| The Irem Skins Game The Irem Major Title |
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|---|---|
Japanese cover art for Major Title |
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| Developer(s) | Irem[1] |
| Publisher(s) | Irem[2] |
| Platform(s) | Arcade[3] Super NES[1][4] |
| Release date(s) | ARC
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| Genre(s) | Traditional sports simulation[1] (golf) |
| Mode(s) | Single-player Multiplayer |
The Irem Skins Game - known as The Irem Major Title (メジャータイトル) in Japan and Europe - is a golf video game that was released in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which is based on the North American-exclusive video arcade game of the same title.
The Irem Skins Game is an arcade-style golf simulation. The Super NES game is actually a port of an original coin-op version. The game is presented in a mixed perspective. The pre-shot perspective is a standard third-person view from just behind the golfer, but once the ball is hit, the view switches to a top-down perspective to track the ball in flight. The game takes a simplified approach to hitting the ball. Instead of setting the power and controlling the shot, the only function of the vertically-oriented swing meter is to select the vertical angle of the shot, which, in turn, sets the amount of backspin/topspin applied to the ball. The strength of each swing is selected prior to the shot by setting a power gauge to one of 16 levels. Draw and fade can be applied to the ball by changing the players stance. It all might sound complicated, but it's fairly straightforward. The putting system appears to be simple. However, the game specifies the maximum distance for the putter in yards (but measures distance on the greens in meters). There are no distance markers shown on the hole overview making it difficult to accurately place shots without them, especially lay-up shots.
Players can choose to play as one of four golfers (power hitter, all-round player, technician, and magician). Each of these golfers possess a unique skill set that influences the player's ability to make certain types of shots. The game provides the usual array of game modes: tournament, match play, stroke play, and a skins game.
In the original arcade game, the technician golfer is a man, instead of being a woman.