The CRT warms my face, and the cartridge clicks into place. NES Open Tournament Golf boots up with that familiar Nintendo chime. Fun fact before we tee off: this one comes from Nintendo’s house style of the late ’80s and early ’90s. The same teams that refined the original Golf on the Famicom shaped this one too. Nintendo’s growing use of battery-backed saves finally makes it practical to stop mid-round and head home for dinner. That was still a little luxurious in cartridge-land.
I love that. Okay, overhead view loaded. You set up the club, I’ll watch wind and hazards. The transition to the 3-D view still sneaks up on me every time. Even in 1991 it feels like the system is pushing harder than it should.
Agreed. The two-point perspective is one of the game’s signatures: top-down for strategy, behind-the-ball for execution. Gameplay highlight right away: the shot meter feels crisp. Tap once to start, again for power, and a third time for slice or hook. The timing window is forgiving, but precise control brings reward — especially around greens.
It’s tidy and satisfying when you nail a long iron from the fairway. The variety of courses — U.S., Japan, U.K. on this NES release — keeps things interesting: different fairway widths, bunkers that actually penalize you, and greens that undulate in a way that makes putting matter. Tournament mode gives the round purpose; the CPU steps up in later matches and forces smarter club selection.
Let’s be candid: this one earns a B-. It’s strong where it needs to be — control, course design, and that welcome battery backup — but it has rough edges. The audiovisuals do their job but are not particularly ambitious; music loops can get repetitive and the sound FX are serviceable. More importantly, the AI can occasionally feel uneven: some opponents make bizarrely conservative plays while others seem unnaturally lucky with wind reads.
The Famicom differences are worth mentioning for anyone importing: five courses there, different lineup (France, Australia, Hawaii) and no tournament mode. The NES package sacrifices a course but adds the tournament structure we’re playing now. For collectors, those tradeoffs matter.
Gameplay highlights I’m calling out as we play: the putt system is subtle but deep — spin and aim adjustments matter. Also, the third-button hook/slice mechanic gives you the same kind of shot shaping real golfers wish their clubs had. Little touches, like how the ball reacts to rough versus sand, are convincing for an NES sports title.
Hot tips from the fairway — let me list them while I line up a 7-iron:
- Read wind in both views; the overhead shows direction but the behind view exaggerates strength. Trust both.
- Use the third press to correct for green slope — a small hook or slice on approach prevents painful three-putts.
- On tight fairways, favor clubs that give control over distance; hitting the rough more than once compounds error.
- Save before the long par 5s in tournament mode — the battery backup is there and it is your friend.
Memorable moments so far: on the 7th of the Japan course I chipped in from the fringe — the crowd’s little cheer and that tiny musical flourish make you grin. Another was the long battle on the U.K. final match when a gust carried my drive straight into the rough; the recovery shot to the green followed by a one-putt birdie felt cinematic despite the 8-bit palette.
Speaking of cinematic, the “final boss” here is delightfully old-school: it is not a towering villain but the championship 18th hole in tournament mode. Narrow fairway, water guarding the green, persistent crosswind — it forces every skill we’ve learned. It’s a classic video game design decision: no single enemy, just one course that demands mastery. We went back and replayed the round twice to shave a stroke off; beating that hole felt like defeating a boss proper.
The final match also exposes the game’s temperamental side. When the wind variable shifts mid-setup, it can punish otherwise excellent reads. That feels fair if you accept golf’s unpredictability, but it can also feel arbitrary when a perfect swing gets yanked sideways by a gust. Still, the satisfaction of executing a perfect tee-to-green sequence is genuine — the game rewards patience and planning.
A few era-appropriate quips: don’t expect polygonal glory here — the 3-D view is clever for 1991, but it’s a sprite doing the heavy lifting. Also, cartridges still smell like new plastic and possibility; that matters in the experience. The multiplayer matches are quietly excellent: sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with a friend, trade taunts, and tactical nudges at the scoreboard — that is where the game shines brightest.
Final verdict in our living room, right now: B-. It is a polished, thoughtful golf sim for the NES era with some genuine depth and a smart control scheme. It stumbles on presentation and occasional AI inconsistencies, but the core mechanics, course design, and that final-hole test make it worth your quarters — or rather, your cartridge slot.
Agreed. It is not perfect, but when everything clicks — the shot meter, the club choice, the wind read — it can be sublime. We’re saving now; tournament continues tomorrow.
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