10 Greatest NES Video Games Of 1985
7. Golf
Golf really has been well represented in gaming over the years, hasn't it?
The proportion of people who've played virtually against those who've actually picked up a club must be absolutely staggering, especially when after fifteen minutes of either you've usually had enough.
Here we find an out of shape Mario lookalike working his way around a quite fiddly golf simulation/approximation that is enjoyable enough for what it is.
To be fair, the mechanics of the swing, though ubiquitous now, were pretty revolutionary back in the day and once mastered can be quite enjoyable. The game also features a full 18 hole course with all the bunkers, ponds and trees you'd expect and it doesn't try to dumb the sport down like other simulators on the system do (such as Soccer and Baseball).
A two player option meant this game would often get played more when friends were visiting than it ever would when the player was home alone, though how many times those sessions would ever actually do all 18 holes is doubtful.
Like Kung Fu, this game is actually probably more important when seen a forebearer to the many better games of its genre that would follow. It's a solid, entertaining game with a decent learning curve and puzzle element to its play but nothing than anyone is going to get too excited about.
Kind of like... well... golf.