Minigolf games shouldn't be that hard to make. Design some wacky courses, work out some decent ball physics, and there you have it. Fun Fun Minigolf does a good job of hitting the basics, but there are a number of small flaws that keep it from being a real success. Regardless, it's cheap, downloadable, and it manages to capture some of the fun of minigolf. All in all, it's a solid WiiWare game.
Fun Fun Minigolf lets up to four players play at a time using as few as one or as many as four Wii Remotes. Unfortunately, the game doesn't support Miis, so you'll be stuck using one of the four quasi-hip avatars. On each hole, player one putts until the hole is completed (or the stroke limit reached), followed in order by player two, then players three and four. The order never changes, so the last player always has the advantage of seeing how the other players did. This isn't so great for player one, but after a round or two you'll have a solid idea of how to play each hole, so it won't matter too much. More bothersome is the fact that you don't alternate strokes, so each player is in the spotlight for the entirety of his or her turn. These small issues won't ruin your fun, but they create the feeling that something isn't quite right.
Fortunately, Fun Fun Minigolf looks surprisingly good. The three themed courses cover three continents (America, Asia, and Europe) and three difficulty levels (easy, medium, and advanced). Each course is vibrantly colored and attractively landscaped. When it's your turn to putt, you can aim your shot or change the camera angle with the D pad. You flick the Remote to practice your swing, then hold down A and swing to take a shot. When shooting, you'll have to time your swing correctly to hit the center of the ball if you want your ball to go straight; otherwise, it will veer off to the side. The controls are simple and intuitive, especially to anyone who has played Wii Sports golf before.
However, putting is not without its perils. If your ball doesn't land inside of an area outlined in white, it will count as out of bounds, even if it is still on the green. Consequently, you're often forced to hit a shot from a specific angle, given that you're unable to get in a better position with an approach shot. It takes some getting used to and can be frustrating when you just can't seem to nail the shot. This is how Fun Fun Minigolf makes later holes more challenging, but that's no consolation when your friends are cracking up as they watch you miss the same shot seven times in a row. Despite this frustration, there is a good variety of well-designed holes that are satisfying to master. However, folks looking to putt a ball under a windmill or into a clown's mouth should look elsewhere: The wackiest obstacles Fun Fun Minigolf manages are a few loop-the-loops.
Despite a few missteps and the occasionally too-vigorous ball ricochet, Fun Fun Minigolf is actually fun (note the lack of exclamation point). Like real minigolf, it is best enjoyed with a group of people who won't take it too seriously. It's not all it could be, but 27 holes for 900 Wii points ($9) isn't a bad deal for Wii owners looking to hit the minilinks.
