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Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf NES SNK - 1988 ”Whoa! FIGHITNG Golf? What does that mean that they FIGHT?!! Hell yes!” I would just like to clear up, for the record, that there is ABSOLUTELY NO FIGHTING in Lee Trevino’s fighting Golf. Noooooooo fighting. Fighting = 0. Whoever named it should be kicked in a sensitive place and sued for false . . . game naming. After you figure out that there’s no fighting The whole game is suddenly and shockingly a golf game. While I personally believe that if “Miracle Chosuke” punched that arrogant “Big Jumbo” in the face, then it would be a much better game, I guess I’ll have to settle for the glimpse of “Pretty Amy”’s underwear I get every time you land a ball in a pond. C’est la golf, I guess. The game works thusly: You pick one of four golfers, all with their own strengths and weaknesses (as per usual) and choose to practice at the driving range or play either a full round of golf (using either the U.S.A course or the Japan course – the only two courses in the game) or the front or back 9. The “Stroke Play” option allows up to four players. As for graphics (ha!) it’s tough to get the feel of a golf course without 3-D capability, and LTFG just isn’t up to the challenge. North looks suspiciously like Northeast, so it can be really tough to judge where your ball’s going to land. Although, due to other measurements available to you through the game (which are a pain in the ass cheek to acess), you really don’t NEED accurate graphics. The affect can be rather nauseating/disorienting/crummy. One good thing It accomplishes is to suggest a golf club before every swing. I found it very helpful, being a complete golf game virgin. I had a very vague idea of what each type of club was supposed to accomplish, and it helped me to compensate for it. Of course, as I later found out, the game is frequently wrong in its suggestions. “Sir, I suggest the Putting Wedge.” “Putting Wedge, eh? I SUGGEST you hand me the 1 wood. Biatch.” Also, I thought that allowing four players was a good idea. It’s hard to find a way to get four people involved in a game at once, and this game accomplishes that. So, if you can find 3 other people who actually like golf enough to play a golf game, you can induldge yourselves in a big ol’ golf orgy. You can ALL happily use your club to stroke your way to the hole. On a personal note, after discovering that LTFG was actually a golf game, I tried to make it more interesting by never using any club except the 1 wood. As a result, the game mocked me mercilessly. Before I go into the rating section, I would like to say this: Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf is about one thing only: golf. It doesn’t really have any frills – the graphics aren’t all that great, the sound is unremarkable (except for the fact that it cuts off utterly right before you make a shot, which is jarring) and THERE IS ONLY GOLF. No mini games, no story, nothing but golf. If you LIKE golf, you might like LTFG, if you don’t, LTFG is something that will haunt the deepest reaches of your mind like some freaky-panted golf demon. What liked: club suggestions, Pretty Amy, four player golf orgy action What disliked: graphics often make gameplay slightly confusing, affirmitive action cast, absence of anything resembling fighting What to expect: A golf game What not to expect: FIGHTING Ratings on: Control: 4 (rather confusing and sometimes difficult) Graphics: 5 (disorienting, but props for accomplishing as much as it did on an 8 bit system) Sound: 3 (slightly annoying, sometimes stops and starts) Style: 3 (Well, the CHARACTERS were original . . . kinda) Difficulty: 5 (it’s extremely hard to learn how the swing system works, but once you do, the game gets much easier) Time Lapse Ratings: first mintue: 1 (WHAT?! NO FIGHTING?!!! I quit.) 2 months later: 1 (Oh yeah! That stupid Golf game without fighting. I guess I’ll play a little.) 3rd hour: 4 (ok, so it’s not so bad, but there are only two courses and It’s not terribly interesting. and there’s no fighting.) 4th hour: N/A (God, that Eddie Izzard. He’s such a card. What am I playing?) #1 reason why I hate this game: When the game, frustrated with your TERRIBLE golfing skills, bluntly admonishes “GIVE UP.” |
