Eikō no Saint Andrews

Description

Eikō no Saint Andrews was the first golf game released for the Nintendo 64 and is centred on a recreation of the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. The game foregrounds the historic course itself, including its named holes, uneven terrain, deep bunkers, strong winds, and recognisable landmarks. The game mostly involves the expected mechanics: select a golfer, club, shot direction, and other conditions before striking the ball, with wind and terrain affecting its trajectory. However, it replaces the conventional timing meter for a swing with the controller’s analogue stick: the player pulls the stick back to determine power and flicks it forward to make contact.

The game offers multiple golfers with different abilities, several play modes, multiplayer competition, a basic character-creation option, course previews, replays, and visual information intended to communicate changes in elevation across the greens. As a very early Nintendo 64 title, the graphics and presentation are on the more limited side, while the difficulty of judging slopes, inconsistent automatic club selection, differences between the playable golfers, and the demanding stick-based swing make the game a difficult experience. Nevertheless, the swing mechanic can become enjoyable after practice. The reflects the early experimental period of early 3D gaming and the use of the new controller’s analogue stick.