Platform: Switch
Also on: PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Publisher: KEMCO
Developer: ArticNet
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E10+
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into RPGolf Legends. After all, it was published by KEMCO, and even though it’s been a few years since I last played one of their titles, I remember that all of their games were pretty much identical. On the other hand, RPGolf Legends didn’t look anything like any of those games. Sure, it was an RPG as well, but it looked different enough that I was hopeful it might play differently as well.
And you know what? It does. It’s got a few flaws, which I’ll get to in a bit, but it still feels like a massive leap forward from the usual KEMCO fare in every respect.
First and foremost, this is because it really is – as its name implies – an RPG-golf hybrid. You’re fighting back against the usual demon-infested world, except in this case, you’re doing it because you want to play golf. You beat up a bunch of demons, and your reward is that you get to unlock another hole; repeat that a bunch, and eventually you make the world safe for golfers again.
The combat, too, is very different. Where most other KEMCO games feature turn-based combat, in RPGolf Legends you get to run around the overworld, swinging your golf club at any monster that looks at you funny. While this means you need to figure out skills like dodging and timing that are never a concern in other KEMCO RPGs, it makes the game feel a lot more livelier than the same old, tired turn-based fights.
The game’s aesthetics are also different enough that RPGolf Legends feels fresh and new. Sure, it’s still retro, but it looks more like late-period SNES than early NES, and everything about it seems more vibrant than your usual KEMCO fare.
Even the golf is pretty solid. It’s got an intuitive system, it makes picking different irons easy, and the courses are nicely laid out. It’s not going to make you forget PGA 2K21 or anything, but it’s still well done.
The only downside to the game is that eventually you hit a point where you need to start grinding your way through needless monster fights to earn enough XP to unlock new holes. Given that each new battle takes a few moments – rather than sending you off to another screen just to start another turn-based battle – it’s not as annoying as it could be, but it still means that you reach a point where it feels like you’re just endlessly battling the same monsters. But that point doesn’t come for quite awhile – and up until then RPGolf Legends is pretty enjoyable.
RPGolf Legends is actually quite impressive, when you think about it. The developers didn’t just have to create a fun RPG, they also had to make a solid golf game. They succeeded in both, and made one heck of a game in the process.
KEMCO provided us with a RPGolf Legends Switch code for review purposes.
Grade: A-