Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

NES Open Tournament Golf offers a surprisingly deep golf simulation for its era, letting you tackle one of three distinct courses in the U.S., Japan, or the U.K. before the Famicom version shakes things up with additional locales. You can choose between stroke play or match play, and even bring a friend along for two-player action. The core of the game lies in its two-stage shot system: an overhead view to line up your shot and pick the right club, followed by a pseudo-3D camera that tracks the ball in flight.

The shot mechanic uses a three-tap power meter that’s instantly familiar to NES veterans. A first tap starts the meter, a second locks in your power, and a third sets your hook or slice. It’s simple to learn but offers layers of nuance once you factor in wind direction, course hazards, and elevation changes. Timing is everything—one mistimed button press can leave you glazing a shot straight into the rough.

One of the most appreciated features is the battery back-up save. Long courses and tough pin placements can stretch a single round across multiple sittings, and the ability to save your progress means you won’t have to replay holes you’ve already mastered. For players who love to chase personal bests or tournament records, this feature alone makes NES Open Tournament Golf a keeper on your cartridge shelf.

Graphics

Visually, NES Open Tournament Golf strikes a balance between readability and immersion. The overhead course view is crisp, with clear fairway boundaries, sand traps, and greens—all rendered in a modest but effective color palette. When you switch to the 3D follow-camera, the game cleverly scales and rotates sprites to simulate depth, even if the frame rate dips slightly during fast ball flights.

Course design varies nicely from one region to the next. The U.S. layout features wide fairways and generous bunkers, while the Japanese course squeezes you through tighter corridors lined with water hazards. The U.K. course leans into moorland aesthetics, complete with gusty winds that test your shot-planning skills. In the Famicom edition, three extra courses—France, Australia, and Hawaii—show off subtly different tile sets and hazard placements, though they lack the tournament mode flair of the NES release.

User interface elements remain unobtrusive. Club icons, wind indicators, and power meters sit neatly around the playfield without obscuring important visuals. Menus are straightforward, letting you breeze in and out of settings screens so you can get back to teeing off. Overall, the graphics may not wow you compared to later systems, but they deliver all the essential information with retro charm.

Story

As a traditional sports title, NES Open Tournament Golf has no narrative cutscenes or character arcs to follow. Instead, your “story” unfolds through tournament progression as you strive to conquer each course and top the leaderboards. Earning low scores and outplaying CPU or human opponents gives you a satisfying sense of advancement in lieu of a scripted plot.

The international aspect adds a light flavor of globe-trotting competition. Starting in Japan’s meticulously manicured fairways, you journey to the open links of the U.K. and then tackle the varied terrain of the U.S.—or vice versa, depending on your preference. In the Famicom variant, you can even test your mettle on courses in France, Australia, and Hawaii, each providing its own hazards and wind patterns to keep gameplay fresh.

Though there’s no character customization or dialogue, the tournament structure and course variety craft an implicit narrative of skill progression. Completing rounds and saving your progress in the battery back-up feels like climbing the ranks of an international tour, giving you a personal storyline driven by your own scores and rivalries.

Overall Experience

NES Open Tournament Golf stands as one of the most approachable yet rich golf titles on the NES library. Its dual-camera presentation, intuitive three-tap shot system, and battery-backed save feature all work together to create a game that’s easy to pick up but hard to master. Whether you’re a solo player chasing perfect rounds or duking it out in two-player match play, the core experience remains consistently enjoyable.

When compared to other NES golf offerings—like the original Golf or more arcade-oriented spin-offs—NES Open strikes the best blend of realism and accessibility. It’s not a full PGA Tour simulator, but it certainly laid the groundwork for later golf franchises with its course variety, control precision, and save functionality.

For retro gamers and newcomers alike, it’s a solid investment. The multiplayer mode extends replay value exponentially, and the added courses in the Famicom version provide extra content for collectors. Even decades after launch, the delight of lining up that perfect drive and watching it soar toward the pin remains remarkably satisfying.

Retro Replay Score

7.4/10