Why you need to revisit this N64 gem on Nintendo Switch Online

You can enjoy a variety of sporting activities when Switch Sports Resort releases this October. It will offer a variety of sports, such as archery, boxing, power cruising, table tennis, and even thumb wrestling. Favorites also return from the previous Wuhu Island visit in Switch Sports. One of the activities you’ll get to enjoy again is golf.

Nintendo has a long history with golf titles, going back to Golf and NES Open Tournament Golf on the NES. One of its biggest hits, developed by Camelot Software Planning, combined that classic experience with the sensibilities of Hot Shots Golf and brought the formula to the Nintendo 64. The resulting mashup is Mario Golf, which currently is available as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. Or, you could always just dig out your old console and track down the cartridge.

Mario Golf originally released in June 1999, a year after Hot Shots Golf reminded players how much fun a light-hearted take on the sport can be. It secured a large enough audience that its developer has made games for Nintendo hardware ever since, primarily working with Nintendo itself on additional Mario Golf and Mario Tennis titles despite a past spent developing terrific RPG fare, such as the Shining Force and Golden Sun franchises. When you can step away from successes like those, you know you’ve done golf right.

Not everyone considers Mario Golf one of the absolute best Mario games available on Nintendo Switch 2. But for players who lost many hours playing it near its release, as well as for newcomers who enjoyed the excellence of Mario Golf: Super Rush, the original Mario Golf is still good for dozens of hours of fun thanks to satisfying multiplayer matches, a host of unlockable characters, and increasingly inventive courses and challenges.

Unless you enter a cheat code to unlock everything, you’ll have access to only a few favorite mascots and one course when you begin playing Mario Golf. The lineup eventually grows to 14 characters in the Nintendo Expansion Pack edition of the game, and there are six standard courses plus two mini-golf options. To access other favorites you might expect, such as Yoshi, Bowser, and even Mario himself, you’ll need to play the Get Character mode.

Mascots are more than just simple skins slapped over the same base stats. Even the initial few characters drive the ball different distances and have their own strengths and weaknesses in related areas. Later additions like Bowser and Wario hit with enough might to seriously change how a player approaches each hole. The simple interface for selecting clubs and choosing where to strike the ball also hides surprising depth.

Nintendo 64 controller with console behind it

Besides the standard Tournament mode, Mario Golf features other attractions such as Ring Shot, which forces players to take tricky shots they might not otherwise attempt. There also are options to train on each hole, and a Speed Golf mode that prioritizes haste and precision over everything else.

For party play, up to four players can get in on the fun by taking turns. Anyone watching from the sidelines can “cheer” on their competition by pressing buttons that splash comic-style speech bubbles across the screen. It’s terrific fun to offer a wholesome “Nice Shot!” right as someone is concentrating on a difficult swing, but only mean people do that (and also really good friends).

With an assortment of fun courses, a lineup of great characters with their own distinct playstyles, unique challenges to extend play time, and a robust multiplayer mode for several players, Mario Golf has always offered a compelling golfing experience for Nintendo gamers. Time may have diminished the appeal of some of its rough textures and simplistic visuals, but that doesn’t erase the fun of hitting the green with Mario and friends, even now.