Page 2
Legend of GolferDeveloped by Seta Corporation, Legend of Golfer was published jointly between Seta and Nintendo in June 2004. It and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were the only Japanese GameCube releases that month, a month that kicked off a very slow summer for the ‘Cube. Summer would be a great time to release a golf game, but apparently people in Japan would rather play the actual sport than play this game. Half golf and half RPG, Golfer features lackluster graphics (yes, lackluster graphics are a feature), a unique control method, and the ability to train your character in all areas, be it putting, driving, chipping, power, stamina, spin, and concentration.
Time your swing with the onscreen cursor for maximum distance.
With its swingin' control system, Wii is bound to see many golf games, Wii Sports Golf, Super Swing Golf and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 already slated for release. So, what is it about Legend of Golfer that could separate the titles from everything else? Golf games come in two basic formats: fantastical and realistic. For some, Mario Golf what with its chain chomps and pipe play is just isn't appealing, meanwhile you may as well be playing the real sport if the game is so realistic that the only way to improve it is to work on how Tiger's facial expressions change based on your performance. Legend of Golfer, quality aside, takes the best of both worlds: it pushes for realism, but brings the player to all kinds of exotic locations, like volcanic and Egyptian landscapes, that don't quite make the PGA Tour.
Too flashy, too simple, too boring?
The thing that tips the balance in Golfer's favor of seeing an international release is a little orange square that bears the words "Touch Generations". True Swing Golf for the DS launched last January to a welcoming colder than Canada's winter climate, but it has seen a second marketing push ever since it was branded along with Brain Age, Magnetica, and Tetris DS. Assuming that the Wii gets a similar system put in place, it could just find that audience that would have completely missed it a few years ago on the GameCube.
