Great Golf
System: SMS
Release Date: November 1987
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Sports
Okey dokey, Great Golf is up next. Sega is really pumping out the sports titles now, I think we have one left with Great Basketball about 12 games away. There were some things I liked about Great Golf and some things I hated.
First, I liked that you are actually told the distance each club hits. That’s essential knowledge and even if you lose your manual, it tells you during club selection and you could write it down. I hated aiming my shot. I couldn’t rotate the screen from the starting view, which led to some bad shot possibilities when there was heavy wind. I like that you drop some grass with Button 1 to figure out the wind speed and direction, but I dislike that it leaves me with inaccurate information.
I like that my distance to the hole is shown to me at any point. I dislike that I don’t know the distance to any other feature on the map. I like that you can see the slope of the green when you’re trying to putt. I dislike that the power gauge while putting is not consistent in the slightest. I like the scenery on the course. I dislike the time it takes to draw all the trees individually. I like that I shot a hole in one. I dislike that I shot a 15 on one hole because the putting is so imprecise. I like setting your stance to set hooks and slices. I dislike the one-click swing mechanic. I like and dislike, but mostly dislike, Great Golf.
Graphics: 2.0
The graphics are the best thing this game does.
Sound: 1.0
Very light on the music. Sound effects are lame. There’s some bad digitized voice, so there’s that.
Gameplay: 2.0
There’s a lot that is alright and a lot that is bad. I’ll average it out to average.
Difficulty: 1.5
There’s only one course, so when you learn the ins and outs of the gameplay, you won’t have a lot to master.
Fun Factor: 0.5
I was hoping for it to be over by hole six. Then I got my hole in one and decided to see it to the end.
Overall Grade: 1.4
Great Golf earns a D+. It’s about on par with NES Golf, but better in some ways and only slightly worse in others.