Mario Golf: World Tour Review - Hit the Virtual Green with your favorite Nintendo characters

Written by Brandon Hofer  on May 01, 2014

Reviews: Mario Golf: World Tour is another great entry in the franchise that allows you to play both online and offline.

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Mario Golf: World Tour is the latest entry in the Mario sports franchise and it is a tremendous amount of fun. There is quite a bit on offer here from being able to play a quick round of golf to going through the “career” mode. There are also tutorials for those who aren’t familiar with Mario Golf, being able to play as your Mii and participating in online tournaments. It is a fun package that should keep Mario sports fans happy while bringing in some newcomers.

When you first start up the game you are presented with the main menu. This is where you can select “Mario Golf” or “Castle Club.” The “Mario Golf” selection is essentially the quick play selection for this game. When you select this option you are then given more choices on whether you want to play single player, vs., or in a tournament. If you want to get some practice in before challenging others you can pick the single player option where there are four different types of golf to choose from. You have stroke play where you compete for the lowest stroke count. Then there is Match play where you compete to win the most holes. Speed Golf is where you compete for the fastest course completion time and finally there is a Point Tourney where you compete for points based on your stroke count for each hole. There is also a challenge mode where you will tackle a variety of challenges and collect special coins that you can use in the game in the process.



If you choose to go the Vs. route then you have the option of challenging a friend via local play, challenging online friends or participating in a community match. If you want to challenge your friends that are online but no one is recruiting you can create your own party and then once you set the rules you wait for others to join your party. If you want to play with random people you can go the community route. Once you do that you will have the ability to do a quick search, a list search or code search. Once you find a party you will be able to compete head to head and see who has the best skills on the green.

Then of course there is the tournaments. There is the Mario Open and private tournaments. This is where you can find tournaments that are currently going on or create your own. Once you create your own you can also choose whether you want to make it public or close it off for friends. If you choose to close it off you will be presented with a code to give to everyone you want to participate. Once they enter the code then they will immediately find your tournament. The official Mario Open tournaments are put on by Nintendo and are things like “DLC Coin Rush 1,” “Limited - Item Tournament 1,” “Fixed - Character Tournament 2” and much more. There is even a schedule so you know when a tournament you want to play in starts.



If you want to jump into the “career” mode then you will go to the Castle Club and play as your Mii. This is where you can go through some tutorials, go through practice rounds, tournaments and championships. You start off at the bottom (obviously) and have to work your way up to different championships. First you have to set a handicap and then once you do that you will want to win a handicap tournament. Once you do that then you will be eligible to participate in a championship tournament. The Castle Club is the Mario castle that we are all very familiar with where you can get advice, shop for different outfits or equipment and run in to various familiar faces from the Mario franchise. As I write this review there is a goomba strolling around in the lobby deciding if he should sign up for a tournament or not. Different courses offer different difficulties too and there are even some “secret” courses that you can eventually open up as well.

The gameplay mechanics for this game are pretty much the same as previous Mario Golf titles. You have a meter where you will want to hit the “A” button when it gets to the appropriate strength as well as the ability to put topspin on the ball, change clubs on the fly to deal with whatever situation you are in and more. You can control of this using the touchscreen as well which makes it really convenient. There are also items that you can use that will give you an advantage, if you choose to go that route. You also have to take into account environmental factors such as the wind, which can blow your golf ball off course if you aren’t careful. As you progress and begin winning championships you can go in the trophy room and admire the trophies you have won and then try and focus on filling those empty spots in the room with more trophies.



Mario Golf: World Tour is another really fun game in the Mario sports franchise. Nintendo has done a great job putting in a lot of content and they have even announced that Mario Golf: World Tour will be the first Nintendo title with a “Season Pass” so you can get even more content if you want. When I was playing online I didn’t have any lag at all and everything seemed to work beautifully. If you are a fan of the Mario sports franchises I highly recommend you pick up this game. Even if you aren’t a golf fan I would recommend trying this game out. It isn’t as technical as the official PGA games or anything and is instead focused on just having a good time. Be sure to pick it up and perhaps I’ll see you on the virtual green. I call dibs on Yoshi by the way.