Since his last “vacation” wasn’t anything close to relaxing, Mario’s decided to try something else to take the stress out of his life…golfing. With success of the first Mario Golf game on the N64, Nintendo has released a sequel of sorts, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on the GC. Using the tried and true formula of familiar characters, easy to use controls, and fun gameplay, Nintendo’s given it its best shot.

    Like almost every Nintendo game, Toadstool Tour has simple, pick up and play controls. Seriously, no matter how complicated the following sounds, hitting and putting will take little time to get used to. There’s a little gauge that measures how hard the ball will be hit, as well as how far left or right the ball will slice. Hitting the ball is as easy as hitting the “A” button twice. One tap of the “A” button will start filling the power gauge, once the gauge fills to the desired distance, press “A” again to swing. But, also like every Nintendo game, to truly become great, there is more to it then that. There is also a manual mode that has a bigger impact zone so slicing is less severe and players can add some topspin or backspin to the ball. Players can also adjust where on the golf ball to hit, there’s a marker on the power gauge that can be adjusted so players can see how far the ball will go, and then there’s the wind. All of these are factors when trying to get around on the courses. Putting of course has to be just a tad more difficult. As if having those other factors in hitting the ball wasn’t enough, the ground and how level it is must be taken into account. The holes on the later course are anything but flat. With enough practice, the mini games help a bunch; players will be sinking those long putts in no time.

    Mario Golf has a slew of modes to play. Ranging from Tournament to several different types of mini-games, and there’s enough unlockables in here to keep players happy for a while. Tournament and Character Match are the modes that’ll get the most use. Tournament puts the player against a bunch of other golfers and all 18 holes are played, the player with the lowest score at the end wins. In the Tournament mode, players collect medals, trophies, and unlock other courses. Of course, as progression through the courses advances, the courses and competition become tougher. Character Match has the player golfing directly against a computer player. Once the competition and course have been selected, the golfers compete to see who can win ten (depends on how many ties the two get) holes first. In Character Match, players can also accept invitations from certain characters. If the computer is defeated, then the star character for that golfer is unlocked. The star character is an improved version of the original. A few of the other modes, such as coin attack, ring attack, and doubles are most enjoyable when played with a friend and offer little substance when soloing it. The mini games, however, are great practice and will give the player a better understanding of the more complex side of hitting and putting.

    There are 12 different golfers to choose from at the start, with a couple to unlock along the way, all of which have their own unique stats and style. Like the ultra conventional Luigi, to the just bizarre one-handed swing of Donkey Kong. Each is different and playing a few rounds to get the feel for ‘em is suggested. Toadstool Tour also has plenty of diverse levels to choose from. Players get a couple of grassy courses and then some more diverse ones that show the Mario universe. Of course, these are the harder levels. Some holes have so many obstacles that it can feel like a miniature golf course.

    Toadstool Tour definitely holds its own when it comes to the graphics. All of the character models have been done quite nicely. While there are a few things about them that could’ve been polished more, like the occasional rough edge, overall they are all up to what you’d expect from Nintendo. All the courses have their own personalities and looks too, each more flashy then the last. Like to give credit to the one who designed Bowser’s course, it has a nice menacing feel to it. There are only a few special effects in this game, mainly when you hit a max power shot your golfer’s swing gets some added emphasis. But not all of the golfers swing-effects are noticeable, Troopa Koopa’s for one.

    It seems Nintendo might have used the same person to create the music for Toadstool Tour that created the music for Mario Sunshine. The use of steel drums can be heard throughout Toadstool Tour. Actually, the music throughout this game is familiar. Some are newer versions of old classics and some just have that Mario feel to them. But, most of the time, the music will take a back seat to the concentration a player will put into getting the ball in just the right spot, most of the time. When setting up a putt, the music’s tone changes for the more serious and helps put pressure on to make the putt. Throughout the matches and mini games, the golfers are all making noises of some kind. Whether it’s Daisy’s little words of reassurance or just non tangible sounds from Birdo all are heard when hitting or after a hole is made. But it would have been nice to hear the characters react to making bad shots, they really only react to missed putts. It’s still nice to hear the “voices,” even if Peach sounds like a contestant from MXC (you know, that show on Spike TV).

    After my time spent with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, I feel that if I hadn’t played it alone first, then my feelings for it would have been different. If you had intentions of playing some games with friends, Toadstool Tour is probably not what you’d want to start out with. This is the kind of game that would be best suited at the end of the night, when everyone’s more relaxed and not so quick to throw the controller in frustration. It takes a little time to fully understand all the functions of hitting and if rushed, these would be missed. Overall, Toadstool Tour is a fun little game. While it might not be a must own, when its price drops, it’s definitely worth having in your collection.