I must admit
that the sports fan in me loves the serious-yet-addictively fun golf game of the
Tiger Woods PGA Tour variety but there’s even a bigger part of me that
simply adores the arcade-styled fantasy golf in games like Hot Shots Golf
for the PSP. Therefore, it came as a pleasant surprise that TOMY brings us
PANGYA: Fantasy Golf for my favorite handheld. It’s time to grab your
favorite club and living shopping bag (I’ll explain later) and hit the virtual
green once again.
Zoo Keeper:
“Whoa, Bob was right! Strange things do happen at the zoo after closing time!”
If you’re an
anime nerd like me, you’ll find PANGYA’s style appropriately cute and
colorful to the point that just about everyone you meet stands out and every
golf course offer unique challenges you normally wouldn’t find in Tiger Woods’
familiar stomping grounds. Even if anime isn’t your thing, the game’s charming
gameplay and plentiful game modes should give you enough reason to check this
game out.
The game
includes a number of game modes that allow you to play a single free round,
participate in different tournaments and even an objective-based License mode.
The game even has an RPG-styled Story mode complete with different characters
with their own individual storyline. You do begin the Story mode as Scout, a
young boy who is invited to the dream-like other dimensional world of Pangya
Island to compete in the yearly golf (the sport is called Pangya in this world)
tournaments held in honor of the defeat of the Dark Lord by Scout’s father. Now
Scout vows to become a Pangya Master like his father as he enters the
tournament.
On the other
hand, you can play as Hana, a close childhood friend of Scout who is invited to
Pangya Island by a boy named Quma. Worried sick about her friend, she discovers
that Scout is competing in the tournament so – as a golf player – she enters the
Cover Club Tournament in hopes of meeting up with Scout later. Along the way,
you play against a group of characters that include people from Earth such as a
grumpy cop named Uncle Bob, a flight attendant and even a cute female pirate
named Kooh. When you finish each episode for both characters, you unlock the
ability to play as other characters like Kooh and get a story revolving around
them.
Bad Game
Idea #221: “Mall Cop Fashion Makeover Fun” for the PSP.
While the
story in Story mode isn’t particularly deep or fascinating, the game mode offers
plenty of fun challenges and lengthy tournaments to participate in while you
earn money (called Pang) and level up your character’s skills. The money you
earn not only allows you to purchase new clubs but also a number of clothing
options and even items that offer a power-up boost to your swing and shot. One
power-up potion can even curve the ball around hazards such as tall trees. You
can even redecorate your caddy, which takes the form of a living shopping bag
called Papel that trails behind you or the ball.
Story mode
is also filled with challenging opponents you must take on to advance to the
next stages of each tournament. The best part is that each character brings
their own fun style to a round. For example, Uncle Bob doesn’t use a club but
rather uses a wooden baseball bat and it’s always a treat to watch him have a
tantrum after you’ve beaten him.
There are
nine courses in the game and all of them just as unique as the other. Blue
Lagoon, for instance, has a number of water hazards in its tropical setting
while White Wiz is a winter wonderland course. While you’ll be playing with
normal hazards in mind, there are also some interesting hazards as well such as
a few towers that get in the way or steep hills that make the ball roll out of
course.
The good
news is that the controls are the pick-up-and-play variety that makes it easy
for even the more casual golf fan to pick up and start playing. In fact, this is
the perfect game for those gamers that always wanted to try a golf title but was
overwhelmed by the more serious ones already available. Sure, you still have to
watch out for wind direction and using the right clubs makes a big difference
but it’s not necessary. Just about anyone can make heads or tails of the meter
and once you get the hang of it, you’ll hit Pangya shots each time. Even putting
has been simplified.
Here’s the
bad news … the camera can be a pain. Yes, you can make your character
transparent but that doesn’t help much if the camera angle obstructs a few
details that makes a difference between sinking the ball at 9 meters or 11
meters. My biggest gripe is with the Ad Hoc multiplayer mode. While it’s great
that you can play up to eight friends wirelessly, there’s framerate stutter that
becomes annoying.
Golf
television ratings have gone up since Becky joined the PGA Tour … I wonder why?
Visually,
PANGYA looks great with sharp visuals and a delightfully colorful anime
look. The characters are handled beautifully enough during non-animated cut
scenes and during play as well. Even the courses are impressive, although some
of them stand out more than others. White Wiz, for instance, just doesn’t look
as amazing as Blue Moon or Sepia Wind. The game’s sound, however, just doesn’t
impress as well as the graphics. There’s a cute soundtrack to go with the cute
visuals but you’ll be hearing it over and over again. This is really too bad
seeing as the game doesn’t feature any voice acting and the sound effects are
minimal.
A
wonderfully enjoyable and utterly charming fantasy sports game, PANGYA:
Fantasy Golf for the PSP is a fun game that is a Must Have for anyone
looking for a lighthearted alternative to the serious golf games available. What
few flaws the game has are easily overlooked thanks to its fun pick-up-and-play
controls, diverse courses and plenty of replay value. In other words, PANGYA
is just the right ticket for those who want to give their copy of Hot Shots
Golf a rest.
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Gameplay: 8.5
The controls are
very user-friendly so even the more casual golf fan can start swinging on the
green with the best of them. There’s not much of a story in Story mode but there
are enough characters to make you want to keep playing and loads of items that
give the game its own style.
Graphics: 8.0
The game’s
visuals are actually quite decent enough with some super cute anime-styled
character models, colorful backgrounds and flashy visual effects. I just wish
you didn’t have to wrestle with the awkward camera angles.
Sound:
7.5
The soundtrack is
also just as cute as the characters but it’s unfortunate that the game didn’t
add voice acting that goes well beyond the adorable voice that shouts “Pangya!”
There’s not much in terms of sound effects either.
Difficulty: Medium
Your opponents
starts on the amateur side and slowly get smarter but it’s good to see that even
the Pangya legends of the sport can make mistakes during a round.
Concept: 8.5
There are a few
characters to play as in Story mode and they each have their own branching story
and unique caddy. The stores are filled with more than enough clothing options,
equipment and other interesting items to spice things up as you play again.
There’s multiplayer but no online play.
Multiplayer: 7.5
Up to eight
players can play a number of rounds or participate in a tournament via Ad Hoc
but the game seems to suffer framerate issues playing one-on-one. Still, the
stutter doesn’t make the multiplayer unplayable.
Overall: 8.5
It’s good to see
another arcade-styled handheld golf game that’s actually loads of fun and
PANGYA: Fantasy Golf definitely deserves to be among your PSP collection.
Sure, it can overload the senses with cuteness but in the end it will win you
over with its enchanting style and satisfying gameplay.
