Pros: very addictive
Cons: nothing worth mentioning

Not since the days of Metroid have I seen a GB game that's this addictive. Let's forget about the fact that you can literally spend hundreds of hours playing to find this game's numerous secrets (there are tons according to a code genius friend of mine), let's forget that you only play as Mario when you beat him at his own game therefore this being a cheap lisense cash-in, let's remember the last time a golf game on ANY platform was this good. Still thinking? That's because there has never been a beter golfing experience on any console, and I've played a lot of them. Even the visually superior N64 game of the same name, Mario Golf, cannot contend with this brilliant little masterpiece. If you don't have a Game Boy, get one for this game, you won't regret it.

The graphics are passable for the Game Boy Color, and usually have a nice amount of varied colors and level designs. I found that this game was well animated on a whole, but could have used some more unique golf course designs. Also, while the graphics are pretty good, they just didn't excite me as much as the Mickey's Adventure Racing game, so a perfect would have been tough to give.

Sound is a nice area of the game because most of the tunes played during gameplay are well suited for a golf game. Any sounds in this game (like a golf ball flying or a putt) are nice but certainly nothing ground breaking. But like the graphics, sound is another area where the game just didn't do anything special. Though it is very good by the Game boy standards, it could have been better (is it just me, or are my Game Boy audio and visual expectations a little too high?)

Getting to the gameplay, put simply, it rocks! Control for the actual golfing is fantastic and feels perfectly suited for a handheld system. Controlling the club, you have full authority over the general direction you want to hit the ball in. After you have selected an area on the golfing map, you start the swing. The swing is controlled in the same fashion as Hot Shots Golf and Mario Golf 64, probably because all these games have had the same developer, Camelot software. It's kind of like a game of Bust a Groove where you have to hit the buttons at a perfect time so that your alignment and swing will go off without a hitch. Conversly, you could also fumble and not hit the button at the perfect time and your alignment and swing will screw up or be not perfect, and your ball could go anywhere from the lake, to over your head and behind you. This engine allows both perfect gamers and perfect failures to play the game with varied results. Those who practice like mad for hundreds of hours (like I did) will find that perfection is only so far away. Those who buy this and play it for a couple minutes every little while, will see no notable success and will abandon this game. That is why I can't recommend this game to you unless you're willing to invest some serious game time.

What I like about this game (and ironically what I DIDN'T like about Mickey's Adventure Racing) is the Role Playing parts. You don't just click on a button to go to a practice field or a certain course; in this game, you have to get there yourself.

What I didn't like about MAR's RPG parts is nowhere in sight here. The mindless item and miniquest fetching that clogged up the racing aspect of MAR, is non-existant here. Yeah you can get better items through specific quests, but unlike MAR where your quest to get an item DIDN'T involve racing, here your Mad Mario Golfing Skillz will be the only thing you need for that accuracy upgrade.

Talking to people is another part of Mario Golf very reminiscent of RPGs. Even though they don't really give me much of anything (no items or useful information), it's notable that Camelot included this, as a country club without at least a few golfers running around isn't a country club.

If you play through the game 100%, you will have in your possession all the characters of Mario Land (And Wario Land) that you can practice against, test your skills against in a tournament (some big hidden stuff here if you have the transfer pack!)or go in a round of the five courses in a regular game of Mario Golf (but this time you're actually using characters related to Mario).

Overall this game is a perfect addition to EVERY gamers library. It has oodles of replayability, lots of variety, great gameplay, decent sound, decent graphics and is ten times as addictive when you're playing against a friend. This is the best golf game ever!