Sports games have always existed in a tricky spot because it can be incredibly difficult to separate it from the competition. Madden and 2K have incorporated the current season roster into each new installment of their franchises. Nintendo uses their iconic characters to assimilate cartoonish power-ups into the sport, like in Super Strikers or Mario Tennis. Hell, Wii Sports is probably one of the best games on the system due to actual fun motion controls. More often than not though, these games tend to be mediocre virtual representations of the sport they portray with shallow gameplay that doesn’t equal the satisfaction of actually playing the sport. What’s even more confusing is how little a story is ever incorporated into these games considering how many books, movies, and real-life examples exist of harrowing tales.
Golf Story is a breath of fresh air for the genre. It borrows RPG elements and combines them with the traditional three-click system that golf games tend to use, while telling the protagonist’s ascension to the pros. There are eight unique areas that feature their own course, characters, and side missions. As you complete these areas you’re rewarded with experience and money to upgrade your skillset and equipment.
Like real golf, the skills you chose to advance will affect other aspects of your game. You can choose to increase your driving range, but increase it too quickly and you sacrifice accuracy. It means trying to balance character traits with the clubs you acquire, and allows the player to cater gameplay around their preferred style. The equipment also helps tackle certain courses or objectives that other clubs would backfire on. For example, there’s a wedge that makes hitting out of puddles not a fucking nightmare. As someone that plays golf, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ended up in a wet patch uttering a string of profanities after I hit it fat and the ball only went ten yards while I’m now covered in mud specks. Golf is fun, and definitely not a frustrating exercise in patience.
With Golf Story there is no need for that patience since it doesn’t dwell on one aspect for too long. Like playing a round of 18, and not having a slow ass party in front of you that takes ten minutes to hit a five-yard putt, the game is constantly moving you along to the next area or side mission to keep it fresh. It knows, that just like real golf, there needs to be a rhythm. Not too fast, not too slow.
The characters have a humorous wit, where they will talk shit and then immediately shank it into the water. Meanwhile, your naïve and idealistic self will have to prove your worth against these dick wads. Even the NPC’s in each area will have odd challenges that contain a personality. In the first area, you have to save a kid by hitting him in the head with a golf ball so that he's not eaten by a gator. There is a charm to this world exemplified through clever writing and sprite work, that just like golf, keeps you coming back for more, even after playing in the bunkers all day.
My dad will always say that the original name for golf was fuck, but since that was already taken they had to settle for the current one, but fuck this game is good. In a genre oversaturated with uninspired content or that uses dumbass gimmicks like the Kinect, Golf Story adds a unique twist to make it stand out. There’s also a portion of the game that allows you to play Galf, an 8-bit version of golf that pays homage to the early days of golf games featured on the Atari and NES. While I’m out yelling “FOUR!” as I rip my tee shot over to the next course, Golf Story is awared a Wii Sports "Nice shot!"