Mario Kart and Mario Tennis players understand that when Nintendo’s characters infiltrate a sport, they’re turning the spirit of the game upside down with power-ups, unique character skills, and insane courses. The game of golf is a patient affair, but when Mario and his companions hit the tee in Mario Golf: Super Rush, it’s hardly slow, as the sport’s unique take on races, combat modes, and special abilities often yield chaotic results.
The core golf mechanics shine in Mario Golf: Super Rush. Aligning your swing, using the in-game measurement tools to gauge the distance needed, and entering your backswing is easy for anyone to understand. The power of your shot is selected with a single, timed keystroke, with each shot giving you the ability to add subtle effects such as spin and curve using intuitive commands. On several occasions I found a tree on my way to the green, but the design of my shot gave me a choice of either wrapping the ball around the tree or hovering it over it and landing on the other side. Getting such a perfect shot happens regularly thanks to the streamlined controls, but it doesn’t make it any less satisfying to see your ball spin around a tree and land perfectly where you aim.
Obviously the goal is to get your ball onto the fairway or green, but if you find yourself elsewhere, be it the rough, a sand trap or something worse, you need to consider these elements as well as any slope of the terrain. Where your ball lies affects the distance, trajectory, and even the curvature of the ball from your racket. Once on the green, putting is as easy as leveling your shot, again taking into account the slope of the surface and adjusting the gauge to apply the correct force. The tools at your disposal make core golf mechanics non-stop moment-to-moment and lay an excellent foundation for those more exaggerated deviations from the traditional golf formula. While Mario Golf: Super Rush offers a strong take on the traditional sport, targeting modes like Speed Golf and Battle Golf (both can be played online) offer unique and fun twists and turns of the tried and true formula.
In speed golf, you tee off alongside up to three opponents, then take part in a race to land your ball before making another swing. The goal remains to get the ball into the hole, but instead of taking the time to line up the shot, you need to worry about the clock. each shot adds 30 seconds to your course time and the player with the lowest time takes the podium. When sprinting to your ball, you need to consider the best route, your endurance meter, and obstacles on the court. The funniest part of the mode, however, is when special shots and strokes mess up the characters. While golfers are usually some of the most respectful and chivalrous athletes, in these modes it all goes out of the window; Destroying someone with your special stroke is just too much fun to ignore. However, the greatest weakness of speed golf is that it doesn’t go far enough; too often the running parts of this mode feel uneventful, and the action often feels like filler between your punches. Fortunately, there is battle golf for those who like the more chaotic elements.
Battle Golf lets you step into an arena with other players in a non-linear mode for all players, with the mission of sinking three holes first. The stadium is full of environmental traps and weapons that players can use against each other. Blasting a nearby rival with a bob-omb while trying to level his putt is more than satisfying. Since holes disappear after the first player sinks them, you need to strategize which flagpoles to target and which route to take to get to each one. In addition to hazards like chain-chomps, thwomps, and bob-ombs, players can also use special shots to electrocute other players, turn their balls into inaccurate yoshi eggs, and even haunt them with a boo to keep their shots off course differ. For every half-measure that Speed Golf does, Battle Golf goes all out and delivers my favorite mode in Mario Golf: Super Rush Package.
Unfortunately, another major Mario Golf attraction: Super Rush doesn’t live up to its potential. Serving as both a tutorial and a linear story mode with light RPG elements, the single player golf adventure is an adequate place to start your Mario Golf journey if you want to learn the basics, but the glitz quickly fades. The mode is skippable as it tends to put the spotlight on various unexciting flavors of speed golf, repetitive boss fights, and downright frustrating modes. One section takes you into a large open course with multiple non-linear holes like battle golf, only it’s a solo version with stroke limits and tornadoes that you use to reach higher areas; If you don’t hit those tornadoes at exactly the right angle, or if you miss the tornado and instead land at the base of them, your attempt is basically done as you are wasting valuable blows returning at the right angle. Add a completely unimportant story as a backdrop, and you’re better off sticking with the standalone modes.
Despite the overwhelming nature of the story mode, Mario Golf: Super Rush offers plenty of golf size. With a strong foundation and multiple fun gaming options, Mario Golf: Super Rush continues the longstanding tradition of Nintendo sports games by having a good time regardless of your fandom of the actual sport.