Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour Review by Tails 64
Gamecube Reviews
Background3.jpg
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour Review

Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour is a fun sequel to a Nintendo 64 classic.
The graphics are extremely bright, colorful, and overall pretty. When you turn on the game, a high-quality FMV plays, serving as an introduction of the characters (It’s pretty funny, too). The character models are detailed and animate smoothly. Other details such as the details in environments will also leap out at you.

As usual, the music is just what you would expect from a Mario game, bright and happy. There are also some good voices that fit each character’s whimsical personality.

There are plenty of modes in the game to keep anyone busy for quite some time. The game’s main one-player mode is Tournament. You need to get the best score out of many other golfers. In Stroke Play, you’re trying to get as low of a score as possible. This is the basic golf mode. In Ring Shot, you need to hit the ball through some rings on the course and still score par. In Character Match, you can compete against another character to earn their powered-up version. In Side Games, you can practice your approach shots, putts, and more. You can also try the tricky Birdie Challenge in this mode. In Club Slots, your clubs are chosen by a slot machine. In Training, you can practice any hole. It gives you the option to change the weather, change the pin location, retry shots, and more. In a nifty new mode, Doubles, you actually work as a team with some one else.

You hit the ball, then your partner hits the same ball, and you alternate until you get the ball into the cup. There is also the Coin Shoot mode, where you try to hit as many coins on the course as possible. Speed Golf has you going through a course as fast as possible. Match Play is a one-on-one competition, and Skins Match can have up to four people. In Near-Pin, you get one shot to get the ball as close to the pin as possible. Most of the modes have a multi-player game, which is always fun and intense. All of these modes are fun, but there is no Mini-Golf… why was it removed?

There is a wide cast of Mario characters to choose from in this game. The characters are Mario, Peach, Luigi, Yoshi, Koopa Troopa, Donkey Kong, Wario, Diddy Kong, Birdo, Waluigi, Bowser, Daisy, and four secret characters, which can be unlocked by fulfilling certain requirements. Also, when Mario Golf: Advance Tour comes out, you can link the games together to use your GameBoy Advance characters on the GameCube. Each character is ranked in four categories, Impact, Control, Spin, and Driving Distance. The characters are balanced and work well. Each character has their own taunts and emotions. When a character gets a Birdie, they are happy, and the opposite is true with a bogey. The characters show a little more sass than you would expect.
 

Luigi, Peach and Donkey Kong watch Mario fire off a powerful shot


When you hit the links, you have a lot to consider. First, you must prepare your shot. You can press the X Button to view the general area where the ball should land. There is a new feature that shows you how the ball should travel, but it is not considering the wind and hills, so you still need to think. You can press the L/R buttons to change the power you are going to aim for. When you’re ready to swing, you press the A Button. The meter will go to the left. When the meter reaches the desired point, you should press A or B. The A Button will put you into the Automatic swing, and the rest of the shot is done for you. You just need to hope that it times it on the sweet spot, it’s random. A manual swing is much more accurate.

The meter will then go right, and you press the button when it hits the sweet spot. If you time it incorrectly, the ball will not soar correctly. With the manual swing, you can put a topspin or a backspin on the ball, too. As you go through the course, note that the terrain you are on does not affect the ball as much as it did in the first game. When you reach the green, it’s time for putting. You need to consider the slopes on the green and the distance from the cup as you putt. Putting is more difficult than in the first game.

The courses are designed to give you a fun experience. There are simple courses like Lakitu Valley and complex courses such as Bowser Badlands. Some courses are realistic and could be found at a real golf course. Others have warp pipes, chain chomps, and more. Warp Pipes warp your ball to a different location, and Chain Chomps are considered out-of-bounds. The courses are a lot of fun to play on.

There are some nice touches here and there that give the game polish. When you score below par, you can watch it again anytime with the Highlights option. Also, when you score below par, you are given a badge on that hole. See if you can get a badge on every hole! With all there is to do, this game will last a very long time. It’s so much fun!

There are a couple of flaws, however. For one thing, this game is complicated. It will take some learning to be able to play. A Mini-Golf mode would have been nice, too.

But despite those flaws, this is a spectacular game! From the graphics to the sound to the game play, this game never fails to impress. This game is good even if you never played the first one. I can see anyone becoming hooked to this game for months and months, it never grows old!Peach and her clubs

Overall, Nintendo and Camelot have scored a Hole-in-One with this game. It remains true to the first, but expands and improves upon it. It’s great!

Overall Rate: 9/10

Join our free mailing list

Signup for our newsletter to receive updates, game news and information.