Top Pro Golf
From Sega Retro
| Top Pro Golf | ||||||||||
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| System(s): Sega Mega Drive | ||||||||||
| Publisher: Soft Vision | ||||||||||
| Developer: Soft Machine[1] | ||||||||||
| Genre: Sports[2][3] (golf) | ||||||||||
| Number of players: 1-2 | ||||||||||
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Top Pro Golf (トッププロゴルフ) is a Sega Mega Drive golf game developed and published by Soft Vision. It was released exclusively in Japan in June 1992.
A sequel, Top Pro Golf 2, was released in 1993 and localized as Chi Chi's Pro Challenge Golf.
Contents
Gameplay
The game is a golf game that boasts a three-dimensional gameplay engine. There is a single course with 18 holes. Each hole is preceded by a wireframe overview.
On each shot, the player is given the wind direction and speed, an overhead map of the hole, and information such as the total length of the hole, the par rating for the hole, and the distance to the green. The player can change the club with 
or 
. Selections can be made with 
or 
or reversed with 
. After choosing a club, the player aims the shot by moving a cursor on the overhead map with or . The wind must be taken into account when aiming the shot. Then the player can change the contact point on the ball using the D-Pad. The vertical affects the spin put on the ball (lower increases the spin), and the horizontal causes the ball to slice (far right) or hook (far right) rather than traveling straight. Finally, the player swings using a power meter, which fills with blue and fluctuates between minimum and maximum power. Holding or starts the meter, and releasing the button swings. The game shows an overhead view of the course to follow the flight of the ball.
A grid is laid over the green to show its contours. The screen is split, with the top part showing a close-up of the hole. When on the green, the player chooses the direction with or on the green rather than on the overhead map, then putts using the same swing meter.
Modes
The following play modes can be chosen from the main menu:
- Stroke: Starts a stroke play game for one or two players. Players take turns playing all 18 holes of the course, and the winner is the player with the fewest strokes for all 18 holes. There is no competitor in one-player games, and the player tries to finish with the lowest possible score.
- Match: Starts a match play game for one or two players. Players take turns playing all 18 holes of the course, and the player with the lowest score on each hole wins that hole. The winner of the round is the player who has won the most holes. There is a computer-controlled competitor, chosen by the player, in one-player games. There are multiple competitors with different statistics. Each opponent's skills are measured on putting, approaching the green, and controlling the golf ball using the provided golf clubs.
- Handy: Starts a match play game for one or two players. This is the same as the Match mode, with the added twist that the winner of each hole can choose a club to remove from the loser's inventory. The putter and the 1-Wood driver cannot be removed, to ensure that each player can still complete the round.
- Tournament: Starts the "Soft Vision Cup" tournament for one or two players. This is a four-day tournament, starting with semi-finals involving 30 total competitors, then moving on to the finals with the winners. A password is given after each match to allow the players to continue the tournament.
Each mode has some options before starting the match, including choosing from 15 different golfers to represent each player. Players always have the same selection of clubs rather than having to choose them.
Magazine articles
- Main article: Top Pro Golf/Magazine articles.
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
 |
58 |
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| Based on 6 reviews | |
| Mega Drive, JP |
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 Cover
|
  Cart  Manual |
Technical information
- Main article: Top Pro Golf/Technical information.
References
- ↑ http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Soft_Machine
- ↑ File:TopProGolf MD JP Box.jpg
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 319
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "July 1992" (JP; 1992-06-08), page 33
- ↑ Famitsu, "1992-06-26" (JP; 1992-06-12), page 38
- ↑ Hippon Super, "July 1992" (JP; 1992-06-04), page 39
- ↑ Mega Action, "September 1993" (UK; 1993-08-12), page 64
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
| Top Pro Golf | |
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Main page | Magazine articles | Reception | Region coding | Technical information | |
