Original Release: Nintendo, 1996, Super Famicom
The original form of Kirby’s Dream Course and originally slated for a cartridge release, Special Tee Shot was initially shelved then ended up being released as a Satellaview download a couple of years after Dream Course
Special Tee Shot (SNES, Nintendo, 1996)
Where to Buy: No longer available, can be emulated
How to Emulate: SNES Emulation Guide
This game is the precursor to Kirby’s Dream Course, it’s almost like a stripped-down prototype of that game with no Kirby elements and just more generic clown characters and such. Nintendo would take this initial concept and retool it for the Kirby cartridge release, tweaking the gameplay a bit and adding several elements; the game then emerged later as a Satellaview download.
I’m not even a big fan of Kirby Dream Course, but that ended up being a substantially better game than this prototype version is. It looks neat at first, but gets tiresome after just a few holes. The main failing is the automated shot selection that varies based on where you’re trying to shoot, it can’t always figure out the more complicated things like elevated terrain. If it craps out on you in lining up a shot then you’re just out of luck and have to waste a stroke repositioning.
If you really like these “difficult kickball golf” games this one at least seems to offer substantial content, however, with four difficulty levels to gradually work through (each apparently with new courses).
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