Mario Golf: World Tour Review by Dante Vocaturo

Mario is once again taking a personal day from saving the Mushroom Kingdom as he dusts off the clubs and hits the driving range in his first golf outing in a decade.

Exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS, the pudgy plumber joins his friends and enemies—and even you—in the newest, and possibly most diverse, Mario Golf game to date. While the game received early controversy over announcing downloadable content before its release, Nintendo has itself another sports success in a wonderful edition to the 3DS library.

First Impressions

Graphics and Gameplay

The first thing you’ll notice when you tee off in World Tour is how atmospheric each course truly is. This may be subjective but each course gives players new and fresh takes on golf, bringing them through seaside paradises, luscious gardens and treacherous mountains. They all pay attention to detail and no two courses feel or play alike. It does take skill to master each hole, but anyone of any skill level can take in the overall ambiance of the game.



Anyone who has dabbled in previous Mario Golf installments has already gotten the gist on how to play this game. From the basic aiming and power to setting topspins and backspins are nearly identical to past golf outings, most notably Toadstool Tour from the GameCube. New to the series is the addition of Item Shots; item boxes on the course will grant players spruced up swings—from freezing the terrain to ignoring wind. Items seem more useful for competitive play than casual games, but nonetheless are a fun addition to the series.



Single-Player

The game features two main single-player games: the typical Quick Round with all the Mario Golf amenities, and Castle Club, a Mii-driven “road to glory” that includes character customization.



Game Modes: Quick Round

Much like the non-RPG Mario Golf titles, World Tour offers players a good selection of modes, each with tweaks that retain the feel of the game while providing a new experience and challenge in each mode.



As stated earlier, the controls and core gameplay are smooth and fun. Naturally, the basic game modes in Quick Round are satisfying. Players can shoot on their favorite holes, either practicing by themselves or against a computer. Time Attack allows speed freaks to get on and off the courses, and Point Tourney takes a fun spin on classic golf rules. These four modes are simple, yet effective.



The ugly side of Quick Round lies in the challenges. These tasks award players one Star Coin (repeating the challenge at a harder difficulty awards a Moon Coin—only after collecting 90 Star Coins). These challenges are not much of a challenge, instead more of a nuisance. For example, one common task is to collect a precariously placed Star Coin on the course, while still shooting par. Not only is this coin placed so high above the course that any normal shot will not nab it, but it’ll be placed teetering on the out-of-bounds mark, almost guaranteeing a miracle will be the only way the player shoots par. All the frustration is not worth one Star Coin—the only way to unlock the four secret characters, mind you. If there was another way to unlock, or if the challenges yielded more reward, the task would be satisfying. Difficulty in games is necessary, but not to the point of frustration.



Game Modes: Castle Club

Castle Club is an experience where the player’s Mii joins the Mario Golf tour, winning selected course tournaments in order to join Mario’s inner circle. Players can move around a decently sized castle and interact with various non-playable characters, all of which are warm and encouraging. Here, the Mii can customize his or her clothing and equipment, using coins collected in virtually every mode to buy Mario-themed gear, some of which change the Mii’s stats. It’s a pretty neat feel that will make using the Mii a more enjoyable experience.



Players challenge three courses in tournaments: Forest, Seaside, and Mountain. These tournaments play exactly like any standard golf mode in the game—again, a very smooth and fun experience. While on the surface only three tournaments seem short, the overworld has plenty of mini-games (like Sky Island’s One-on, One-putt Challenge) and challenges to explore. Overall, it gives the player plenty of diversity while making their Mii an enjoyable character to play as.





Downloadable Content

DLC

World Tour received some early flak for announcing three DLC packs before the game’s release. The content includes three packs—Mushroom, Flower and Star—each with two new courses and one character. As of the end of May, the Star Pack is the only one awaiting release. Players can also purchase a Season Pass, which costs less than individual purchase of the three packs and also includes an additional character, Gold Mario. The courses are all rehashes of Mario Golf 64 links, but with different themes. For example, the Yoshi’s Island course from 64 returns as a Sparking Waters-themed course straight out of New Super Mario Bros. U. The DLC characters are more diverse and recognizable than the unlockable characters and are a welcome addition to the game. Any reason to obtain 108 more holes and four new characters for this game is a good reason, and the purchase is well worth the money.



Final Thoughts

Mario Golf: World Tour is a wonderful addition to both the 3DS library as well as the Mario Sports series. An addictive game, World Tour actually defines the idea of a “fast-paced, exciting” golf game—a description I thought I’d never give any golfing experienced. As long as you have the patience (something I don’t) to stomach the challenges, you’ll have a marvelous group of diverse courses and characters that will keep you playing this game for a while. I don’t know if it necessarily tops Toadstool Tour from the GameCube, but it is definitely worth the 7.5 out of 10 rating I am giving it. Thanks for reading!

