Sonic Golf is a series of Sonic spin-offs developed by Camelot Software Planning for Sega. Starting on the Saturn, this series is known for combining the traditional rules of golf, the colorful Sonic universe, and Role-Playing elements together to create cohesive experiences.
History[]
The original Sonic Golf was developed by Camelot as on of the Saturn's latter games, released during Summer 1999, and one of the few original games for the platform to feature Sonic characters. Although primarily a single player experience, it also featured multiplayer modes and minigames. Upon release, it was renowned as being one of the greatest Golf-based video games ever made, especially for a home console.
The second iteration in the series, also made by Camelot, was dubbed Sonic Golf: Green Hill Zone, and was released in Summer 2003 for the Dreamcast. In addition to having more advanced graphics and mechanics, this game introduced a number of new modes and had a much greater breadth of content. Unlike many Dreamcast games, however, it lacked online functionality. Nevertheless, the game was well received.
Sonic Golf: World Tour was considered for release as early as the Pluto's launch window, but Camelot's various other projects kept them from actually completing the game's development until May 2014, when it was released for the Eclipse. Its main contributions to the series are online play and returning "Classic" courses from the first two games, similar to Mario Kart's revamped "Retro" tracks.
Characters[]
The Sonic Golf series has a number of characters, mostly borrowed from other Sonic games. However, each game also includes a customizable avatar character, who can be altered and equipped with certain items using the game's RPG elements.
| Character | Sonic Golf | Green Hills Zone | World Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amy Rose | Present | Present | Present |
| Avatar | Present | Present | Present |
| Big | Absent | Present | Present |
| Blaze | Absent | Absent | Present |
| Chao | Absent | Present | Present |
| Charmy | Absent | Present | Present |
| Cream | Absent | Present | Present |
| Espio | Absent | Present | Present |
| Eggman | Present | Present | Present |
| Gamma | Absent | Present | Present |
| Jet | Absent | Absent | Present |
| Knuckles | Present | Present | Present |
| Metal Sonic | Present | Present | Present |
| Nights | Absent | Absent | Present |
| Rouge | Absent | Present | Present |
| Shadow | Absent | Present | Present |
| Silver | Absent | Absent | Present |
| Sonic | Present | Present | Present |
| Super Sonic | Present | Present | Present |
| Tails | Present | Present | Present |
| Tikal | Absent | Present | Present |
| Vector | Present | Present | Present |
Courses[]
The first Sonic Golf games each feature six new courses based on locations from the Sonic universe. World Tour, in addition to its six original courses, also features three courses taken from each of its two predecessors, for a grand total of twelve courses.
Present in Sonic Golf[]
- Casino Night Zone (Based on Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
- Chemical Plant Zone (Based on Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
- Green Hill Zone (Based on Sonic the Hedgehog)
- Mushroom Hill Zone (Based on Sonic & Knuckles)
- Robotnik Winter Zone (Based on Sonic: Triple Trouble)
- Special Zone (Based on Various Bonus Stages)
Present in Sonic Golf: Green Hill Zone[]
- City Escape (Based on Sonic Adventure 2)
- Emerald Coast (Based on Sonic Adventure)
- IceCap (Based on Sonic Adventure)
- Labyrinth Zone (Based on Sonic the Hedgehog)
- Turquoise Hill Zone (Based on Sonic Chaos)
- Yellow Desert Zone (Based on Sonic Blast)
Present in Sonic Golf: World Tour[]
- Casino Night Zone (Classic Course)
- Dragon Road (Based on Sonic Unleashed)
- Egg Fleet (Based on Sonic Heroes)
- Emerald Coast (Classic Course)
- Green Hill Zone (Classic Course)
- Labyrinth Zone (Classic Course)
- Robotnik Winter Zone (Classic Course)
- Soleanna (Based on Sonic Adventure 3)
- Sweet Mountain (Based on Sonic Colors)
- Tropical Coast (Based on Sonic: Lost World)
- Yellow Desert Zone (Classic Course)
- TBD
Reception[]
The Sonic Golf games have been critical successes. The Saturn original had a Metascore of 87, while its Dreamcast and Eclipse successors have Metascores of 82 and 84 respectively. Furthermore, although it is too soon to tell with World Tour, the first two entries in the series have been sales successes as well, selling well over a million copies each.
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