World Class Leader Board

When I reviewed Golfamania on the Sega Master System the first year of the Golf Club, a comment online questioned my claim that it was the best golf game of the third console generation. I was directed toward another Sega Master System game called World Class Leader Board as a contender for that title. After finally getting around to playing it, I have two questions to answer. Is it a great third-gen golf game? Yes. Is it better than Golfamania? Yes and no.

If there's one thing in which World Class Leader Board wipes the floor with Golfamania, it's the options. Unlike the single course Golfamania provided, World Class Leader Board provides four distinct courses as well as a driving range and putting green. Three of the courses are digital recreations of real locations, St. Andrews, Doral, and Cypress Creek, and there is an extra challenging fourth course simply called "The Gauntlet". Having seen them represented in later games, I can say that the renditions of St. Andrews and Doral were excellent for the time. In fact, the aesthetic package is great all around. The swing animations are smooth, and the courses are well-detailed. Of course, the cost of the appearance is having to wait up to ten seconds for the view to render on each shot much like in Great Golf. The audio is largely quiet except for the scratchy recordings of a crowd cheering and a guy telling you that you hit a sand trap.

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The actual gameplay experience is both better and worse than Golfamania. The controls are extremely easy to grasp but still require precision. It was so satisfying when I'd nail a birdie here since they aren't too easy like in some of the golf games I'd played. Even with the renders, the game plays very fast. I was able to finish a round in about twenty minutes. However, there are some issues I just can't overlook. Despite the prominence of the wind gauge, it almost never factors into a shot. I've seen shots go perfectly straight when the gauge shows major wind gusts. Also, while I appreciate the inclusion of punch shots for shooting under trees, I wish pitches were included instead as short shots are needlessly frustrating. Golfamania provided more control over your shots even before the characters leveled up.

I find myself wishing I could smash Golfamania and World Class Leader Board together to create the perfect third-gen golf game. A game with the options and aesthetics of World Class Leader Board and the mechanics and progression of Golfamania would've blown away everything else available at the time. As it stands, World Class Leader Board may not be better than Golfamania, but it is equally as good. European Sega Master System owners would have a blast with either one. The debate ends in a stalemate, and I couldn't be happier.