NES Open Tournament Golf (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
347A playthrough of Nintendo's 1991 golf game for the NES, NES Open Tournament Golf.
With a new entry in the Mario Golf series due to arrive on the Switch later this month, I thought it would be fun to take a look back one of Mario's first official forays into the sport.
NES Open Tournament Golf, it could be argued, marks the beginning of what we now refer to as the "Mario Golf" series. It was created by Nintendo's R&D2 team and HAL, and it is clear that the teams had learned a great deal from their previous efforts in the genre, which included Golf and the two Japan-only "Family Computer Golf" games, Japan Course and US Course.
So, while it wasn't made by Camelot, Camelot clearly drew quite a bit from this foundation.
The game stands without peer on the 8-bit consoles, and it outclasses pretty much every 16-bit golf game, as well. The convincing physics, brisk pacing, the streamlined interface, and the snappy controls made the game accessible to anyone without sacrificing the depth that golf fans would be looking for. The structure provided by the endgame goal (win $1,000,000 to see the ending and credit sequence), the several available game modes, and the battery-backed save feature all give it some real lasting power. And finally, the colorful cast of characters, the excellent graphics, and the memorable soundtrack all give it a personality that makes it fun to come back to again and again.
Considering its overall quality, I suppose that it's hardly a surprise that Iwata was the project's lead programmer, huh?
I think it would be fair to say that NES Open was king of the console golf castle, and nothing else could touch it. At least, not until Neo Turf Masters came along.
Best of all, this classic still holds up today. It feels just as intuitive and as polished now as it did thirty years ago. If you have a Switch, check it out on the NES app!
Just try not to let Mario's neon patriotic attire blind you.
(Is that Ken Williams handing out the prize money?)
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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