Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour isn't a great departure from Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64. It is, however, a great improvement on the aforementioned title. Toadstool Tour boasts 7 different courses to play on in modes such as exhibition and tournament, as well as special mini games, star challenges, and special tournaments which you can play if you use the code input screen. Unfortunately, the mini golf mode from Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64 has gotten the axe.
The game plays very close to Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64 as well, though Camelot has greatly expanded the options available during play. Players get to choose between a 2 button press or 3 button press shot mode. The 2 button press is recommended for beginners, as it takes away a lot of the complex issues related to aiming the shot. The 3 button press is recommended once a player sees the need to execute different types of shots, as well as the need for spin and swing on a shot. Executing top spin and back spin shots may be confusing at first, but the game provides a nice little tutorial to explain the button combinations required. The power hit and the ability to distract your opponents while they're taking a shot have returned.
The different courses on offer in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour are set in various familiar locations from the Mario world. These courses start off being really easy, but become downright unfair towards the end of the game. In fact, the best I did on the 6th course was 3rd place with something ridiculous like 7 over par, with the winner claiming a score of +5. Star challenges allow you to challenge one of the characters in the game on a course of your choice. Winning the challenge (first to win 10 holes) will result in you unlocking your opponent's Star character, which is basically a new version of that character with better attributes. The game offers a variety of other mini game challenges, such as the ring shot, where you have to get your ball through the rings on the course, and complete the hole on or below par, and the hole in one contest, where you have to do your best to get the ball in the hole with one shot. These mini games are fairly inconsequential when it comes to the single player game, but are good for a change when playing with friends. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour will also link up to Mario Golf: Advance Tour, but we do not have any idea of what this connectivity entails, as Advance Tour is not yet available.
Arguably the biggest change from Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64 to Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour on the Gamecube is the graphics. Mario and his friends are constructed from a far greater amount of polygons, and the courses they play on are absolutely luscious. You won't find any of the horrible fogging or sprite trees that plagued the previous game. Despite what some US reviewers have claimed, the camera controls in the game are absolutely fine - in fact, I found them to be more intuitive than the ones in the previous Mario Golf game. The soundtrack consists of more Mario-styled music, so you should all have a good idea of what that entails.
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour improves in many areas over its predecessor, and will be a game that you should enjoy once it is released in February 2004. PALGN will do its best to have a review of the title posted around the time of release.
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