Greg Norman's Golf Power (NES) Playthrough
125A playthrough of Virgin Games' 1992 license-based golf game for the NES, Greg Norman's Golf Power.
This video shows two rounds. In the first, I play the USA course on the amateur difficulty level. The second round, beginning at 28:21, is played by the AI player, "Pro A," on the England course.
(Because why would anyone think to include Greg Norman in a game called Greg Norman's Golf Power? "PRO A" has a warmer, more personal ring to it, wouldn't you say?)
Finally, at 57:52, I included a quick demo of the game's course design feature in action.
Between Golf, NES Open Tournament Golf, Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf, Jack Nicklaus's Greatest 18 Holes of Championship Golf, Bandai Golf, and Golf Grand Slam, the NES had plenty of worthwhile games for the would-be video duffer. Of the seven golf games that were officially released for the system in North America, there's only one that I'd sooner see in the trash can than in my NES.
I went into Greg Norman's Golf Power with an open mind. I like retro golf games, so I figured that I'd be able to wring some fun out of it. How wrong I was.
Gremlin made a lot of good stuff in their time - I was a big fan of the Lotus and Top Gear games - but this golf title is pure bottom-shelf drek. Despite being a 1992 release, it looks like a budget-label C64 game from the mid 80s. It's impossibly ugly. The title screen music is a hate crime against humanity. There's an annoying and clearly audible buzz between sound effects. The controls are awkward and the swing timing is way too touchy. They even screwed up the title screen. The trippy image is kind of cool, but "Golf Power Greg Norman's"? Seriously?
And as if the entire package wasn't unappealing enough already, the game runs terribly. You're forced to stare at a loading screen for 15-20 seconds at the start of every round, and there's another 10-15 second slice of downtime inserted between every single shot.
I honestly couldn't find anything redeeming in this one.
(The map @2:13, does anyone else see an emotionally disturbed Mario?)
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