Believe it or not, Mario Golf for the N64 is now 25 years old following its Japanese release on 11th June 2024. 25 years! A quarter of a century! We need to sit down...
The game has received multiple re-releases since on the Wii, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, so if you're a paying member of the higher tier on Switch, you can give it a go right now. It stood as the first Nintendo golf game to feature Mario in the title, but went on to spawn multiple sequels, including Toadstool Tour, World Tour, and of course, Super Rush.
Critical reception of the series has been mixed, to say the least, but Mario Golf on the N64 was a true highlight, casting aside any gimmicks to focus on fun, approachable golfing fun. Of course, later titles would include more themed courses that felt a bit more playful than the N64 version, but there's no denying that Camelot really nailed a hole-in-one with this game.
After the enjoyable, but rather shallow hijinx in the Switch title Super Rush, we'd personally appreciate it if the next Mario Golf game took things back to basics a little bit. Sprinting across the courses was fun for a while, but at the end of the day, we're playing a golf game to play... well, golf.