powerful shots or decide where you want to hit the golf ball. You can choose to control those things using the touchscreen or the buttons. During several rounds of golf we preferred the buttons over the touchscreen but that’s really up to you guys to decide.
A lot to keep in mind.
Mastering controls isn’t the only thing you’ll need to worry about during your golf session. In order to make the perfect shot you’ll also need to pay attention at the wind and the course itself. The wind and golf course can affect the way your ball rolls. When you need to complete a hole on a hill, you’ll need other tactics than a hole on a plain green. Just like during a real round of golf, the pace isn’t that high and you need to study everything before you can perform a perfect swing. When you manage to deliver that perfect swing however, you’ll get a tremendous feeling of joy.
Something you won’t need to worry about are the different clubs you can use, the game automatically picks the best club for the job so you can focus on your swing. You are able to change the club if you want but that isn’t always a good idea.
All in all we can say that Mario Golf: World Tour is like meeting up with a long lost friend. The game looks better than ever and has a lot to offer. It’s filled with playable characters, beautiful courses and tons to collect. If you’re looking for a quick round of golf with Mario and friends or want to enjoy a more story-based golfing game, this is the game you need. It’s a harder game to master than you’re used to, but in the end it offers the same amount of fun as a classic Nintendo sports game.
