Issues arise from the
player's first arrival to the tee, as it's quickly apparent you can't see the entire hole.
You can't aim either. You need to stop, re-align with the course view mode, and then step
back to the tee. You see about 40 yards ahead, (if that) and it's impossible to precisely
aim properly. After that first swing, done with a single click swing meter that's too easy to use, you'll realize that there's no indicator telling you how far you still have to the green. That's inexcusable, and combined with the claustrophobic viewpoint, makes this one of the more aggravating golf games ever produced. You'll need to do the math yourself after every swing or head into the caddy menu and try to find the distance there (and it's impossible if you don't read Japanese on a Japanese console).
Your caddy, in some of
the funniest broken English possible, speaks before each hole, offering guidance. It
doesn't help. There are obvious solutions to the problem, like an overhead map, longer
aiming cursor, and better information pertaining to the shot at hand, but none of that is
here. These are the type of features 8-bit golf games offered. There's no reason to believe this is some next generation golf game, which is surely what SNK would want you to believe. The graphics are plain, your golfer appearing in a window while swinging. It's as unimpressive as a game on this hardware can be.
The blatant flaws bury this one after exiting the menu. If the gameplay offered up something to make up for the annoyances, this might not be so unimpressive. Obviously, it doesn't, and the simplistic swing system isn't detailed enough for fans. People who don't like the sport or don't understand it won't change their mind because of this.
