FUN! FUN! Minigolf TOUCH! Review
Publisher(s) By: Shin’en Multimedia
Rated: Everyone
Release Date: December 13, 2011
Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS, via eShop [/spoiler]
FUN! FUN! Minigolf TOUCH! was developed by the wonderful team, Shin’en Multimedia, who also brought fantastic games like Jett Rocket and FAST Racing League to the WiiWare service. The team’s first game to make it to the eShop is a remake of one of their earlier WiiWare releases “Fun! Fun! Minigolf,” which came out a couple years back. The big difference between the two games is that the 3DS release contains 3 times the amount of holes the WiiWare game had, and the 3DS version features both touch and button controls. Is this game indeed “FUN! FUN!” as the title implies? Read on to find out.
FUN! FUN! Minigolf TOUCH! controls are very simple to pick up and start playing. You can use either the stylus or the buttons to aim your golf ball towards the hole. After you aim the ball, you then pull back the golf club and try to time “hit” the ball with a dot that goes back and forth on the touch screen. The 3 World Cups that you can play at is America, Europe and Asia (America being the easiest and Asia being the hardest). “Trick Shot”, a game mode, has you try to rack up combos by hitting the ball against walls before collecting coins laid on the course. Again in this mode there are three difficulty settings easy, medium and hard. As you play the game you will earn coins to spend at the in-game shop to buy new courses, different clubs and even the ability to purchase the option to play as your Mii. The character you control is even customizable, everything from their shirt color to their shoes.
While there is a lot of fun packed into this title, a few big things held this game back from reaching its full potential. First, there is a rule that after you hit the ball it must land within the white lines by the hole. Failure to hit the ball there will result in your ball being called, “Out of bounds”. I found this rule to be frustrating especially when my ball was right next to the hole but not in between the boarder. The second thing that held this game back was the lack of variation in the holes. Almost all the holes are just a straight hit of the ball to the hole. I was hoping to see windmills and waterfalls like you expect from many good mini golf courses. Lastly I found it a huge disappointment that the “Pro” and ‘Super” cups you unlock are the exact same holes but with more obstacles.
While none of the music is likely to stick in your head hours after your done playing, it does help to add a relaxing atmosphere to the game. It’s also well worth noting that the graphics are also very impressive for a handheld. There are a few areas that look pixelated but for the most part it looks gorgeous. For just $5 this game is great if you’re looking for a time waster on the 3DS. Just be prepared to not see a lot of variety in the courses. Even though the game isn’t very lengthy content wise, you get 9 courses that offer you reason to go back, interesting unlockables and cool character customization that make this title worth a look.
[Rating: 3.5/5]A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.