I've decided to post some thoughts/ reviews on some Golf games I've encountered.
I have:
snes - 9 games
nes - 4 games
turbografX - 2 games
Of the 15 above golf games, there are only 2 that I decided to keep, and are fairly easy to use on my Z
1. Best recommendation is "Hal's Hole in One" for snes
2. 2nd Best recommendation is "Powergolf" for TurbografX
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Hal's Hole in One (snes)
This isn't the best golf game out there, but it is the best I have found that plays in the emulator.
The graphics are simplistic, and not very detailed.
The game is actually pretty much playable though.
After playing a round or two, you can actually birdie and par many holes on a Zaurus.
Putting is difficult in all of these golf games, because the controls just don't match a handheld controller that you get with a set-top console.
Also the 4-way controller on my Zaurus seems to register, "2 button presses to 1".
To get around this, just tap it very lightly.
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Powergolf (TurbografX)
Now this golf game really shines on my Z.
The graphics, graphics speed, and music are exactly the same as they are on the console.
This game looks really nice on a Z
The main problem with this game, is in the control of the swing, (when you address the ball).
This problem is also noticable on the console, which is why I stopped playing it soon after I bought the "HuCard" for my console.
(A "HuCard" is the card that the TurbografX uses).
The trouble with the swing control is that the slightest "miss" from the center position of the ball address, makes your shot hook or slice quite a lot.
On a Zaurus keyboard, this is exaggerated because the keyboard key doesn't respond as quickly as the button on a TurbografX controller.
I enclosed a screenshot of Powergolf.
(I could not get screenshots of the other golf games on my Z)
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The other games I tried are:
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nes: (I don't recommend any of these, these are very early versions)
I won't go into descriptions of these either.
Golf grand slam
Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf
Nes Open
Golf----------------------------------------
snes:Jack Nicklaus Golf - Nice looking game. Controls simple to use, but you have to wait awhile for the screen to redraw every scene.
This is a nice game overall, and would be my 3rd recommendation.
This is the only other golf game I have decided to keep on my Z, besides the 2 above recommended games.
Nice scorecard, graphics are above par for these games, but not quite as good as Turbogolf.
You have to press a button after every action to advance to next screen.
Pretty thorough game, Jack comes onscreen before each hole and gives advice.
Best Shot Pro Golf - Japanese, I couldn't figure out how to start a round.
This game is 4MB. It has cutscenes of golfer's childhood/upbringing.
It looks like it could be a really nice game, if only I could get past the Japanese menus.
Okamoto Ayako to Match Play Golf - Japanese, I couldn't figure out how to start a round.
It has good demo scenes, but as above, I cannot get past the Japanese menus.
Pebble Beach Golf Links - Graphics small and kind of crude. Greens hard to read.
Control difficult. This game is OK, and I would play it if there wasn't better games suited for the Zaurus and the emulator.
Waialae Golf - This game is almost exactly the same setup as Pebble Beach, but different course.
Made by same software Co. (Truegolf)
Controls are exactly the same as Pebble Beach and graphics are the same.
This one seems to have more settings. You can turn off annoying music if you want.
World Masters Golf - This game has 4 courses to choose from.
Overview graphics are very nice.
This game has a MAJOR problem with the emulator.
The graphics on the screen that shows your golfer, clubs, lie, wind, etc, are messed up.
There are numbers/letters overlaying the graphics that you need to set up your shot and make your shot.
Using the "sprite" on/off functions of the emulator doesn't help, because your necessory items dissappear from the screen.
PGA Tour Golf - Lots of setup functions to set parameters of the game, such as graphics, and camera views. (Fly-overs, ball-cam, ect)
This game starts at TPC at Sawgrass. WOW!, one of my favorite courses.
This ROM has 4 courses to play. (This is why I'd like to get it working correctly).
The overheads of the course looks great in the introduction.
You can even see the famous "Island Green" on hole 17
BUT, there is a major problem with this game and the emulator.
In the actual game, all the fairways and greens are a very dark blue color.
Bunkers are also blue, (same shade as water, which is also blue)
I tried to play a couple holes, but the deep blue makes it hard to see what is happening.
The ingame fly-overs are also blue.
This annoying blue seems to be on a seperate plane, as it's surrounded by a square outline.
I went out of bounds once, and the grass there is a light green.
But how many of us want to play in the "out of bounds" area?
If I could find a fix for this Blue problem, this may be a decent game of golf.
The onscreen controls seem nice enough, and ball/shot control seems fair.
I just couldn't continue, (with everything, except trees, and OB, a very dark shade of blue).
Devil's Course - This one is supposed to be 3-D, but the problem with it is:
It's Japanese. I can get past the menu and start a hole, and the dialog is now half English and half Japanese.
The important stuff is English though. (Clubs, Lie, Wind, Distance)
The tips/advice is Japanese.
This course is a fantasy course. It has strange landscape details. Pyramids, etc.
I'll have to play this one some more, because today, I just figured out how to get past the Japanese menus.
Hal's Hole in One - Read first review above
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TurbografXJack Nicklaus Turbo Golf - Has some messed up graphics at bottom of screen, not sure what they are.
Similar to snes version, needs to redraw every scene, (slowly)
I haven't figured out how to use the menus/controls.
When selecting my player's name, and selecting which clubs that I want to carry in my bag,
I'm not hitting the right button, or some things just don't work.
When aiming your shot, the aiming indicators light up, but your aim isn't changed.
Pressing buttons seems to make a shot, and you get messages onscreen about where your ball has landed, but the screen stays stuck on one image.
This is the opening image of the teebox.
This game seems unplayable. I need to test it some more.
Powergolf - Read second review at start of this post.
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Well, that's all the games I've tried in the game of golf.
I have Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 & 2004 for my desktop.
This is a stunning realistic game.
It also includes a Course Architect, which is built from the "real" course architect softs for real courses.
I spent 2 months building a course, it's called "Riverlake" (2nd scrnshot below)
I found the snes,nes,and tgx games here:
(
http://www.freeroms.com/)
Cresho, any thoughts of including Sega Genesis support?
Arnold Palmer Golf for the Genesis is a great golf game
1rst screenshot is Powergolf (TurbografX)2nd screenshot is Riverlake course designed with TW Course ArchitectEDIT: I found a screenshot of Hal's Hole in One Golf (3rd screenshot)
