For me my obsession, if you can call it that, for Mario Golf started on the Game Boy Color. I remember many lazy days and nights playing what was to become one of my more memorable titles on that simple handheld. The basic gameplay mixed in with some RPG elements had me hooked. That was way back in 1999 too, so many years ago. Fast forward to present day and there have been more than a few versions of Mario Golf released, including those on the N64 (2 months before the GBC version), Game Boy Advance, GameCube, and Wii Virtual Console. Well it is the 3DS’s turn to host Mario Golf. We here at COG have been lucky enough to play the soon to be released (as of writing this review) Mario Golf: World Tour, and given my enjoyment of past titles I was excited to get the chance to review the title.
For those expecting to save the princess, as one would do in most Mario games, you can move on from here. This is a golf game plain and simple, so there is no story. In World Tour your goal is to hit the links, get the lowest score possible, and become champion. What else would you expect when playing a golf game silly? There are basically two separate sections of World Tour to play, each having their own menu. You can choose Castle Club, which contains the majority of the single player experience and has the RPG like elements, or you can choose to play Mario Golf, which is more akin to the arcade-like experience you’d expect with a game that has the ‘Mario’ name attached to the title.
Castle Club transports you to a hub where you play as your Mii. There are three main courses (Forest, Seaside, Moutain) that are 18 holes long. It is here that you’ll “dirty your clubs” so to speak as you establish your initial handicap, play some practice rounds, compete in handicap tournaments, and eventually challenge for each course championship.  You can also hit the gym, talk to random characters, buy equipment, and even go for some individual skill practice on the links.  Oh, and did I mention that you also enter online tournaments while here to. Yep, there are special online tournaments from low score, longest drive, to closest to the pin to name a few. Everyone who competes in the tournament gets gear, while the winner gets a whole mess load of in-game coins to spend. In many ways the Castle club is what could be considered the more serious sports side of the game as it truly is golf.
Once you get a grasp on the Castle Club, you can head on over to see what Mario Golf is all about.  You choose from a fairly well populated roster of Nintendo characters, from Mario to Princess Peach to Wario or Koopa, there is a nice selection here with a few more to open up. You’ll find a surprisingly deep set of modes to play too, from stroke play, match play, speed golf to point tournies. There are also individual challenges on the first three courses and six new courses (9 holes each) that truly show what the Mario Universe can do to a golf course.  The six courses are very much themed after much of the world of Nintendo. You’ll find yourself navigating the pitfalls/obstacles of a Donkey Kong themed course to avoiding the long and distrusted Koopas from any level of Mario you’ve played in the past on others.
Your shots in Mario Golf can also be assisted by power-ups too, so don’t be surprised when you see speed pads, tornados or Bullet Bills on any one of the courses. Not only are these power-ups useful in “stroke” play, they are also somewhat important in the challenge modes too, as you try to put your ball through various targets, collect a certain amount of coins, finish a specific number of holes in a set time, or use three clubs that are assigned to you. Most challenges must also be completed while getting a par score or better too. Some will seem impossible, but once you go through the harder ones few times you’ll realize what tricks you must use to successfully complete it.
Given that you can play as your Mii in any one of World Tour’s modes, there is the ability to customize your character. As you progress through any part of the game you’ll find that you’ll open up equipment that can be bought in the Pro Shop found in Castle Club. From shoes, shorts, pants, shirts and visors to golf balls, clubs and gloves, there is a large amount of stuff to collect. Many of these offer spiffs for gameplay (e.g. increased power, control, or a better ‘sweet spot’ when striking the ball) and of course most are Mario themed. You can also save up to three specific combinations of equipment depending on what you may use it for (e.g. power hitting versus more precise control).
World Tour uses same established three-press swing mechanic of old to hit the ball, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few new features in this area. Purists will be relieved to know that you still can rely on the use of the buttons, but should you want to use the touch screen you can and it is quite useful. Camelot has transferred the control to the touch screen in a very complimentary way. You need only start your swing with the press of the touch screen, set power with another touch, and then set the impact with the third touch. Where this becomes somewhat more useful is in the impact. Here you can touch where on the ball you want to “hit it”, which affects your fade and draw. There are also areas on the touch screen that you can touch to activate top spin, super top spin, back spin and super back spin. Personally, depending on the shot, I found myself using a combination of the regular buttons as well as the touch screen when needed. Regardless there are quite a few control features this time around asa the touch screen is a viable option.
There is some multiplayer love, both locally and online. From playing a few holes to completing a full course to hacking the virtual grass in a tournament or two, you’ll find a lot to do. Online is where it is at of course, but I’ll be honest and let you know that I could not play any online versus matches as servers were not live during my review. I was able to play in a few tournaments, including a private one set up by a fellow reviewer. During the tournament play you don’t literally play against someone as you only see markers of other golfers and their shots. It seems to be a replay of what they did similar to what you find in the Xbox One Powerstar Golf. There will be leaderboards and DLC too when the game goes live too, so there is a lot of online love for World Tour that is for sure.
As for the visuals, I have to say that I was pretty impressed. The variance in courses is nice, from crystal clear blue water of the ponds and streams in the Forest course to the spiky cactuses found in the Mountain course, but throw in the Mario themed courses and you have a whole different looking game all together. The first time you play any of the underwater holes in Cheep Cheep Lagoon or hit a bounce pad on the Yoshi Lake course with its crayon and stiched backgrounds, you realize what work went into this game.  Each themed course will please your visual senses as they are all colourful, bright, and have the vibrancy that is found in most first party games (Peach Gardens really comes to mind). Each character has their own set of animations and I found the little window that opens in the bottom right when you make a really great or really bad shot to be a neat touch as you see the character’s reaction.
The use of 3D is also worth mentioning on its own. It is usually a hit or miss experience, and in World Tour it is a definite hit. The visual depth that it provides is quite amazing and I found myself playing with the 3D slider on most times. As you stand on the tee ready to hit the ball it felt like you were actually looking down the course towards the fairway. I did note that the game did take a bit of a minor hit though in 3D as fine edges became “jaggy”. Turn off the 3D and you’ll find edges become smoother. It’s not a deal breaker, just something I noticed.
In regards to the game’s audio, I found that it complimented the visuals. Of course each character has their mainstay sound effect, such as Mario’s “yahoo” or Yoshi’s cute dinosaur squeal, and they equally comment or make a trademark sound to communicate a good or poor shot. Of course we can’t forget the sound of a club striking the ball either, and each sound is different for that perfect strike, average strike, or a really bad strike.  Another neat touch is the sound of the crowd clapping when the narrator announces that you’ve made an excellent shot. It’s small touches like this that make the sound add to the overall experience. Each course also has their own specific sounds too, such as streams running in the Forest course to the high winds blowing in the Mountain course, you’ll find something particular to each one. There are even directional effects too and these are more prevalent with a set of headphones on.
Mario Golf: World Tour is a game that no 3DS owner should be without. Sure, it’s not the deepest of games in the handheld’s library, but the amount of fun that it provides is immense, and that is what is important. With a solid suite of online and multiplayer features, great use of the 3D power, and that simple but yet addictive gameplay, one can’t go wrong picking this game up.
