System: Nintendo 64
Genre: Sports
I'm not a fan of golf in real life, and I'm sick of hearing people talk about it in work, but add Mario to it and it suddenly becomes a lot of fun. It was certainly a surprise hit for me. Mario Golf 64 and Toadstool Tour are proper golf simulators with wind, fade, draw, clubs and all that stuff, they just also happens to have courses shaped like Yoshi and DK, filled with Piranha Plants, Chain Chomps, Thwomps and other Marioverse staples. They also have plenty of normal courses and extra modes like Ring Shot and Birdie Badge challenges so there's plenty to do in them. These games define the year I spent living with my friend William after I finished college and there's just something so pleasant and relaxing about a nice round of Mario Golf.
