This adorable anime-style golf game is what Hot Shots Golf wishes it were when it lays awake in bed at night.
My biggest gripe is that a few of the courses from the original online game are missing - most notably, Ice Spa, Shining Sand, and Silvia Cannon. This is made up for by the extra nine playable characters - including many of the caddies from the online version! All courses are available from the beginning of the game, but not all the characters are. Now why couldn't they have dropped Wind Hell - I mean, Wind Hill?
As you play, you will gain experience, and when you level up, you can unlock clothes, clubs, and items for the characters whose story modes you have completed. Courses are a different story; you need only complete enough short games to gain enough experience to earn a license for the course, and then it's free to play at any time.
Just into the game, you'll be greeted into the game by a typical Korean easy-listening soundtrack, which can be either soothing and welcome or boring and annoying, but it's also solid and each set of songs fits their respective course rather well. As for graphics, the game performs beautifully on the PSP, bringing the original game to life on the small screen at a not-so-noticeable lower polygon count.
I won't spoil the story for you, but as it begins, you're told that once upon a time, the island of Pangya was under attack by an evil demon lord, and its lifeforce was being drained through small holes in the ground. A small ball was created to stop up the drainage, and a traveller from Earth saved the island with his legendary swing. Now, the island has another set of troubles, and it's up to you and its inhabitants to solve them - by playing golf.
At a suggested retail price of just under US $30, this game is well worth what you dish out for it.
Main Stats -
Graphics: 8/10
Music: 7.5/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Story: 9/10
Extra Stats -
Port Quality: 10/10
Similarity to Actual Sport: 6.5/10
Not Having Wind Hill: 0/10
Overall - 8/10