Mario Golf (Nintendo 64)

Mario Golf is a video game for the Nintendo 64 released by Nintendo in 1999. It was developed by Camelot Software Planning. Though several sports games featured Mario characters in the past, Mario Golf is considered the first game in the modern "Mario Sports" line. It would be followed by several titles encompassing a variety of sports.

Gameplay
Mario Golf is a golf game which combines largely traditional mechanics and gameplay devices with a cartoonish presentation, and a roster of characters and hazards taken from the Mario universe. It differs from the Game Boy Color version in that it does not feature role-playing game elements.

The basic gameplay uses the typical "sliding bar" mechanism of most golf video games, with several variables which must be anticipated, such as character attributes, wind strength and direction, rain, ball spin, and course topography. The gameplay modes include speed golf, ring shot, mini golf and skins match.

Interactions with Mario Golf GBC
Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64 has the ability to link and exchange data with Game Boy Color version of the same game. With the use of the Nintendo 64 Transfer Pak, the player can use the characters: Kid, Azalea, Sherry, and/or Joe from the Game Boy Color version to play through the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Golf. The unlockable characters from the Game Boy Color version: Putts, Grace, Tiny, and Gene are not transferrable.

Courses
There are eight courses in the Nintendo 64 version of Mario Golf. They are:
 * 1. Toad Highlands
 * 2. Koopa Park
 * 3. Shy Guy Desert
 * 4. Yoshi's Island
 * 5. Boo Valley
 * 6. Mario's Star
 * A. Luigi's Garden
 * B. Peach's Castle

Mario's Star Holes

 * Hole 1 - Yoshi
 * Hole 2 - Boo
 * Hole 3 - Wiggler
 * Hole 4 - Cheep Cheep
 * Hole 5 - Thwomp
 * Hole 6 - Lakitu
 * Hole 7 - Shy Guy
 * Hole 8 - Piranha Plant
 * Hole 9 - Bowser
 * Hole 10 - Koopa Troopa
 * Hole 11 - Bullet Bill
 * Hole 12 - Toad
 * Hole 13 - Goomba
 * Hole 14 - Chain Chomp
 * Hole 15 - Blooper
 * Hole 16 - Princess Peach
 * Hole 17 - Bob-omb
 * Hole 18 - Mario and Luigi

Playable
The following is a list of default characters in the order of which they are unlocked. For a list of character quotes see List of Quotes in the Mario Golf Series. Kid, Joe, Sherry, and Azalea can also be unlocked through a Transfer Pak. Each character has three alternate colors to choose from, and each character can be chosen multiple times if there is more than one player.

Reception
Mario Golf generally garnered favorable reviews. It would later be re-released as a Nintendo 64 "Player's Choice" title, indicating it sold over 1 million copies.

References to Other Games

 * Wario Land II and Wario Land 3 - One of Wario's alternate color schemes in Mario Golf is the monochromatic outfit he wears throughout these games.
 * Super Mario 64 - Names of several characters in this game appear on the score Board, and many sound effects from this game are used. Also Metal Mario is playable.
 * Mario Party - Many of the sound effects from Mario Party, such as "menu select", "go back", "your turn", "pause", and "not available", are used. If the corresponding character is out of power, it will make the "go back" sound in any attempt to press the B Button when far away from the Green.
 * Mario Kart 64 - Some of the sound effects from Mario Kart 64 are also used, such as "camera change" and "item drop".

References in Later Games

 * Super Smash Bros. Melee - Plum returns as a trophy.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Plum appears as a sticker.
 * Mario Kart 7 - Metal Mario appears as an unlockable racer.

Trivia

 * Wario's shoes are pink in this game rather than the usual green. His shoes are green, however, in the game's artwork. The shoes are changed to green in Camelot's next game, Mario Tennis.
 * The European/PAL version of the game has a different intro theme.
 * In the Virtual Console port, the Transfer Pak feature to transfer the characters from the Game Boy Color version was removed.