Can Golf Be Fun In The Arcade? You Better Believe It Can.
I was surprised to see this playing in an arcade about 6 years ago, but after playing I knew why it was there. It's just so fun. to top it off, it's made by team that made the Metal Slug series.
Neo Turf Masters4 four different golf courses: Germany, Japan, the U.S., and Australia.They each have 18 holes, so in total the game has 72 different holes for you to play at, pretty amazing for an arcade game. You get three holes per play, but if you get birdies, eagles or hole in ones, you're rewarded with more play. Play poorly and you'll get a penalty and be forced to either put in more quarters or quit. So in short, play good, you get to play more. Play badly, and you gotta pay the piper. It works excellently in play, As If you're good, one quarter can get you a pretty good distance.
The control plays very simply, you got your choice of clubs (with the appropriate one based on distance), picked out for you one each turn, you press the swing button to pick the amount of power you want to hit the ball with with the picked club, and then press again to pick the position where you hit the ball. You must hit it int eh right spot or you could hit the ball wrong or miss the shot.
Luckily, the game programmers have made the game a little forgivable to new golf players, but still can pose a challenge to vets. it doesn't rely too much on physics as some golf games, but it;'s simple interface, and play scheme allows players to jump right in, which is perfect for the arcade. Also, i forgot to mention, you have two buttons to add hook and slice (by varying degrees) before each shot for added control.
At the beginning of each game, in addition to the 4 courses, you can choose between 6 players who have different stats (one is even stats, one has more power at the loss on control, one has more control at the loss of power, etc.) and you can choose between stroke play, which 1 or 2 players can play, or match play, which is strictly 2 player.
Last, but not least, Neo Turf Masters is beautiful to look at. The graphics are pretty, nice simple to read interface, and the in between hole animations are awesome. Not to mention the music is pretty upbeat, and even though the announcer doesn't have English as her first language, it's still cool to hear her say "On the green!!!"
All in all, Neo Turf Masters is fun to play, easy to pick up, and worth your quarters. give it a try, You'll be happy you did.