Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour

aka: Mario Golf: Family Tour
Moby ID: 10019
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Description official descriptions

Mario and the team, including Peach, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Luigi and Wario, return for another round of golf.

Play through courses either with real life situations (your typical bunker or water hazard) to fantasy 'Mario World' settings, such as a Chain Chomp awaiting your ball in the sand traps and using warp pipes to get further towards the hole quickly and easily.

Up to 4 players can play at any one time in Tournament and Match Play modes, with the obvious goal being the one who wins the tournament taking the least amount of shots to do so.

Spellings

  • マリオゴルフ ファミリーツアー - Japanese spelling
  • 마리오골프 - Korean spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Credits (GameCube version)

113 People (108 developers, 5 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 80% (based on 30 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 29 ratings with 2 reviews)

Not very good

The Good
The graphics, sound, and atmosphere of the game are all here in traditional mario fashion. I enjoy the mario themed sports games as most are lighthearted, low impact fun for both sports fans and non sports fans alike.

The controls are quite simple, and the game can easily be learned without reading the manual at all. By the time I played the first 9 holes I knew exactly what I was doing.

There are also a variety of modes of play, such as stroke play, gathering coins (which involves hitting the ball into areas that have a large amount of coins), and playing with a randomly selected limited number of clubs, to timed play where you must play fast and beat the timer. Up to four people can play, and the more you have the more fun the whole thing can be.



The Bad
Unfortunately, this game fails to deliver. It just wasn't very fun for me to play. I have played other golf games such as Outlaw Golf and Links for the PC, so perhaps I have higher expectations than most.

For one, the camera angles are absolutely terrible. More time is spent on the stationary character than the ball itself. Often you'll hit the ball and wonder where it went while the camera focuses on mario, or whoever you picked.

There are a wide variety of characters to choose from, all with different tendencies in their swing. Some characters shoot short but straight, while others may have a lot of power but less control, causing the ball to splice. The problem is however, when you play characters that seem to be opposites, they tend to perform the same. For example, I can take a straight shooting character, drive the ball at maximum power without making any adjustments prior to the drive, and then do the same for a character with less control and the balls will typically end up very very close to one another.

Putting/driving is way too easy. I got pars and birdies my first time ever playing the game. There is a feature to where after you select the power level of your drive, the computer will automatically hit the ball perfectly straight if you let it. Boo.

Wind, which is a major factor in golf and many golf games has almost negligible effect here. 20mph crosswind? No problem, and almost no difference from 0 mph wind even while using a wedge at full power.

The ball doesn't roll enough. The physics are unrealistic. When the ball hits the ground (even with a low trajectory high speed shot) it slows down as if it hit sand or an extremely wet surface. If it's raining in the game, it's even worse as I've used a putter on the green for a long range birdie and even at full power I couldn't get within 10 feet of the hole because it was stopped short.

Commentary is almost non-existent, except for a voice (not even a mario character's voice as the commentator) that says 'nice shot!' or 'nice on' just about everytime you hit the ball or make it to the green.

The game often feels static and lonely. I can't put my finger on it but unlike other mario sports games that I've played, I'm just not enchanted by this one.

The Bottom Line
I understand that this game was designed to be a mario game first, and a golf game second, but if you ask me it fails to deliver on either point.

If one were a mario fan, AND had never ever played any other golf game in the past, this could be a good pick. Otherwise, I'd suggest Outlaw Golf, or Hot Shots golf over this one.

GameCube · by D Michael (222) · 2006

Video golf at it's almost greatest

The Good
Almost everything.

Controls - The controls are well thought out, and easy to use. The standard controls are excellent (don't remember if you can change them), but beware, almost every button has a use. It's also great that there's two different methods of hitting the ball. One is easy, the other builds on the easy method (with more button presses obviously) and allows for more control. Spin, top or back, is one of those things you only get with 'manual' swing mode.

Courses - The courses are varied and interesting. There's (I think) something like 8 courses. They're all different from each other. The backgrounds of the courses are terrific. For example, one of the courses is all in the tops of giant trees. It's pretty cool. The holes range in par from 3 to 5, and they are scored pretty well. There hasn't been a single hole where I didn't think I could make par. Some are more challenging then others, but that's to be expected. And welcomed.

Characters - There are a lot of characters. Twice what you can see, as each character has a 'Star' mode, which increases distance (usually) at the expense of another stat. Each character has a max distance number (Waluigi for example, can drive 206 yards or something), and 3 (4?) other stats, plus an approximation of the path the ball follows off the tee (slice, hook, etc) as a directional arrow. There's also some unlock-able characters which you earn as you do certain things.

Modes - There's actually a surprising number of play modes. I figured, 'Hey, it's golf'. Well, it is, and it's lots of golf. You can play normal 'Stroke' play, where the player with the fewest strokes at the end wins. You can play another mode, where it only matters if you win the hole. You can play doubles, with or against a friend or the computer. You get the idea. Pretty high replay value with all the modes. 4 players at a time, did I mention that?

Graphics - The graphics are good (especially in progressive mode). Everything looks very nice. Nothing that'll make you go 'Holy crap, it looks like a movie', but they're very enjoyable.

The Bad
There's not much I didn't like about this game. The only real thing that's semi-annoying is the sound. The sound effects are good, but the characters have a limited number of sounds. Each character seems to only have one sound per action. For example, Mario makes the same noise every time he hits the ball. Plus the announcer (such as it is) only says a few things, and they get annoying real quick. Other than that there's not much wrong with this game.

The Bottom Line
It's golf. It's very fun, and well done, but at the end, it's still golf. Buy this game. Unless you hate golf.

GameCube · by jon moses (5) · 2003

Trivia

Competition

An exclusive Target store version includes Target Bullseye Tour.

You can see how you stack up against a nationwide competition in Target's exclusive Bullseye Tour for Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour! Simply sign up, then post your score using the code provided in the Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour game you purchased at Target. Not satisfied with your standing? Come back anytime to update your score! Just visiting? Check out the leaderboard. Top golfers will win cool prizes, including a lounge chair and a Nintendo GameCube with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. Wristbands for everyone who provides their street address.

This competition ended 31 Aug 2003.

Diddy Kong

The first game to feature Mario and Diddy Kong together. Diddy Kong was originally owned by Rare, who produced the Donkey Kong Country series. In those games, the Rare logo is visible on Diddy Kong's cap. Nintendo bought the rights to the character, and he appeared in this game. The Rare logo is now a Nintendo logo.

Information also contributed by MegaMegaMan.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Additional contributors: Jeanne, Corn Popper, gamewarrior, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto.

Game added August 16, 2003. Last modified January 30, 2024.