Mario Golf: World Tour
| Mario Golf: World Tour | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 For alternate box art, see the related gallery. | |||||||||||||||||
| Developers | Camelot Software Planning Nintendo SPD Group No.4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||||||||||||
| Platform | Nintendo 3DS | ||||||||||||||||
| Release dates |  May 1, 2014[1] May 1, 2014[2] May 2, 2014[3] May 2, 2014[4] May 3, 2014[5] | ||||||||||||||||
| Languages | English (United States) English (United Kingdom) Japanese Dutch French (Europe) German Italian Korean Portuguese (Europe) Russian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Europe) | ||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Sport | ||||||||||||||||
| Ratings |
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| Modes | Single Player, Multiplayer, Online Play | ||||||||||||||||
| Format |  Game Card Digital download | ||||||||||||||||
| Input | |||||||||||||||||
| Serial codes | CTR-AJ3J-JPN CTR-AJ3K-KOR CTR-AJ3E-USA CTR-AJ3P-EUR (Europe/Australia) | ||||||||||||||||
- Everyone
- All ages
- Three years and older
- All ages
- General audience
- All ages
- General
- Parental guidance
Mario Golf: World Tour is a sport title for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the third handheld installment of the Mario Golf series, and the eighth installment in the series overall. The game features gyroscope support and Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing players to participate in online Tournaments against other players from around the world. The game made use of downloadable content, in which extra courses and characters could be bought with real money, prior to the 3DS Nintendo eShop service's discontinuation on March 27, 2023. The game also made use of Nintendo Network, but the service was terminated on April 8, 2024, making the game no longer playable online.[6][7] It is the first Mario Golf game to have been released after its tennis counterpart.
Gameplay[edit]
The gameplay is similar to past installments of the Mario Golf series. Players have to hit shots while taking into account character attributes, wind, weather, and course topography. The power, accuracy, and spin of shots are determined by the timing when the player taps buttons or the touch screen as a target line slides up and down the power meter. A simplified control system, like the Auto control system from Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, returns where the player has to worry only about the power of the shot, at the expense of being unable to add topspin or backspin. The touch screen can now be used for selecting clubs, initiating shots, and adding spin. Plus, the trajectory of the shot can be altered by moving the circle pad or by using the touch screen as the shot meter is in motion; this is similar to the impact zone feature of past games. A new feature, known as Item Shots, allows players to hit shots with different effects via items. These include burning through trees with a Fire Flower, creating Note Blocks over water hazards, ignoring wind via Bullet Bill, increasing draw or fade by Boomerang, and freezing the terrain with an Ice Flower. These items can be collected by hitting ? Blocks on the course, although players sometimes start holes with items.
Controls[edit]
Menu[edit]
/
- Select Option
- Confirm
- Cancel
- Star Character
- Make Character Left-handed
Golf[edit]
- / - Select Shot Path/Move Camera/Change Clubs/Select Ball Hit Placement (while swinging)
- - Begin Swing/Confirm Sweet Spot Position (manual)
- - Cancel Swing/Confirm Sweet Spot Position (manual)
- + - Topspin
- + - Super Topspin
- + - Backspin
- + - Super Backspin
- Select Shot Type
- Change Camera- - Decrease Power Bar
- - Increase Power Bar
- Pause Menu
Castle Club[edit]
- / - Move
- - Talk/Confirm
- - Pause Menu
Game modes[edit]
There are two main modes of play: Mario Golf (Quick Round), and Castle Club.
Mario Golf[edit]
Mario Golf (Quick Round) is similar to past Mario Golf games, where the player can select a Mushroom Kingdom character or a customized Mii. It features a variety of modes such as Single Player (including Stroke Play, Match Play, Speed Golf, and Point Tourney, all of which provide coins for the player), Vs. (Local Play, Online Friends, and Community Match), and Tournaments (Mario Open and user-created Private Tournaments). Additional regional and worldwide online tournaments are available on the entry floor of the Castle Club.
Single Player[edit]
This mode allows players to take on a round by themselves, and against the clock or a computer opponent, as well as Challenges, where courses, Star characters, and Mii costumes can be unlocked. The first four modes allow the player to select any unlocked course. The following settings can be adjusted: number of holes (three, six, nine, or 18), order of holes (normal or mixed), wind strength, whether or not to use items or club slots or have coins on the course, whether to start from hole 1 or hole 10 (when playing the holes in normal order), what tees to start from (regular, back, or tournament), and whether or not to display the shot trajectory. Playing rounds may earn the player Best Badges and will randomly unlock Mii Gear for the player's Mii to use.
Stroke Play[edit]
A standard round of golf, where the player's score is compared to par.
Match Play[edit]
The player competes against a computer-controlled opponent. The winner of the round is whichever player wins more holes, although if the players are tied by the end of the game, it will proceed into Sudden Death and go through the selected course again until someone wins. The player may choose the opponents skill level, ranging in five different varieties, two of which need to be unlocked.
| Difficulty | Description | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Novice | An opponent that makes mistakes frequently, such as making mis-hits, having bad putting and incorrect reading of the green. | Initially Available |
| Intermediate | An opponent that has less mistakes than a Novice CPU, however still makes them frequently. | Initially Available |
| Expert | An opponent that makes mistakes but does not do so too often, being able to get out of rough easily on occasion. | Initially Available |
| Semipro | An opponent that has little flaws in its game, only rarely mis-hitting. | Unlocked by collecting 90 Star Coins in Challenge Mode. |
| Pro | An opponent with almost no flaws in its game, correctly hitting every shot. | Unlocked by collecting 100 Moon Coins in Challenge Mode. |
Speed Golf[edit]
Instead of counting strokes, the player's score is determined by how much time is taken to sink the ball.
Point Tourney[edit]
Scored via a modified version of the Stableford scoring system. The player is awarded eight points for an albatross or a hole in one, five for an eagle, three for a birdie, two for a par, and one for a bogey. A double bogey or worse scores zero.
Challenges[edit]
- Main article: List of Mario Golf: World Tour challenges
Each of the game's courses, including downloadable courses, have ten Star Coin challenges and ten Moon Coin challenges (the latter are more difficult, and unlocked by earning 90 Star Coins). They take the following forms:
- Star (or Moon) Coin Collector - A Star (or Moon) Coin is placed somewhere on a hole. The player must hit the coin with the ball, then complete the hole in par or better.
- Ring Master - Multiple rings are placed around the hole. The player must hit the ball through all of the rings, then complete the hole in par or better.
- 100 Coins - A three-hole challenge where Coins are placed around each hole. The player is given a number of shots two less than the hole's par, and attempts to hit the ball into 100 coins over the course of the three holes. (Gold Mario is banned from this challenge due to having the Gold Flower attached to him at all times.)
- Score Attack - The player must complete nine holes of stroke play, and match or beat the given target score.
- Character Match - A nine-hole match play competition against a Mushroom Kingdom character with a set difficulty. Winning this match also unlocks the star version of that character for use.
- Time Attack - The player must complete three holes within the given time limit.
- Point Challenge - A three-hole challenge. On each hole, Club Slots are spun, which limits the player to no more than three clubs (plus a putter) for the duration of the hole unless the player lines up three Stars on the slots, in which case they will have all of their clubs available. One way to make this happen is to stop the first two slots on Stars, making the third slot spin fast and always land on a Star no matter when it is stopped. Point Tourney scoring applies, and the player must earn at least the given target number of points within the three holes.
- One-On, One-Putt Challenge - Sky Island only. If a tee shot misses the green, the challenge is failed. If a birdie putt is missed, the challenge is failed. To succeed, the player must clear all holes consecutively by landing the ball on the green in the first stroke (the fringe will not count), then putting the ball into the cup for the next. Getting a hole-in-one will also mark the hole as cleared.
Vs.[edit]
This is the game's multiplayer mode. Local play is available for up to four players, but it does not support download play. During multiplayer, all players play at the same time, which speeds up play significantly because players do not have to wait until it is their turn to play. However, all players must finish the hole before they are allowed to move on. Players can see the ghost shots of other players and on-screen icons also show how the player's shots measure with the other players' in terms of distance. Players can send taunts or cheers to each other by pressing icons, as well as emoticons. Matches with online friends and community matches can also be played from this menu.
Skins Match[edit]
In addition to Stroke Play, Match Play, Speed Golf, and Point Tourney from the single-player mode, Skins Matches are playable, though exclusive to multiplayer. They are very similar to Match Play in that the goal is to earn the most points. However, this mode can be played by 2-4 players, and rather than having a set point goal, the player with the most points after a set number of holes wins. This mode does not support simultaneous play.
Castle Club[edit]
Castle Club is a story mode where the player's Mii tackles different tournaments (similar to the story modes from previous handheld Mario Golf games). The building is the Mushroom Kingdom counterpart to real-life golf country clubs. To the left and right of the entrance are the boys' and girls' locker rooms respectively. At the center of the lobby are two staircases leading to the basement, where the player can enter regional and world tournaments and ask the purple Toad for advice on golf terminology. To the left of the doorway to the Castle Club's exterior is the boutique, where the player's Mii is able to use Coins to buy equipment that will affect its stats, such as drive distance and shot trajectory, similar to the Mii customization feature in Mario Tennis Open. The player can change their gear by accessing the pause menu from anywhere in the Castle Club, or by going to the locker room of the Mii's gender and pressing when in front of the locker. Above the boutique is the Royal Room, where most of the Super Mario playable characters can be met. Located opposite the boutique is the gym, and on top of that is the trophy room. Just outside the Castle Club is the Caddie Master's booth where the player can sign up for a handicap tournament. After completing that, the player will be allowed to compete in tournaments, located on the Forest Course, the Seaside Course, and the Mountain Course in that order. The entrances to these courses are located to the right of the booth, and when the player goes into one of them, they can either go for a stroke play (front tees are used) or the course championship (back tees are used). Completing either of these modes can raise or lower the player's handicap, and when a tournament is won, the player appears in the Royal Room to receive their trophy from Princess Peach.
To the left of the Caddie Master's booth is the Royal Garden, which has pipes leading to the six Mario World courses, and a passageway to the Royal Room. Entering these pipes will put the player in a practice round on any of the courses, where the player uses the front tees, starts out with a few items and can grab more from Item Boxes around the course, and hits the ball through coins that appear as well. At the far left of this garden is an aura which will summon Kamek when the player approaches it. Kamek can exchange play coins for game coins, change their dominant hand, allow mulligans (the ability to redo strokes), or change the player's swing type, all at a cost of a huge amount of coins. After all three course championships are won, Costume Challenges will begin appearing in the Royal Garden, where players can unlock costumes by completing objectives such as collecting a certain number of coins, finishing in a short period of time, and beating a target score using Club Slots, all on Mario World courses. Unlike in Quick Round, where the challenges only cover three specific holes and the front or back tees are used, Costume Challenges take place on all nine holes and tournament tees are used. To the right of the main course entrances is an area with entrances to training grounds where players can take a golf tutorial (no gate) and practice their drives (purple gate), approaches (blue gate), and putts (green gate). The practice sessions come in different levels, and the goal is to get the ball as close to the pin as possible -- or even sink the ball -- to earn practice points. Succeeding 20 times in the training games each for drives, approaches, and putts will give the player costumes of Bee Mario, Cloud Mario, and Boomerang Mario respectively. Past the practice grounds is the entrance to Sky Island, where the player takes on the One-On, One-Putt challenge, which requires the player to get the ball onto the green in one shot, then putt that ball in the next for nine consecutive holes. If the ball misses the green or just lands on the fringe, or the putt is missed at any point, the challenge is failed. Upon completion, the course will be unlocked and an 18-hole version can be played in Castle Club in its stead. Taking the One-On, One-Putt challenge again and clearing all 18 holes will award the player with a Propeller Mario costume.
Toad's Booth[edit]
Hosted by a blue Toad, this is primarily where players can purchase downloadable content. Records for each game mode, including the number of eagles, albatrosses, and holes-in-one made, can also be viewed here. Players can also visit this booth to learn how to play the game, and see a glossary of golf terminology.
Characters[edit]
Playable[edit]
The game includes 13 default characters as well as four unlockable characters, with an additional four as downloadable content, making a total of 21 characters. When the bonus characters are unlocked or downloaded, they immediately get a star rank. Miis, Toad, Kamek, Paratroopa, Gold Mario, Toadette, Nabbit, and Rosalina are playable for the first time in the Mario Golf series, though Gold Mario cannot be used in 100 Coins challenges. In addition, Daisy, Boo, Bowser Jr., Diddy Kong, and Birdo are playable in a handheld console Mario Golf installment for the first time, after previously being playable in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. With the discontinuation of digital purchases for Nintendo 3DS in March 2023, it is no longer possible to buy the downloadable characters, though they can still be downloaded by those who purchased them when they were available.
Below is a table of the playable characters. Note that Height is on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being the lowest-flying shot and 10 being the highest. Sweet Spot and Control are out of 11. When a character curves the ball, it is either called a fade or draw. A fade is when the ball curves in the direction of the dominant hand and a draw is when the ball curves opposite the direction of the dominant hand. When a shot is used with a curve on a hole with a higher surface, the ball can either over-curve or under-curve, resulting in misplacing of the ball.
Stronger Star versions of the default characters can be unlocked by beating them in their respective character match in Challenges mode. Some characters can be obtained by collecting a specific amount of Star Coins in Challenge Mode, after all Mario World courses are unlocked. Other characters can be purchased via DLC.
| Character | Trajectory | Height | Drive | Sweet-Spot | Control | Star Drive | Star Sweet-Spot | Star Control | Unlock criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mario |
Straight | 6.5 | 215 yards | 6.1 | 5.25 | 280 yards (+65) | 3.3 | 4.5 | Star version: Wiggler Park |
 Luigi |
Fade | 3.5 | 206 yards | 7.9 | 6.25 | 240 yards (+34) | 6.1 | 6 | Star version: Cheep Cheep Lagoon |
 Peach |
Straight | 4.5 | 200 yards | 8.3 | 6.75 | 233 yards (+33) | 7.25 | 6.3 | Star version: Peach Gardens |
 Yoshi |
Straight | 5 | 208 yards | 7.25 | 6.1 | 250 yards (+42) | 5.05 | 5.6 | Star version: Yoshi Lake |
 Daisy |
Draw | 7.5 | 213 yards | 6.1 | 5.6 | 270 yards (+57) | 4 | 4.9 | Star version: Forest Course |
 Donkey Kong |
Draw | 4 | 217 yards | 5.6 | 5.05 | 283 yards (+66) | 2.9 | 4.1 | Star version: DK Jungle |
 Bowser |
Fade | 5 | 220 yards | 5.6 | 5.05 | 290 yards (+70) | 2.9 | 4.1 | Star version: Bowser's Castle |
 Wario |
Fade | 2.25 | 209 yards | 7.25 | 6 | 258 yards (+49) | 5.05 | 5.25 | Star version: Seaside Course front nine |
 Waluigi |
Draw | 5 | 208 yards | 7.9 | 6.1 | 246 yards (+38) | 5.6 | 5.6 | Star version: Seaside Course back nine |
 Boo |
Draw | 4.25 | 209 yards | 7.25 | 6.1 | 255 yards (+46) | 5.1 | 5.25 | Star version: Mountain Course front nine |
 Bowser Jr. |
Straight | 4 | 210 yards | 6.75 | 6 | 260 yards (+50) | 4.5 | 5.05 | Star version: Mountain Course back nine |
 Diddy Kong |
Draw | 6.25 | 211 yards | 6.75 | 6 | 264 yards (+53) | 4.5 | 5.05 | Star version: Sky Island |
 Toad (new) |
Draw | 6 | 203 yards | 8.3 | 6.9 | 237 yards (+34) | 6.75 | 6.1 | Collect 40 Star Coins |
 Kamek (new) |
Fade | 4.25 | 214 yards | 6.1 | 5.25 | 277 yards (+63) | 3.3 | 4.5 | Collect 45 Star Coins |
 Paratroopa (new) |
Straight | 5.5 | 207 yards | 7.9 | 6.3 | 243 yards (+36) | 6.1 | 6 | Collect 50 Star Coins |
 Birdo |
Fade | 6 | 212 yards | 6.75 | 5.6 | 267 yards (+55) | 4 | 4.9 | Collect 55 Star Coins |
 Gold Mario (new) |
Straight | 6.5 | 215 yards | 6.1 | 5.25 | 280 yards (+65) | 3.3 | 4.5 | Purchase the Season Pass or all DLC packs separately |
 Toadette (new) |
Straight | 4.25 | 198 yards | 8.3 | 7.05 | 230 yards (+32) | 7.9 | 6.75 | Purchase the Mushroom Pack or Season Pass |
 Nabbit (new) |
Draw | 1.75 | 213 yards | 6.1 | 5.6 | 274 yards (+61) | 4 | 4.9 | Purchase the Flower Pack or Season Pass |
 Rosalina (new) |
Fade | 7.75 | 218 yards | 5.6 | 5.05 | 286 yards (+68) | 2.9 | 4.1 | Purchase the Star Pack or Season Pass |
Customizable[edit]
| Character | Trajectory | Height | Drive | Sweet-Spot | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mii (new) |
Straight | 5 | 210 yards | 5.6 | 5.6 |
Non-playable[edit]
These characters appear as either non-playable characters in Castle Club that players can interact with or as background elements in many of the various golf courses in the game.
- Big Goomba
- Monty Mole
- Mega Monty Moles
- Toads
- Shy Guys
- Hammer Bro
- Koopa Troopa
- Cheep Cheeps
- Big Urchins
- Bob-omb
- Wiggler
- Big Piranha Plant
- Piranha Plant
- Bullet Bill
- Butterflies
- Boos
- King Boo
- Para-Beetles
- Spike
- Spiny
- Paratroopa
- Lumas
- Urchins
- Goombas
- Buzzy Beetle
- Thwomp
- Chain Chomps
- Heavy Para-Beetles
- Dolphins
- Jumbo Rays
- Fishin' Lakitu
- Screaming Pillars
- Big Screaming Pillars
- Chomps
- Giant Chomp
- Lubba
- Hungry Luma
- Baby Luma
- Polari
- Flutter
Customizable gear[edit]
- Main article: List of Mario Golf: World Tour Mii gear
There is a variety of purchasable gear that can be used to customize the player's Mii that will affect their stats. The game will have 500 customizable gear items. If a player equips a Mii with a full character gear set the Mii will play similarly to that character. At first, participating in tournaments is the only way players can unlock gear that are not available in the store. But it will start selling them once a major tournament has ended. However, players have to enter major tournaments to earn clothing sets themed after these tournaments.
Items[edit]
Various items can be used during gameplay to affect the player's shots. At the start of the game, the player is given the number of items equivalent to the number of holes being played on divided by three. More can be received when the player hits the ball through ? Blocks, which give the player random items. If the ball goes through a box with a picture of an item on it, the player gets that item. In player-tournaments, a set amount of items can be chosen for the tournament players to receive before starting.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
 Mushroom |
Makes the ball roll far once it lands. |
 Fire Flower |
Increases the shot distance and burns through trees and obstacles. |
 Ice Flower |
Freezes terrain to allow the ball to bounce multiple times. This item also works on water, but not on lava. |
 Bullet Bill |
Turns the ball into a Bullet Bill and blasts it in a straight line. Ignores wind and greatly increases maximum distance. |
 Bob-omb |
Ignores power-reducing terrain, allowing the ball to be hit at full power in the rough. |
 Boomerang Flower |
Drastically increases the draw or fade of the shot. |
 Note Block |
Creates a Note Block in midair, letting the ball avoid hazards. |
 Tornado |
A tornado that sucks up nearby coins. |
 Kab-omb |
Explodes in mid-air to drop the ball straight down. |
 Gold Flower |
Has the same effect as the Fire Flower, plus gives the player coins for every yard the ball travels. |
Courses[edit]
Mario Golf: World Tour has the most courses of all Mario Golf games, with 16, including the downloadable courses, making a total of 234 holes. The Castle Club courses have 18 holes and have championships that the Mii can compete in against other characters in the game. The Mario World Courses contain gimmicks based on different Super Mario games and have nine holes. All these courses can be accessed through both Mario Golf (quick round) and Castle Club. The six downloadable courses, which could be bought with real money, are taken from the Nintendo 64 game with updated music and graphics. Some of these courses have changed appearances to look like specific worlds from New Super Mario Bros. U.
With the discontinuation of digital purchases for Nintendo 3DS in March 2023, it is no longer possible to buy the downloadable courses, though they can still be downloaded by those who purchased them when they were available.
| Course | Holes | Par | Description | Unlock Condition | Course Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Forest Course |
18 | 72 | A forest-themed course where multi-colored hills can be seen in the distance. | Default | Castle Club |
 Seaside Course |
18 | 72 | A course located near a beach with a similar appearance to Blooper Bay. | Default | Castle Club |
 Mountain Course |
18 | 72 | A mountainous desert-themed course with multi-colored cacti. | Default | Castle Club |
 Sky Island |
18 | 54 | A course set in the sky, where clouds, Para-Beetles, and Jumbo Rays can be seen. All holes are par 3. | Complete the nine-hole One-On, One-Putt challenge in the Castle Club mode | Castle Club |
 Peach Gardens |
9 | 36 | A Peach's Castle-themed course with pink greens, fairways, and roughs. | Default | Mario World |
 Yoshi Lake |
9 | 36 | A course with many pools of standing water, resembling Yoshi's Story and Yoshi's Woolly World. | 7 Star Coins | Mario World |
 Wiggler Park |
9 | 36 | A shrunken course set in the middle of grass blades and flowers which appear gigantic, alongside several large characters. | 14 Star Coins | Mario World |
 Cheep Cheep Lagoon |
9 | 36 | An underwater course with Cheep Cheeps and other marine creatures. | 21 Star Coins | Mario World |
 DK Jungle |
9 | 36 | A Donkey Kong Country Returns themed course, featuring Screaming Pillars and Barrel Cannons. | 28 Star Coins | Mario World |
 Bowser's Castle |
9 | 36 | A Bowser-themed course, with many Thwomps and Bob-ombs which will explode if contacted. | 35 Star Coins | Mario World |
 Toad Highlands |
18 | 72 | Toad Highlands from Mario Golf, updated with improved music and graphics. | Buy Mushroom Pack or Season Pass | Downloadable Courses |
 Koopa Park |
18 | 72 | Koopa Park from Mario Golf, updated with improved music and graphics. | Buy Mushroom Pack or Season Pass | Downloadable Courses |
 Layer-Cake Desert |
18 | 72 | Shy Guy Desert from Mario Golf, updated to resemble L |