Mario's new golf game is including some neat features that will freshen up gameplay for a sport that doesn't change too much. Mario Golf: Super Rush will have some fun multiplayer options like racing, as well as features that take advantage of the Joy-Con motion controls -- something more Nintendo Switch games need to do. However, the most interesting feature isn't it the usual Mario Sports gameplay; it's the story mode.
Camelot Software Planning has made pretty much every Mario Tennis and Golf game to date, but before that, the studio was in the RPG business. It was a big change for them to do sports games for Nintendo, but it did manage to incorporate RPG elements into one of its Mario Sports games before. Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color also featured a story mode.
Mario Tennis' story mode was well done. In it, players were a normal character attending a big-time tennis academy, working their way up the leagues. This included playing against NPCs to move up ranks, hands-on tutorials, bonus trials, equipment and even doubles matches. It played like a regular RPG, except players wielded a tennis racket instead of a sword and defeated their peers in tennis matches.
The doubles matches weren't multiplayer due to hardware limitations at the time, but they were still fun. Players could level up their partner the same way they could the main character. Instead of stats, players put points into tennis skills like ball spin, serve and control to improve their plays against opponents. After winning the big tournament, players could go on to play Nintendo characters. There was also the regular tennis mode of course with Mario, Yoshi, Luigi and the rest of the cast.
Later on, Mario Tennis: Power Tour released with a nearly identical story. The characters were the same, except the male and female main characters played doubles rather than a separate character, and some of the text was changed. The maps were simply updated versions, and even the progression was the same. It wasn't really innovative, but players shouldn't worry about Super Rush being more of the same.
If its anything like the GBC gem, RPG elements will take Mario Golf to the next level. Gaming has come a long way since the GBC, so it's likely the story mode will also be improved. It's nice to see Miis included as an added touch for customization rather having to select a pre-set character.
At a minimum, Super Rush should play similarly to Mario Tennis for GBC, but hopefully there will be some new additions. From the trailer, we can see there is a similar stat and level up system, but the world looks more accessible with more going on. It also appears to take place in the Mushroom Kingdom rather than the real world. Overall, this return to the Mario Sports franchises is a good sign that bodes well for Camelot.
As Camelot was originally known for making RPGs, if Super Rush's story mode is received well, the studio may be able to incorporate these elements into future Mario Tennis games. Better yet, it may earn a go-ahead to develop new RPGs for Nintendo. Fans may not see the return of Super Mario RPG from Nintendo and Squaresoft, but something new from Camelot would certainly be welcome.
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