Golf: Difference between revisions

{{about|the 1984 video game|the microgame with the same name|[[Golf (microgame)]]|the event in the 3DS version of [[Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Nintendo 3DS)|Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games]]|[[Golf (event)]]|an overview of all golf-related titles in the Mario series|[[Mario Golf (series)]]}}

{{Infobox

|image=[[File:Golf Boxart.png|200px]]<br>NES box art<br>

|released='''Famicom/NES:'''<br>{{released|Japan|May 1, 1984|USA|October 18, 1985|Europe|November 15, 1986}}'''VS. System:'''<br>{{released|Japan|August 1984|USA|October 1984 <small>(''VS. Golf'')</small>|USA|December 1984 <small>(''VS. Ladies Golf'')</small>}}'''PC-8801:'''<br>{{released|Japan|1985}}'''Sharp X1:'''<br>{{released|Japan|1985}}'''PC-8001mkIISR:'''<br>{{released|Japan|1985}}'''Famicom Disk System:'''<br>{{released|Japan|February 21, 1986}}'''Nintendo PlayChoice-10:'''<br>{{released|USA|August 1986}}'''Game Boy:'''<br>{{released|Japan|November 28, 1989|USA|March 1990|Europe|1990}}'''e-Reader:'''<br>{{released|USA|April 21, 2003}}'''Virtual Console (3DS):'''<br>{{released|Japan|June 29, 2011|USA|September 8, 2011|Europe|October 13, 2011|Australia|October 13, 2011|South Korea|July 20, 2016}}'''Virtual Console (Wii U):'''<br>{{released|USA|October 10, 2013|Europe|October 10, 2013|Australia|October 10, 2013|Japan|November 13, 2013}}'''Nintendo Switch:*'''<br>{{released|Japan|March 3, 2017|USA|March 3, 2017|Europe|March 3, 2017|Australia|March 3, 2017|HK|March 3, 2017}}<small>'''''*'''Only playable July 11.''</small><br>'''Nintendo Switch (''[[Arcade Archives]]''):'''<br>{{released|Japan|October 25, 2019|USA|October 25, 2019|Europe|October 25, 2019|Australia|October 25, 2019}}

|genre=[[Genre#Sports|Sports]]

|modes=Single-player, Multiplayer 1-4

|platforms=[[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], [[VS. System]], [[NEC PC-88]], Sharp X1, PC-8001mkIISR, [[Family Computer Disk System]], [[Nintendo PlayChoice-10]], [[Game Boy]], [[e-Reader]], [[Virtual Console]] ([[Nintendo 3DS]], [[Wii U]]), [[Nintendo Switch]]

|media={{media|nes=1|gb=1|ereader=1|3dsdl=1|wiiudl=1|nsdl=1}}

|input={{input|nes=1|gb=1|gba=1|3ds=1|wiiu=1|wiiupro=1|wiiusideways=1|wiiuclassic=1|joy-con=1|nspro=1}}

'''''Golf''''' is a game for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] released in 1984. It is based on {{wp|Golf|the sport of the same name}}. The golfer has been identified as [[Mario]] in supplemental material, albeit not wearing his traditional shirt and overalls.<ref>''[[Mario Mania]]'', page 9.</ref> However, the game ''[[Captain Rainbow]]'' would instead identify the golfer as ''Ossan'', which happens to be a generic internal name Mario had during the development of ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]''.<ref>http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/mario25th/1/3</ref> Additionally, the [[Game Boy]] conversion of this game would feature Mario on the Western cover art, but not the Japanese version.

A copy of the original game was embedded in [[Nintendo Switch]] firmware. Activating it required the internal system clock to be set to July 11 - [[Satoru Iwata|Satoru Iwata's]] {{wp|death anniversary}} - and performing his iconic "{{wp|List of Nintendo Direct presentations|directly to you}}" hand gesture with both Joy-Con controllers on the HOME menu. If successful, a voice clip of Iwata from a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWbYvzjAst8&t=16s Japanese 2012 presentation] would confirm the input, and an emulation of ''Golf'' with added motion control support would promptly boot up.<ref name=Flog>http://switchbrew.org/index.php?title=Flog</ref> ''Golf'' has significance as one of the first video games Iwata programmed himself for Nintendo while working at [[HAL Laboratory]].<ref name=shmup>[http://shmuplations.com/iwata/ Satoru Iwata – 1999 Developer Interview originally featured in Used Games magazine, translated by shmuplations.com]</ref> This version of ''Golf'' was overwritten as of the 4.0.0 update, making it unplayable.<ref name=Flog/> Aside from the NES game's inclusion on the Switch, ''VS. Golf'' was later included onto the [[Arcade Archives]].

[[File:GolfNES.png|thumb|left|An in-game screenshot.]]

The gameplay of ''Golf'' is relatively simple. The player is given a ball, and a map on the right side of the screen shows the hole that they must hit the ball into. The obstacles on the way are also displayed on the map. The player will get more points depending on how many times they hit the ball to get it into the hole. Many different types of clubs are also available to choose from by pressing Up/Down on the + Control Pad.

===Description from the [[Nintendo eShop#Nintendo 3DS|Nintendo eShop]]===

''Bogey, par, birdie, or Eagle.<br>

''The score is up to you.<br>

''Golf is 18 holes of realistic links action. Each hole has tricky hazards, so strategy is a must.<br>

''Read the wind direction, check the distance, select a club, adjust your swing and keep your eye on the ball. Now drive it home.<br>

''From twisting fairways and hungry sand traps to big water hazards and deceptive greens, Golf is packed with challenges.

''This version of the game does not have multiplayer functionality.</blockquote>

==Levels==

''Golf'' features eighteen holes separated into nine labeled "OUT" and nine labeled "IN". Each hole features some green and some woods, and every hole except hole 11 features sand traps. Holes 2, 3, and 5 feature inland ponds, holes 7 and 16 feature rivers, and holes 6, 9, 13, 15, and 18 have water covering the majority of the map; the other holes do not have water. Once the player gets the ball close to the target (the actual "hole", marked by a flag) on each map, the section of the screen which previously showed a map of the entire course will show a zoomed-in map of the putting green.<ref>https://vgmaps.com/Atlas/NES/#Golf</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjAqlIu5UvM</ref>

==VS. System==

The game was released for the [[VS. System]], also known as '''''Stroke & Match Golf'''''. Two versions of this game exist: '''''VS. Golf''''' features the same male character as the NES version, but '''''VS. Ladies Golf''''' features a female player.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw4-A2vRRq0</ref> The arcade versions are more difficult and has a mode for competing against a computer opponent. They also randomly select 18 of 21 possible holes for each playthrough. In ''VS. Golf'', 17 of the holes are tweaked versions of the NES release with the other four being new. In ''VS. Ladies Golf'', all 21 holes are brand new.<ref>[https://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2019/10/nintendos-8-bit-obsession-with-golf.html Nintendo's 8-bit Obsession with Golf]</ref>

==Game Boy==

The [[Game Boy]] version contains 36 new holes split into two courses, Japan and U.S.A.

GolfNESMarioSprite2.png|[[Mario]]

==Trivia==

*Nintendo planned to release an 18-hole golfing game as a launch title for the [[Family Computer]], but software companies declined the project and believed that it could not be done with such limited memory at the time. Then-[[HAL Laboratory]] employee [[Satoru Iwata]] was eager to prove this technical achievement and program the game himself, which required him to create a custom data compression routine.<ref name=shmup/>

*''Golf'' is the second released video game that Satoru Iwata programmed for Nintendo, after ''[[Pinball (game)|Pinball]]''.<ref name=shmup/>

*Similar to ''{{wp|Ice Climber}}'', the red-colored character on the North American NES box art is actually the second player.

{{NIWA|Nookipedia=1}}

{{MarioGames}}

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{{VirtualConsole}}

[[de:Golf (Nintendo Entertainment System)]