I'm not sure if the multiple delays of Mario Golf: Advance Tour were due to actual development needs or Nintendo just spacing out releases, but I'm happy that it's finally here. I can't even explain why either. I'm not exactly a fan of golf. I have never actually partaken in the activity nor do I even wish to. However, every once in a while I like to play a few rounds of the handheld variety.

Way back when I had a Game Boy Color, I picked up the original 'Golf' title which was a very simple black and white Gameboy golf game featuring Mario. It was simple to get into yet very addictive and made for a nice handheld game. I skipped the actual GBC version for some reason so I can't make comparisons to that version.

Mario Golf: Advance Tour is made by the same people who brought us a couple of the best handheld RPGs in the form of the Golden Sun series. Mario Golf benefits from their experience with Golden Sun in that it looks good, sounds great, and is an extremely playable RPG. Mario Golf on the GBA is basically a golf role playing game, and a damn fine one at that. I've made it readily known that I love playing RPGs on my little handheld, and Mario Golf: Advance Tour scratches a gaming itch I didn't even realize I had.

At the core, Mario Golf is a very simple game to get into. The gameplay features the tried and true 'timing' method of digital golf. You press a button to start your swing, press again to set your power, then a final press or two in order to set any finishing touches you would like to apply to your shot. Obviously, a lot of strategy is employed when selecting clubs and where to place your shots, in addition to mastering back/top spins and other advances techniques. Mario Golf: Advance Tour plays exactly like it's Gamecube cousin, so if you loved that game, you should feel right at home here.

The shocking thing about Mario Golf on the GBA is just how much more involved the game is compared to the Gamecube version. Not that the Cube version is bad in any way, it's just that the GBA version blows it away in overall fun in my opinion. The RPG elements really add a lot to the gameplay in general, as well as giving you a compelling reason to continue on throughout the game. In the console version, I enjoyed playing it, but I just didn't feel the drive to unlock everything as I have for the GBA version.

You start off as a budding young student of the game in the beginning of Advance Tour under the tutelage of "Kid" who apparently was the hot young prodigy of the golf club. He takes you and a couple others under his wing and sets you loose upon the various courses which dot the nearby landscape. As RPGs go, don't expect tons of worlds and giant sprawling landscapes to explore. The overworld consists of four primary golf course clubhouses, with assorted mini challenges placed in between. You can't access everything right away, as many of the challenges would be too far out of reach for your beginning golfer's stats.

Each golf course allows you to practice a round, compete in a tournament or work on specific skills on their practice ranges. Practice makes perfect in every game, and Mario Golf is no exception. Practicing the courses not only gives you the much needed information about the course layout, but also gives you experience points which are needed for leveling up your stats, as well as the stats of your doubles partner. You need to make sure your partner doesn't fall behind in her stats since you will need her for the doubles match ups which each club has. Another staple of RPG gaming, stat building items, are located in various places as well as being offered up as prizes for completing certain tasks.

Completing the tournaments allow you to access other courses and challenges. Complete them all and you get to play the mighty Nintendo characters in a special invitation-only tournament over at Peach's castle which obviously forces you to break out every skill you have learned during your time spent on all of the other courses up until that point.

Camelot made a couple of the best looking games on the GBA with the Golden Sun 1 and 2. Mario Golf: Advance Tour doesn't skimp on the eye candy as well. As you expect from most of the first party games, Mario Golf looks as great as it plays. Most of the tricks that the GBA can pull off are all put to task as the game engine employs some nice basic 2D artwork for the overworld as well as some mixed mode 7 3D effects for some of the action sequences. It is another example that it is still quite possibly to make a great game with what people are considering to be limited hardware. The GBA is still one of my favorite systems and perfectly capable of pumping out some quality titles.

Mario Golf: Advance Tour sounds pretty much like Golden Sun did. As a matter of fact, it might sound too much like Golden Sun for some people. The 'warbling' is back for talking characters. I didn't really expect to ever hear that outside a Golden Sun game. I'm not sure if I wanted to hear it again to be honest. Thankfully, most of the action in the game is sans talking, so you don't have to put up with it much if you hate it. The music is pretty decent and fits the mood, but I doubt many people will be clamoring to buy a CD soundtrack.

Another neat thing about Mario Golf: Advance Tour is that you can import your built up characters into the Gamecube version of the game through the Cube to GBA link cable that I had collecting dust in my game room. It was nice to actually use it for something again. Other unlockables in the game for added replay value are 'Star' versions of the normal courses as well as being able to play as all of the course champions that you face throughout the game.

Even if you just want to play some basic golf with your favorite Nintendo characters you can from the very beginning. All of the basic Mario All Stars are playable from the start so anyone can have some quick fun with this title. Multiplayer games are also thrown into the mix which can be played with linked up GBAs or just a single GBA passed around among the players.

As with most of the first party games, the cart save features are excellent. You can pretty much save at any point which is a must a portable game that isn't anything more than a conversion of Asteroids. You can save when you are just wandering around, in the middle of a practice round or even on stroke 3 of the 9th hole of a tournament round. I can't stress enough how important it is for a quick and convenient save game setup in a portable game.

Mario Golf: Advance Tour is damn near perfect. It is enjoyable, addictive, looks great, and plays perfectly. I could easily recommend this game to anyone, golf fan or not. I'm not a golf fan and I love the game. It's a worthy pick up with plenty of play value. What more do you need?