Golf Story Impressions

There's a certain inexplicable joy I get when I find games that take something I never would have found interesting and make it fun. I don't normally like golf as a sport; mostly because I am not very good at it or...in shape. But golf also is a very slow-paced game and a lot of  time players look like they are doing nothing. Or at least it seems that way. I get there is a lot of calculation, body control, and strength involved in every tee, stroke, and putt. But as an observer, there is just too much time between hits that it's just not fun to watch.

But then comes along the trailer for Golf Story and I immediately fell in love. An RPG that revolves around golf and has a sense of humor about it? Count me in.  It's one of the few games where the hype I had matched the quality of the game. The gameplay is fun enough for the length of the game, the story is simple but full of funny, well-written characters, and the sprite, 16-bit graphics fit very well with what the game's tone and style.

In Golf Story you play as a man who had nothing really going for him in life. His dad and teacher was a pro golfer, but it never really helped him much. He hasn't amounted to anything except for upsetting his ex-girlfriend (or ex-wife, it wasn't clear). On the day, they broke up, he vowed to become a pro golfer like his dad was. No more watching TV, no more wasting time, it was now time to get serious. He then goes on a journey to find a coach to take him to the next level. Once he finds and convinces Coach Lucky to take him as his protege, the world opens up and he is able to follow his dream. 

The best part of Golf Story is the dialogue. Fear not, not knowing of the inner workings of golf does not impede a players enjoyment of the clever writing and witty dialogue. However, I'm sure I would have enjoyed this game even more if I knew more golf terms. There are one-liners for days here that remind a lot of Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. For example, there is a mini-game halfway through the game to hit certain things on an odd driving range (it's filled with trash and crocodiles). Once you complete all the objectives and win all the prizes, the gamekeeper actually becomes annoyed and hopes that no one else likes golf because they wouldn't be able to win any prizes. Heck, there's even a rap battle between old people and "new age" golfers.

Golf Story takes the main character through  eight different locales, each with their own unique obstacles and game mechanics. You'll be traveling to a prehistoric themed course filled with cavemen (and cavewomen of course) to course built on haunted houses.  Each place exists only to move the plot forward, but each golf course is unique and filled with fun characters. I personally enjoyed a course in the later half of the game called "Tidy Park." A true gentlemen's golf course for the over 55+ community. Part of the requirements of playing on this extremely pristine course is to find really, really old golf clubs. Ancient clubs is what I'm talking about. What makes the game hilarious and clever is that you have to go to the prehistoric course to get one of the clubs! The game just has the perfect amount of wonkiness that it becomes the game's charm.

The gameplay is solid for a golfing game. Think Fuji Golf for Windows '95 but with more obstacles and more customization. GS lets the player adjust power, curvature, spin, distance, and gives special skills to help players when they're in a bind. As you complete courses and quests, you gain experience and level up. Each level up allows the player to adjust those stats. The game doesn't take too long to complete, so the gameplay cycle doesn't get too repetitive. To make it even better, there are side stories with their own mini-games that range from trying push out all the seedy, thuggish disc golfers to mastering the art of drone golf (is that even a thing?). There's even a secret lab dedicated to making the best putt-putt golf club which is guarded by two mean looking bouncers. The only way to access the lab is to find switches hidden through out the course. I never knew there were so many ways golf could be used as game mechanic until I played this game. You'll use your golf club to hit balls (obviously), dig, start a fire, freeze people, unfreeze people, create electricity, and even destroy an army of undead soldiers led by two goth people (I'm dead serious). 

However, the game has a couple of issues that can be overlooked but are pretty apparent. The biggest problem with the game are the glitches. The game isn't a technical powerhouse in terms of graphical fidelity, so it's very odd that running into bugs is so frequent. I can easily get stuck in doors and near objects. There were many times where I was able to access a room but then wasn't able to go back unless I moved further into the room I was in and then go back to the entrance to the previous room. Since I suck at golfing games, I'm going to say that the wind in this game is a glitch too. It screwed me over on so many late game courses that it drove me mad and almost made me throw my Switch on the ground. This leads me to my second complaint: the difficult curve definitely spikes up toward the end of the game. Most of the game I felt like I was able to slowly master certain holes and terrain but toward the end I was hedging my bets that the wind would be in the right direction Otherwise, I had to repeat courses multiple times to get things right. My last complaint (which more on myself) is that I never fully understood all the mechanics and variables throughout my playthrough. I don't know if was because I didn't follow the tutorial well enough, or if it's because the game did a bad job of explaining them. The stats never seemed to make any sense until I read a guide on how to level up efficiently. Once I understood what to level up, it made even the hardest golf courses manageable.

Golf Story is a quick game. I think an average gamer could finish it in under 10 hours. But the charm and humor this game has is pretty unique. I could tell a lot of love and energy went into making each course memorable and each character fun to interact with. While the gameplay of regular golf can get repetitive or frustrating, there is enough...non-golf...golf stuff... to keep things fresh.

Did I even tell you there's a murder mystery dinner party in the game with a werewolf!? You literally  have to solve a mystery!

I really don't like golf, but I love Golf Story.