Golf (NES)

[Herschie1]

Man, is this game fun or what? If I remember correctly, I was intrigued by it when I played the NES Remix on the Wii U. Many of those games you're tempted to go out and buy the full version for because you want more than the little taste that they give you. This is one of those games.

Ok, so you look at the game and think, gee, how can this be any fun at all? The graphics stink, and the sound is just a bunch of bips and beeps. Well, this is one of those cases where fun, streamlined gameplay more than makes up for all of that. You aim your shot, then a meter similar to what you might see today determines accuracy and power. 

There are some limitations, but these can be overcome. First off, you only get to aim in eight different radials from where the ball is if you're not on the green. You can overcome this by intentionally hooking or slicing your shot, and it's mighty satisfying watching your drive bend around a dogleg instead of into the trees. Naturally you have to take the wind into account too. On the green you can aim in any direction, and arrows on the green tell you which way it's sloped, so it can be tricky figuring out where to aim and how much power to put on it. I'm no golfer, but this seems to mimic real life. 

By far, the best thing you can do yourself in this game is learn how to select the right club. Estimate how far the ball is going to go. Generally speaking, you're better off leaving the ball a little short than having it go sailing into the trees. Unless, of course, there's water in between you and the hole. 

There you have it. Black-box Golf for the Nintendo. This game is streamlined in the best possible way, meaning that you spend your time setting up your shot, hitting the ball, and watching to see where it goes, rather than being bogged down by pointless animations or other stuff. If any of you are in a classic video game store, and you spot this on the shelf, it shouldn't cost you much more than two bucks. So do yourselves a favor and pick this one up, you will not be sorry.

[TimPossible1]

One of my personal favorites growing up. I think my best round was -20. I used to write the scores on the inside back page of the manual. Still have it!