• Mario Golf: World Tour

It has been requested that this article be rewritten . Reason: Include information on the Character Post-Hole Animations

mario golf world tour story mode

Mario Golf: World Tour is a sport title for the Nintendo 3DS . It is the third handheld installment of the Mario Golf series , and the fifth installment in the series overall. The game features gyroscope support and Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing players to participate in online Tournaments against other players from around the world. The game made use of downloadable content, in which extra courses and characters could be bought with real money, prior to the 3DS Nintendo eShop service's discontinuation on March 27, 2023. The game also makes use of Nintendo Network , but the service will be terminated on April 8, 2024, making the game no longer playable online. [1] [2] It is the first Mario Golf game to have been released after its tennis counterpart .

  • 2.3 Castle Club
  • 3.1.1 Default
  • 3.1.2 Unlockable
  • 3.1.3 Downloadable
  • 3.1.4 Customizable
  • 3.2 Non-playable
  • 4 Customizable gear
  • 7.1.1.1 Stroke Play
  • 7.1.1.2 Match Play
  • 7.1.1.3 Speed Golf
  • 7.1.1.4 Point Tourney
  • 7.1.1.5 Challenges
  • 7.1.3 Skins Match
  • 7.2 Castle Club
  • 7.3 Toad's Booth
  • 8.1 Regional Tournaments
  • 8.2 World Tournaments
  • 8.3 Mario Open
  • 9 Downloadable content
  • 11 Nintendo 3DS eShop description
  • 12 Critical reception
  • 13 References to other games
  • 14 References in later games
  • 15 Trophy description from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
  • 16 Regional differences
  • 17 Pre-release and unused content
  • 21.1 Announcer
  • 22 Names in other languages
  • 24 References
  • 25 External links

MGWT screenshot.png

The gameplay is similar to past installments of the Mario Golf series. Players have to hit shots while taking into account character attributes, wind, weather, and course topography. The power, accuracy, and spin of shots are determined by the timing when the player taps buttons or the touch screen as a target line slides up and down the power meter. A simplified control system, like the Auto control system from Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour , returns where the player has to worry only about the power of the shot, at the expense of being unable to add topspin or backspin. The touch screen can now be used for selecting clubs, initiating shots, and adding spin. Plus, the trajectory of the shot can be altered by moving the circle pad or by using the touch screen as the shot meter is in motion; this is similar to the impact zone feature of past games. A new feature, known as Item Shots , allows players to hit shots with different effects via items. These include burning through trees with a Fire Flower , creating Note Blocks over water hazards, ignoring wind via Bullet Bill , increasing draw or fade by Boomerang , and freezing the terrain with an Ice Flower . These items can be collected by hitting ? Blocks on the course, although players sometimes start holes with items.

R Button

Castle Club

The character select screen for Mario Golf: World Tour.

The game includes 13 default characters as well as four unlockable characters, with an additional four as downloadable content, making a total of 21 characters. When the bonus characters are unlocked or downloaded, they immediately get a star rank. Miis , Toad , Kamek , Paratroopa , Gold Mario , Toadette , Nabbit , and Rosalina are playable for the first time in the Mario Golf series, though Gold Mario cannot be used in 100 Coins challenges. In addition, Daisy , Boo , Bowser Jr. , Diddy Kong , and Birdo are playable in a handheld console Mario Golf installment for the first time, after previously being playable in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour . With the discontinuation of digital purchases for Nintendo 3DS in March 2023, it is no longer possible to buy the downloadable characters, though they can still be downloaded by those who purchased them when they were available.

mario golf world tour story mode

Below is a table of the playable characters. Note that Height is on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being the lowest-flying shot and 10 being the highest. Sweet Spot and Control are out of 11. When a character curves the ball, it is either called a fade or draw. A fade is when the ball curves in the direction of the dominant hand and a draw is when the ball curves opposite the direction of the dominant hand. When a shot is used with a curve on a hole with a higher surface, the ball can either over-curve or under-curve, resulting in misplacing of the ball.

Stronger Star versions of the default characters can be unlocked by beating them in their respective character match in Challenges mode.

These characters can be obtained by collecting a specific amount of Star Coins in Challenge Mode, after all Mario World courses are unlocked.

Downloadable

Customizable, non-playable.

These characters appear as either non-playable characters in Castle Club that players can interact with or as background elements in many of the various golf courses in the game.

Customizable gear

There is a variety of purchasable gear that can be used to customize the player's Mii that will affect their stats. The game will have 500 customizable gear items. If a player equips a Mii with a full character gear set the Mii will play similarly to that character. At first, participating in tournaments is the only way players can unlock gear that are not available in the store. But it will start selling them once a major tournament has ended. However, players have to enter major tournaments to earn clothing sets themed after these tournaments.

Various items can be used during gameplay to affect the player's shots. At the start of the game, the player is given the number of items equivalent to the number of holes being played on divided by three. More can be received when the player hits the ball through ? Blocks , which give the player random items. If the ball goes through a box with a picture of an item on it, the player gets that item. In player-tournaments, a set amount of items can be chosen for the tournament players to receive before starting.

Mario Golf: World Tour has the most courses of all Mario Golf games, with 16, including the downloadable courses, making a total of 234 holes. The Castle Club courses have 18 holes and have championships that the Mii can compete in against other Super Mario characters. The Mario World Courses contain gimmicks based on different Super Mario games and have nine holes. All these courses can be accessed through both Mario Golf (quick round) and Castle Club. The six downloadable courses, which could be bought with real money, are taken from the Nintendo 64 game with updated music and graphics. Some of these courses have changed appearances to look like specific worlds from New Super Mario Bros. U .

With the discontinuation of digital purchases for Nintendo 3DS in March 2023, it is no longer possible to buy the downloadable courses, though they can still be downloaded by those who purchased them when they were available.

There are two main modes of play: Mario Golf (Quick Round), and Castle Club.

Mario Golf (Quick Round) is similar to past Mario Golf games, where the player can select a Mushroom Kingdom character or a customized Mii. It features a variety of modes such as Single Player (including Stroke Play, Match Play, Speed Golf, and Point Tourney, all of which provide coins for the player), Vs. (Local Play, Online Friends, and Community Match), and Tournaments (Mario Open and user-created Private Tournaments). Additional regional and worldwide online tournaments are available on the entry floor of the Castle Club.

Single Player

This mode allows players to take on a round by themselves, and against the clock or a computer opponent, as well as Challenges, where courses, Star characters, and Mii costumes can be unlocked. The first four modes allow the player to select any unlocked course. The following settings can be adjusted: number of holes (three, six, nine, or 18), order of holes (normal or mixed), wind strength, whether or not to use items or club slots or have coins on the course, whether to start from hole 1 or hole 10 (when playing the holes in normal order), what tees to start from (regular, back, or tournament), and whether or not to display the shot trajectory. Playing rounds may earn the player Best Badges and will randomly unlock Mii Gear for the player's Mii to use.

Stroke Play

A standard round of golf, where the player's score is compared to par.

The player competes against a computer-controlled opponent. The winner of the round is whichever player wins more holes, although if the players are tied by the end of the game, it will proceed into Sudden Death and go through the selected course again until someone wins. The player may choose the opponents skill level, ranging in five different varieties, two of which need to be unlocked.

Lakitu and a Mii in Speed Golf

Instead of counting strokes, the player's score is determined by how much time is taken to sink the ball.

Point Tourney

Scored via a modified version of the Stableford scoring system . The player is awarded eight points for an albatross or a hole in one, five for an eagle, three for a birdie, two for a par, and one for a bogey. A double bogey or worse scores zero.

Each of the game's courses, including downloadable courses, have ten Star Coin challenges and ten Moon Coin challenges (the latter are more difficult, and unlocked by earning 90 Star Coins). They take the following forms:

This is the game's multiplayer mode. Local play is available for up to four players, but it does not support download play. During multiplayer, all players play at the same time, which speeds up play significantly because players do not have to wait until it is their turn to play. However, all players must finish the hole before they are allowed to move on. Players can see the ghost shots of other players and on-screen icons also show how the player's shots measure with the other players' in terms of distance. Players can send taunts or cheers to each other by pressing icons, as well as emoticons. Matches with online friends and community matches can also be played from this menu.

Skins Match

In addition to Stroke Play, Match Play, Speed Golf, and Point Tourney from the single-player mode, Skins Matches are playable, though exclusive to multiplayer. They are very similar to Match Play in that the goal is to earn the most points. However, this mode can be played by 2-4 players, and rather than having a set point goal, the player with the most points after a set number of holes wins. This mode does not support simultaneous play.

The lobby of the Castle Club mode in Mario Golf: World Tour.

To the left of the Caddie Master's booth is the Royal Garden, which has pipes leading to the six Mario World courses, and a passageway to the Royal Room. Entering these pipes will put the player in a practice round on any of the courses, where the player uses the front tees, starts out with a few items and can grab more from Item Boxes around the course, and hits the ball through coins that appear as well. At the far left of this garden is an aura which will summon Kamek when the player approaches it. Kamek can exchange play coins for game coins, change his/her dominant hand, allow mulligans (the ability to redo strokes), or change the player's swing type, all at a cost of a huge amount of coins. After all three course championships are won, Costume Challenges will begin appearing in the Royal Garden, where players can unlock costumes by completing objectives such as collecting a certain amount of coins, finishing in a short period of time, and beating a target score using Club Slots, all on Mario World courses. Unlike in Quick Round, where the challenges only cover three specific holes and the front or back tees are used, Costume Challenges take place on all nine holes and tournament tees are used. To the right of the main course entrances is an area with entrances to training grounds where players can take a golf tutorial (no gate) and practice their drives (purple gate), approaches (blue gate), and putts (green gate). The practice sessions come in different levels, and the goal is get the ball as close to the pin as possible -- or even sink the ball -- to earn practice points. Succeeding 20 times in the training games each for drives, approaches, and putts will give the player costumes of Bee Mario , Cloud Mario , and Boomerang Mario respectively. Past the practice grounds is the entrance to Sky Island , where the player takes on the One-On, One-Putt challenge, which requires the player to get the ball onto the green in one shot, then putt that ball in the next for nine consecutive holes. If the ball misses the green or just lands on the fringe, or the putt is missed at any point, the challenge is failed. Upon completion, the course will be unlocked and a 18-hole version can be played in Castle Club in its stead. Taking the One-On, One-Putt challenge again and clearing all 18 holes will award the player with a Propeller Mario costume.

Toad's Booth

Hosted by a blue Toad, this is primarily where players can purchase downloadable content. Records for each game mode, including the number of eagles, albatrosses, and holes-in-one made, can also be viewed here. Players can also visit this booth to learn how to play the game, and see a glossary of golf terminology.

Online tournaments

The gold Castle Tournament trophy from Mario Golf: World Tour.

Mario Golf: World Tour features a variety of online tournaments for players to take part in. They can either be made by Nintendo with golf gear as participation prizes (barring DLC tournaments), by other players from across the world in the form of Private Tournaments, or made by Callaway Golf in partnership with Nintendo. SpotPass must be turned on for tournaments to be entered.

After playing through a tournament, the player must upload their score in order for it to be ranked (by score then order of submission) in the leaderboard which can be viewed at any time during the tournament period. Tournaments can be played an infinite amount of times until the deadline has been met, allowing for continuous improvement of a player's score. Most tournaments last for two weeks, those on downloadable courses are one week long, and major tournaments last for almost a month. After a deadline ends for a tournament, the final standings can be viewed in an award ceremony, and both a trophy (gold for the top 10%, silver for the top 20-30%, and bronze for the top 40-60%) and coins are received depending on how the player places. Gaining a trophy in certain regional or worldwide tournaments will allow the player to enter one of four yearly major worldwide tournaments (such as the Castle Tournament or Star Open) that reward the player with a more impressive trophy and a larger coin payout.

Trophies earned from Regional and World Tournaments in the Castle Club appear on the shelf at the back of the trophy hall (a maximum of ten normal trophies can be on display at any one time), and trophies from major tournaments appear in the glass display towards the center of the room. Gold trophies appear beside the screen in the middle, silver ones are seen farther from it, and bronze ones are placed at the far sides of the hall. World tournament trophies appear towards the middle and those for regional tournaments are placed at the sides. The higher the end ranking the player got in a tournament, the closer to the middle its trophy is placed.

Official online tournaments were concluded with World Tour Final, which started on December 20, 2018, and ended on January 10, 2019. Despite this, official online DLC tournaments remain available, with the final DLC Trial Tour 98 on Mario's Star having entries allowed until December 31, 2030.

Here are the types of tournaments created so far:

Regional Tournaments

In the Castle Club's basement, the player's Mii can go into a pipe on the red entry machine to join Regional Tournaments. These restrict participants to those in the chosen region(s). The clothing prizes for these tournaments are obtained individually, and are themed after the playable characters (not the downloadable ones), and some enemies and items. Additionally, Callaway Golf has teamed up with Nintendo to produce Callaway-based regional tournaments, which will give the players sponsored Callaway Gear for the Mii to equip during the tournaments and to keep afterwards.

World Tournaments

On the other side of the Castle Club's basement, the blue entry machine has a pipe leading to World Tournaments, which pit the player against the whole world. The clothing prizes for these tournaments are earned in complete sets and designed like Nintendo gaming devices and themed after the major tournaments.

Major tournaments are like the expert tournaments, only that the flight path is turned on. Four of these happen every year. The Castle Tournament is in the Forest Course, the Star Open is in the Seaside Course, and the Moon Open is in the Mountain Course. In these tournaments, the holes are played in the regular order. The World Championship takes place on all three courses at once, six holes being played on for each course, and the holes are done in a mixed order.

In addition to Castle Club Tournaments, Nintendo has also created Mario Open tournaments which allow the use of Super Mario characters, and are played on Mario World courses and downloadable courses. Tournaments in this category cover nine holes, so on the downloadable courses, either the front nine or back nine are played on. All of these tournaments are world tournaments, but they award pieces of clothing for the Mii in the same way as the regional tournaments. Mario Open tournaments are stroke-play or coin-collecting tournaments, and when there are no item restrictions, players start out with three different items. Fixed-character tournaments limit players to using a specific character, and that character is not allowed to have a star rank. In limited-item tournaments, players can only use a particular item, and they start out with five of it. Players can also make their own unofficial Mario Open tournaments under rules of their choice for other players to enjoy.

Downloadable content

Mario Golf: World Tour was one of two Mario games on the 3DS to provide paid DLC, the other being New Super Mario Bros 2 .

On April 17th, a demo of the game was released on the Nintendo eShop for Europe, making this strictly the second Super Mario game (preceded by Mario & Luigi: Dream Team ) to have a publicly released demo for download. The demo was later released in North America on April 24. It uses 873 blocks when downloaded and offers ten uses (fifteen for the North American demo).

The demo lets the player go through a tutorial covering camera and shot control or play through either holes 1, 2, and 3 of Seaside Course , holes 1, 2, and 6 of Wiggler Park , and holes 1, 5, and 6 of Yoshi Lake . The demo also allows the player to play the Star Coin Collector mode on hole 9 of Peach Gardens , and the Ring Master mode on hole 14 of Mountain Course . The only playable characters available are Mario , Peach , Yoshi , and Bowser .

Nintendo 3DS eShop description

Go clubbing around the world with Mario™! Tee off as your favorite Mario or Mii™ character while challenging players online. Shoot into warp pipes and dodge piranha plants in Mushroom Kingdom areas or take a shot at the nature-themed courses. Power-up your shots with special items to burn past pesky plants, blast over gaping chasms, or freeze water hazards. The new Castle Club has both naturalistic and Mario-themed courses, a training area to hone your skills, and a pro shop where you can get unlockable gear and outfits. Test your skills in a gauntlet of course challenges, play with friends locally (using emoticons to cheer them on), or take on players around the world in online real-time tournaments.
Grab your clubs and bring fun to the fore in Mario Golf: World Tour on Nintendo 3DS family systems! Join Mario and friends for engrossing golf action on your own, or tee off with players from all over the world in thrilling online multiplayer matches. The Mario Golf series is known for combining deceptively deep golf gameplay with ideas you could only find in a Mario game, and Mario Golf: World Tour is no exception! Master a range of courses sure to test even the most experienced player. It's not all lush greens and blue skies though - take to the fairway on sandy shores, or shoot for the pin on courses inspired by the world of Mario!

Critical reception

Mario Golf: World Tour has received generally positive reviews among critics. IGN gave the game a score of 8.6/10 (a "great" rating). They praised the game's learning curve, training options, quantity of unlockables, and multiplayer, but criticized the map in Castle Club, saying it was "confusing". [3] Joystiq gave 3 stars out of 5, being more critical, while praising the basic gameplay and online options, criticizing the Castle Club, opining it as sparse and dispensable, while also opining that the game as a whole was too safe in its approach. [4] Thomas Whitehead of Nintendo Life compared Mario Golf: Word Tour favorably to Mario Tennis Open . He praised the game for a perceived sense of attention to detail, as well as its skill curve. He gave the game a score of 9/10. [5] The game was scored 83% by Official Nintendo Magazine. [6] Mario Golf: World Tour currently averages a score of 78 out of a possible 100 on Metacritic. [7]

References to other games

  • Super Mario Bros. : The loading screens portray various golf scenes that use sprites from this game. The music used in Cheep Cheep Lagoon is a cover of the underwater theme. The music of Bowser's Castle has some parts of the castle theme in it. The overworld theme is heard in part of the music for the credits.
  • Super Mario Bros. 3 : The music used in Sky Island is a cover of this game's Athletic Theme. A Super Leaf clothing set and Tanooki Mario costume appear, with golf clubs and balls to go with them.
  • Super Mario World : Baby Yoshi and Reznor costumes appear, with golf clubs and balls to go with them.
  • NES Open Tournament Golf : A costume, golf clubs, and a golf ball appear based on Mario's attire in this game.
  • Super Mario 64 : The music of Bowser's Castle has parts of this game's Bowser level music. Additionally, the stained glass portrait of Peach appears on hole 16 of Mario's Star as terrain.
  • Mario Golf (Nintendo 64) : Toad Highlands and Koopa Park return with an updated appearance, while the other four main courses appear in a new iteration. In addition, Peach's Eagle and Birdie animations are similar to her hole-in-one animation from this game as, while she celebrates, her sports uniform turns into her trademark dress (although, in that case, it was deliberate instead of accidental).
  • Yoshi's Story : Yoshi Lake appears to be based on this game, even using a cover of the title screen as the music.
  • Donkey Kong 64 : Some of Diddy Kong 's voice clips are recycled from this game.
  • Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour : The major tournaments function much like the Star Tournaments in this game. The coin-collecting matches are similar to Quick Cash mode in this game. The availability of Petey Piranha and Koopa Troopa costumes, golf clubs, and balls recalls how they were playable characters in this game. Sky Island has a similar layout to Congo Canopy .
  • Mario Golf: Advance Tour : The Castle Club has a similar layout to the Marion Clubhouse from this game. Sky Island has a similar layout to Elf's Short Course .
  • Mario Power Tennis : Many voice clips are reused from this game.
  • Mario Kart DS : The music of Peach Gardens is a cover of the theme used in this game's Peach Gardens .
  • Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 : Mario's Star has elements from these games, and various Luma characters appear in Rosalina's post-hole animations. The music used in Wiggler Park is a cover of the Honeyhive Galaxy music. Bee Mario , Cloud Mario , and Luma costumes appear, with golf clubs and balls to go with them.
  • Mario Kart Wii : Some voice clips are reused from this game.
  • New Super Mario Bros. Wii : A Propeller Mario costume appears, with golf clubs and a ball to go with it.
  • Donkey Kong Country Returns : The DK Jungle course is heavily based on this game. Donkey Kong's Eagle/Albatross/Hole-In-One animation features him in a silhouetted jungle setting referencing the silhouette levels that originated from this game.
  • Super Mario 3D Land : A Boomerang Flower clothing set and Boomerang Mario costume appear, with golf clubs and balls to go with them. A Tail Goomba appears along with regular Goombas on hole 13 of Mario's Star as terrain.
  • Mario Kart 7 : Rosalina 's voice clips are recycled from this game. Gold Mario's artwork is based off Metal Mario's artwork in this game, only with a golf club instead of a stack of tires.
  • Mario Tennis Open : Mii customization returns from this game. The overall structure of the game is like this one, with sound effects and icons borrowed from it.
  • New Super Mario Bros. 2 : Gold Mario appears as a playable character. Moon Coins reappear. A Fox Luigi costume appears, with golf clubs and a ball to go with it. The background of Mario's Eagle/Albatross/Hole-In-One animation is the same as that of World Star .
  • New Super Mario Bros. U : Layer-Cake Desert, Sparkling Waters, and Rock-Candy Mines are downloadable golf courses of places that originated in this game. A Boss Sumo Bro costume appears, with golf clubs and a ball to go with it. Nabbit appears as a playable character. His Eagle/Albatross/Hole-In-One animation features him running through a series of levels based on this game, complete with HUD.
  • Super Mario 3D World : Mario 's and Luigi 's character icons appear as terrain on hole 18 of Mario's Star, while Toad 's appears on hole 12.

References in later games

  • Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS : A trophy appears depicting Mario in his Mario Golf: World Tour appearance. The trophy itself is even titled "Mario Golf: World Tour."
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate : One of Peach's victory poses resembles her Hole-in-One/Eagle animation in World Tour , only without her parasol. Similarly, one of Daisy's victory poses resembles her Birdie animation. In addition, the music track "World Tour", which plays during national tournaments, appears as an unlockable music track on Super Mario -franchise stages except for Mario Kart -themed stages.

Trophy description from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Regional differences.

Diddy Kong gets an Albatross in Mario Golf: World Tour. Notice the missing "!!".

In the British English version of Mario Golf: World Tour , the exclamation marks are missing from the animation for Birdie , Eagle , and Albatross . One is present in the Hole-in-One animation, however. The Hole-in-One text that appears in both English versions are different, the British English version having "HOLE-IN-ONE!", whereas the American English version has "HOLE IN ONE!!", leaving out the dashes.

Bowser Jr. in Mario Golf: World Tour.

The character select screen also has multiple differences in the distance for each character, as the letters size vary for different versions, with the British English letters being bigger than the American English letters. The abbreviation for "Yards" is also different, with the American English version having "yd." and leaves a space between it and the number, whereas the British English region uses a "yd" abbreviation with no space between the numbers and letters.

Pre-release and unused content

A screenshot of Mario Golf: World Tour

In some pre-release screenshots, the animations for " Birdie " or " Bogey " had orange circles and letters, whereas in the final game, they're blue. The letters and wording was also different in the final version, with different colors, fonts and sizes. Many holes where different, either moved or changed completely. Dark transparent boxes were also added behind the wording of certain course information, and some things were moved to different parts of the screen.

Mario Golf: World Tour was created by staff at both Camelot and Nintendo, with localization teams from both Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe also involved, the latter organization involving sixteen translators to bring the game to a variety of languages. Both Shigeru Miyamoto and Koji Kondo were involved as supervisors. Finally, while she was not listed in the game's credits, Kerri Kane portrayed Rosalina via recycled and previously unused voice clips from her earlier work on Mario Kart 7 . [8]

Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad

Mario , Luigi , Peach and Toad

Seaside Course

Seaside Course

Mario's golf ball

Mario's golf ball

Mario's club

Mario's club

  • " Nice on! "
  • " Wow! Nice Albatross ! "
  • " Congratulations! "

Names in other languages

  • Cheep Cheep Lagoon and Koopa Park are the only courses whose greens do not have square designs; instead, they use a wavy design and a hexagonal design respectively.
  • The course (and mode) music for this game continues after shots on the green and post-hole animations, unlike in previous games, where the music restarts when entering a new hole (there even being a tune for hole overviews).
  • ^ @NintendoAmerica (October 4, 2023). As of early April 2024, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end service for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. Thank you very much for your continued support of our products. . Twitter . Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  • ^ @NintendoAmerica (January 23, 2024). Update: as of 4/8, online play and other functionality that uses online communication will end service for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software. Thank you very much for your continued support of our products. . Twitter . Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  • ^ IGN Review
  • ^ Joystiq Review
  • ^ Nintendo Life's Review
  • ^ ONM Review
  • ^ Metacritic Review
  • ^ From Kerri Kane's official site: " I’ve played the part of a fast kart-racing princess for Nintendo in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart Arcade GP DX and a pretty powerful golfer in Mario Golf: World Tour. " (Retrieved July 1, 2014)

External links

  • Premiere Trailer from Nintendo Direct .
  • Official North American website
  • Official European website
  • Official Japanese website
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Mario Golf: World Tour review: mixed greens

By Griffin McElroy on April 25, 2014 at 2:00pm

Mario Golf: World Tour tries to do a little bit of everything.

The Mario Golf series' handheld and console installments are wildly different, occasionally to the point of not even resembling each other. The series' Game Boy Color and Advance iterations had surprisingly deep character progression and a meaty single-player campaign, while the console titles featured more gameplay modes and multiplayer offerings to dig into. World Tour feels like an earnest attempt to incorporate all of those elements and more.

It does this with mixed success. Though the game's story mode and progression mechanics fall flat, Mario Golf: World Tour holds firmly to the series' solid mechanics, providing a plethora of modes, unlockable content and some of the most robust multiplayer capabilities I've ever seen on the 3DS.

The core mechanics of World Tour are as sound as you'd expect from a Camelot sports title, using the age-old power meter to determine the flight of your ball, and button combinations to determine its post-landing spin. When lining up your shot, you're shown its expected trajectory, impact point and final resting point — though the latter doesn't factor in terrain type, angle, height differential, wind or, really, anything. Those calculations are entirely on your shoulders.

The only area where the game's mechanics suffer is the camera, which by default makes the estimated resting spot your focal point while aiming. As previously described, that target is nearly always wrong — almost laughably wrong in some situations, like when it shows your shot resting near the pin when your impact point is squarely in a water hazard. Having to track down your shot's much more reliable impact point can, at times, be kind of a chore.

Mario Golf: World Tour adds Item Shots into the time-honored mix, which are a bit gimmicky, but do add a strategic element to the matches in which they're included. The Bullet Bill shot, for instance, turns your ball into a … well, bullet, which can fly across entire courses, ignoring the wind and terrain that might hinder it. A Fire Flower shot can burn new paths through trees that stand in the way of the pin. They're powerful — but most of the time, acquiring them means shooting out of the way to hit their respective Question Block on the course.

If you want to keep things basic, you can deactivate Item Shots for most modes that Mario Golf: World Tour offers. They're fascinating in small measures, but the option to not play with them is a very welcome one.

Item Shots find mixed success, but Mario Golf: World Tour 's biggest disappointment is its Castle Club mode — a campaign seemingly positioned to provide the RPG experience the series' handheld games are known for. You play as your 3DS' registered Mii, and participate in tournaments, take on training exercises and socialize with franchise characters. It sounds like the Story mode in Mario Golf for Game Boy Color and Advance Tour for Game Boy Advance; but it's much, much more insubstantial.

For starters, it's exceedingly short — after participating in a practice round to establish your handicap, all you have to do to complete the campaign is win first place on three courses. Even after playing a practice round on each, digging into the mode's handful of training exercises and trying my hand at some unlockable courses, I burned through Castle Club mode in a little over two hours. There's more to do after the credits roll — timed events, training areas and exclusive online tournaments, for example — but don't hold out hope for a lengthy campaign.

There's no character-leveling mechanic; instead, you can customize your Mii's gear and wardrobe by purchasing items from the Castle Club shop — a shop with zero inventory when you start the game. You can add a single, seemingly random item to the shop by completing a round of golf or certain challenges, but there's no guarantee it will unlock an item you'll want. To wit: I once unlocked four hats in a row, each with identical stats. Also, after hours of play, I still have not unlocked any pants.

The Castle Club mode feels a bit anemic, which stands in stark contrast to the numerous modes and activities offered by the rest of the game. Quick Play options let you take part in any kind of match you want — Stroke Play, Super Stickman Golf -esque speed rounds or one-on-one duels, with control over the length of matches, starting position, course order; you name it. Challenge mode offers quick-fire mini-games, Item Shot-centric puzzles and difficult duels, unlocking characters, courses and costumes as you go. Both unlock new items for the shop, and are as enjoyable and rewarding as can be.

The game's myriad online offerings are also superb, providing some truly compelling score-chasing competition across a bevy of modes. You can take your outfitted Mii into a proper 18-hole tournament, observing the trails of your ghost competitors in asynchronous play. You could also enter a timed, three-day-long driving contest, trying to fire a single shot as far as you can — potentially to the top of the leaderboards. You could also just as easily set up your own private tournament for you and your registered friends.

The game's online component isn't vestigial or underdone — it's part of the game's very core. When you load up the game, the main menu shows a ticker of all available timed online challenges, previewing their requirements and unlockable rewards for participation. You can see exactly how many strokes under par your friends went in each challenge, and chase their ghosts across the course. It has the potential to be relentlessly addicting.

Mario Golf: World Tour delivers on its pedigree

Mario Golf: World Tour wasn't exactly what I expected. Its arrival on 3DS made me hopeful for that weird, charming role-playing hybrid from the franchise's handheld past. Castle Club simply isn't that; but my disappointment in its absence didn't take long to subside. World Tour more than delivers on the series' past strength on consoles, resulting in a polished, streamlined and extremely compelling way to hit the links.

Mario Golf: World Tour was reviewed using final retail code provided by Nintendo. You can read more about Polygon's ethics policy here .

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Mario Golf: World Tour Review

Does Mario Golf: World Tour score a hole-in-one on the 3DS, or is Mario just left swinging out of bounds?

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Release Date: May 2, 2014 Platform: Nintendo 3DS Developer: Camelot Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Sports

Mario and friends are teeing off once again in Mario Golf: World Tour , the fifth game overall in the quirky golfing series since 2004’s Mario Golf: Advance Tour , and the first outing on the Nintendo 3DS. But did the long break away from the green make it hard for Mario to get his swing back? Or does the refreshing new spin on the classic Mario Golf formula make World Tour one of the most expansive and reinvigorated courses that we’ve seen?

The controls themselves are fairly simple and even easier to learn, which translates into a very accessible experience for those who might be new to the Mario Golf universe. You’ll have two means of hitting the ball in the game: Easy and Auto, although in either case the emphasis is placed on how much power you want to give your swing and timing it accordingly. However, don’t think that everything will always be that easy: it won’t be long before multiple club types, powerful winds, and other hazards all start having an effect on your swings. Luckily, the game also features a helpful dictionary in case you ever find yourself a bit lost in all of that golfing jargon.

The game’s interface and design has a lot in common with Camelot’s previous 3DS offering, Mario Tennis Open . The touchscreen is sectioned off using bright color blocks, which makes switching between the different camera angles and lining up each shot a quick and intuitive process. There is also another huge emphasis on costumes and equipment here, which you can purchase for your Mii to improve their different skills with coins you’ll earn from playing through the game’s various matches. World Tour features two overarching game modes. Quick Play encompasses everything from exhibition matches to single-player challenges, while Castle Club acts as a story mode as players use their Mii character to compete in various tournaments against all the Mario greats.

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When you’re not teeing off on one of World Tour ’s many diverse holes, you’ll have free rein to wander around the expansive clubhouse in Castle Club, chatting with classic Mario characters, picking up some new equipment in the shop, admiring your trophy room, and more. The clubhouse brings an extra sense of depth and personality to World Tour that I wasn’t expecting, and is filled with fun little quirks to find as you’re preparing for your next championship bout (like an especially awkward encounter when I accidentally wandered into the women’s locker room and happened upon an unsuspecting Birdo).

But it is when World Tour branches out past the traditional forest and beach areas that the different course designs in the game are really allowed to shine. From tricky underwater layouts, to fiery flags surrounding Bowser’s Castle, to an entire course that mimics the whimsical art of the upcoming Yarn Yoshi , this is what playing golf in the Mushroom Kingdom should be like. And for those who are really looking for a challenge, there is even an option Sky Island course, which requires players to score a birdie on each and every hole in order to move forward through the clouds.

The eye-popping visuals and refreshing course designs are only brought to life further by one of World Tour ’s greatest innovations: the addition of item boxes that place different effects on your subsequent shots. For instance, a Fire Flower lets your ball burn away the leaves of a tree, while a Bullet Bill will barrel down the fairway and ignore the effects of wind. This works hand in hand with the addictive challenge holes, which task players to do everything from collecting a certain number of coins before achieving par, to completing a speed run through several different holes in order to earn gold coins and unlock other courses in the process.

When you’ve gotten your fill of the game’s immense and addictive single-player offerings, the replay value skyrockets when you factor in World Tour ’s recalculated multiplayer components. What’s great about the way that multiplayer matches are restructured here is that all competitors can play at their own pace, and without having to wait and watch each player in their party take their next shot every time. It’s a really great way of speeding up the action, and is going to be a key component going forward with Nintendo’s promise to regularly support the game with new DLC and online player tournaments.

The only real low point of my time in the Mario Golf clubhouse was during the game’s opening moments, where a quick tutorial leads way into a somewhat obtuse means of getting started in Castle Club mode. You’ll first need to play a practice round on the 18-hole Forest Course to establish a handicap, and then play a second “Handicap” round of the same 18 holes, before finally playing the course for real in the official Championship round. To me that was a lot of repetition right off the bat, especially when the other big courses are only unlocked when you earn a first place finishing spot in the official tournaments.

But all minor issues aside, Mario Golf: World Tour is an easy hole-in-one in many aspects. The game looks great running on the 3DS hardware, and its many unique courses and play styles are only matched by the diverse customization options and refreshing item shot power-ups. If there’s one thing that I do know for sure, it’s that regular golf will never feel the same now without a Fire Flower to help me get through those pesky trees.

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Mario Golf: World Tour Review

  • First Released May 2, 2014 released

By Stace Harman on April 25, 2014 at 11:44AM PDT

Mario Golf: World Tour deftly illustrates the pleasures of a humble game of golf: the careful ritual of checking the speed of the wind, assessing the lie of the ball, and puzzling over the perfect club for the job at hand. Its disjointed structure makes it less accessible than it should be, but this is a game built upon the simple satisfaction of golf mixed with the goofy charm of Nintendo's most popular mascots, and for the most part, it succeeds in delivering an endearing and fun experience.

No Caption Provided

There is, however, a disconnect between the "serious" side of Mario Golf and its all-out wacky side, and it's largely down to how the game is split into two distinct areas, which quickly come to feel at odds with one another. The first is the Castle Club, where you play exclusively as your Mii against the backdrop of a lavish country club. There you're free to mingle with the familiar Nintendo faces wandering the halls, shop at the boutique, visit the gym, and partake in a spot of tea in the Royal Room, but there's no real interaction permitted with Mario and Co, who exist only as NPCs in this mode. The castle and its cast are twee in a way that only Mario and friends can be, but Castle Club mode also serves a practical purpose, with its grounds playing host to a number of practice courses, handicap tournaments, and ad hoc challenges that teach you the basics of play.

Castle Club is where you find the game's three "serious" courses--Forest, Seaside, and Mountain--each of which hosts a tournament that must be won to progress to the next. Unfortunately, these courses are largely forgettable, particularly in comparison to the game's more exotic, themed offerings, and none of them feature the challenging layouts or undulating greens that seasoned video game golf players might hope for. I had little desire to return to any of them after winning each of the 18-hole tournaments, and the manner in which you're forced to unlock each tournament in order feels unnecessarily restrictive.

More troubling, though, is how Castle Club is an entirely separate entity from World Tour's more arcade-style offers in Mario Golf. A comprehensive series of practice sessions explain how elevation, ball lie, and wind affect shot selection. But while the challenges on offer at the Castle Club highlight the importance of skillful play, the courses unlocked in Mario Golf mode can be won and lost through the use of power-ups and novelty items, which is jarring after being taught the sport in a more serious manner. Still, once you've got to grips with the likes of Bullet Bills, Bob-ombs, and speed pads, courses like the candy-hued Peach Gardens and the coral-decorated underwater holes of Cheep Cheep Lagoon provide some thoroughly entertaining and humorous moments.

No Caption Provided

There's a satisfying sense of improvement across the game as a whole as you start to grasp the mechanics and begin experimenting with spin, draw and fade, and variable carry distances. Its basic three-button-press system sees the familiar use of a power bar to set the strength of the shot, and a sweet spot to land a perfect swing. It's a simple system, and because you're also given a generous degree of leeway, you rarely go too far off target. While this means you can confidently tackle more nuanced approach shots and delicate chips, it greatly reduces the element of risk; straying over par due to poor play is a rare occurrence.

The sheer charm of World Tour and its collection of classic Nintendo characters and environmental details go a long way towards keeping you entertained, though. There's a 12-strong cast of familiar faces to play as in Mario Golf mode, including the likes of the always lovable Mario and Luigi. Seeing them compete in a clutch of fun single-player modes that include stroke and match play, speed golf against the clock, and point play while they spout their classic catchphrases never fails to raise a smile.

It helps that there's lots to do too. There are versus options, numerous tournaments, and a series of challenges, some of which test your skill while others focus heavily on the use of power-ups. Sending your ball floating through the air over longer distances, or skimming across a handily placed speed pads feel great, at least once you've figured out what you're supposed to be doing with them. Challenges that incorporate them include completing a series of holes while hitting the ball through oversized rings, smacking moles out the ground, using a random selection of clubs, or competing against one of the 12 AI characters to unlock his or her Star Player equivalent (a more powerful but trickier to control version of the basic character).

Every round that you complete--be it in tournament play or in challenges--earns you coins to spend on gear and equipment in the castle boutique. Clubs, balls, and attire can be purchased to tweak your Mii's appearance as well as basic power and control stats, which is often helpful in getting past a particularly tricky shot, should you get stuck. It's a shame that World Tour isn’t easier to navigate, though. For all the effort that's gone into creating a central thematic hub with the Castle Club, having to back out of it to play a few rounds in Mario Golf mode feels unnecessarily cumbersome. Having everything accessible in one place rather than having to travel back and forth via the main menu screen would have made the game much more coherent.

No Caption Provided

Mario Golf: World Tour revels in power-ups and fantastical courses, while frequently breaking its offerings into a series of portable-friendly bite-sized chunks that have you flitting from one exotic course to another. There's a lot of fun to be had here, and with classic Nintendo characters backing up the action, World Tour is a thoroughly charming game too. What a shame, then, that it lacks the cohesion and refinement to make those sometimes-brilliant moments easier to digest and access. But if you can plough through the awkwardness, and get to grips with its seemingly endless array of powerups, you'll find an enjoyable and loveable game of golf.

Editor's Note: Online functionality was unavailable at the time of review. Online modes available at launch will be versus and tournament play with friends, local territory, and worldwide player bases.

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  • Solid golfing mechanics reward player improvement
  • Varied courses with individual aesthetics
  • Wide range of content
  • Only three so-so courses unlocked from the start
  • Powerups and special courses are poorly explained
  • Clunky menu navigation

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mario golf world tour story mode

Mario Golf: World Tour review

mario golf world tour story mode

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Easy-to-grasp golfing fun

Tons of unlockables to keep you coming back

Impressive online options (by Nintendo standards)

Not a huge change for the franchise

No single cart local play

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

From the outside, golf can seem like a boring pastime designed for aging men in ugly pants. And actually, it can probably be seen that way from the inside as well. Regardless, the once-dreary sport becomes universally appealing with the right number of adorable characters. And that's where Mario Golf: World Tour comes in. Nintendo's return to the back nine brings with it the familiar arcade-style golfing the series is known for, and while it doesn't bring much new to the franchise, the dependable quality of the sports action warrants setting up a tee time.

The Mario Golf series long ago defined how fun simplified golfing gameplay can be, and World Tour gets back onto the fairway with ease. Swinging the club and sending the ball forth takes just three quick button presses, and it's this rhythm--swing after undemanding swing--that pushes you forward, driving you to best your previous scores. Add in a few easily performed advanced techniques--curving your shot or adding spin--and what you're left with is an undeniably engrossing experience. That said, this series found its sweet spot years ago, and World Tour doesn't mess with that formula at all. It's good gameplay, but at this point, heavily trodden gameplay as well.

Castle Club is the primary single-player experience you'll have open to you from the beginning, and it provides a fun, yet intense, tournament setting. Sure, you'll have a chance to practice your swing around the clubhouse, but it's the three 18-hole courses where you'll be spending most of your time. Those lengthy tournaments get pretty harrowing, and the drama is increased with the comical, impressively involved character animations that each golfer uses to emote frustration or elation. But after the credits roll on the final course, the game is just ramping up, thanks to a wealth of unlockable courses and items.

The premier post-game tournament content is the special bonus courses, and that’s where Mario Golf is at its best and worst. Here you find six themed fairways, with nine holes apiece, and you really get a sense of the creativity in the Mario Golf series. The underwater areas have unpredictable physics, you avoid massive Koopas on a level inspired by Mario’s many oversized worlds, and Donkey Kong’s stage has dangerous obstacles lifted directly from the ape’s tricky platforming titles. It’s all enjoyably unique because these stages make it feel more thematically like a Mario title, giving World Tour a chance to get creative instead of simply relying on the strength of its well-established gameplay.

All those Mario-specific areas are great, but they’re geared towards brevity, not the epic battles of the tournaments. The six special courses are nine holes long instead of the standard 18 that the starter courses lead players to assume they’d get when opening up a new course. No doubt some will feel shortchanged, as if the game doesn't fully commit to the clever gameplay concepts it introduces with each course. Then again, six sets of nine holes offers up more design possibilities than three sets of 18. Ultimately, the special courses are enough for hours of fun, but it’s hard not to imagine something more.

Playing every course in the game is your main goal, but there are a host of side challenges that extend your time with World Tour. Challenges take place on the three 18-hole courses, and introduce special rules like collecting coins, setting high scores, or completing under a set time. New unlockable items and themed courses come fast and furious when you're playing through this mode, alleviating any notion that these modes are simply filler. How could that last putting section be unnecessary when it rewards you with a sweet pair of shoes for your Mii?

Getting a spiffy pair of cleats is nice, and it’s even better when you earn them in the well-executed multiplayer modes. Playing Mario Golf either locally or online presents numerous options that range from a quick few holes to a lengthy tournament, all with friendly options for trash talk. By Nintendo standards, the online action is shockingly current, featuring leaderboards, asynchronous play, and enough DLC to warrant a season pass. The only real downside to multiplayer is that it doesn’t allow for single-cart play, making this one of those rare 3DS games that you can only enjoy with those who also own the game.

Mario Golf: World Tour is competent at its worst and excellent at its best. It keeps its gameplay tight and approachable, looks great in stereoscopic 3D, and finally has a modernized approach to online multiplayer. This isn’t a hole-in-one, but it stays under par throughout--and the fact that I can’t stop using golf terminology is proof that World Tour is at least an eagle in my book.

Mario Golf: World Tour may lack innovation, but it provides easy-to-grasp golfing fun and a slew of unique stages. It's a solid game that will keep you coming back for more.

Henry Gilbert

Henry Gilbert is a former GamesRadar+ Editor, having spent seven years at the site helping to navigate our readers through the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation. Henry is now following another passion of his besides video games, working as the producer and podcast cohost of the popular Talking Simpsons and What a Cartoon podcasts. 

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Mario Golf: Super Rush Review

I like big putts and i cannot lie..

Simon Cardy Avatar

There’s an art to how Nintendo usually iterates on its long-running series. That twist it almost always seems to discover makes us excited about what’s to come, while also looking back on fond memories already forged. Mario Golf: Super Rush, though, is an exception to that trend – it’s sporadically fun but it frustratingly falls short of the green more often than not. Its newly introduced Speed Golf mode is a bright point that shakes up the formula, while its lacklustre Adventure mode is a short and not overly sweet few hours. It makes for a package as a whole that offers some of the fun of the Mario Golf games of past generations, but when all is said and done it lacks the variety, replayability, and general amount of content needed to be considered a standout in the series.

The original Mario Golf (titled NES Open Tournament Golf) is the first game I really remember playing, as I graduated from crawling around and tangling in my dad’s controller wires to holding the pad myself. The core mechanics remain, and apart from the obvious visual improvements, it doesn’t feel a million miles away from how it did 25-odd years ago: Line up your shot, press A to begin your swing, then A again (or B if you want to apply backspin) to lock in the power of your shot.

Mario Golf Super Rush Trailer Screenshots - E3 2021

mario golf world tour story mode

It’s these simple button presses as the power bar fills up on the right hand side of the screen, coupled with the subsequent sound of club hitting ball that evokes nostalgia and takes me to a happy place. The standard modes of match play and stroke play also provide comfort and familiarity, and as with every mode (aside from story campaign) these can be played solo or with up to three other players for a relaxed time with Mario and friends, but they’re so old and worn that while they’re certainly comforting, they’re nothing to get excited about.

Need for Speed

The mode that does spark some joy is Speed Golf. Speed Golf is the new twist on the formula this time around, and it’s fair to assume is what inspired the “Super Rush” part of Mario Golf: Super Rush’s name. This fresh take on a round of 18 holes is where I found the majority of my enjoyment coming from. Instead of simply taking your shot, watching to see where it goes, and then magically appearing next to your ball, it places as much importance on what happens in between strokes as the swings of the club itself.

Of course, this is done in classic Nintendo fashion: there’s no jumping on your golf cart and slowly driving to your ball here (though now that I mention it I do like the idea of each hole being half Mario Kart track, half golf course). Instead, you’ll race competitors to your next lie, holding in B to dash for as long as your stamina bar will allow. You can also pick up hearts to refill that stamina, and coins which fill your special shot bar along the way. The placement of these items offers a fun tactical minigame to play within each shot, as you must weigh up which is the best “golf shot'' to play in order to reach the hole against which will lead you to pick up more coins without taking too much of a detour and wasting time. One option could lead to a more traditionally beneficial position, but the other could grant you that all-important special shot that bit quicker.

As you might reasonably assume from the name, time is very much the key in Speed Golf, but the phrase “more haste, less speed” also rings very true. That’s because each shot you take adds 30 seconds to your time, so taking those extra few moments to line up a better shot will benefit you in the long run because the victor is determined by speed rather than who takes the fewest strokes. It’s a clever risk-vs-reward mechanic that keeps it fresh hole after hole.

Sometimes plans can be disrupted, though, thanks to the unique character abilities belonging to each of the 16 playable characters. These aforementioned “special shots” are not only highly accurate shots, but come with effects that can be used to sabotage your opponents. They’re available to perform across all modes, but it’s in Speed Golf that they really come into their own.

Luigi, for example, can turn the area around where his ball lands to ice, making for a difficult surface to putt and indeed run on if trying to get to your ball. King Bob-omb can spawn a series of (you guessed it) bombs around his ball that can knock opponents and their balls away if touched. For my money, however, the most effective of these special abilities belongs to Wario: he can usher in a massive thunder cloud over an area of the hole, and anybody who tries to strike their ball at maximum power while under it will be struck by lightning, costing them a stroke. (I hate playing against him but make no apologies for doing so myself.) Although some of these special shots do double up over the full roster of 16 characters (like Mario and Bowser who can both blast away balls on impact), there’s enough variety to keep things interesting and find something that works for you.

Each character also possesses their own special dash move when running between locations which grants a significant speed boost and knocks aside anyone in your path. These are less exciting to use, but do still give off the sort of serotonin-filled dose of schadenfreude that the blue and red shells of Mario Golf’s sister series, Mario Kart, supply all too well. All in all, I enjoyed playing Speed Golf and it definitely became my preferred mode to play, especially when compared to the relatively ponderous nature of the traditional modes.

One of the only real downsides to it is the fact that you can’t sit back and admire a beautiful shot you’ve made. I’ve only struck one hole-in-one so far in my time with Super Rush, and because it came during a Speed Golf round I never got to see what really happened. Sure, I was pleasantly surprised to see the words “Hole-in-One” flash up on the screen as I was running halfway down the fairway but the suspense of “will it or won’t it?” was lost. There’s no option to watch replays or highlights either across any of the modes, which just seems a little odd. I guess that mirrors real life as you walk up the hole to see the ball already sitting in it, but I’m not really playing a game with a giant ape one-handedly swinging a golf club towards a tornado for realism, to be honest.

Further moving away from any form of reality (not a bad thing!) is the new Battle Golf, which didn’t ever grab me in the same way. Mainly that’s because it’s so fast-paced that it’s normally over before you have a moment to really get into it. It consists of you and three other competitors battling out in an arena to be the first to put their ball in three holes. Seems simple enough – but wait, there’s a catch. There are nine flags dotted around the stadium to go for, but they disappear once one of the four players has holed them. It makes for a fast and frantic game mode where the key to success, unfortunately, is to steer clear of trouble and go where others aren’t. Avoiding confrontation kind of defeats the whole idea of it being Battle Golf.

The AI opponents are often not the sharpest tools either, and with no way of upping or lowering the difficulty I soon got bored of this mode. When the rounds rarely last upwards of three minutes, that means I became bored quite quickly indeed. Playing online against other humans does give more of a joyful spontaneity to Battle Golf, but it’s still all over far too quickly. It’s not a mode I can see myself playing much more of after my first few days, but it’s far from the dullest in Super Rush.

Golf Adventure mode was what I was most looking forward to in Super Rush, with nostalgia of previous Mario Golf installments once again fuelling my expectations. Instead, I got a largely underwhelming four or five hours. Things start out promisingly, almost like a Pokemon game: you wake up in your home and are set off on your journey to become the very best by your proxy-mother, Birdo. Without spoiling what limited story there is here, you then go about earning badges to build your profile as a golfer before getting roped into saving the kingdom from an artificially engineered climate-change threat. It kinda comes out of nowhere and then finishes before you’ve been given a chance to ask as simple a question as “why?”

Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t going into this expecting storytelling on the level of Homer’s Odyssey, but something akin to Mario’s own Odyssey from a few years back wouldn’t have gone amiss, either. It’s not really even a Mario story at all – aside from a few extended cameos from some familiar faces it’s all a bit rushed, and I’m sure not in the way that “Super Rush” is intended. It starts slow, as you learn the ropes on beginner courses before developing into a series of repetitive and clunky boss battle encounters which have you dodging attacks and firing golf balls at enemies in moderate anger.

That’s not to say that Golf Adventure doesn’t have its high points. I particularly enjoyed a challenge that involved completing nine holes of the whirlwind and water-littered Ridgerock Lake course in under 40 strokes. The twist being that you could do them in any order and continued playing on from the green of each hole, only teeing off once. This turned this into a more puzzle-like section that had me genuinely thinking about what the best strategy to take would be. It’s a shame that this challenge type is only used once, however, because it felt like there was more for it to do.

In fact, lots of mechanics are brought in and used very briefly, and sometimes introduced then not used at all. For example, about halfway through the journey you’re given a club that has the ability to make your shots skim across the water, which sounds and looks very cool. So when I was given no real opportunity to ever use this past the tutorial section in which you learn how to use it, I was baffled. More confusingly, none of the other characters have the ability to use this technique in any of the other modes, meaning it’s rendered almost completely redundant. And this wasn’t the only time something like this happened.

Which Mario "Sports" Series Do You Enjoy the Most?

I would say that Golf Adventure isn’t worth sinking the time into, but the truth is that it’s kind of necessary if you want to be able to enjoy the rest of what Super Rush has to offer. Not only does it teach you basic golfing skills and introduce you to the rules of Speed Golf, but it’s the only way to unlock all of the courses for use in the other modes (Update: Apologies, but I was mistaken about this when playing. You can actually unlock the next course by playing 18 holes of the previous one in other modes. Although this doesn't change my opinion of Super Rush particularly, I just wanted to make sure that I'm not misleading anyone.)

It’s also the only place to level up your Mii character, which comes with both pros and cons: don’t play the Adventure mode and you’ll have a character who can’t compete in other modes, but play it fully and you’ll likely have an overpowered character who can out-drive every other member of the roster. There’s a lack of balance to be found here, especially if you want to play as your Mii characters against a friend in local multiplayer, as it will mean they’ll also have to complete the story mode in order to have a chance against you.

There are six courses in total , which isn’t a huge amount (especially when compared to World Tour, which had 10 before DLC), but at least they offer variety. The super sandy Balmy Dunes will test your approach play, while Wildweather Woods has (you guessed it, again) wild weather to contend with. They’re each visually appealing in their own ways, and while Super Rush doesn’t look like a top-tier Nintendo game graphically, it bursts with colour – especially when playing in handheld mode.

I can’t help but wish there were just a couple more courses, though, even if the handful provided at launch are fun enough. The truth is that unless you’re interested in regularly playing online then there’s not a whole lot more to do after the first few hours except chase your own high scores once the story has finished. Confusingly, there are also no online tournaments to play – another thing World Tour has that has been omitted here, making it feel light on things to do by comparison to its older sibling.

All the courses will be unlocked after the story is complete and all the characters are there from the start. There are special club sets to earn for each of the 16 characters that you must buy with loyalty coins earned by playing as them, but this really does pale in comparison to recent parallels such as Everybody’s Golf which is much better at constantly giving you items to earn and a sense of genuine progression. The truth is that after several hours of playing I’d had a fun enough time with Super Rush, but I was left just thinking, “Well, what’s next?” a whole lot sooner than I ever thought I would be.

Mario Golf: Super Rush is a comfort-food game that, to some (like me!), can take you to a happy place with a couple taps of the same button followed by an exclamation of “Nice Shot!” Its standout Speed Golf mode is a great twist on Mario Golf and a genuinely fun way to play that goes a fair way to spicing up an age-old formula by filling the space between swings with a madcap foot race to the next one. Though even if that mode is a tidy birdie, sadly there are just too many bogeys elsewhere in Super Rush in the form of a poor adventure mode, a slight selection of courses, low replayability, and just a general lack of things to do after you’ve burnt through its content once that make for an unsuccessful round. Arcade golf games like this are made to be played with friends for a long time, but there just doesn’t feel like enough variety on offer here to make me want to. Without that longevity I just can’t place Super Rush in the category of a top-tier Mario Golf game.

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Mario Golf: World Tour

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  • Nintendo Co., Ltd.
  • Camelot Software Planning
  • #54 on Nintendo 3DS
  • Mario Golf: World Tour - Flower Pack (2014)
  • Mario Golf: World Tour - Mushroom Pack (2014)
  • Mario Golf: World Tour - Star Pack (2014)

Description official description

Mario Golf: World Tour is a Mario-themed, arcade style golf game, and the first hand held game in the Mario Golf series since Mario Golf: Advance Tour for Game Boy Advance. The player hits the ball by aiming on an overheard map, and trying to time their power and shot accuracy. While easy to pick up and start playing, special techniques like limited power shots, the ability to use back and top spin, and the ability to curve shots around obstacles allow many different strategies. There are two main modes of play: Castle Club and Mario Golf.

Castle Club mode is similar to the story mode from previous Mario Golf hand held games. In this mode, the players guides their Mii through different tournaments and challenges. As the players progresse, they earn coins, which can be used to purchase better golfing equipment.

Mario Golf mode allows the player to play as different characters from the Mario universe, and compete in a variety of golf games and challenges, including stroke play, match play, and mini games that take place on courses. The mini game challenges require the player to complete certain tasks, such as hitting the ball through rings and then hitting the ball into the hole while still meeting par, or completing a course with 3 randomly selected clubs.

An online mode allows play against other players in tournaments and match play. Local multiplayer with up to four people is also available.

  • マリオゴルフ ワールドツアー - Japanese spelling
  • Mario games
  • Mario Golf series
  • Mario sports games

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Average score: 80% (based on 23 ratings)

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Game added January 24, 2015. Last modified January 3, 2024.

IMAGES

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VIDEO

  1. Mario Golf: World Tour

  2. Mario Golf World Tour: Bogey

  3. Mario Golf World Tour: Nabbit & NSMBU DLC

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COMMENTS

  1. Mario Golf: World Tour

    Mario Golf: World Tour has the most courses of all Mario Golf games, with 16, including the downloadable courses, ... Castle Club is a story mode where the player's Mii tackles different tournaments (similar to the story modes from previous handheld Mario Golf games). The building is the Mushroom Kingdom counterpart to real-life golf country clubs.

  2. Mario Golf: World Tour

    This mode is similar to the RPG-esque story mode in the GBA version of Mario Golf, and it has a loose story through which your Mii will progress. The difficulty increases as you play, and there a variety of sidequests and small minigames. Items - Taking a page from Mario Kart, Mario Golf: World Tour introduces a new type of shot: the Item Shot ...

  3. Mario Golf: World Tour review: mixed greens

    Though the game's story mode and progression mechanics fall flat, Mario Golf: World Tour holds firmly to the series' solid mechanics, providing a plethora of modes, unlockable content and some of ...

  4. My Thoughts on Story Mode : r/MarioGolf

    13 votes, 24 comments. So far I've had some positive and negative opinions about the story mode. For a little history, I have played Toadstool Tour…

  5. Mario Golf: World Tour Review

    Mario and friends are teeing off once again in Mario Golf: World Tour, ... acts as a story mode as players use their Mii character to compete ... means of getting started in Castle Club mode. You ...

  6. Story mode question

    Mario Golf: World Tour; Story mode question; xxxxxn 9 years ago #1. Are the three tournaments all there is to the castle club mode or is there more? For example, when I'm playing castle club mode, maybe I'd get a letter from Mario, Luigi, Peach etc saying I have to beat them at golf but it's not a tournament. #2

  7. Mario Golf: World Tour Review

    Verdict. You don't have to be a hardcore golf fan to get hooked on Mario Golf: World Tour. It rewards good play, gives plenty to do, and is a great teacher. Its incremental approach to challenge ...

  8. Mario Golf World Tour Guide

    Mario Golf: World Tour is the latest entry in the Mario Golf series for Nintendo 3DS. The game features extensive golf gameplay and hosts a variety of Mushroom Kingdom characters and courses .

  9. Mario Golf: World Tour Review

    Mario Golf: World Tour is built upon strong mechanics, but too often relies on novelty value. ... There's a 12-strong cast of familiar faces to play as in Mario Golf mode, including the likes of ...

  10. Mario Golf World Tour [Reviews]

    Main Story. 24 hrs. Story + Sides ... Luigi and their Mushroom Kingdom neighbors are teeing up once again in Mario Golf: World Tour. ... Incredible gameplay but the "story mode" is quite short as ...

  11. How does the adventure mode compare to Advanced Tour?

    If you just want to blast through the story mode without completing everything, Super Rush's is longer. If you want to complete everything, Advance Tour's is longer. One issue I have noticed with people comparing story modes between games is, somehow, Advance Tour took an extremely long amount of time in comparison to Super Rush's (6 hours or so).

  12. Golf Adventure Mode (Story Mode) Walkthrough

    3. This guide covers all you need to know to play Golf Adventure mode, the story mode in Mario Golf: Super Rush for the Nintendo Switch. Here, you can learn about the different features of Golf Adventure mode including courses, XC Golf, bosses, outfits, shops, Mii customization, and how to level up your character.

  13. Mario Golf: Super Rush Review (Switch)

    When writing about any game in this series the first task is to assess the story mode, in this case 'Golf Adventure'. ... and Mario Golf World Tour on the 3DS offered more than simple light ...

  14. Mario Golf: World Tour review

    The Mario Golf series long ago defined how fun simplified golfing gameplay can be, and World Tour gets back onto the fairway with ease. Swinging the club and sending the ball forth takes just ...

  15. Mario Golf: World Tour

    Gameplay. World Tour is a golf simulation video game with the basic premise mirroring the basis of golf.Controlling characters from the Mario franchise, the player aims to hit a golf ball with a golf club across a golf course in order to hit it into the target hole in the lowest number of strokes.The game in particular employs an arcade-like approach to golf, emphasizing simple ...

  16. Mario Golf World Tour

    #PrincessPeach #mariogolfworldtour #nintendo #supermario

  17. Motion controls in story mode : r/MarioGolf

    NES Open, Mario Golf (GBC), Mario Golf (N64), Toadstool Tour (GCN), Advance Tour (GBA), World Tour (3DS), and Super Rush (Switch) ... Does anybody know if there is a way to use motion controls in story mode since that is the way I like to play Locked post. New comments cannot be posted. Share Sort by: Best. Open comment sort options ...

  18. What Mario Golf Switch's New Story Mode Is

    By Kyle Gratton. Published Feb 18, 2021. Mario Golf: Super Rush is on its way to Nintendo Switch with a new story mode. Here are all the details revealed about the single-player experience. In the recent and long-awaited Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced Mario Golf: Super Rush for the Nintendo Switch. Coming in June 2021, Super Rush marks the ...

  19. Mario Golf: Super Rush Review

    Read the full Mario Golf: World Tour Review. Story Time. ... Its standout Speed Golf mode is a great twist on Mario Golf and a genuinely fun way to play that goes a fair way to spicing up an age ...

  20. Mario Golf: World Tour (2014)

    Mario Golf: World Tour is a Mario-themed, arcade style golf game, and the first hand held game in the Mario Golf series since Mario Golf: Advance Tour for Game Boy Advance. The player hits the ball by aiming on an overheard map, and trying to time their power and shot accuracy. While easy to pick up and start playing, special techniques like limited power shots, the ability to use back and top ...

  21. 12 Minutes Story Mode Gameplay + Overworld Tour in Mario Golf: Super

    We go through a bunch of Golf Adventure in Mario Golf: Super Rush! Watch us explore the region, talk to characters, and check out some of the sights from the...

  22. Mario Golf: Advance Tour Review

    Story mode is Advance Tour's centerpiece. Set shortly after the Game Boy Color game, story mode focuses on youngsters Ellie and Neil, two upstart golfers with big dreams.

  23. Mario Golf World Tour

    A guide showing what happens when all characters react to holing out in Mario Golf World Tour. (1080p & 60fps) Enjoy! Please activate the full description fo...