Game played: Golf Story (Switch)

I am in full vacation mode. Literally. I am out of state and on vacation as I am typing this. This is an annual trip I make to San Diego with the family for San Diego Comic Con! I go with my oldest daughter, and the rest of the family makes it a beach trip weekend. We meet up for dinners. It works out for all parties involved.

In vacation prep mode, I wanted to find a game to travel with, and I went to the internet for recommendations for Switch games that are mostly-ish exclusive, as anything else I’d rather play on my PlayStation, but for trip purposes, I am not bringing my PS5. I got some good recommendations, but for the usual suspects. Donkey Kong Bananza, Metroid Prime 4, Pokopia, Star Fox, etc., and I wasn’t really “feeling” any of those. Well, maybe Star Fox, a bit, and I still might get that, but otherwise, those others didn’t feel like “vacation mode” games.

In a random Nintendo Shop browsing haze, I scrolled past Sports Story, which then reminded me of the YEARS-old Golf Story that I never played, but was something I really was hoping for a PlayStation port of for years. Now, this was what I was feeling. A Mario Golf GBC-inspired indie Golf RPG? Who doesn’t want this? Not anyone I care to meet.

The game has a bit of plot to kick things off: a simple story about a son and father playing golf, the child growing up, and now attempting to turn pro. This is where I take over as the player. The game guides you through some tutorials in the form of trying to convince the local club’s coach to train you. It’s a dilapidated course with financial troubles and has been unkempt over the years the son grew up.

Getting into the gameplay, the game lets you drop a ball and swing wherever you like. You can find small courses around, and some NPCs will task you with challenges that act like side quests that can earn you cash, and more importantly, XP. After earning enough, you’ll level up, and you can distribute points to various stats like power, accuracy, spin, and more. This may be a weird game design choice, but you’re given multiple points after you level up, and if you put too much into power, your other stats begin to drop and suffer, so there is a balance you’ll need to take to gradually level them all, which is what I am trying to do, but the other choice is to ignore one (or two) of these and favor power and those other stats. You may not end up well-rounded, but you can exploit a strength that you prefer. The Mario Golf/Tennis games on GBC functioned similarly to this.

After playing for a bit and thinking about a system like this, I think I prefer a static system. I also prefer a game that lets you grind through and overpower yourself at your own pace, if you choose. Obviously, every game can’t be designed this way, as it can break a designed difficulty or pacing, but if I get a bit of freedom, I like to fill my pockets with XP and gold whenever I can.  Some games may show you high-end armor or weapons in a shop early on that you typically cannot afford, and this may be done just to inform the player that there will be growth and upgrades in the future, but if I can, I like to break it a little and find a way to acquire these types of items. It often trades time for difficulty, but I don’t mind. Game balance can be a difficult thing to manage. I am sure I’ll share more thoughts about this after another hardcore RPG hits my queue.

Golf Story was a good time for a vacation afternoon while waiting to do the next thing. I am not “hooked,” per se, but I will come back to it and chip away at it. Oh boy, accidental pun! I found myself an instant expert with the gameplay, as the 3-step swing has been a regular experience for me since NES Open on the, well, the NES. Plus, the Hot Shots and Mario Golf games helped me learn about topspin and backspin, and I have played games with more complex mechanics, like reading the green for putting, that this doesn’t have. I hit the ground running as a pro, already. Hell, the first challenge I eagled the first three courses and smoked it.