Sonic Golf: World Tour

***Sonic Golf: World Tour*** is a sport title for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the fifth installment of the ***Sonic Golf*** series, and the third handheld installment in the series. The game also features gyroscope support and Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing players to participate in online Tournaments against other players from around the world. The game also makes use of downloadable content, in which extra courses and characters may be bought with real money. It is the first and thus far only ***Sonic Golf*** game to have been released after its tennis counterpart.

## Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to past installments of the ***Sonic Golf*** series. Players have to hit shots while taking into account character attributes, wind, weather, and course topography. The power, accuracy, and spin of shots are determined by the timing when the player taps buttons or the touch screen as a target line slides up and down the power meter. A simplified control system, like the Auto control system from ***Sonic Golf: Mobius Tour***, returns where the player has to worry only about the power of the shot, at the expense of being unable to add topspin or backspin. The touch screen can now be used for selecting clubs, initiating shots, and adding spin. Plus, the trajectory of the shot can be altered by moving the circle pad or by using the touch screen as the shot meter is in motion; this is similar to the impact zone feature of past games. A new feature, known as Item Shots, allows players to hit shots with different effects via items. These include burning through trees with a Chaos Emerald, creating Jump Blocks over water hazards, ignoring wind via Rings, increasing draw or fade by Boomerang, and freezing the terrain with an Ice Ring. These items can be collected by hitting ? Blocks on the course, although players sometimes start holes with items.

## Characters

### **Playable Characters**

* Sonic the Hedgehog
* Miles "Tails" Prower
* Knuckles the Echidna
* Princess Sally Acorn
* Cream the Rabbit
* Amy Rose
* Big the Cat
* Shadow the Hedgehog
* Rouge the Bat
* E-123 Omega
* Espio the Chameleon
* Charmy Bee
* Vector the Crocodile
* Blaze the Cat
* Silver the Hedgehog
* Marine the Raccoon
* Sticks the Badger
* Metal Sonic
* Dr. Eggman
* Mii (Female)
* Mii (Male)

## Course

* Forest Course
* Seaside Course
* Mountain Course
* Sky Island
* Amy Gardens
* Sonic Lake
* Tails Park
* Knuckles Jungle
* Chao Lagoon
* Dr. Eggman's Lair
* Cream Highlands
* Chao Park
* Shadow Desert
* Sally Water
* Rings-Candy Mines
* Sonic's Chaos Emerald

## Game Modes

There are two main modes of play: ***Sonic Golf*** (Quick Round), and Mobius Club.

### Sonic Golf

***Sonic Golf*** (Quick Round) is similar to past ***Sonic Golf*** games, where the player can select a Mobius character or a customized Mii. It features a variety of modes such as Single Player (including Stroke Play, Match Play, Speed Golf, and Point Tourney, all of which provide rings for the player), Vs. (Local Play, Online Friends, and Community Match), and Tournaments (Sonic Open and user-created Private Tournaments). Additional regional and worldwide online tournaments are available on the entry floor of the Green Hill Club.

### Single Player

This mode allows players to take on a round by themselves, and against the clock or a computer opponent, as well as Challenges, where courses, Chaos Emerald characters, and Mii costumes can be unlocked. The first four modes allow the player to select any unlocked course. The following settings can be adjusted: number of holes (three, six, nine, or 18), order of holes (normal or mixed), wind strength, whether or not to use items or club slots or have rings on the course, whether to start from hole 1 or hole 10 (when playing the holes in normal order), what tees to start from (regular, back, or tournament), and whether or not to display the shot trajectory. Playing rounds may earn the player Best Badges and will randomly unlock Mii Gear for the player's Mii to use.

### Stroke Play

A standard round of golf, where the player's score is compared to par.

### Match Play

The player competes against a computer-controlled opponent. The winner of the round is whichever player wins more holes, although if the players are tied by the end of the game, it will proceed into Sudden Death and go through the selected course again until someone wins. The player may choose the opponents skill level, ranging in five different varieties, two of which need to be unlocked.