Mecarobot Golf

Mecarobot Golf Serizawa Nobuo no Birdie Try
North American title screen (top) as compared to the Japanese title screen (bottom)
Developer(s)	Toho?[1][2]
Publisher(s)	Toho[2][3]
Composer(s)	Michiharu Hasuya[4] Osamu Kasai[4] T. Tsurutani[4]
Platform(s)	Super NES[2]
Release date(s)	JP December 4, 1992[2] NA 1993[2]
Genre(s)	Arcade-style golf[2]
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	CERO: not rated (n/a) ESRB: Everyone (E)

Mecarobot Golf (芹沢信雄のバーディトライ, Serizawa Nobuo no Birdie Try^?, "Nobuo Serizawa's Birdy Try")^[5] is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game that was released in 1992 in Japan and 1993 in North America.

Summary

This video game is about golf which takes place in the future. A robot named Eagle is blocked from participating in the world's professional golfing tournaments due to ignorance.^[6] Eagle has the ability to play golf better than a human being but is denied the chance to do so.^[6] A benefactor purchases Eagle and builds a golf course for him to practice on.^[6] The player's skill determine whether humans or robots are truly better at golf. Various modes (lesson, driving range, competition) helps the player practice his abilities that he will need in future matches.^[6]

Nobuo Serizawa was the professional golfer that endorsed the Japanese version of the game. However, his endorsement didn't carry itself over to the American version. When comparing the differences between the Japanese and the North American title screen, the stance of the model is identical. The only visible difference is that Eagle the robot replaces Serizawa in the North American version because Serizawa was not a recognizable golfer in the eyes of North Americans who watch golf.

Gameplay

General gameplay

It is possible to save a game while in the middle of a golfing session. Through practice and the driving range, duffers can improve their maximum yardage, their handicap, and eventually get promoted from duffer status. "Semi-pro" and "pro" levels are considered to be the two highest levels a video game golfer can receive in this video game.

Emergency lessons offer advice when a player is about to perform a mistake in the practice (learning) mode of the game; the player only needs to hit the X button to activate the lesson.^[7] After the 13th hole, the players must use a small boat to get to the 14th hole regardless of what mode the player is using. Like most Super NES golfing games, the clubs are selected automatically for the player, and he must aim the ball and strike it with accuracy and balance.^[7] Players get to choose between four sets of golf clubs.^[7] The ones with the bunnies on them are considered to be beginners' golf equipment; they don't give off very good yardage and the starting handicap is 36.^[7] As the player plays in various months of the year, the golf course changes.^[7] Winter offers completely faded grass while summer brings out the most amount of colors in this video game.^[7]

In the Japanese version, an all-male group of Japanese golfers replaces the character's family members due to cultural and ethnic reasons. While the Japanese golfers were of Asian background, the "family members" in the North American version are shown to be Caucasian.

Naming limitations

When the player first starts a game, he must either sign up or use a current member of the Hyper Golf Club^[7] (referred to in the Japanese version as the Lake Side Golf Club). Names of player(s) signing up for "membership" must not exceed five letters because Japanese names rarely have more than five characters in them. Conversely, most names in the English language have more than five letters. This forces people with longer first names to either abbreviate their names or sacrifice some of the letters in the name to make it sound phonetically similar to their actual name. An alternative to first names would be to use the last name as a "player name." This is providing that the player's last name has less than six letters (e.g., Smith, Jones, Singh, Li, Zhang) and that no other people using the game has the same last name.

References

1. ^ "Developer information". GameStats. http://www.gamestats.com/objects/491/491238/index.html. Retrieved 2008-11-11. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Release information". GameFAQs. http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/data/588474.html. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
3. ^ "Publisher information". GameSpy. http://cheats.gamespy.com/super-nes/mecarobot-golf/. Retrieved 2008-11-11. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Soundtrack Information". SNESmusic.org. http://www.snesmusic.org/v2/profile.php?profile=set&selected=1642. 
5. ^ "Japanese title". super-famicom.jp. http://www.super-famicom.jp/data/se/se_0006.html. Retrieved 2011-11-17. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Story summary". IGN. http://cheats.ign.com/objects/491/491238.html. Retrieved 2008-11-11. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Mecarobot Golf Review". Ghetto-Overlord. Archived from the original on December 8, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071208232630/http://www.ghetto-overlord.com/VideoGames/mecha.html. Retrieved 2008-06-19. 

See also

• List of Super Famicom and Super Nintendo golf games