Winning Shot

Back in the 80s, there were few third-party developers as prolific and as polarizing as Data East. Their games in the arcade and on consoles tended to be very hit-or-miss. When they're good like with RoboCop on NES or BurgerTime, they're excellent. When they're bad like with Karate Champ or Joe & Mac on NES, they're memorably horrible. It's not often that they didn't hit one extreme or the other, but their Japanese golf game Winning Shot was one of those times.

Winning Shot is, in many ways, what I've come to expect from a golf game on the TurboGrafx-16. The HuCard has only one course. The visuals show off the system's huge color palette and level of detail that blew away what the NES could do. Animation on the characters and scrolling is smooth as silk. These are very standard for a golf game on the system, but there are some neat things in this one in particular. There's a tournament mode in addition to the standard stroke and matchplay options. There are six characters to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. They actually play very differently; the differences aren't just on the stat screen. The course was well-built. It has a few issues like too many island holes, but it's a solid course overall. The swing gauge is very user-friendly without making the whole game a cakewalk. This is also one of the few golf games from the era that actually suggests clubs for follow-up shots rather than forcing players to memorize the distances each club could shoot, and the suggestions are usually fine. There's plenty of good here.

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Unfortunately, there are a lot of small annoyances that really start to add up. Though the game supports up to four players, controllers can't be shared. I hope you have a TurboTap. The tune that plays throughout the whole game is annoying as hell. The only time it stops is when you sink a shot. The quiet before the next hole loads became a major relief (assuming you don't just mute the TV). Visuals actually get in the way of playing the game. I've had times when my character was hidden behind the map of the hole and times when I couldn't see the cup during a putt because my character's head was in the way.

Winning Shot is a very average golf game. It does plenty that's welcoming for pros and new players. However, the little irritations do start to pile up. It's certainly one of the better golf games on NEC's system, though. If you must take another trip to the links on your Turbo, you can certainly do worse. This one just made par.