Even though its release is coming on June 25, Mario Golf: Super Rush got a spot in Nintendo's E3 2021 Direct. Along with an exciting announcement that Super Rush will receive content after launch, the video gave a quick rundown of the game modes players can expect from the latest Mario Golf title. All of them had been previously shown by Nintendo, but the fact that only the four featured game modes would be included was disappointing to some.
There will be 16 playable characters in Mario Golf: Super Rush on launch, in addition to custom Mii golfers usable in all four of its game modes. Standard Golf will let players participate in a traditional round of golf, taking their time to line up shots and get to the hole in as few strokes as possible. Golfers will frantically race to be the first to sink their ball in Speed Golf, where everyone hits at the same time and races to their ball, aided by a selection of power-ups. Battle Golf is a Speed Golf variant that takes place inside of an arena, with the winner being the first to get their ball in three holes. Finally, the Adventure Golf mode is a single-player experience where a Mii's stats can be upgraded by progressing through an array of different challenges.
According to the Nintendo Treehouse presentation after the E3 Direct, each of the modes will have a few different options to give them some variety. For instance, traditional stroke play won't be the only ruleset available for Mario Golf: Super Rush's Standard Golf mode, and players can choose to tee off at the same time instead of individually. These variations are a welcome feature, but four game modes still doesn't feel like a lot of content on its own.
Two of the Four Advertised Super Rush Modes Are the Same
This feeling of limited game modes is exacerbated by the fact that two of the modes are essentially the same. The new Battle Golf mode in Super Rush is exactly the same as Speed Golf except played out in an arena instead of on a golf course. Granted, the race to make the ball into three holes in Battle Golf changes the game dynamics a bit, but it hardly feels worthy of the "game mode" title. Super Rush appears to be doing a lot of things right, like including more Mario-themed courses, but the lack of game mode variety seems like a side step.
It's nice that more characters will be introduced to the game post-launch, but having all 16 characters unlocked from the start is a missed opportunity to add another mode. Previous entries in the series required players to beat locked characters in a match in order to play as them, something that could've given Super Rush more longevity. Other game modes with a lot of potential, like mini-golf from the N64's Mario Golf, seem like obvious ways to provide more content for the game that were left by the wayside. Mario Golf: Super Rush does at least appear to be the kind of polished product expected of Nintendo, but it remains to be seen how much actual game there will be to play.