Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)

While this is probably your best bet for a worthwhile golf game on GBA, it isn't exactly a Mario game either. You only start with four playable Mario characters at the beginning of the game (Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Princess Toadstool) and your primary character in storymode is Some Anime-looking Dude you get to name, similar to Mario Tennis (except you get 8 characters right off the bat in Mario Tennis). You have to spend quite a bit of time unlocking things before you really come close to anything remotely Mario-ish. And there's a lot to unlock. The storymode in the game is very SNES-esque in its RPG presentation, and there's a lot of different mini-games that play by some unique rules (slot clubs, for instance, randomly selects clubs for you for one hole, so in essence you could be left with trying to par a 495 yard par 5 with a 4-wood and a pitching wedge) and some that are just conventional "closest to the pin" contests. Completing these mini-games, as well as tournaments (both singles and doubles) gives you experience points, which you can utilize to build up specific parts of your game, such as driving distance or spin control. And like I mentioned earlier, in the early going while unlocking things and building experience (which may take a while), there isn't a whole lot of Mario going on, and that may turn some players away.

But if you're strictly looking for a good golf game for GBA, this is as good as it's going to get. Considering both the graphical and physics-engine limitations that are present (remember how awful some SNES golf games were?), this game really does a great job presenting a solid golf experience in terms of gameplay and control. It's your traditional three-click swing system, and you can control the spin and select the impact on the ball itself, letting the player manipulate his/her shot in a lot of different ways. Putting is pretty easy; if you putt with some mustard behind your shots, almost any putt will go in from within about 25 feet. The courses are all very different, providing tropical, desert and um.. Scotish atmospheres. The last course that is unlocked after winning each tournament and sufficiently building up experience is the Mushroom Course, the only all-out crazy Mario course in the game, and it's a doozy.

The thing to remember is this: if you're looking for a Mario themed game, you may want to look elsewhere, but if you're looking for a good golf game for GBA, this is the best you'll find.

I was very excited to find this on the ebay. I have been looking for it for some time as a complete set. I have enjoyed playing the game with my kids and there friends.