Written by Bernard Julius Paje
Title: Golf Story
Developer: Sidebar Games
Publisher: Sidebar Games
Price: $14.99
Genre: Adventure, RPG, Sports
Back in the day Nintendo and Camelot Software Planning co-developed a fan favorite golf slash role playing game called Mario Golf for the GameBoy Color. In my recent memory, this is the first game that has managed to successfully marry these two game genres into a fun, solid package. I still have a copy of this game via the 3DS Virtual Console, and it is still a blast to play until this day. And now, several console generations later, a daring two-man indie development team by the name of Sidebar Games is intent to replicate the fun gameplay of Nintendo's flagship golf and RPG mash-up with their Nintendo Switch exclusive game—the aptly titled Golf Story.
Golf Story is in its core a traditional RPG with most of the required gameplay elements of the genre: Talk to various NPC's to take on quests, complete said quests to gain experience points, use those experience points to level up, and then improve your statistics and abilities via points you get when you level up. The chain of game mechanics I described above will definitely sound familiar to anyone who has played an RPG. Golf Story's twist to the genre is how it has integrated golf into the gameplay—instead of normal battles with monsters present in most RPG's, golf replaces these encounters in full. I definitely have to say that the RPG side of Golf Story's gameplay is very fun, and the golf experience encapsulated into the game is also very enjoyable as well.
And now let me tell you about the golf mechanics of the game. First off, I should mention that the golf gameplay in Golf Story is mostly an arcade-style experience rather than a simulation-style one, so those looking for a realistic golfing experience should look elsewhere. Hitting controls are similar to most old-school golf games as well: Aim your shot (make sure to take note of the direction of the wind of course), press the action button to get ready, press the action button again to set the power of your shot and finally, press the action button one last time to hit the ball. There are markers in the shot bar that you must hit in a short time limit as you do the above steps, so precision and timing are important to get a prefect shot. Anybody who has played a golf game will surely feel at home with the above mechanics, and anybody new to playing a golf game will definitely find the above easy to learn but hard to master.
As you explore Golf Story's various environments, you can actually drop a ball and tee off just about anywhere. This game mechanic is vital to completing quests in the game because you are oftentimes tasked to hit switches and objects or shoot the ball to a specific area by the various NPC's you run into. Certain environmental hazards can also either interfere or help with your shot, like moles or birds that move your ball elsewhere in the course if it lands on their turf or turtles that bounce your ball to another area using their shells. Some of the more clever quests are also fun, like one where you can only land your ball on a certain terrain type on the way to the green. The game will genuinely surprise you with the weird and creative quests it comes up with at times. Also, in addition to golf there are also several golf-related minigames you can play in the game, like miniature golf and frisbee throw... errr, I mean disc golf. Do not tell that weird gang that I referred to disc golf as frisbee throwing, haha! :D
Golf Story's... uhhmm, story is also very funny as well. The game's slapstick humor will surely bring a smile or two to your face as you progress through the game. I found the game's use of speech bubbles at times very silly—the text spoken by some characters are actually erased after they have already said it, signifying them taking back what they just said. This certainly cracked me up the first time I experienced it in-game. The game is also going for a retro, SNES-style (16-bit) look, so graphics-wise the game is kind of underwhelming when compared to most modern games. Don't get me wrong though, for the graphics still look good and colorful despite being rather simple. The game's music and sound effects are kind of good as well, and the game's great use of the Switch's HD Rumble feature definitely enhances the overall experience. In addition to the main RPG/Story Mode, you can also select Quick Play from the menu to play a 9-hole match anytime on any course you have unlocked. You can also set various game modifiers, like wind speed and hole sizes. The further you have progressed into Story Mode, the more courses you can play on in Quick Play.
Golf Story may be a lot of fun to play but it certainly is not without its faults, as I encountered some bugs during my initial playthrough. There are instances when the camera gets weirdly out of focus, and at times your character can go entirely off-screen. I had to reload my saved game to fix this silly glitch. In one instance, I also managed to skip (and win) a hole! This really threw me off, so I decided to restart the course and thankfully everything worked fine after. Do note that I experienced the above prior to installing the game's 1.0.1 patch, so I highly recommend you to update your game before teeing off. :)
Overall, Golf Story is a very fun game geared towards both RPG and golf aficionados. But you don't need to like both genres to get into Golf Story—liking only one of the two genres will suffice, and the game can most likely draw you into liking the other. Despite the game looking and sounding rather simple when compared to other newer games, it is still a very fun game that will hook you from beginning to end. This is indeed a great new entry into the golf/RPG mash-up genre that very rarely has mainstream appeal.
YAY!
- Very fun and solid combination of RPG and golf mechanics.
- Lots of courses with dozens of optional sidequests.
- Excellent implementation of HD Rumble.
NAY!
- Graphics and sound are rather simple when compared to other games.
- Has some really weird bugs (make sure to check if your game is updated to minimize bugs).
- The game's sense of humor may not appeal to everybody.
REVIEW SCORE: 8/10
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