Are you ready to join Mario, Peach, Donkey Kong and a cast of their cohorts for a few rounds of golf you'll never forget? If you think your game is good enough for you to enter the Toadstool Tour championship, then it's time to hit the green.

In Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, you better not think you're only going to be playing on your run of the mill conventional courses however. On the Toadstool Tour, you'll find two types of courses - some traditional, others designed from the ground up to be all about the Mushroom Kingdom. If you dare set foot on the Mario-inspired courses, get ready to chip over warp pipes and face deadly hazards, including Piranha Plants, Chain Chomps and Thwomps. Maximize your swing by controlling your moves in manual mode if you're an expert or partially automated mode if you're a novice.

Graphics:

There is no doubt about it this game is very colorful. What else would you expect from a Mario game? As you may have noticed, everything is smooth and detailed. Even the rough is detailed with plenty of individual blades swaying in the wind accordingly. Frame rate rarely drops during the game, but Toadstool Tour does not have load times, so it all evens out. Backgrounds and environments are also a joy to look at. From the water effects, to fireworks, and back to grass, the graphics are great. Mario Golf is definitely a looker.

Sound:

As always, Mario games have had the greatest gaming music ever, and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour is no exception. Many of the sound effects are very familiar, and that's because they are. You'll most likely recognize a song or two. Each character can taunt or compliment their opponent at will. And I have to say, the voices are really well done. Wario and Waluigi, in my opinion, have the best lines in the game. In great games, music and sound needs to reflect on the environment and gameplay, and Mario Golf does it perfectly. Whether you have a Mono television or Dolby Surround Sound System, you will be satisfied with the game's sound quality.

Gameplay:

Mario Golf has made many big steps to improve on its gameplay, but did it work, and did it go smoothly? Of course it did, it's a Nintendo game you're dealing with. Now, in 2003, it feels that Nintendo and Camelot have perfected the gameplay. Aiming and controlling your drives is a little daunting at first, but as you progress in the game, it becomes second nature. Another amazing feature that the game has is the Warp Pipes, Chain Chomps and Toadstools etc. If you hit your ball into a Warp Pipe of one color, your ball will come out of another Warp Pipe of the same color, hopefully closer to the hole. Chain Chomps, Toadstools, and etc interact with you and the way you play. For example, if you hit your ball too close to a Chain Chomp, it will awake and go berserk. This causes you to get a penalty stroke or two. Oh yeah, L and R adjusts the range marker, which lets you view your desired landing area. This makes driving and putting a whole lot easier than in the original Mario Golf on the Nintendo 64. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour also has an Auto-swing or a Manual Swing. For Auto-swing, press A to Start swing, and then hit A once more to set your driving power, the auto swing does all of the rest. For Manual Swing, press A to start your swing, and then press B. Now you have to set your spin. For natural spin, press A or B. If you want Topspin press A twice quickly. For Backspin, press B twice quickly. All of this makes the game a lot easier to set the ball where you want it. You can also adjust where you hit the ball with the Control Pad. This lets your curve the ball left or right, and lets you hit the ball higher or lower.

Load times do not exist in this game, no waiting for courses to load, no nothing. This game does have downsides though. One problem is the amount of practicing you will have to do in order to finish first in a Tournament. And trust me, you need to finish first in order to unlock new levels. Another problem I had was with the camera. The camera is too hard to control; sometimes it runs into your character, sometimes a tree, and other times you can't see where the hole is. The pop-up side scrolling Boo gets annoying too, but nothing major. But I still don't get why they don't have a "Quit Game" option in the In Game Menu. To quit a match you're in you have to go through the "Save Game" option, just like in Mario Golf 64.

Thankfully Toadstool Tour has plenty of different characters and a multiplayer mode. There are 16 characters total, 4 of them are locked (albeit less than Mario Golf 64 had which is a shame). The multiplayer holds 9 modes for you to play in of which will more then certainly keep a few mates or the familly amused. Some of these modes are: Stroke Play (lowest score wins), Ring Attack (shoot through the rings), Club Slots (compete with a limited set of clubs chosen by slots), and my favorite Coin Attack (compete by collecting coins, get the most to win). Overall, this game is definitely fun to play, even if you're by yourself.

Playability:

Driving the ball is decided by your Auto-swing or Manual Swing (described in Gameplay section of this review). B lets you change your shot type, just like in the first Mario Golf. Y allows you to view the hole layout and X allows you to view your desired landing point. In order to control the camera, you use the C-Stick. I really don't like the camera though, it sometimes runs into objects, like you, and other times you can't see the hole. You can also adjust where you hit the ball with the Control Pad. This lets your curve the ball left or right, and lets you hit the ball higher or lower.

I do think putting is difficult in this game. At times its hard to decide where to aim when the hole is on a hill or a slant. At times it gets frustrating but perfecting this skill makes it all the more worth while when sinking a put from 20yrds. Trust me its more fun then it sounds!

With multiple modes available for you to play in, and different ways to complete a hole, this gives you a different feeling than any other golf game out there. Don't forget about the 12 characters plus the 4 you'll want to unlock.

Controls:

A: Start Swing
B: Change shot type
X: View landing point
Y: View hole layout
L: Adjust Range Marker
R: Adjust Range Marker
C-Stick: Control Camera
D-Pad: Change Impact Marker
Control Stick: Change shot direction/Change clubs

Lifespan:

This game has a great lifespan, just like Mario Party games I can see myself playing this game 4 months down the road with my friends and having a good time with it. With multiple characters and courses that you can unlock, this may be the only game you play for the next 2 months, obviously depending on how good you are at the game. The Game Boy Advance also allows for more prolonged play. Mario Golf on the GBA allows you to, well, actually I have no idea what it does, but hey, all the more surprise if you have the game on GBA.

Final Say:

Overall, in my opinion, Mario Golf is a great single player and multiplayer game. With totally original courses and familiar characters, you'll feel right at home with this game. I haven't had the opportunity to compare this game to Tiger Woods golf game, but if you like the Mario franchise I suggest you get this game over Tiger Woods. This game is superb in gameplay, graphics, and controls. Get this game when you can and don't whatever you do be put of by the fact its golf, Mario Golf gives a whole new perspective to the game, sprucing it up and above all else making it fun and enjoyable.