I Keep Trying (And Failing) To Get Into One Of Mario’s Most Enduring Sub-Franchises

The Super Mario franchise has delivered some all-time greats over the years, even outside the mainline platforming series. Spin-offs that throw Mario and his colorful cast of supporting characters into different sports and activities have been a roaring success, with titles like the Mario Kart games becoming best-sellers in their own right. For the most part, I’ve always loved the spin-offs.

Even the ones that lack the refined controls or deceptively tight gameplay have at least been enjoyable — except for one glaring exception. I’ve played every Mario Golf game, and I haven’t actually liked a single one. It’s not that they’re bad golf games, but I don’t think they do a great job of being Mario games. Unless future entries introduce some specific tweaks, I don’t think I’ll ever be won over.

Golf Has Been Part Of The Nintendo Library Since The Very Beginning

Nintendo has had golf games going back to the NES, with the simply titled Golf debuting on the console in 1984 in Japan. The game was the first Nintendo sports spin-off to include Mario as a playable character — setting a precedent that has since seen the plumber drive karts, hit homeruns, and shoot goals — and was eventually reimagined as Mario Golf in the N64 era. Mario Golf debuted on the Nintendo 64 on June 11, 1999, in Japan before making the leap to North America later that month.

The N64 version, as well as sequels like the GameCube’s Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, the 3DS title Mario Golf: World Tour, and the Switch’s Mario Golf: Super Rush, all have their fans, with a more grounded approach to the athletic activity it’s replicating while still finding little touches of that Nintendo magic to bring a bit more color and variety to the experience. Despite the series earning some good reviews over the years and enduring as a consistent Mario spin-off series in the eyes of fans, Mario Golf might be the only spin-off of the Nintendo icon that I’ve never really been able to get into.

Why I Don’t Like Mario Golf

A big part of my problem with Mario Golf may simply stem from the fact that I don’t much care for golf as a whole. While there have been some fun tweaks to the concept in the world of gaming (100ft Robot Golf blends so many other elements together that it turns golf into just the win condition) and mini-golf can be a lot of fun in bursts, the actual game of golf has always been one I personally found dull. However, that hasn’t stopped Nintendo in the past from adding a bit of on-brand whimsy to a sport to make it more engaging — just look at the plethora of fun mini-games that made Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games a surprisingly effective series from the publisher.

I think the trick is that most Mario sports games find the right balance between the original game and the Nintendo-style absurdity. Those Olympic games have fun with the absurd imagery of Sonic trying to beat Bowser in table tennis, lending a little bit of extra personality to the otherwise realistic sports. Mario Super Strikers, Mario Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball, and especially the Mario Kart series have benefited from tightly constructed arcade versions of their respective sports — but bring in enough power boosts, bizarre maps, and colorful chaos to still feel like a Mario game at heart.

Mario Golf, by contrast, has always felt much more attuned to the golf aspects of the game and less enthusiastic about the wackier potential of the Nintendo brand. The exception to that is the Speed Golf mode introduced in Mario Golf: Super Rush, but even that felt somewhat grounded. The gameplay may be simplified from life-accurate golf games, but there’s too much common ground between basic golf video game mechanics and what players discover in Super Mario Golf games for players like me to ever actually care. Despite playing each entry in the series and really trying to throw myself into it, the golf of it all throws me off.

How I Would Fix Mario Golf

That doesn’t mean I think Mario Golf couldn’t win me over — but it would take some very specific work and shifts in direction for me to get excited about a new entry in the series. Honestly, the “Speed Golf” mode was a great idea for the game, adding more frantic movement, goofy obstacles, and direct competition to the actual gameplay. Leaning more into those kinds of modes could be a lot of fun, introducing variants of the game that incorporate more combat or platforming elements. Taking the courses away from the somewhat standard golf layouts and adding in more of the wacky Mario franchise vibes could be another way to draw players like me more into the game.

It’s boring to hit the links even with Yoshi — but trying to actually putt while in Bowser’s Castle and surrounded by challenges would be a more enjoyable experience. Additional modes and challenges that represent a better crossover between the Nintendo absurdity and the realistic sport, akin to what Mario Super Sluggers did, could also enhance the experience. I don’t think Mario Golf is a bad series, and I don’t decry anyone who loves it. It’s never been a series for me despite my best efforts — and I think it would take a hard reimagining of the premise to finally win me over.

What is your favorite — or least favorite — Mario spin-off? Let us know in the comments and on social media!