Golf: Japan Course

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Golf: Japan Course
Famicom-Golf-Japan-Course-cover.png
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer HAL Laboratory
Publisher Nintendo
Platform(s) Family Computer Disk System
Release date Japan February 21, 1987
Genre Golf
Mode(s) 1–2 players
Media
FDS:
Floppy disk
Input
NES:

Golf: Japan Course is a Japan-exclusive golf game released for the Family Computer Disk System on February 21, 1987. It is a golf game starring Mario and Luigi. It is similar in gameplay to the earlier Golf, though with polished mechanics. The holes in the game are fictional. The game received a companion title a few months later as Golf: U.S. Course, which also had fictional holes and improves even further on the mechanics.

Gameplay[edit]

Gameplay of Golf: Japan Course
Mario on the first hole

The gameplay is similar to the original Golf, though new features are added to improve the immersion and quality-of-life. There is now a distinction between fairways and rough grass, and trees now act as solid obstacles rather than simply an indicator of out-of-bounds areas; the out-of-bounds areas now have a clear boundary surrounding densely-packed forest instead. The player can now swing in any direction regardless of whether they are on the green or not. The greens themselves can now push the ball in multiple directions rather than only a single direction at a time, and the hole's exact position on the green varies. To change clubs, the player now needs to hold down B Button and press up or down; pressing left or right while doing that switches between one of three swing speeds. The middle "2" speed is closest to what the swing speed in Golf is, while the default "1" is slower and "3" is faster.

There are four game modes:

  • Mario Stroke Play: Mario plays by himself.
  • 2 Player Stroke Play: Mario and Luigi play alongside each other.
  • Mario Match Play (not available in the gold editions): Mario plays against the computer opponent, called "COMP1," which is a palette swap of the brothers. He wears black overalls and hat over a brown shirt and shoes.
  • 2 Player Match Play: Mario and Luigi play against each other.

There are four slots to save scores (represented by balloons, the strings being cut by a crab when overwriting) with blank slots recorded as 900.

Contest and alternate editions[edit]

Family Computer Disk System disk for Golf: Japan Course
The blue disk

The game comes on a blue disk, meaning it is compatible with the Disk Fax, a device found in public places across Japan such as department stores. These machines would send the player's saved games and high score information to Nintendo. Nintendo held a contest centered around this game, and winners received one of two special versions of this game that came on a gold disk.[1] Both versions are harder, replacing the course with new, more challenging holes. Around 80,000 contestants submitted their Mario Stroke Play scores with the national winner beating the rest with his cumulative score of 87.[2][3] Contestants who had the same score were ranked by when their submission was received.

Around 5,000 runners-up and raffle winners received the Professional Course gold disk (white sticker), which came in a Diskun case. The redesigned title screen removes "Family Computer" at the top and adds「入賞」(nyūshō, "prize-winning") at the bottom.[4] It is mildly more difficult.

The top 100 contestants received the Champions' Course gold disk (yellow sticker), which came in a luxury case along with a gold plaque with the winner's name and rank inscribed. On the game's title screen are the contestant's name and rank, making each disk unique.[5] The Champions' Course is much more difficult[6] and one of the rarest games Nintendo ever made.

Staff[edit]

Main article: List of Golf: Japan Course staff

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Golf: Japan Course.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese ゴルフJAPANコース
Gorufu Japan Kōsu
Golf: Japan Course

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ ◆オリジナルコース入りゴールデンカードはコースが2種類!. Family Computer Disk System Art Database. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. ^ (August 16, 2022). 【ゴルフJAPANコース】インターネットの無い時代に、通信の持つ可能性をゲームにもたらした意欲作!【ファミコン・ディスクシステム・任天堂・レビュー】. サブカルチャーのある生活. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  3. ^ ゴルフJAPANコース. Famicon Masterpieces. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  4. ^ やまだくん (June 9, 2018). ゴルフJAPANコース オリジナルコース(賞品) プレイ動画 / Golf Tournament Japan Course Prize Cart (FDS) Playthrough. YouTube. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  5. ^ (January 17, 2013). 昔のファミコンソフトをやってみた⑮ (ゴルフ・チャンピオンズコース編). てぷこだんブログ. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  6. ^ TEPCODAN (January 14, 2013). 任天堂ゴルフチャンピオンズコース. YouTube. Retrieved January 22, 2021.