NES Open Tournament Golf

NES Open Tournament Golf, titled Mario Open Golf in Japan, is a 1991 golf game for both the Nintendo Entertainment System and its Japanese counterpart, the Family Computer. It was both developed and published by Nintendo. NES Open Tournament Golf is an installment of the , a predecessor to the .
NES Open Tournament Golf has some significant differences between the Japanese and international versions, with the former having fewer characters and different golf courses. Furthermore, in 1992, a variation of the game for Nintendo PlayChoice-10 was released in North America, titled Mario's Open Golf, which is unusual for the Nintendo PlayChoice-10.
Aside from its variation for the Nintendo PlayChoice-10, NES Open Tournament Golf has been reissued a few times. In 2007, NES Open Tournament Golf was ported for the first time to the Wii's Virtual Console at a price of 500 Wii Points. NES Open Tournament Golf received its second port for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011 as one of ten Nintendo Entertainment System games included as part of the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program, and later become a Virtual Console title available for purchase on the system in 2012. The game received its third port for Wii U's Virtual Console in 2014. Its fourth port was on the Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer in 2016, as one of thirty Family Computer games, but NES Open Tournament Golf was not on its international counterpart, the NES Classic Edition. NES Open Tournament Golf received its fifth port for the Nintendo Switch on October 10, 2018, as part of Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online. Shortly afterward, on November 14, 2018, the Japanese version on Nintendo Switch received a variation titled "マリオオープンゴルフ フルオープンバージョン" (Mario Open Golf: Full Open Version), where all courses are unlocked from the start.
==Characters==
NES Open Tournament Golfs relation to the is more noticeable than in other Golf games because Mario is not only used for mascot status like in a few other Golf games, but a few other Mario characters also make an appearance.
===Playable===
*Mario, the first player's character
*Luigi, the second player's character. In 1 player match mode, Luigi is the easiest computer opponent.
===Non-playable===
*Princess Toadstool is Mario's caddie.
*Princess Daisy is Luigi's caddie.
*Toad appears whenever a character hits their golf ball out of bounds. Toad holds a blue flag with "O.B." written on it.
*Donkey Kong tells the player how much money they have, and he keeps it. Donkey Kong does not appear in the Japanese and PlayChoice-10 versions as they lack a tournament mode. 
*Steve is a more difficult computer opponent than Luigi. He exclusively appears in international releases.
*Mark, a more difficult opponent than Steve. He also exclusively appears in international releases.
*Tony, a more difficult opponent than Mark.
*Billy, the most difficult opponent.
===Cameos===
*Monty Mole, which only appears on the cover art
== Courses ==
Different courses appear between the regional releases, but all of them take place in certain areas of Earth.
=== Japanese version ===
* Japan Course
* Australia Course
* France Course
* Hawaii Course
* UK Course
* Extra Course
=== International versions ===
* US Course
* Japan Course
* UK Course
==Tournament Roster==
In international releases of NES Open Tournament Golf, the Club House has a setting titled the Tournament Roster, where the player can change every character's name, just as how they can change their own (which is Mario by default). The 36 default names on the Tournament Roster are:
* Barry
* Billy
* Bruce
* Carrie
* Colleen
* Dayv
* Denise
* Don
* Earl
* Elizabeth
* Fred
* Gloria
* Jeff
* Jim
* John
* Kim
* Leslie
* Lynn
* Mark
* Mary
* Paula
* Pete
* Steve
* Tina
* Tony
* Miki
* Iwata
* Hiro
* Nakajima
* Onozuka
* Mishima
* Tsuchiyama
* Miyamoto
* Shirota
* Todori
* Uemura
==Regional differences==
* Due to the lack of the tournament mode, the plot is different. Instead of trying to win $1,000,000, Mario must instead finish all five courses in Stroke Play mode.
* A scoring limit is introduced for stroke play; if the player goes over the scoring limit, they must restart the course from the beginning.
* Donkey Kong, Mark, and Steve are absent from the Japanese version.
* The title music is different, and both the Options menu and cutscene themes play at different pitches within the same octave.
* "Hall of Fame Holes" are called "Memorial Holes".
* Not only are there more courses, but shared holes are often more difficult in the Japanese version due to more obstacles and traps, although some are made less so due to the removal of certain hazards on them. For example, hole 5 of the Japan course in the Japanese version has an extra strip of fairway attached to the upper-left corner of the green, while in the international versions, said strip is replaced with a water hazard.
* The ranks (Semi Pro, Beginner, etc.) are unlocked after completing certain courses past the second one. The default rank is none at all.
* Not all courses are available at the beginning; instead, the courses after the first one (Japan) must be unlocked by beating the previous one. The extra course is a compilation of all holes the player has unlocked, and there is no reward for completing it. In the Full Open Version, all courses are unlocked from the start.
==Staff==
The game was co-developed by Nintendo R&D2 and HAL Laboratory. Kenji Miki was the director for this game, who also directed the original Golf game for the NES. This was the first gaming works for Eiji Aonuma, who was credited as the sprite designer, and he later went on to direct and produce The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and several subsequent The Legend of Zelda games.
== References to other games ==
* Golf: U.S. Course: Mario's outfit originated from this game.
== References in later games ==
* WarioWare: Twisted!: The game features a microgame of the same name based on it.
* NES Remix 2: NES Open Tournament Golf is among the Nintendo Entertainment System games to have several challenges based on it.
* Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U: One of Mario's alternate colors is designed after the clothes he wears this game.
* Super Mario Odyssey: One of Mario's outfits is identical to the one that he wears in the game.
* WarioWare Gold: The NES Open Tournament Golf microgame from WarioWare: Twisted! makes a reappearance here.
* Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Mario's alternate color resembling the clothes from this game returns from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.
* Mario Golf: Super Rush: Mario and Luigi's golf outfits from NES Open Tournament Golf appear as an unlockable reward for achieving an A- rank in Ranked Match during January and February 2022, respectively.
* Mario Kart Tour: Mario and Luigi's outfits in this game return starting from the 2022 Los Angeles Tour.
== Trivia ==
* Dummied data for the Japanese version of Animal Crossing indicated that NES Open Tournament Golf, along with Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, were planned for inclusion, but were ultimately cut, not even having any ROM or models inside.
== Gallery ==
==External links==
*Title at MobyGames
*Title at GameFAQs
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Category:Golf series
Category:1991 games
Category:Sports games