Hot Shots Golf 3
More refinements and more movement away from what I like in a golf game. Introduces points and a shop, but it’s not in your face so far as I’ve played. I’ve ignored it for now, but perhaps it becomes a necessity later on? Graphics are very good, interface is pretty good, voices are horrible. I really don’t enjoy the character vibe in this one, it feels really creepy. Again you can see the parts of the game they improved and the parts they left as-is, even in the transition from PS1 to PS2.
Won 2 vs rounds.
Lost 2 vs rounds.
Play again? Maybe.
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Hot Shots Golf Fore!
Even better graphics, a new “skip shot and show complete trajectory” button which I love. The skip ball flight is tweaked a little, so it shows you the final ~half a second of the ball rolling to a stop, rather than just seeing the still ball. I like both of these things. Points come more to the forefront, with a Shop and “Go Shopping” options are more prevalent. Online, which also included time-based online regional tournaments (similar to T&E SOFT’s Pebble Beach no Hatou NEW Tournament Edition on PS1). Still not enjoying the characters. Game is enjoyable to play.
Won 2 vs rounds.
Lost 2 vs rounds.
Play again? Maybe.
Also! #499
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So far, I prefer EG2 on PS1 and I’ve moved my save from PSP to PC so i can play on an emulator just to have better controller. Looking forward to playing a round that way.
Alright, I played a full round on Power Golf. I have to agree with the assessment of the video above, it’s not great lol.
I did have fun with moments here and there, but it’s really, really difficult. The swing system is super fast, and when you miss the mark, the slicing is pretty gnarly.
It’s kind of a shame really… all the elements are there to make a pretty fun little game, if not simplistic. But they kind of ruined it with the speed of the swing.
Also… I guess the game just have thought I was pretty terrible, as it gave me a 57(!!!) handicap LOL
Minna no GOLF (Everybody’s Golf) - 3D Course Data
みんなのGOLF場
2007, PSP
These 3D course data in these games is credited to DIGITAL GOLF Inc. (T&E SOFT). These seem to be a set of 4 “Everybody’s Golf” branded games but with real life courses. Apparently they are slow to load and display, and the gameplay is different to mainline EG games. They also worked with a GPS receiver, somehow. I’m intrigued.
Credits on boot up:
Sony JAPAN Studio
DIGITAL GOLF Inc.
Clap Hanz Limited
Genki
From Japanese Wiki:
You can use the game system of the “Everybody’s Golf” series to play around the included courses, but without the special shots and other game elements.
It’s a lonely old game, though. They took out any form of competition. No tournaments or anything. It’s just you, your clubs and a ball against nature. Oh, and a phantom voice that says “Nice Shot!” every so often.
The PSP games have the “Nice Shot!” voice when your shot has good timing. I don’t recall if it’s actually related to a good shot IRL golf terms or just the timing.
Yeah, 6 was a weird one since I only played it on Vita, so in a sense it makes sense that the physics engine was downgraded.
I wonder if the lower resolution of the PSP screen does enough to communicate realistic ball movement and physics? Whereas at 720p on PS3 you’re much more likely to notice it, especially with the more detailed terrain formations.
Reading about these GPS Minna no Golf games is simultaneously mind blowing and deflating, cool idea though. Thanks for posting impressions!
Going from everything I’ve read up to this point of the old games I think I’ll just pick up a PS Archives copy of Minna no Golf 2 for my PSP to play in handheld and via S-Video cable on CRT.
Eager to hear about the PSP regular Portable titles though.
Before I forget, some more impressions on Clap Hanz Golf, which I dropped earlier this week after have playing at least a dozen hours since launch.
It’s a lot of waiting for the real game to begin, and it never really does. I’ve gotten to Tour Rank 5 so far, beating 4 managers and 4 bosses. From the first five courses in the game, the greens never really get more complex, and the course designs themselves don’t vary much either. The AI’s performance in rounds and match play hasn’t evolved much either.
I get the impression the incentive structure for Apple Arcade games made Clap Hanz design a drawn-out, grindy game which is more addictive than genuinely enthralling. Instead of having a limited selection of hand crafted challenges with special optional objectives to clear, the game seems to randomly generate events across a world map, with 3, 6 or (presumably later on) 9 holes, wind rules, OB rules and mirror rules. Beating events earns stars and enough stars unlocks the boss. The game reshuffles/generates new events every so often. It’s really samey and forgettable.
Survival mode is a great idea but again, I still only have Easy difficulty unlocked for that somehow, and the online leaderboards don’t have difficulty settings.
It’s a shame because despite having been built on Unity engine the look and feel of the game is true to the latest entries in the Minna no Golf series, and the touch controls are thoughtfully implemented. But it’s all so under-utilised given how easy and unchallenging the game remains.
According to the 4gamer interview they made the game on Unity, which actually surprised me given how close they managed to make it feel to 6 on Vita.
It was also in development for 18 months, which cements it as a big effort from the developer. Honestly though, I wish they were able to retain the name Team Up Golf, which would free it from previous connotations with Minna no Golf. And they should have expected more from its players. It’s encouraging to read that they plan on updating it for a while though.
Took a look at videos of Minna no Golf 2 earlier, it has a little less backchat than the Western versions. Totally different characters, too.
But more interestingly it doesn’t have a grid on the green!!! Rather it has a green arrow that indicates lay of the land, located next to the blue wind arrow in the top right.
This blows my mind. This would make putting a lot more difficult than in the Western version.
The Western version has a side profile slope view and a grid display.
A little bit more EG2 on PS1 last night. Steadily unlocking all characters. I noticed it had no music compared to MnG2. I need to check if there’s an option.
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EG Portable plays nicely. The trajectory thing I liked on the PS2 is promoted to what I consider the main post/skip shot view. It defaults to music off but you can enable it.
Gameplay is solid. Difficulty seems right. Modes seem a bit light. No VS mode but instead an ongoing somewhat random challenge mode that unlocks clothes and clubs and increases XP. I don’t particularly enjoy this type of progression.
Also, I don’t like the presentation at all. The textures are all every sharp and have a computer generated look. I’d have preferred it to have a more Wii Sports organic and coherent style. Compared to EG2 PS1 everything feels unfinished and lacking finesse.
EG Portable 2 seems almost identical but with online and maybe some more courses. Will try briefly tonight.
The further into the EG series got the more I dislike like it. The ball physics is not great, and putting ball physics cheats a lot. Near hope physics are faked, or should I say that the game decided on a particular approach and then your ball does that. It might clip the hole edge and the game will spin it round the hole and accelerate it off in some other direction, at a faster speed than it arrived. I really don’t finf that fun.
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I also tried Pangya PSP tonight and it’s… OK. Very slow power meter. Boring course design. Nice graphics. Slow progress. Obviously inspired by EG.
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I fired up the T&E PS1 golf games and the difference in realism of physics is apparent immediately.
I also rediscovered some cheat codes that I made a couple of years ago to add extra camera angles and missing wide-screen feature back into the Jun Classic PS1 game. I’ll write a blog post about those soon.
Thanks for these updates Matt, really appreciate them.
For now I’ve decided to order a cheap disc of the Japanese version of Minna no Golf 2 and leave it at that based on your impressions.
I think if I return to the more modern games I’m going to have to get my head around the special shots since that seems to be a large focus, and may explain the inconsistency in physics when the ball scrapes the hole, I think that might trigger a special shot if the ball approaches it correctly…or maybe I’m confusing it with the one where you have to hit the pin.
I’ve got the 3DS out again too so I plan to get back into T&E Soft’s last game at some point.
