Golfamania

n/a

Golfamania
System(s): Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sanritsu
Peripherals supported: FM Sound Unit
Genre: Sports
Number of players: 1-4
Release Date RRP Code EU 1990 7502 FR 1990 299F299 7502 PT 1991 MSJ7502 UK 1990-09 £32.9932.99 7502 CA 1990 MK-7502 BR 199x

Golfamania is a sports game developed by Sanritsu and published by Sega for the Sega Master System.

A North American release was planned and advertised as Super Golf, but did not materialise.

Gameplay

Golfer selection

Driving

Putting

The game is a golf game with an overhead perspective that can be played by one to four players (taking turns with two control pads). There is one course with 18 holes. The following modes are available:

• Practice: A single-player mode where the player picks one hole at a time to play. The player has a complete selection of clubs in this mode.
• Match Play: A one-to-two-player mode where players take turns and try to complete each hole in the fewest number of strokes. After the first shot, the player who is furthest from the hole hits until landing a shot beyond the other player. The winner of the round is the player who has scored the lowest on the most holes. If played by one player, the player competes against a computer-controlled opponent (whose turns are shown).
• Stroke Play: A one-to-four-player mode where players take turns and try to complete each hole in the fewest number of strokes. The winner of the round is the player who has the lowest overall score for all 18 holes. In the event of a tie, the game starts over from the first hole in a sudden death play-off, where the players with the lowest score moving on to the next hole until a winner is declared. If played by one player, the player can choose to play alone or against a computer-controlled opponent.
• Pro Tournament: A single-player mode where the player competes in three tournaments (the Western Tournament, Eastern Tournament, and Sega Tournament), each comprising a round of golf. The player competes against 30 computer-controlled opponents (whose play is not shown but whose results appear on the scorecard after each hole). The player must finish a tournament in first place to move on to the next; a second-place finish stays in the same tournament, and any finish after that ends the game. Ties are resolved in a sudden death play-off starting from the first hole where the computer opponent always scores par; the player must score a birdie or eagle to win.

In the Stroke Play and Tournament modes, golfers acquire experience points from performing well. One experience point is awarded for scoring par, with an additional point awarded for each stroke under par. There are special prizes that award experience points:

• Longest drive: The golfer must hit a drive of 220 yards or longer (with every 10 yards over awarding an experience point, up to 5 points) on the hole with the longest drive prize. Any drive over 260 yards also awards 5 experience points.
• Near pin: The golfer must hit the first shot on the hole with the near pin prize within 4 yards of the cup (with each yard closer than 4 yards awarding an additional experience point). Landing a shot within a yard of the cup awards 4 experience points.
• Hole-in-one: Shooting a hole-in-one on the hole with the hole-in-one-prize awards 10 experience points. A hole-in-one on any other hole is worth 5 experience points.

When enough experience points been obtained, the golfer gains a skill point, which can be spent on improving the golfer's Power, Accuracy, or Luck. Each category can be leveled up six times, so the player must obtain 18 skill points to attain the maximum level in every category.

The game cartridge has a battery backup, which saves the player's progress and up to six golfers in Stroke Play mode and the player's progress and golfer in Tournament mode. In Match Play mode, players instead choose from four golfers with predetermined statistics (Powerful, Accurate, Lucky, and Average).

Before each round, players choose their clubs by removing at least three clubs from the complete set. The sand wedge and putter must always remain in the bag.

On each hole, the interface shows the wind speed and direction, the par and distance of the hole, the shot number, and the distance remaining. Performing a shot is done in stages, with confirming and canceling. The player first uses and to determine the direction of the swing. Canceling here allows the player to pan the hole with and . In the Stroke Play and Tournament modes, the player is also given advice for the current hole before being allowed to pan the course. After confirming the direction, the player selects a club. The maximum distance in yards is shown for each club. The player then selects the point on the ball to hit using the D-Pad. Higher points create more roll after the ball lands; lower points cause the ball to travel higher (necessary for chipping) and to backspin more (back toward the golfer) after landing. Hitting on the left side causes a slice (curve to the right); hitting on the right side causes a hook (curve to the left). Finally, the player determines the power of the hit using a power meter. A cursor moves up and down the meter, and the player must stop the cursor within the marked area for an optimal shot (with the power being of the shot being greatest in the center and smallest part of the meter). When putting, the player does not need to choose the club or the point on the ball to hit.

The golfer's Power rating increases the distance when driving, the Accuracy rating increases the size of the marked area on the power meter (to make hitting an optimal shot easier), and the Luck rating decreases the golfer's odds of hitting a ball into a hazard or bouncing off a tree.

Production credits

• Programmer: Koyayashi Okahe
• Designer: Shisho Deshi
• Special Thanks: Nannorio Miiya
• Director: Non Chan

Source:

In-game credits

Magazine articles

Main article: Golfamania/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Guida Video Giochi (IT) #13: "Luglio/Agosto 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #107: "October 1990" (1990-09-16)
also published in:

• Computer & Video Games (UK) #108: "November 1990" (1990-10-16)
• ACE (UK) #38: "November 1990" (1990-10-xx)

Print advert in Guida Video Giochi (IT) #15: "Ottobre 1990" (1990-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score ACE (UK) 92 Ação Games (BR) 75 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 85 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 89 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 88 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) PAL 83 Console XS (UK) PAL 82 Computer & Video Games (UK) 89 Game Mania (UK) 83 Joystick (FR) 92 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 80 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 83 Player One (FR) 90 Power Play (DE) 71 S: The Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 87 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) 85 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 82

	84
Based on 18 reviews

Golfamania

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart

Master System, EU (Sega®)
Cover
Manual

Master System, PT

Master System, CA
Cover
Manual

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 48651325 MD5 5554f9f67103e0d5b1a4075a2d26d15b SHA-1 d0b964dd7cd8ccdd730de4d8e4bb2e87bea7686e	256kB		Cartridge (EU)	8kB backup