LogFAQs > #966087244

azuarc posted...

Surprise, it's just Xenoblade DE.

Surprise, nobody got it.

#40: Mario Golf: Super Rush

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/7/AAA-H0AADYTj.jpg

I really like golf, which is a shame, because I hate basically everything about golf. From the environmental impact of all the water and land use and all of the labor that goes into its upkeep, to the inaccessibility to anyone but the rich, and the elitism and gatekeeping that comes with that. There's a whole attitude about golf and the types of people who play golf that is utterly noxious to me and I really can't in good conscience support the sport. At the same time, the rare times I am on or around a golf course and I shut all of that out for a moment, golf courses are beautiful. I'm the sort of person who enjoys really quiet and gentle activities in the outdoors far away from most other people, so golf is perfect. The rolling greens and the smell of fresh grass on a sunny day are perfect, so long as I forget the real world costs and inequalities. This makes golf a perfect sport for the realm of fantasy.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/8/AAA-H0AADYTk.jpg

Mario Golf is an institution. I've never really cared for other golf sims; too dry, too many stuffy white men in polo shirts who I don't care about. (Golden Tee does get a pass though, those games are cool.) Introducing Mario into the mix, though, livens things up a bit. Mario Golf for the N64 was great - just simmy enough to kinda feel like real golf, just wacky and arcadey enough to not be boring as hell. Really walks the line just right.

And it did so for four games, with Toadstool Tour being a nice upgrade to the 64 version, and the GBC and GBA installments adding cool adventure/RPG elements into the mix. And then Mario Golf... uh, kind of died for a bit? Not like F-Zero died but not really that far off either. It's hard to believe that between 2005 and 2020 we only got one Mario Golf title - World Tour for the 3DS, which I remember being sort of disappointed with but maybe it's just because I don't like playing as a Mii in story mode. It's been 17 fucking years since we had a console Mario Golf! The last one was Toadstool Tour! They didn't put out a Mario Golf title on the fucking WII for christ's sake! The console that's practically made for a golf game!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/8/9/AAA-H0AADYTl.jpg

But it's finally time, and now we have Super Rush, and mostly I'm just glad it exists, because it really strikes me how long it's been since we've had a new console Mario Golf. I haven't really sat down and played as much of it as I really should have before writing this writeup, but what I've played I've really liked. I mean, it's Mario Golf on the Switch. It's a perfect game to take outside on a nice sunny day and relax with. It's as polished as you'd expect from the series, it looks great, and its new gimmicks are fun. I'm a huge fan of speed mode - cutting out having to wait for other peoples' turns keeps the whole thing moving a lot faster and it adds some interesting little strategy elements that didn't exist before - how much time do you want to spend lining up the perfect shot? And it's got online play! I think this mode's a necessity for online play to be fun, probably, just because it cuts down on the waiting.

I haven't really played the story mode. I don't know what it is I have against playing as a Mii but it just annoys me to be playing as an ugly Mii in the midst of a bunch of way cuter characters (see also: Animal Crossing). Maybe I'll go back to it sometime. Dunno if I'm missing much. I think there's some other modes that I haven't gotten into as much as I should have - maybe I'll take my Switch outside and have a few rounds as the weather heats up. In any case, not much more to say about Mario Golf. It's exactly the Mario Golf that it ought to be, as far as I'm concerned, and that's good enough.

Next up: One of my favorite games ever, but in roguelike form, is a pretty good way to get my attention.