Average Customer Review: ( 36 customer reviews )
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I'm not a golfer. I also don't play golf games on the PC, on a console, in a house, with a mouse... you get the idea. I saw all the great reviews of this on different game sites and thought I'd give it a try. After all, it was made by Camelot, the same designers who did the outstanding Golden Sun games for the GBA.

Rather than just being about playing golf, you get to spend time talking to other golfers, finding secrets, playing minigames, getting custom tickets so you can pick up special clubs, and gaining experience to improve your abilities. You have a partner in the game too and have to balance out spending experience points on your own character and on your partner. Get too good yourself and you'll be slammed on doubles play.

This game is simple to play and hard to master. You can perform the basic commands easily, but can really customize how you hit the ball, the spin you give it and more. You can make each shot as complex as you want to.

Mario Golf is a really really fun game. I thought I'd just play a few holes and haven't put it down for three days. This is a must have, up there with my top 5 games for GBA - Advance Wars 2, Golden Sun 2, WarioWare, Final Fantasy Tactics and now Mario Golf.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

Addictive Fun!Jul 02, 2004
By Scott M. Ryan "Scott"
As the owner of over a dozen golf games for Nintendo, Super Nintendo, etc., I must say that this is easily the most addictive...

GRAPHICS/SOUND:
The graphics are very easy on the eye and a cool Mode 7 feature allows you to follow behind your ball as it flies through the air. Simple and easy to read...that's more important on a game where you're trying to concentrate your button timing anyway. The sound is so-so, nothing fancy, but I still tend to hum it a little when I'm not playing...Some voice comments from the players add to the thrill of the game.

REPLAY:
This is the whole reason for getting this game! Unlike other golf games in which you win and throw it in the corner for a while, this one it more of a Golf RPG. You spend time unlocking secrets and building up your character to be the best! You're looking at a game that should give you your money's worth...

CHALLENGE:
This would be my only concern for this game -- I won the first four tournaments on the first try -- granted, I'm a golf nut, but most of them were runaways. I'm afraid that those looking for a great challenge may fall short of expectations here. Some side games are a little challenge, but the main games are rather easy.

PLAY CONTROL:
This is one of the easiest setups I've seen for golf, yet your able to do so much. Top spin, back spin, hooks, slices, etc. call all be accomplished, but without mashing 6 buttons at once. A little tough to time at first, but easy to learn and get used to...

THEME/FUN:
What a unique game...the RPG Golf theme gives this a nice twist that makes it both fun for golfers and for adventurers. Despite the easy challenge in areas, it still provides hours of enjoyment and fun/coloful graphics for its audience. For those looking for a good game to whip out for 5 minutes at a time or sit down and play for a few hours -- highly recommended!

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

You need this game!Jun 25, 2004
By maxmasa31 "maxmasa31"
This is one of the best games I've ever bought, and that's no exaggeration. I've never really been into golf games, like those Tiger Woods ones, but when I bought Mario Golf (MGGB) on the Game Boy Color, I was hooked. It's the only game that I actually still play from my GBC. And then this game came out. I never thought that they could outdo MGGB, but they did. Advance Tour, like MGGB, is actually a role-playing game disguised as a golf game! Ingenius! Instead of fighting enemies to increase your HP or MP, you play tournaments or complete tasks that increase your control, the height of your shot, drive distance and more. And the goal? Why, it's simple--to the best golfer and someday play Mario!

Graphics: (5/5) The Game Boy Advance's screen has never looked better. Bright colors and fabulous simulated 3D images. It's from the makers of "Golden Sun" (Camelot), so if you thought those graphics were awesome (I did), they're all here! Cool!

Sound: (5/5) The music is catchy and there's actual digitized voices! You can hear "Nice Shot" whenever you hit the ball perfectly or your character whine when he/she fails at a task. I don't know how they packed all this into one game!

Gameplay: (5/5) Okay, I'm not the most coordinated gamer out there, so for me to say that this game is easy to learn, it says a lot. But, like the real game of golf, it's easy to learn, but darned near impossible to master. Plus, the game is limited to the few buttons the GBA has to offer, so expect those buttons to be well used. The game itself is not merely a golf game, as I mentioned. Like the box states, "It's Role-Playing Golf" and that makes it much more interesting than a plain old golf game. But if you only want golf, you can have that, too, as well as a bunch of other mini golf-centered games. However, with all the features locked away in the "Story Mode," I'm not sure why anyone would buy the game and NOT play it like a regular RPG. Also, you can link to other GBAs for muli-player cooperative or head-to-head action. Camelot sure stuffed a lot of different features into this one tiny cartridge, let me say.

Replay Value: (5/5) You won't be able to put this game down. Ever. You will lose friends, pets and the ability to see without glasses. That's how much you'll be glued to your tiny front-lit screen. Like I said, the game is easy to learn, but near impossible to master and that's what will keep bringing you back for more. And then there's the ability to play with your friends in doubles play or against one another. There's just so much to do!

Let me start off by saying that this game is NOT just for people who love golf. I'm not terribly fond of the sport, although I used to go every once in a while. But Mario Golf, in the two incarnations I've played, are the BEST games out there. They combine the challenge of golf and RPG into one slick game that the whole family can enjoy. As far as I know, there's no violence in this game, so I can recommend this game to gamers of all ages, but because of the RPG-nature of this game, I think kids age 10 and up will appreciate the game much more. Oh, and adults won't be able to put it down, either.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Great GameAug 09, 2005
By Alli "gba91101nver4get"
Well I'm one of those people who doesn't like sports games (except racing). When my fiancee first told me about this game, I was very skepticle. I thought that this game would be really boring and not fun, well boy was I wrong. This game is very fun and also very addicting. One of the great thigns about this game is that there is a RPG element to it, which makes it that much better. There are also many different modes and a lot of things to do. You can play a story mode which has a lot of diffrent types of golf and mini games or you can play the quick mode which is some different twists on the old game of golf. Regardless if you like golf or not this game is a must have for anyone who wants to play a fun game with lots to unlock and discover.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

UnputdownableMar 18, 2005
By Karl W. Nitzsche
I own four GBA games which I play every now and then, usually to pass time in between lectures and on long bus rides etc. However, after purchasing Mario Golf, I soon realized just what a great game this is, and have barely let my console rest!!

The golf is fun, and not overly technical. You don't have to have any outside knowledge of the sport to be good at this, as you learn everything you need to from caddies and other golfers in the game.

The storyline is full of adventure... typical of Mario games. You have maps and venture different courses, worlds and experience new challenges all the time.

Indeed, you start off as a novice, and work your way up until you become the creme de la creme. There are so many things you can do, and so many nice courses to utilize.

It's the one GBA game that I would give ten stars out of five, because the graphics are great, the gameplay is absolutely superb, the music is refreshingly fun, and the story is top notch.

If you do decide to get this, you'll know what a gem it is.

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