Like the man who created him, Mario is a man of many hobbies. He drives go-karts. Plays soccer. Shoot hoops, slaps pucks and even hands out prescriptions of pills when dressed like a doctor. Yes, there are plenty of pastimes that Mario enjoys when he's not busy with his primary job of saving Princess Peach – but, since there are so many, which one should we consider his favorite? Could we boil all the spin-offs and sports sims down and determine which hobby Mario enjoys the most?
Well, if you're going by his first preference, a case could be made for golf.
The Early Days
Mario hit the links for relaxing days of driving and putting years before he took up any of those other extracurricular activities, as Nintendo released the plainly-titled Golf for NES way back on October 18, 1985, as a launch title for the 8-bit NES. Its protagonist was a little off-model, but his red clothes, black mustache and bulbous nose pointed to the fact that Nintendo meant for him to at least call Mario to mind – if indeed it wasn't meant to actually be him.
Two years later, that debate over the golfer identity was settled when Mario very clearly became the unquestioned protagonist for a pair of Golf sequels. Golf: Japan Course and Golf: U.S. Course were only released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System, but the man on-screen was undoubtedly our favorite plumber. And that was only 1987, 25 years ago from this year, so the argument for Mario preferring a day out on the course over any other pastime still carries a quarter-century's worth of weight even if you throw out the prior game.
Mario wasn't done hunting for birdies on the 8-bit console, though, as in 1991 he once again headlined a new sim of the sport in NES Open Tournament Golf. That's a title you probably remember, because it was selected as one of the 10 free NES games given away to 3DS Ambassadors last year. It also featured Princess Daisy serving as Luigi's caddy – the first hint at a budding romance between those two – and had Mario outfitted in the loudest, craziest stars-and-stripes get-up ever imagined.
Add in 1990's Game Boy Golf game and you've got a total of five different titles featuring Mario playing golf, years before any other spin-offs started appearing – Super Mario Kart, one of the first, didn't arrive until 1992.
"Mario Golf" Arrives
Super Mario Kart turned out to have a reflexive influence on Nintendo's golf games, though, as after its success the company finally decided it would be a good idea to actually put their mascot's name right in the games' titles. So the next time Nintendo published a console golf game – I'm not going to count the 1995 Virtual Boy version – it was finally "Mario Golf" for the Nintendo 64.
Mario Golf refined the game design of the early 8-bit games and started pushing more Mushroom Kingdom personality into the mix, as Mario was joined by a whole bunch of his pals out on the course. Each character had his or her own strengths and weaknesses, and you could pull off more complicated shots – while the game was much more immersive, too, thanks to being rendered in 3D for the first time.
That console game was quickly followed by a handheld version, Mario Golf for Game Boy Color. It was a masterpiece. Even more engaging, even without the 3D, Mario Golf on GBC was developed by Camelot – the studio that would go on to craft the Golden Sun series – and it played out as a golfing RPG. You didn't play as Mario to begin with. Instead, you were a young kid who joined a country club and worked your way up in the standings from amateur to pro, seeking an ultimate match against the club pro – Mario himself.
Mario Golf GBC received huge critical praise – it earned a rare 10/10 here at IGN – and it was just re-released through the 3DS eShop as a Virtual Console title today. You'd be doing yourself a favor to grab it immediately.
Mario Steps Aside
The N64 and GBC Mario Golf games inspired a pair of direct sequels a few years later – Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour for the GameCube, and Mario Golf: Advance Tour for the Game Boy Advance. Both were incredible, once again, thanks to Toadstool Tour's winning presentation and Advance Tour's continued RPG focus for portable players. But, oddly, that's where Mario Golf, as a series, came to an end.
We haven't had a new Mario Golf game since. Nintendo has produced other golf titles, but they've been focused more on unique play control mechanics. True Swing Golf shipped for the DS in 2006, and let players use the stylus and touch screen to direct their swings. Wii Sports arrived later that same year, and gave us motion-controlled golf using the Wii Remote as a club handle. Wii Sports Resort kept that going in 2009, with the added precision of the Wii MotionPlus adapter.
All three of these could have been used as design templates for a new, true Mario Golf sequel – but, so far, nothing.
Looking to the Future
But I wouldn't go so far as to say that Mario Golf is done for good. Though new releases haven't appeared in eight years, the brand hasn't been dormant – the original Golf, Game Boy Golf, NES Open Tournament Golf, Mario Golf from the Nintendo 64 and the Game Boy Color edition have all been re-released to modern audiences via the Wii and 3DS Virtual Console in the past several years. If the rumors of Cube games joining the VC lineup for the Wii U pan out, Toadstool Tour would certainly reappear. And Advance Tour could come back too, if GBA titles are officially added to the 3DS eShop.
Plus, on top of all that, Mario Tennis got an all-new sequel just earlier this year. The Tennis games have been kind of a sister series for Golf for 27 years now, and it's not too wild to think that a new Mario Golf game just might be in the works given the release of Mario Tennis Open this past spring.
So, is golf Mario's favorite hobby of all? It's certainly possible. But, if it is, we're hoping he gets a chance to get back out to a new course and play again sometime very soon.
Lucas M. Thomas is the master of the backspin approach shot. Nice on! You can follow him on Twitter, @lucasmthomas.
Source : ign[dot]com
