GBAtemp Recommends! Mario Golf Advance Tour

[Hadrian]

GBAtemp Recommends! Mario Golf: Advance Tour
G.R. Issue #15 (GBA)


Last weeks game seemed to have us talking more than usual, some loved it, some didn't and others have never played it.

Welcome to the Fifthteenth issue of GBAtemp Recommends! - a weekly magazine feature in which we share our favourite Game Boy Advance titles. The games we recommend may be top titles from the GBA library, a homebrew, or they may be sleeper hits that flew by the radar, but one thing's certain, they're all fantastic games that deserve your play time!

GBAtemp Recommends!

Mario Golf: Advance Tour

This week we've decided to go with a big release! Mario Golf: Advance Tour is the 4th game in the series following entries on the Nintendo 64, Gameboy Colour & GameCube. It was also the 3rd GBA game from Camelot. Like the GBC game this has a RPG style Story Mode where you start off as a young upstart and you play your way up the ranks until you hit the big time.

Along the way you'll be able to play mini games that help you level up and you can also talk to other players who will offer advice to how to up your game. As well as that you'll be able to take part in many tournaments, each one testing your skills and abilities as you go. Once you have completed each tournament you get to play against the moustachioed plumber himself...Mario!

Outside of the main Story Mode are some very good multiplayer modes. Only got one GBA/DS? Well 2-4 players can simply take turns and have some fun. You can also link 2-4 GBA's up together but sadly you can't link up on a DS.

All in all this was a great looking and very deep golfing game and the RPG style story mode really helped break the gameplay up. Its deep enough for those who have played Golf titles before as well as being easy to get into for those who have never touched the genre.

GBA instalment in the Mario-themed golf series. Three-dimensional graphics are used for the stages, but you can switch to a 2D map view at any time in order to plan your attacks. Select either Neal or Ella and enter the Marion Club Learning Center in order to become a pro. You raise both yourself and your partner, learning under the counsel of Kid and attempting to one-up your rivals, Helen and Bazu. This mode has an RPG-like feel, with new courses opening up as you progress and members of the club sharing golf knowledge with you when you speak to them. Also features a Quick game mode, multiplayer matches for up to four, save your records, edit cheers and jeers and exchange clubs with your friends. A golf dictionary contains explanations of golf vocabulary for beginners.

#1544 -Mario Golf Advance Tour (USA) (Venom)

#1940 -Mario Golf Advance Tour (Europe) (iND)

Genre: Golf RPG
Developer: Camelot Software Planning
Publisher: Nintendo
Dump Date: 22/06/2004 (USA) 19/03/2005 (Europe)
ROM Size: 128 Mbits

If you enjoyed this weeks edition of GBAtemp Recommends! please leave a comment in the thread. This helps us monitor feedback and ensures we keep posting these magazine articles in the future.

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Discuss

 

[granville]

I don't even like golf and liked this!

 

[ItsMetaKnight]

i hate this game

 

[granville]

*Waves hand mysteriously* You like this game.

 

[.TakaM]

i hate this game

excellent contribution there, you earned a spot on my ignore list.

Another great game, I was pretty addicted to this when it first came out.
Some obvious TASing going on in the video tho lol.
Also, you guys should recommend Colin Mcrae Rally 2.0, might not be the prettiest gba racer, but it's gameplay is a masterpiece.

 

[Hadrian]

Another great game, I was pretty addicted to this when it first came out.
Some obvious TASing going on in the video tho lol.
Also, you guys should recommend Colin Mcrae Rally 2.0, might not be the prettiest gba racer, but it's gameplay is a masterpiece.

I agree, one week it will no doubt.

 

[zxr750j]

I'm not a rpg-fan so this one doens't rock my boat. You should consider denki blocks in your recommendations, one of the greatest puzzle games of all time!

 

[Satangel]

Didn't like this game a lot, loved Mario Power Tennis though.
This sport just doesn't interest me.

 

[Raven Darkheart]

I don't even like golf and liked this!

took the words outta my mouth

 

[Prof. 9]

Meh, I prefer Mario Tennis.

I think I'll give this one a try anyway, though.

 

[Raika]

Haven't tried this, but since this game is made by the same people who made Mario Tennis: Power Tour, I guess i would give it a shot some time.

 

[dice]

^ Same here, it was the first time I really grasped an understanding of what an "Albatross" and "Eagle" (for example) actually meant.

Despite this, I still found the gbc version to be more enjoyable (and even more so for Mario Tennis).

 

[Hadrian]

Yeah I enjoyed the GBC versions of Golf & Tennis more than the others.

 

[Issac]

this game is really great in my opinion.. it felt like there was so many things to do.. keeps you busy for a while at least

 

[Toni Plutonij]

I don't like sports games, but this is just a real beauty! Amazing graphics, great gameplay and really, everything is perfect with this game.....I don't think that golf could ever possibly be better and more entertaining!

 

[Pikachu025]

Some obvious TASing going on in the video tho lol.

Nah, that's just the way the game records replays; it doesn't remember how long you took, only what you did.

In any case, this is a great game, everyone should give it a try. It got awesome music as well.

If you have the Gamecube Mario Golf, you can even transfer your characters and custom clubs over there (and if you level them high enough they'll be better than every normal char)!

 

[PapyJason]

hi!

It's one of the most addictive game on gba , plus the connectivity to GC is quite amazing letting you increase hours and hours of gameplay !
Soon i think gbatemp will recommend mario tennis who is also awesome despite it's lack of gc connectivity.

So for those who own a wii plus a gba plus a gamelinkcube it's definitly worth to get thoses games.

For the wii u can launch it trough isoloader on a gecko SD (wii mod or unmod!)

Anyway thanx to gbatemp to create this Amazing recommend post !

 

[OuTee]

Mario Tennis was WAY better than golf I'm surprised that didn't came first. (just cause I'm bored with golf and tennis with super shots was great :])

 

[Lewigi]

I thought the point of these was to highlight little-known or overlooked classics rather than big games like this (and tennis).

That's not to say this isn't worth a look tho, great game.

 

[Hadrian]

I thought the point of these was to highlight little-known or overlooked classics rather than big games like this (and tennis).

That's not to say this isn't worth a look tho, great game.


We'll at the top it says this:

QUOTEThe games we recommend may be top titles from the GBA library, a homebrew, or they may be sleeper hits that flew by the radar, but one thing's certain, they're all fantastic games that deserve your play time!

You might remember that Golden Sun, Mother 3 and Boktai were early choices, all three of those were fairly big back in the day. While we recommend the overlooked or lesser known titles more we still like to mention big titles occasionally as even those haven't been played by some people so its nice to remind them that they are around.