Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach Review





Developer: Tose Co., Ltd. Publisher: Bandai America
Release Date: 1989 Available On: NES

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Golf, the one sport that was never really done right prior to the 16-bit era. Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach proves this fact. The NES had a number of golf titles, but none of them were particularly good, and most of them utilized the approach from the first game to ever use the power bar, 1984’s Golf by Nintendo. And considering that Lee Trevino’s Fighting Golf came out a year prior to this one, this is just unacceptable.

Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach looks like it came out in the first year the NES was in the works. The graphics, though they definitely look like what they’re supposed to, offer very little for the eyes. Your player is only viewed for a brief moment when you’re hitting the ball, after that, all you see is the course and the ball flying about. Nothing else. You don’t get cut screens, flashy intros, hell, you don’t even get a freaking ending. Though they’re certainly not ‘bad’ by any means, other than the otherworldly title screen with a complete lack of perspective, Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach doesn’t offer much and at this point in the NES’ life span you’d expect a lot more.

In terms of the sound, Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach, again, only serves to disappoint. The issue, as before, is not so much the usage of sound as it is the lack of sound. There’s not much going on. You get the bare minimum effects for the ball hitting the ground and so forth, as well as some irritating sounds when you’re under par. The main issue is the continuous, dopey theme that runs through pratically the entire stinking game. Nothing to get your blood moving, nothing to get you excited, it doesn’t even work as elevator music.

As you already figured out, Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach is, yes, a golf game. In this one, you have a pretty nice interface. The computer automatically suggests a club based on distance from the hole, but unfortunately it also eliminates others, even if you might have a reason for trying a 9 Iron close to the green, you can’t do it. Fine, but the other problem is hitting the ball. At distances, the system seems quite fluid. But, the closer you get to the hole, the meter and club suggestions often don’t seem to make any sense. The meter, in particular, has a sweet spot area that doesn’t seem to give consistent distance. A little too much one way or the other is the difference between dropping the ball way before the green or catapaulting it into the trees beyond.

Also of annoyance is the aimer, which gives you a very limited range and is especially irritating for distance putts. Other NES golf titles allow you to move the aimer at a wider angle, as well as further towards the hole so you can more accurately judge your shot. Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach, however, doesn’t give you enough room to play with, it’s pretty restricted. It’s easy to figure out, for the most part, and the interface is smooth, but really, it’s a standard, boring golf title that does little to further the system set up by the original Golf that came out in 1986 for the NES. If you consider that it looks better and plays better than this, you probably have an idea what you’re in for, but check it out anyway:

Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach brings nothing new to the tee (get it?). It’s standard 8-Bit golf, no question about it. It’s apparently based on the actual Pebble Beach course from this time period, but that doesn’t really matter. When it comes down to it, it’s about as interesting and unique as a third-generation Romance novel. And the “real-world physics” suggested by the game are a little suspect.

Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach doesn’t really have replay value. There’s no password feature, and there doesn’t need to be. You play one game, see your score, and that’s it. There’s no tournament mode and it basically rides on the ass of Golf, which is sad considering it came out five years before. If you’re looking for a rather short golf title, though, well, here you go, but most sports game fans seem interested in some sort of tournament or extended play mode with passwords, so it’s doubtful even that tidbit will do anything for you.

Bandai Golf: Challenge Pebble Beach is yet another golf title for the NES that deserves the footnote it’s receiving via this review. If you’re interested in a great golf title, check out NES Open Tournament Golf because that’s about all the system has to offer, and even that one has some problems. As it stands, this is a completely forgettable title that deserves to be placed in an unmarked grave for a shopping mall to be built upon.

Graphics: 5
Sound: 4.5
Gameplay: 6
Creativity: 4
Replay Value/Game Length: 5.5
Final: 5 out of 10
Written by Stan Stepanic Write a User Review

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