Mario Golf (series)

Mario Golf
The current logo of the Mario Golf series
First installment	Golf: Japan Course (1987)
Latest installment	Mario Golf: Super Rush (2021)
Number of installments	9
Franchise	Super Mario

The Mario Golf series is a video game series primarily developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. It stars Mario and other characters of the Super Mario franchise participating in golfing events. The series was preceded by Golf, which starred Mario, who was known as Ossan in this game. A variant of this game called Stroke & Match Golf released for the VS. System had two different versions, one starring Mario and the other starring a lady golfer. The series' namesake Nintendo 64 game, Mario Golf, was released in 1999, and it is often misconceived as the first game of the series, especially in the Western world. Aside from an entirely different handheld counterpart, releases followed one game for both the Nintendo GameCube and the Game Boy Advance, while the sixth installment was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2014, and a seventh installment was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2021. Some games in the series double as role-playing games, the single-player story modes in particular.

Prior to Mario Golf were three installments of the main series: Golf: Japan Course, Golf: U.S. Course (both released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan only), and NES Open Tournament Golf, which is titled Mario Open Golf in Japan, more clearly billing it as a Mario Golf title there than to English-speaking audiences.

The N64 and Game Boy Color versions can communicate with each other via Transfer Pak connectivity, and the GameCube and GBA versions can do the same via the Game Link Cable; the connectivity features allow players to upload characters and data from one game into the other.

Gameplay

Mario hits a golf ball with other characters looking on.

In early Mario Golf games, it is unknown where the golf is taking place. Most games include many clubs to choose from. Stroke & Match Golf and Golf: Japan Course included an extra playable lady golfer.

In NES Open Tournament Golf, the holes are located in Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, with other locations appearing in the Japanese version. In single-player mode, only Mario is playable, but Luigi is playable in multiplayer, and other pre-existing Super Mario characters make smaller appearances. Luigi and several original characters appear as opponents.

In Camelot's Mario Golf games, players can play as a variety of recurring Super Mario characters, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Baby Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Bowser among others. The first- and second-generation Mario Golf games also feature original human characters created by Camelot specifically for these games, such as Kid, Plum, Sonny, and Harry; none of these characters have made any reappearances outside the series save for Plum, who has appeared as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Kid, who has appeared in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit.

Mario Golf games are typical golf games, where the player's objective is to hit the ball into the hole by using as few strokes as possible. The games in the series specifically have simplified "pick-up-and-play" type gameplay, which does away with many of the complicated real-life aspects of golf as found in other games relating to the sport. However, despite the simplicity of the games' appearance and play style, they run on very deep game engines. Before each swing, the player chooses a club, a general direction, and a range for the ball to travel. During the swing, the player determines power by timing a button press for a marker to stop at the desired point on a power meter; at this point, the player can choose to influence the direction of the ball by applying spin. Players can alternate between auto and manual shots, with the latter providing the player with more control, albeit at a higher risk of a poor shot. Many of these gameplay aspects, such as spin, are affected by characters' individual statistics. These relate to features such as control of the ball and the general height of shots, which determines how much the character's play is affected by environmental factors such as wind, rain, and relief of the land. The first- and second-generation Mario Golf home console games also have characters use recorded voice samples to comment on their opponents' shots.

Mario Golf games contain several gameplay modes and variants of golf, including the traditional stroke and match play, speed golf, ring shot, mini golf, and skins match. The main mode is "Tournament Mode," where the player competes against artificial intelligence (AI) opponents on a series of courses to win trophies. With the progression of the series, new modes were introduced, such as "Character Match," where characters battle computer-designated AI opponents to be upgraded into "star characters" and gain statistical enhancements; "Coin Attack," where players can collect coins scattered around courses; and "Ring Attack," where players are required to direct the ball through rings of varying locations, angles, and diameter while keeping on or under par.

The courses in Mario Golf games are based on traditional locations within the Super Mario franchise, such as the grounds of Peach's Castle in the Mushroom Kingdom. As the series progressed, more complex terrain and exotic features were introduced into courses, and courses were designed to resemble real-life golf courses. More advanced courses offer a higher frequency of difficult terrain and elevation, as in bunkers, which limit the accuracy and range of shots. There are also hazards themed after the Super Mario universe: These include lava pits, Thwomps, Chain Chomps, etc., which will incur one-shot penalties if landed on, as will water sections and out-of-bounds areas; and Warp Pipes, which can change the location of the ball.

The handheld Mario Golf games are styled after role-playing games. They feature an overworld map, where the player can walk around and interact with different courses, characters, and objects. There are golfing clubs that hold tournaments. The player controls a golf player (either male or female) and aims to win the aforementioned tournaments. There are also side courses where the player can train or earn special clubs. Each of the courses has two places of interest: the main golf course and the practice area. The main course is accessed by entering tourneys or playing practice rounds, and the practice area allows players to test their skill with minigames.

In the first handheld Mario Golf and Advance Tour, the golfing clubs are named Marion, Palms, Dunes, and Links. The player character achieves the goal of becoming the "ultimate golfer" by winning the tournaments in the aforementioned clubs, defeating their champions in match games, and earning the right to engage in a one-on-one match against Mario, who in the context of these games is the world's ultimate golfing champion. In addition to its main course and practice area, Marion features a third place of interest: the clubhouse, which is where the player characters are based and can talk to other golfers. By progressing through the game and completing its various elements, the player can gain experience to distribute among the two characters to enhance both their drive and their hitting capabilities. As a character levels up in those games, they gain stat points to improve their abilities.

Home console to handheld interactivity

The second and third generations of Mario Golf consisted of one home console title and one handheld title; each pair of titles had content transferable from one game to the other. Using the Nintendo 64's Transfer Pak, players were able to upload characters and data found in the Game Boy Color version to the Nintendo 64 version, meaning that the players exclusive to the Game Boy game could be seen and played as in full 3D. Data from the Nintendo 64 version was also saved onto the Game Boy Color cartridge. Transfer Pak functionality is not included in the Virtual Console release. The connectivity functions returned when players were able to use the Nintendo GameCube–Game Boy Advance Link Cable to transfer characters between Toadstool Tour and Advance Tour. These functions are absent from later entries of the series, as these games do not have a respective counterpart.

Installments

Main series

Title
Cover, original release, and system	Synopsis
Golf: Japan Course
February 21, 1987 FDS	Golf: Japan Course is a simple Japan-only update to the 1984 original Golf game, albeit with new holes, different types of grasses added, and trees acting as solid obstacles. Mario is now in his normal proportions and outfit, while a palette swap Luigi is available for the second player. There is also a palette-swapped computer opponent that wears black and brown. Japan Course was involved in a major contest. After finishing all the holes, players had an option of saving their score. If the score was good, the score could be recorded into a special blue disk that came with the game and sent via Disk Fax to Nintendo in Kyoto. 5,000 runners-up received the Professional Course golden Disk Card, which is much harder than the original. The top 100 scorers received a plaque with their names on it, as well as a Champions' Course golden Disk Card with their name and rank programmed onto the title screen, and an even more difficult set of holes.
Golf: U.S. Course
June 14, 1987 FDS	Golf: U.S. Course was released months later and is also a Japan-exclusive game. It is more open, and a bird's-eye view of the holes is not available during gameplay, making it a bit more challenging. In this game, Mario wears a blue shirt and red-and-white striped overalls. Luigi is not mentioned in the game or the instruction manual, but the second player is a green palette swap, while Player 3 is blue and Player 4 is orange. There is also a hidden female playable character that can be unlocked. The game also had a contest similar to Japan Course in which the main prize was a trophy and a golden Punch-Out!! Famicom cartridge. An unannounced prize was the golden disk Golf: Prize Card, which contained the harder Special Course. It was given out during the same contest but likely as part of a lottery to a thousand players whose submissions included a hole-in-one.
NES Open Tournament Golf
September 20, 1991 FC/NES	NES Open Tournament Golf is a golf game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game features Mario and Luigi as playable characters along with Princess Toadstool and Princess Daisy as their caddies. Additionally, various other humans made their appearance, including Steve (beginner), Mark (amateur), Tony (semi-professional), and Billy (professional). Despite using Super Mario branding, the game gives Mario title billing in the Japanese release only. In the American version, the graphics differ slightly, and the soundtrack has been changed. A version of this game was made for the Nintendo PlayChoice-10 in America, called Mario's Open Golf. It was rereleased for Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U through Virtual Console, and Nintendo Switch through Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online. It was also included in Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer, released only in Japan.
Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)
June 11, 1999 Nintendo 64	Mario Golf, for Nintendo 64, is a 3D golfing simulator featuring the standard cast of Super Mario characters along with a new cast of human characters exclusive to the game. Players could choose to play through tournaments and special challenges in the single player mode. The ordinary basics of the multiplayer side of the game were the strokes and match play modes, with special modes including a mini-putt mode (called "Putt-Putt") and a practice mode. It was rereleased for Wii initially in 2008 and for Wii U in 2015 through Virtual Console, and for Nintendo 64 - Nintendo Switch Online in 2022.
Mario Golf (Game Boy Color)
August 5, 1999 Game Boy Color	Mario Golf, for the Game Boy Color, was released shortly after the home console game. This version has a very different premise apart from its Nintendo 64 counterpart with much of the single player mode played like an RPG, where players can choose one of four characters and conquer the challenges of the golf world. The game also features a multiplayer mode and special free-play modes for players interested solely in the golfing portion of the game and those who had finished or wanted a break from the main quest. The portable game could link up to the Nintendo 64 version via the use of that console's Transfer Pak, and characters trained in the Game Boy Color version could then be played in the Nintendo 64 version like any other character. It was rereleased for Nintendo 3DS through Virtual Console, initially in 2012, and for Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online in 2024.
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
July 28, 2003 Nintendo GameCube	Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour was the next entry in the series, released for the Nintendo GameCube. The game takes the basic formula of the N64 version with some minor revisions made. The main appeals of this entry were the highly updated graphics and improved swing system. New guides on the interface showed players exactly how much power they needed to land the ball exactly where they wanted it. Players still need to factor in the wind, the ball lie, and deal with their slicing or drawing the ball. New playable characters added in this installment include Daisy, Koopa Troopa, Diddy Kong, Waluigi, Birdo, Bowser Jr., Boo, Shadow Mario, and Petey Piranha.
Mario Golf: Advance Tour
April 22, 2004 Game Boy Advance	Mario Golf: Advance Tour is another title for the series, it was released for the Game Boy Advance, and is the handheld counterpart to Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. While the gameplay is identical to that its home console counterpart, as well as the game's new visuals impressed with pre-rendered sprites and Mode 7 scaling for the golf courses, the content is very similar to that of its handheld predecessor, continuing the RPG-style. The main story follows two fledgling golfers named Neil and Ella in their quest to become world-class golfers. This game can be linked to its home console counterpart via the Nintendo GameCube - Game Boy Advance cable as can be use to unlock new features such as Neil and Ella, after being trained up, could be transferred onto Toadstool Tour as playable characters, where they also gain their own custom taunts and support messages like the other playable characters. Additionally, star versions of various courses and new characters can be unlock in the game based on the number of Best Badges earned from Toadstool Tour. It was rereleased for Wii U through Virtual Console in 2014.
Mario Golf: World Tour
May 1, 2014 Nintendo 3DS	Mario Golf: World Tour is a title released for the Nintendo 3DS. It introduces a number of new features into the series, including gyroscope support, online multiplayer, Item Shots, and downloadable content. Like Mario Tennis Open, it feature Miis as playable characters (a first for the Mario Golf series) and unlockable outfits for them. The game also includes Castle Club, a story mode where the player's Mii can compete in different tournaments. Beside Miis, new playable characters to the series introduced in this installment include Toad, Kamek, and Koopa Paratroopa as unlockable characters, as well as Gold Mario, Toadette, Nabbit, and Rosalina as characters available through add-on content.
Mario Golf: Super Rush
June 25, 2021 Nintendo Switch	Mario Golf: Super Rush was released for the Nintendo Switch. The game includes many new features and several modes, as well as a reimagined version of Speed Golf, where players must travel across the courses to physically run to their ball in-between shots under time pressure. A Story Mode, called Golf Adventure, is also included, where the player's Mii can go through a variety of unique challenges and level up on their stats. Motion or button controls can be used to play either way. New playable characters added in this installment include Pauline, Chargin' Chuck, and King Bob-omb, as well as Ninji, Wiggler, and Shy Guy post-launch.

Predecessors

Title
Cover, original release, and system	Synopsis
Golf
May 1, 1984 FC/NES	Nintendo's original golf game, programmed by Satoru Iwata, is a simple game of 18 holes. Along with its original releases as a launch title on the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System, it has been ported numerous times, including the Famicom Disk System, numerous Japanese personal computers, and the Nintendo PlayChoice-10. The character in it resembles a more realistic portrayal of Mario, wearing white and blue as Player 1 and red and black as Player 2, though he is sometimes identified as Mario and other times as a generic character nicknamed "Ossan." Unlike in most later games in the series, the holes lack any distinction between rough grass and fairway, while trees solely act as out-of-bounds areas.
Stroke & Match Golf
August 1984 VS. System	Stroke & Match Golf or VS. Golf is a variation of the original game on the VS. System series of arcade machines. It was released alongside VS. Pinball. Three versions were released, all with a randomly picked selection of 18 holes from a larger sample, which differs between each release. The sole Japanese version and one of the two overseas versions feature Mario with the same sprites as the original game, but the other overseas version features a female golfer instead. Since the game is an arcade game, a credit system is implemented, but how it works varies by region.
Golf (Game Boy)
November 28, 1989 Game Boy	Despite sharing a title with the original game, the Game Boy Golf has 36 holes spread across a Japan Course and a U.S.A. Course, similar to the previous separate Disk System games, which it is also otherwise more similar to. Unlike in the previous games, there is no "back view" of Mario, instead showing a heavily zoomed-in version of the bird's-eye map. Multiplayer requires two Game Boys and a link cable.

Related

Title
Cover, original release, and system	Synopsis
Golf*
August 11, 1995 Virtual Boy	This game was initially developed by T&E Soft and released in Japan as the unrelated T&E Virtual Golf, though it was localized as simply Golf* or as Nintendo Golf, giving it a connection to the earlier games. It features a generic human golfer (implicitly named "Duff" by the default name registry) in place of Mario and, due to the Virtual Boy's capabilities, has a course of 18 fully 3D holes with hills and slopes at the Papillion Golf & Country Club. Due to the different development history, it has several gameplay differences from the other games, though some of its mechanics are used in Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64.
Mobile Golf
May 11, 2001 Game Boy Color	This Japan-only game is a spinoff of Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color and is very similar to its predecessor. Its main innovation was multiplayer games within a mobile phone network via a special adapter. Unlike in its predecessor, the holes are based on real locations, like in the earlier Golf games.
Mario Sports Superstars
March 10, 2017 Nintendo 3DS	A Nintendo 3DS game that was released in March 2017. Golf, developed by Camelot like the main series, is included as one of the five sports available. Metal Mario returns after being playable once in the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Golf, and Baby Luigi and Pink Gold Peach, both characters that have yet to be playable in the main Mario Golf series, are playable characters in this game.

Playable characters

In the nine installments of the Mario Golf series, many Super Mario characters appear. Human characters unique to the Mario Golf series, such as Kid, appear in dark cells.

Golfer	Golf	Japan Course	US Course	NES Open	N64	GBC	Mobile	Toadstool Tour	Advance Tour	World Tour	Superstars	Super Rush
Mario					1		7
Luigi					1				2
Lady golfer			8
Peach							7
Bowser					2				2
Baby Mario
Yoshi					1		7
Wario					1	2			2
Donkey Kong					2
Metal Mario					2						2
Plum
Charlie
Sonny					2
Harry					2
Maple					2
Kid					6	5	2
Sherry					6	5
Joe					6	5
Azalea					6	5
Putts						2,5
Grace						2,5	2
Tiny						2,5	2
Gene Yuss						2,5	2
Foreman Spike							7
Ken
Napple
Thread
Lisa
Bean							2
Rozary							2
Powert							2
Bird							2
Daisy
Koopa Troopa												4
Diddy Kong
Waluigi									2
Birdo										2
Bowser Jr.								2
Boo								2
Shadow Mario								2
Petey Piranha								2
Neil								6
Ella								6
Toad										2
Kamek										2
Paratroopa										2
Gold Mario										3
Toadette										3		4
Nabbit										3
Rosalina										3
Mii
Baby Luigi
Pink Gold Peach											2
Pauline
Chargin' Chuck
King Bob-omb
Ninji												4
Wiggler												4
Shy Guy												4
Unique characters introduced	1	1	0	0	16	4	8 + 1 DLC = 9	11	0	4 + 4 DLC = 8	2	3 + 3 DLC = 6
Total playable characters	1	2	2	2	18	11	12 + 4 DLC = 16	18	18	17 + 4 DLC = 21	18	17 + 5 DLC = 22

¹ - The character is unlockable, but available by default in multiplayer.
² - The character is unlockable.
³ - The character is available as paid DLC.
⁴ - The character was added through a free update.
⁵ - The character is only playable in Story Mode.
⁶ - The character is unlocked by transfering from partner version
⁷ - The character is unlockable through Mobile Adapter GB DLC
⁸ - The character is unlockable in the Prize Card version or with a disk registered with the Disk Fax service.

Game modes

It has been requested that this section be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: include more game modes

Speed Golf

Wario beginning a round of Speed Golf in Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64

“Finish faster than anyone else. The faster play time wins!”

—Introduction, Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)

Speed Golf is a recurring game mode that has appeared in nearly every main installment of the Mario Golf series. The game mode's rules throughout the series are to complete a course (or a three-, six-, or nine-hole section of it) as fast as possible, and the player is timed through each hole on how long the player has spent on each one. It can usually be played against a CPU or alone, and any course can be chosen. In Mario Golf: Super Rush, players must run to the balls in order to hit them until they enter the hole.

Gallery

• 

  Logo used on the English box art for Golf on the Game Boy

• 

  Classic logo of the series

• 

  Previous logo of the series

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	マリオゴルフ[?] Mario Gorufu	Mario Golf
Chinese (simplified)	马力欧高尔夫 Mǎlì'ōu Gāo'ěrfū	Mario Golf
Chinese (traditional)	瑪利歐高爾夫 Mǎlì'ōu Gāo'ěrfū	Mario Golf
Korean	마리오 골프[?] Mario Golpeu	Mario Golf

Trivia

• A golf course appears in the background of the Mushroom Kingdom stage of the Adventure Mode of Super Smash Bros. Melee, as a reference to the Mario Golf series. The Mario Golf series is also mentioned in Luigi's Diary in Paper Mario.
• Mario Golf is referenced in the Death Note manga, when Ryuk asks Light Yagami if he wants to play Mario Golf.
• In Nintendo Monopoly, there is a Coin Block/Brick Block card that rewards the player with $100 for winning a golf tournament.
• This series defies many common trends regarding the stats that Super Mario characters tend to have. For example, Mario, a balanced character in almost every game, has one of the longest drives in every Mario Golf game, while his brother Luigi, who is also often balanced, is a weak driver but has good control over the ball. Wario, typically a power character, is a middle-class driver in this series. Princess Daisy, usually a technique or balanced character, is a power-hitter similar to Mario.
• Rabbid Peach's Sandbagger Sentry in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle references the Mario Golf games, as its description alludes to the golf club on the front of the weapon possibly belonging to Mario.