Let’s Golf 3D

Genre: Sports (Golf)

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local Alternating)

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Review:

Let’s Golf 3D, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2011, is a Golf game with courses from a mix of locations (the game boasts 108 holes in 6 locations) ranging from standard golfing locales to more exotic venues like the African savannah and a Mayan jungle. This game is a sequel to the iOS, PlayStation Portable and DSiWare title Let’s Golf, released on those platforms in 2009-2010.

The graphics in this game are a mix of very good and pretty bad. On the good side of things, the game’s 3D courses are detailed, colorful, and varied, and have some really nice touches like animals wandering across the courses. On the bad side of things, the game’s slightly-cartoony characters are pretty hideous-looking, and the framerates throughout this game, while acceptable, are pretty… er… sub-par.

The sound is a mix too. On the one hand, I hate this game’s terribly wooden, artificial voice acting for its characters, which really make me want to mute the game outright. In addition, the energetic music is mostly pretty disposable and even occasionally annoying… yet I have to admit that the Bavaria Theme is surprisingly catchy.

As for the game itself, Let’s Golf 3D is a pretty solid Golf game, closer to more cartoony games like Mario Golf than a pure simulation, with the different characters even having unique powers that charge up over time before you can activate them. There’s a bit of an RPG mechanic here too, with your characters’ stats improving as they progress through the game, though you can’t choose how the stats increase when you gain a level. The golf gameplay itself is fairly well-crafted, with players given the option of playing using traditional gamepad controls or the touchscreen.

Honestly, I have more complaints about this game’s menus than the gameplay itself. They’re clunky, slow, poorly laid-out, and seem designed for a platform with a pure touchscreen interface more than the Nintendo 3DS. The lower-right corner of the screen has a checkmark button that you would naturally think leads to the next screen, but instead it just confirms your entry of the option you’ve currently highlighted, and the real way to proceed through the menus is either on the bottom-center or bottom-left. Yeah, it’s odd.

Anyway, Let’s Golf 3D clearly has some issues ranging from odd menu design to performance problems, but overall this is still a pretty solid Golf game. It’s not a game that will knock Mario Golf from its perch at the top of the genre on Nintendo 3DS, but for a mere $7 it’s a good choice for Golf fans on the platform.

tl;dr – Let’s Golf 3D is a cartoony Golf game with courses spread among a variety of locales, and it’s mostly a pretty good Golf game, at that. It has issues with its framerates, poor voice acting, and frustrating menus, but the core Golf experience here is excellent, well worth playing.

Grade: B-

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