Easy to play, challenging to master and loaded with content, Pangya is easily recommended to anyone who likes golf.
Pangya Fantasy Golf unlike many arcade golf games contains a story mode, and it's a pretty ridiculous one at that. Pangya Island exists outside of the dimension that Earth resides in, and several of Earth's players have been whisked away to this fantasy golf land to play in a tournament. There are a few players who unknowingly hold the fate of Pangy'a world in their hands, and the tournament will test them to see if they're strong enough to battle the forces of evil. Yes, you'll be trying to save the world through the magical powers of golf...
The story's sugary sweet, extremely Japanese-centric and just downright silly. If you find that you can't stand the story mode, you're welcome to play in the tournament mode. In Tournament, you need to acquire licenses in order to partake in the island's many events. To acquire a license, you first have to earn enough experience points. You do this by completing missions such as getting a hole-in-one in 10 shots or less, or meeting a target score after a number of holes. Both tournament and story modes contain a wealth of gameplay.
There's also an immense number of clubs, balls, accessories and clothing to unlock. Just about everything you choose to deck your character out with will change their stats in some fashion. There's also an animated bag of sorts that follows you around the course called a Papel. Papels carry with them items that you purchase that can grant you extra power, control, spin, etc., to really help you get out of a jam. If you're the sort of gamer that loves collecting, you'll find yourself playing Pangya for ages just to collect everything the game has to offer.
You can't have an addictive game if it doesn't play well, and Pangya plays splendidly. If you're familiar with Hot Shots Golf, you'll have an even easier time adapting to Pangya's mechanics. After you survey the course, line up your shot and take wind into account, you press X to start a slider moving. Press it again to determine your power, and then press it at just the right time during your accuracy meter to hit the ball exactly where you want. The accuracy meter is a strip of pink with a white center. Stopping the slider on the white gives you a Pangya shot that adds more energy to your Power Shot meter. The meter can be filled up to execute a Power Shot. There are all sorts of these shots that pound the ball exactly where you want it, slice right through the wind, or even give the shot much more distance.
Even if the story mode is hard for you to stomach, it's recommended you start here. Pangya's tutorial events will ease you into playing the game. The difficulty curve never really spikes, unless you simply don't pay attention to the layout of the course and get yourself stuck with a poorly placed shot. The opponents are never infallible and they do make mistakes, although you sometimes scratch your head as to why they made such a horrible putt after slaughtering you with an eagle on the previous hole. No matter your situation, though, if you simply practice enough, the game gives you plenty of tools that well-utilized will get you out of any rut.
The only real drawback with Pangya is that there's no online mode. It's such a shame, because that's what makes it even that much more addictive on the PC. The game does support eight players via ad hoc, but most gamers won't even have the luxury of knowing one other person with the game. It really is quite a shame since the game is so fun, you want to play it with your friends as well.
Graphically, the game is very pretty. It does show its age a little bit, though. The character models have blocky hands and feet for instance, but they animate well and exude charm. The courses are well-built and contain some nice scenery. Special effects are kept simple, but fit very well for the nature of the game. Balls kick up grass when they power spin, they leave trails in the air as they soar to the green, and they explode when they touch down from a Tomahawk shot. Pangya's also extremely colorful, giving the game loads of life.
Audio wise, Pangya sounds decent as well. Power Shots have a little extra oomph to them, and the rush of wind as the ball soars past your screen sounds nice. Some might get a little irritated by the constant high-pitched calling out of "PANGYA!", though. There's also no voice acting to speak of, which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. Some people may just prefer not to listen to high-pitched cheesy voice acting that a lot of anime is known for. The soundtrack is great, accompanying rounds of golf with easy going laid back music you can relax to.
No doubt about it, Pangya Golf is worth your time and a great value for your money. It will take you weeks of play to get through the story mode and even more to finish the tour. There's a plethora of goodies to unlock, not to mention artwork and movies as well. It has such an addictive quality to it that you'll be hard-pressed to put it down even after you finish the game. The only major drawback as previously mentioned is the lack of online, meaning you probably will never get to experience it with a friend. Still, if you're a fan of golf and own a PSP, Pangya Fantasy Golf is a title that simply must be in your collection.