is the central hub for all news, updates, rumors, and topics relating to the Nintendo Switch. We are a fan-run community, not an official Nintendo forum. Content FiltersAMA Calendar DateGuestMay 7Digital Continue SuperMash 10:30 AM ET / 7:30 AM PT / 3:30 PM GMTRules.No hate-speech, personal attacks, or harassment.Remember the human and be respectful of others. Hate-speech, personal attacks, harassment, witch-hunting, trolling and similar behaviour is not allowed. Please be civil and do not use derogatory terms.No clickbait, vague, or misleading post titles.Post titles should convey the content of your post quickly and effectively. After spending roughly 15 hours on this game, I have finally wrapped up Golf Story (barring one sidequest which I still can't figure out.).
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The true key to a Nintendo Switch sports RPG: bizarre, 16-bit class warfare. The true key to a Nintendo Switch sports RPG: bizarre, 16-bit class warfare. Skip to main content Banner Society homepage. At one point early in Golf Story, the hero is asked by a panicked mother for help. Her idiot child sits on a tiny boat in a water hazard.
![Valley Valley](/uploads/1/2/7/7/127773654/162062953.png)
I noticed that this sub was still receiving a lot of people asking about the game, and since there isn't a whole lot of fleshed out responses yet, I figured I'd throw in my two cents (this is my first time doing something like this, so apologies ahead of time if it's a bit scatterbrained in some areas). So here's what I think:Story:The story itself is rather simplistic: after many years of living what could only be assumed as a normal life, you have finally decided to move away from it all and become the professional golfer you dreamed of when you were a kid. There's only one problem: getting there is no easy task. Achieving this is done by completing various challenges, competing in tournaments, and meeting new people, all in the effort to improve your ability to golf.While the story itself is rather barebones, the elements that help make up the story (the challenges, the characters, the locations, etc.) are really what bolster its appeal and make the experience extremely enjoyable. As such, I will be moving on to describe these elements in more detail.Challenges: Golf Story is littered with tons of challenges to perform, ranging from long drives to challenging putts and all in between. These slowly increase in difficulty and help the player get acquainted with the feel of the game all while doling out XP and cash to further improve your character. I found the amount used was enough to allow players ample time to understand the mechanics, but not so many that they start to drag on you.On top of the standard golfing challenges, there are also various 'minigame' challenges to partake in, such as disc golf (i'll refrain from mentioning others so as not to spoil all of them).
For mostly being one-off things on the side, they are very well executed and help throw some variety in the mix (although the controls for these usually have to be figured out on your own, so they tend to have a small learning curve attached to them). My only gripe with these is that they can't ever be repeated (with a 'sort-of' exception of the disc golf course near the third course), meaning if you enjoyed it and wanted to play more, you'd have to start up another profile and get to the challenge again.Overall, the challenges do a great job of teaching the player and offering them unique experiences without overstaying their welcome (far better than most standard RPG side quests).Characters: Personally, this is where the game shines the most in the story department. Golf Story is jam packed with characters of all sort of personalities: the young, hip characters at Wellworn Grove, the crotchety old folks at Tidy Park, to the selfish pros at Blue Moon Dunes. While very few of the characters are fleshed out, a large portion of them have enough personality to them to make them fell human.And the humor.
Oh man, the humor. It's been quite some time where I played a game that had as many laugh-out-loud moments as this game did. There are so many hilarious lines in this game that you'll probably have a hard time not having a stupid smile on your face every time there's any more than a few seconds of dialogue. The chat bubbles also help add to this effect in various ways, such as tilting to the side if the character realizes they said something dumb, dramatically changing size with the text, and even incorporating the HD rumble into conversations to add weight to their words.
This is easily my favorite aspect of the game and is pretty much strong enough on its own for me to recommended the game to someone else.MINOR SPOILER:Locations: Similar to Mario Golf, Golf Story comes with a wide variety of locations to visit, each offering their own unique scenery, hazards, and play style. There are 8 total locations, and each one is packed with its own unique charm that helps make it feel different from all the rest, whether it be prehistoric like Lurker Valley, spooky like Oak Manor, or professional like Blue Moon Dunes. This is another area that the game excels in, as each area feels like a fresh experience, even though the central focus is still golf.Each location also has its own plot element that differ widely in each area (i'll avoid going into specifics so not to spoil any of them), as well as having a unique layout. Some locations may have a small practice areas dotted around the grounds (usually involved in challenges), others may have a full-fledged 9-hole 'mini' course. Some also might have a large clubhouse with numerous rooms, while others simply have a pro shop and a wide open outdoor area. These oddities really help make each course feel unique and fresh and keep the experience from getting stale.Gameplay:Time to move on to gameplay elements. For the most part, the gameplay in Golf Story is basic, yet done well enough to not feel rudimentary.
It doesn't take long to learn the concepts, but mastering shots will require a bit more effort. However, that is not to say that it doesn't have it's faults (which i'll outline later). I'm going to be breaking this category into core mechanics (the golfing itself), controls, and the RPG systems (cash/leveling/upgrades).Core mechanics: Being a golfing game, the mechanics aren't that different from what you would witness in other games. However, the more advanced mechanics are often a lot more simplified in Golf Story, and while this may be more helpful for casual play, it's a bit of a hindrance when it comes to making more skilled shots in an attempt to push your scores as low as possible. For instance, putting greens all have one unique angle that can come in three different 'strengths': slight, medium, and heavy.
However, the angle is only given as a directional arrow, leaving a lot of guesswork when it comes to how a putt will break. This makes the more difficult greens substantially harder to putt on than a difficult green in other golf games. Precise chipping can also prove to be a bit challenging, as there are three different chip settings, each being affected by wind and slope with varying intensities.Aside from these few mechanics, everything else feels par for the course (ha).
Swing speed and accuracy settings are the same as in mario golf. Shot shaping, top/backspin, and precision aiming are all also included, leaving the overall experience feeling solid and familiar.Controls: Once again, most of the controls here are similar to your standard golf game and won't take long to getting used to. However, there are a few that aren't explained well, or even at all, such as with chipping (ZL for shortest chip, both ZL+ZR for medium chip, ZR for longest chip). What's probably my main gripe is the camera: there is very little area of a given hole that the camera is allowed to show you, even when zooming out. On pretty much any hole that's longer than 300 yards, you won't be able to view the entire hole, leaving you guessing at which shot will be the best one in case you missed the initial fly by.Most of the minigames also have wonky controls that take some getting used to (as they often aren't explained very well).
Disc golf is commonly mentioned, as the controls are very similar to tank controls, which can make maneuvering around tight corners feel disorienting. Personally, I was able to pick up the controls relatively well after some practice, but I could easily see this proving to be difficult for others to adjust to. Being able to remap controls or even allow more open practicing with the controls could greatly help reduce any strain caused by the controls.RPG Systems: Both money and leveling are quite basic in Golf Story, but leveling can be quite confusing at first.
Each time you level, you are given 5 'stat points' to put into 5 different categories: Power, Purity, Strike, Ability, and Spin. Putting points into power will lower the effects of the other stats, but not vice-versa. You can also remove points that were put into power in case the negative effect is not what you are after. However, you cannot remove points from the other stats. On top of this, none of the stats explain much of what they do outside of a short line of text, which to new players may have no meaning.
This could be easily remedied by having a short tutorial explain the effects each stat has and allowing level point reimbursement in case you made a mistake.On the money side, there isn't much to talk about, as it's very straightforward. You get money for completing challenges, winning tournaments, and simply playing the courses. This can be used to buy things such as better clubs, quest items, or unlocking certain challenges. While there could be a bit more variety in the purchasable clubs, the money system and club upgrades help make you feel like your character is progressing (along with the stat points, of course) throughout the story.Design:Moving on to design elements.
This is another area that the game performs well in. Both the art and the music do a great job in giving each area of the game its own unique flavor. The music has a few areas where it faults, but a vast majority of it helps add plenty of stylistic charm (i won't have much to say here as design aspects aren't my forte, but i'll say what I can).Art: I've always been a big fan of old school graphics, and Golf Story helps further solidify exactly why I love it so much. Each aspect adds a ton of character to the elements of the game, whether it be the scenery of each location, the character sprites, or even something as simple as the movement. Environments are often full of color, with most areas feeling bright and cheery (Bermuda Isles and Cheekybeak Peak are good examples). You'll even see unique character traits that represent the elements that they are in, like with characters shivering in Coldwind Wastes.Menus are also very clear and simplistic in design.
Navigation within menus is intuitive and icons are easily distinguishable. There is also very little clutter on screen, which allows the player ample room to take in their surroundings. All in all, the art direction emphasizes a lot of the unique charm that this game brings to the table.Music: Most of the music does a great job of fitting in with the aesthetic or each area, adding the cherry on top of the stellar art design. However, there are a few bland tracks in the mix that might throw you off at first. However, what's easily the worst culprit are some of the music transitions. This is especially noticeable when playing on Wellworn Grove, as the first hole starts with a fanfare, fades to silence, then kicks on the main Wellworn area music, which feels choppy and out of place. Luckily this is an oddity and rarely happens elsewhere, but it is still something that could use addressing.
Overall, the music is charming and offers each experience is own independent atmosphere.There are a few other things that i'd like to make a quick mention of before wrapping up:Bugs/Glitches: Golf Story has a surprisingly large amount of bugs/glitches, though the vast majority are extremely minor and won't hamper gameplay much, if at all ( with the help of the community has put together a huge list of these which has gotten the attention of the devs, so hopefully patches will be coming soon!). If you were on the fence due to these issues, i'd strongly recommended that you reconsider, as they are far less impactful than what you might see in a big AAA release.Rumble: The HD rumble in this game is AMAZING. My only other experiences with it so far is Mario Kart and Rabbids, but Golf Story seemed to really put it to use.
Dialogue, hitting something off the edge of a cliff, hitting a person with a ball, landing in water.all used various sound effects and rumble intensities that felt amazing to experience. However, there are some cases where there's a bit too much rumbling, and I could see it as being annoying for some.
It'd be great if rumble intensity could be adjusted rather than just a static on/off button.Difficulty: Having significant experience with golf games, Golf Story proved to be quite easy for me. The closest a competitor ever got to me during a tournament was 5 strokes behind and I only lost a couple of holes throughout the entirety of the match play games that take place (some of which are pretty much impossible to beat the computer on). I'd love to see either a difficulty setting or a new game plus that lets you keep your stats but ups the abilities of your competitors to help add more challenge for players with more skill with golf games.OverallGolf Story is easily one of my favorite games on the Switch thus far. The humor is high caliber and omnipresent, the art design is enriching and pleasing to the eye, and the gameplay is deceptively simplistic and enjoyable (with a few small bumps).
For $15, I would easily recommended this to anyone who's a fan of golf games, RPGs, or just looking for a unique experience to partake in. I can't wait to see if Sidebar plans on either further supporting this game with DLC or follows up with another title of this or even higher quality.If I had to give it a score, i'd probably say 8.5 or 9/10 (easily a 9 once some kinks are worked out).With all that said, what are your thoughts? Agree/disagree with what I had to say (again, this is my first time doing something like this, so I apologize if I said anything confusing)? I'd love to see what you all thought of it (also, if anyone has questions about the game, feel free to ask me and i'll see if I can answer them)!SPOILER:. SPOILER. Purity most likely refers to a natural draw/fade in your characters swing.
So for instance, if your purity is 1.7% draw, even if you hit a perfectly accurate shot (the dot within the purple area on the power meter), your ball will still follow a slight draw path (which is to the left for right-handed players).The Spin comes into play when you use L or R to add top/backspin to the ball. The higher the RPM, the more the ball will speed up in the given direction of the spin. At low RPMs, this isn't too noticeable, but at high RPMs, you'll see the ball slow down in the air and have a large back pedal after it lands (for backspin).As for accuracy and Ability, I believe they are tied to the accuracy dot and the purple area on the power meter. You are free to roam around. There are a few NPCs in Blue Moon that change their dialogue upon completion, but aside from that, it's identical to the state it was before you completed the game. Personally, I wish there was some new challenges or challenges you could repeat once you're done, but oh well.As for replay value, I personally am going to (going to try out a power only build), but it's pretty much on par (ha) with most other RPGs.
If you enjoyed the story and don't mind knowing how everything goes, you'll probably enjoy a replay.
is the central hub for all news, updates, rumors, and topics relating to the Nintendo Switch. We are a fan-run community, not an official Nintendo forum.
Content FiltersAMA Calendar DateGuestMay 7Digital Continue SuperMash 10:30 AM ET / 7:30 AM PT / 3:30 PM GMTRules.No hate-speech, personal attacks, or harassment.Remember the human and be respectful of others. Hate-speech, personal attacks, harassment, witch-hunting, trolling and similar behaviour is not allowed. Please be civil and do not use derogatory terms.No clickbait, vague, or misleading post titles.Post titles should convey the content of your post quickly and effectively.
Just a heads up to those currently playing Golf Story, GALF is currently bugged and playing it can lock up the game.For those that aren't aware, in the story mode you eventually have a chance to play a golf simulator game called GALF. I decided to give it a try and the first shot I took in GALF resulted in the ball going out of bounds, which then continued to loop around in circles and eventually it went outside the game screen which resulted in the game getting stuck waiting for the ball. I had no way of quitting GALF or gracefully exiting the game at that point and was forced to back out to the switch home and quit Golf Story. Luckily I didn't lose much progress since I had recently saved.Just giving a heads up because I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else yet. For real, don't know why you got downvoted.
![Walkthrough Walkthrough](/uploads/1/2/7/7/127773654/926699198.jpg)
I'm excited to buy golf story as much as anyone else on this sub - but it really, really does seem like the game has a lot of bugs.80% of the sub right now is an even split between 'i don't like golf, or games, or even stories but golf story is a must buy. A+' and 'psa: if you talk to the green haired girl during a full moon on thursday, you lose your save and also you become pregnant.' It's entirely reasonable to wait for all the bugs to get worked out before buying a game. I know none of these bugs are a 'huge deal', but man, there were threads telling people to hold off buying until they knew it ran well.Yeah, someone tried to tell me that no one should buy it because of all of the gamebreaking bugs present in the game. I pointed out that there were no gamebreaking bugs at the time, this was before the Tidy Park bug was found, and got told that any huge was gamebreaking. When I explained that gamebreaking bugs were bugs that completely halted you from continuing with the game because you were stuck at that one spot thanks to a bug the guy kept on trying to claim that any bug, no matter how slight, was gamebreaking.I was absolutely astounded that anyone would try to push that crap.
They were absolutely pushing the 'no one should buy this crappy game' narrative. The only one I encountered was getting stuck on top of the girl on the computer. And it only happened because I saw it here and tried it intentionally. Supposedly throwing a golf ball at the boom box is supposed to make something go crazy, couldn't get that to happen. Threw a bunch of golf balls on screen and didn't get slowdown either. (20-30, not a ridiculous amount).
Seems to be a case by case thing, and it's a fun game I don't regret picking up at all. The only bad one seems to be the one that makes you tiny.
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