Collection essentials #555: Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (GC)

Camelot had previously done a very nice job with Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64, so much so that it began a new era where we were graced with a variety of quality Mario-themed sports titles. With a new console generation and much more graphical power, a second Mario Golf game made sense. Toadstool Tour doesn’t dramatically depart from what 64 did, but that’s okay because it really didn’t have to.

Like the first game, rather than just being wacky and silly with Mario elements, this game does really try to deliver a fundamentally-sound representation of the real game of golf. It has many features you’d expect and hope for in a regular golf sim, such as different clubs, wind conditions to account for, and different rules to play under such as stroke or skins. The non-realistic fantasy elements mainly come with certain specific courses and unique modes. Some of the game’s courses are comparable to ones you might find in real life, but some take place in the Mario universe and feature certain hazards or shortcuts such as pipes which can transport your ball from one area to another. Unique modes include one where you have to shoot your ball through a series of large floating rings before getting the ball in the hole.

One neat addition from the original Mario Golf is a simpler method of making a shot. In the original, a meter moved upon initiating a shot, and the player had to stop it at some point to choose how far the ball would go, and then a cursor would move back the opposite direction which the player had to stop as close to the starting point as possible in order for a clean and accurate hit. Toadstool Tour basically uses the same system, but now it’s possible to simply stop the meter going to the left by pressing the A button, and the game will automatically handle the second portion for you. The downside to this is that it won’t always give you a “perfect” hit, so you can use the B button instead to manually stop the cursor after selecting distance, and if you’re confident in your skills then you can probably get great and accurate shots more often.

If you think that this is merely a “kiddy” and simplified easy golf game for young and inexperienced gamers, think again. Those types can play the game and have a great time, sure, but Camelot certainly didn’t forget about more advanced players when making this game. There are now more ways to affect the amount of spin on your ball for when it lands, which is a great feature that I use all the time. The game can also be very challenging. The “Bowser Badlands” course might be the single hardest video game golf course I’ve ever played on. Some of the single-player modes and challenges really require you to be on top of your game as well.

Yet another cool feature is connectivity with Mario Golf Advance Tour, which I previously mentioned in my post about that game. Advance Tour is a “golf RPG” where you can use experience points to improve your characters’ attributes. You can transfer your characters to Toadstool Tour and play as them on the GameCube. If you spend long enough building them up, you can wind up with the most powerful character in the game, able to hit the ball extremely far and with great precision.

Toadstool Tour released to positive reception, generally garnering scores in the 8/10 range or a little below. It had respectable sales, just a little bit below those of the Nintendo 64 original which is understandable since the 64 as a console sold a little better than the GameCube. 

I got this game roughly when it came out, and it was the first Mario Golf game that I owned. I never fully beat everything in the game, but for years it was the biggest go-to for my video game golf fix. Perhaps I’m not qualified to judge since I’m not the most “hardcore” golf gamer, but I feel like the game deserves a little better than its 8/10 review scores. Toadstool Tour would make a shortlist of the best golf games I’ve played, and I think as of today I’d probably consider it my favorite. The game pretty much nails everything it tries to do, down to a tee (pun intended). 

There have been newer Mario Golf games since then, but I don’t think any have truly dethroned Toadstool Tour as the best one. Sadly there is no rerelease of the game currently available, but the original GameCube release is thankfully not expensive. Whether you’re a new golfer or seasoned veteran of hitting the links, this is a game that is definitely worth playing. As far as I’m concerned, it’s one of the most essential golf experience and therefore an essential in my collection.