Mario Golf

Mario Golf
Developer	Camelot
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo 64, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U)
Release Date	Nintendo 64 JP June 11, 1999 US July 27, 1999 EU September 14, 1999 Wii Virtual Console JP September 30, 2008 US October 6, 2008 PAL January 23, 2009 Wii U Virtual Console JP September 2, 2015 US September 3, 2015 PAL October 8, 2015
Rating	ESRB: E

Mario Golf (known in Japan by the more distinctive title of Mario Golf 64) is a Mario-themed golf game that was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. It is the second golf game to star Mario characters after NES Open Tournament Golf, but it is the first true game of the Mario Golf subseries.

Gameplay

Mario Golf follows the standard gameplay of other golf video games while adding a cast of Mario characters as well as featuring settings and items from the game. The characters each have different skills, and players can play practice holes as well as tournaments in a variety of different single-player and multiplayer modes. The multiplayer allowed for up to four players.

The game had Transfer Pak compatibility with the Game Boy Color counterpart. Linking the games allowed the player to temporarily use characters from the handheld game in the Nintendo 64 game and earned experience for the Game Boy Color game.

Playable Characters

Uniquely, the game starts with only four playable characters, and one of them is Baby Mario, while the adult Mario is an unlockable character. Addtionally, the game's cast includes four new human characters who do not appear outside of the game. The game's starting roster consists of:

• Plum
• Charlie
• Princess Peach
• Baby Mario

The game's unlockable characters, in unlocking order, are:

• Luigi
• Yoshi
• Sonny
• Wario
• Harry
• Mario
• Maple
• Donkey Kong
• Bowser
• Metal Mario (not present in Japanese version)

As noted above, characters from the Game Boy Color game could become playable in this game through the Transfer Pak. Those specific characters are Kid, Joe, Sherry and Azalea.

Legacy

Although it was preceded by the more obscure Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy, Mario Golf received a better reception and truly kicked off the subseries umbrella of Mario sports games. Camelot would go on to develop a second Mario sports game for the Nintendo 64 in the form of Mario Tennis, which formed a subseries that has since co-existed with the Mario Golf games.

Ports and Remakes

• Mario Golf was released for download as part of the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008 and as part of the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2015. Due to the limits of the Virtual Console, the Transfer Pak functionality was omitted.
• In April 2022, it was added to the digital library of Nintendo 64 games on the Nintendo Switch that could be played through a subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack program. This release did not include the Transfer Pak-related features either, but it added an option for online multiplayer.

Sequels

A Mario Golf game was released for the Game Boy Color within the same year. It acted as a companion game, which focused on an original set of characters and featured RPG elements. The next console game would be Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour in 2003.