Mario Golf Secrets FAQ By LightRanma@aol.com Version 1.0 Copyrright 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ----------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- I. Introduction II. The Modes III. The Courses IV. The Characters V. Other Tricks VI. Conclusion VII. Thanks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ---------------- I. Introduction ---------------- Hi, and welcome to my newest FAQ - the Mario Golf Secrets FAQ! There is a pitiful number of FAQs on this wonderful (and over-cutesy) golf simulation from Nintendo, so I thought I'd write a short secrets one. The same rules apply to this FAQ - the whole no stealing blah blah blah thing. Please enjoy! ^_^ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- -------------- II. The Modes -------------- There is a host of different game modes in the game, and you get different rewards from ach of them. Here is a list of what you can get from each mode. --- Tournament Get: Course Points, Birdie Badges This is the main gaming mode. In this mode, you select a Course and play against other golfers (you don't ever see them though). The better you play, the high you rank. At the end, if you rank high, you'll get lots of Course Points to open up the next Course. Even if you rank low, you still get a few Points. You can also collect Birdie Badges (you get 1 every time you birdie a hole, and repeating holes don't count). When you get enough Birdie Badges, something might happen... Get Character Get: Characters, Course Points In this very hard mode, you play a character that you have yet to unlock for use, and if you beat him/her, you earn that character to use in all modes. This is the ONLY way to get Luigi, Yoshi, Sonny, Wario, Harry, Mario, and Bowser. Be warned - the computer plays this mode almost perfectly, and you are certain to lose quite a few times. But you do get a few (not many) Course Points when you finish, depending on how well you played. Ring Golf Get: Stars In this interesting but difficult mode, you have to hit the ball in such a way where it flies through the intricately-positioned Rings on the hole, while STILL making Par. Fail to complete either one of these tasks, and you fail and have to start the hole over. Every time you complete a hole, you get a Star. Get enough Stars, and something good may happen... Speed Golf Get: Course Points? I haven't played this mode, basically 'cause it's useless and kinda boring, but anyway, the object is to finish the Course as fast as possible, while still playing well. I think you get Course Points (albeit not many) in this mode, too. Stroke Get: Course Points? I haven't played this mode either, but the fewer total strokes you have at the end of the game, the better. I think you might a few Course Points in this mode... Mini-Golf Get: Putting practice! Go mini-golfing without the windmills and stuff, but complete with the tricky courses! Hilly courses and tricky putts will put your putting ability to the test. Practice Get: Practice! Practice any hole on the Courses you've unlocked so far as many times as you want in this mode, so you can perfect them. A surprisingly useful mode. If you're going for Course Points, go with the Tournament mode on Course 3 - 1st Place will net you 600 Points!!! Trust me, it works! ----------------- III. The Courses ----------------- There are six Courses in Mario Golf, and a possible secret seventh one, but I'm not sure. Unlocking courses is very linear, but not easy at all - all you have to do is get Course Points by playing in Tournaments (you get mucho points for placing high), and Vs. Matches (not very many points), and even Get Character matches (also not very many points). The number of points you get is determined by two things - your ending Rank (applies to Tournament mode; 1st Place nets you big points), and your EXP points multipled by some factor (applies to all modes where you can get Points). Unlocking the first three Courses will be pretty easy, but when it comes to the big numbers for getting the last three, it gets tough. Good luck! --- Course 1: Toad Highlands Difficulty: Easy to Medium Course Points Needed: You start with this course! This Course is all about practice. Every hole is laid out nicely with wide, easy-to-get-to fairways, and flat, forgiving greens. The obstacles are very few and far between, though there are some hilly holes in the Course. Use this Course for Get Character matches and for getting Course 2. After that, it becomes pretty useless and boring in the process. Course 2: Koopa Park Difficulty: Medium Course Points Needed: 50 This Course is a step up from Toad Highlands, but not too much harder. The fairways are still big - but the greens can get seriously tricky. Be sure to practice your putting before you come here! I recommend this Course for uncloking Course 3, and for a little fun in VS. Matches with your friends. A measly 50 Course Points is needed to unlock this Course. Course 3: Shy Guy Desert Difficulty: Medium to Hard Course Points: 200 after unlocking Course 2 Sand, sand everywhere!!! The Shy Guy Desert is much tougher than Course 2 - the fairways are much more elusive, and the greens are very tricky. Not to mention that there is sand everywhere - you'll be going into many a bunker on your way through this Course. I recommend this Course for unlocking all the future Courses and for some serious sandy fun with your friends. Course 4: Yoshi's Island Difficulty: Hard to Insane Course Points: 600 after unlocking Course 3 This Course is a major pisser. You can expect almost nonexistant fairways, near-impossible greens and water everywhere here. Oh, did I mention there are many mountains and hills waiting to trap you too? Not only that, but Wind and rain are knows to make frequent apearances here. This Course is good for some VS. Mode fun, but stick with Course 3 for getting Course Points. It's much easier, and you still get quite a few. Of course, if you're an expert, then go right ahead... Course 5: Boo Valley Difficulty: Very Hard to Insane Course Points: 1200 after unlocking Course 4 In this cold and lonely Course, you'll find very difficult fairways, impossible greens, and even holes where you have to land on small islands to get to the pin. This Course screams "O.B."! Just about everywhere except the fairway is out of bounds. I stall say you should stick to Course 3 for points, although this Course is fun in VS. Mode. Good luck! Course 6: ??? Difficulty: ??? Course Points: 2200 after unlocking Course 5 I haven't unlocked this Course yet. There is possibly a secret Course 7 in the game, although it isn't confirmed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------------------- IV. The Characters ------------------- There are many characters to play as in Mario Golf, most of which you have to unlock by completing certain tasks. The effort is usually worth it, though. --- Plum Drive: 208 Yards Shot: Straight Plum is available when you first play the game. She's good for beginners, though she isn't your best bet out of the starting four golfers. Stay away from her and go with a stronger driver instead. Charlie Drive: 210 Yards Shot: Low Fade Charlie is the second of the four available golfers when you start the game. He drives a little farther than Plum, but he also has a low fade, making him a little harder to play. I suggest you avoid him too. Peach Drive: 212 Yards Shot: Straight Princess Peach is the third of the four default golfers, and also your best bet until you get more characters. Her drive is stronger than Plum's, and she still hits straight. She gets annoying after awhile with her over-prissy attitude, but she'll be your best bet until you get another character or two. Baby Mario Drive: 215 Yards Shot: Low Draw Baby Mario is the last of the default golfers and also the strongest of the four, but he has a low draw. Stick with Peach until you get to know the game, and then maybe use Baby Mario to unlock the first of the Get Character mode characters. Luigi Drive: 220 Yards Shot: Medium Fade Unlock him by beating him in the Get Character mode. Mario's taller and thinner brother is an average golfer at best. He has a stronger drive than Baby Mario, but also has a bigger fade than any one of the beginning golfers, so you may want to stay away until you learn how to play draws and fades. By now, you should be learning... Yoshi Drive: 230 Yards Shot: Straight Unlock him by beating him in the Get Character mode after you've gotten Luigi. Everyone's favorite green dinosaur is one of the best characters in the game! His drive is pretty strong, and he has no fade or draw. However, when compared to the other future characters, he gets pretty weak, which is why you'll only want to use him until you learn how to play draws and fades. But until you do, Yoshi is your best bet! Sonny Drive: 240 Yards Shot: Medium Draw Unlock him by beating him in the Get Character mode after you've gotten Yoshi. This weird farmer-like guy is actually a good golfer, after you've learned draws and fades (which you should have by now). He's a little stronger than Yoshi, and will be your best character until you unlock even more characters. You'll have to use him to unlock Wario. Wario Drive: 250 Yards Shot: High Fade Unlock him by beating him in the Get Character mode after you've gotten Sonny. Wario is the first of the really powerful golfers - the only downside is that he has a huge fade, but then again, you should be able to play it by now. He has some funny taunts and is fun to play, but becomes obsolete one you get... Harry Drive: 260 Yards Shot: Medium Draw Unlock him by beating him in the Get Character mode after you've gotten Wario. Harry is definitely one of the best golfers in the game... maybe even THE overall best. He only has a medium draw, like Sonny, AND hits 20 yards further! He's also a really fun character to use. You'll want to use him for most of the game, unless you're REALLY sharp on draws and fades... Mario Drive: 270 Yards Shot: High Draw Unlock him by beating him in the Get Character mode after you've gotten Harry. Interestingly enough, Mario is one of the last characters you unlock. Everyone's favorite heroic plumber is very strong, but also hard to play, seeing as he has a high draw. You'll probably want to stick with Harry even after you've unlocked Mario, unless you really think you need the extra power. Additionally, Mario's childish voice gets EXTREMELY irritating after awhile... Maple Drive: 245 Yards Shot: Straight Unlcok her by getting 50 Birdie Badges in Tournament Mode. Maple is a mixed bag of sorts. She's a decent driver, and definitely more powerful than Yoshi - and she hits straight, too, which is a major plus. But she loses a lot of power when compared to the likes of Harry, Mario, DK, and Bowser. It really depends on what you prefer - strength or straightness. I prefer strength, so she isn't for me. Plus, her voice gets really annoying... Donkey Kong Drive: 275 Yards Shot: High Fade Unlock him by getting 30 Stars in the Ring Golf mode. The big ape makes a return appearance in Mario Golf... but unfortunately, he's pretty useless if you have Bowser, since he has a high fade and hits 5 yards less than Bowser (making him the 2nd most powerful character in the game). If you don't have Boswer yet, though, then DK is your best bet for getting him (and for power)! Too bad he's really hard to unlock... Bowser Drive: 280 Yards Shot: High Draw Unlock him by beating him in the Get Character mode after you've gotten Mario. The King of the Koopas is not only cool-looking, but also boasts the most power out of all the golfers in the game! He is very hard to play, but if you learn, he'll become the best character for you to use, since he's so powerful. Personally, he's my favorite. Once you get draws and fades completely down, drop Harry and go with Bowser. He can make most Par 5s in two shots, and some Par 4 holes in 1. Good luck using him! Metal Mario Drive: 285 Yards Shot: High Draw Unlock him by getting all 108 Birdie Badges in Tournament Mode. ... but wait! What's this? Metal Mario is actually the strongest character in Mario Golf, boasting a 285 Yard drive! If you prefer strength, Metal Mario's your man. You'll never be Bowser again. Too bad he's so irritating (he has the same childish voice as Mario) and SO hard to get... Those are the normal characters... but I bet you're wondering what the four extra slots are for. They are for characters that can ONLY be imported from the Game Boy Color Mario Golf, and as of yet, their statistics are unknown. There is no known way to get these characters as of yet - we may have to wait until the Game Boy Pak comes out with PokŽmon Stadium so that we can import them. Even my GameShark Pro wouldn't unlock them! It just made copies of Plum in the extra slots. Until either the GB Pak comes out or a GameShark code is developed to access them, we'll have to wait... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ---------------- V. Other Tricks ---------------- This section gives you some of the less obvious and less useful tricks in Mario Golf. These tricks are cool at best, and don't really actually help you. --- - Code Screen At the Main Menu screen, highlight "Club House" and press and hold Z, followed by R, and then A. This will take you into the Club House Menu with a new option for entering Codes. Unfortunately, there are no known useful Codes at this time. The only known one is a weird Official Nintendo Tounrnament Match, which nets you a trophy if you send in your best score and win. Whatever... - Color Change At the Character Select Screen, hold C-Right, C-Left, or C-Down on any of the characters and their clothing, hair, skin, or any combination of the three will change color. This works best on Peach, Luigi, Yoshi, Wario, Mario, Bowser, and Metal Mario. - Complimenting When your opponent is setting up his or her shot, press any one of the directions on the Control Pad - each different direction will result in a different character compliment ("Good job!", etc.). Then again, who wants to compliment? ^_~ - Infinite Hole Chances Easily the most useful out of all the tricks listed here, you can start over from the tee on any Hole you want to in the Tournament or Get Character Mode until you get the score you want, making it virtually impossible to get a bad score if you're patient enough. All you do is when you mess up or want to start over, press Start and go to "Save and Quit", and Save the game in an empty File. This will bring you to the Title Screen. Go to the Main Menu and select "Continue", and then select the File you saved the game to, and voila - you're back on the tee of the Hole with your current score, and you're not penalized at all for doing this! This is a GREAT way to get more Characters in the Get Character Mode, lots of Course Points in the Tournament Mode, and a LOT of Birdie Badges! - Play Left-Handed At the Character Select Screen, hold the Z Button or the L Button on any of the characters and they will play left-handed when you select them - meaning that a high draw would turn into a high fade, and vice versa. If you're more comfortable with either of the two, this is a very useful trick. - Taunting When playing with your friends or the computer, press any one of the C Buttons when your opponent is setting up his or her shot. Pressing each of the different C Buttons results in a different character taunt ("Hurry up already!", etc.). It really is fun to taunt during matches... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- --------------- VI. Conclusion --------------- Thanks for reading my short Mario Golf Secrets FAQ - I hope it helped you! I hope you will have as much fun with this game as I am, and I hope I can somehow unlock the Game Boy Color characters for you and report my findings in this FAQ. ;) Until then, ciao! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- ------------ VII. Thanks ------------ - I want to thank Nintendo for making this wonderful Golf simulation. - I want to thank myself for FINALLY finishing this thing. ^_~ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Later! Copyright 1999