Cross
a watered down Double Dragon with a golf course
and what do you get? An original but poorly executed fighting/sports combo
entitled Ninja Golf.
The premise is to complete 9 holes in as few strokes as possible while battling your way to your ball between strokes. Courtesy of an overhead view, aim shots and measure your power with a ball trajectory that rapidly projects over the field of play. Also displayed is a closeup view of your ninja.
Once the ball is hit, an action scene commences with an onslaught of ninjas descending upon your character. In addition, each section of the course offers its own unique nemesis. Contend with mud flinging gophers on the fairway, leaping frogs on the rough, snakes in the sand traps, horizontally scrolling sharks in the water hazard, and egg dropping birds in the woods. On the green defeat a fireball spewing horizontally traversing dragon with your ninja stars. Between each hole a scorecard is displayed, and bonus points are added for holes completed on or under par. Power ups can restore strength, provide invincibility, etc. and are scattered about the course.
The
golfing aspect is a joke. There's an absence of club selection, wind,
hook/slice, water penalties, and putting. Just aim the ball and receive a score
card when a hole is completed. The action sequence picks up a little, but it
pales in comparison to other fighting games. Moves are very limited. The
guardian on the green is identical for every hole, with speed increasing on
each. Once the edge of each terrain is reached, all on screen enemies disappear.
Both sounds and graphics are not great, but the serpent at the beginning and
conclusion of a game is well detailed. Overall, this was a good effort which
came up short. Stick to Double Dragon or a real
golf simulation.
TIP: Sometimes it's wise to leap away from foes rather than battling them all.
