Hot Shots Golf (series)

Hot Shots Golf, known as Everybody's Golf (みんなのGOLF, Minna no Golf) in Japan and Everybody's Golf in Europe, is a series of golf games published by Sony throughout the history of the PlayStation series of video game consoles. The series is well known for its humorous look on the game of golf (including cartoon-like caricatures) and guest characters from other games, along with modes such as miniature golf and its ability to maintain a realistic engine with precise control in tandem with the unrealistic design. The series is popular with both golf fans and non-fans alike.

Hot Shots Golf spawned numerous sequels, as well as a spin-off series: Everybody's Tennis.

Main series

Hot Shots Golf (1997)

The original Hot Shots Golf was developed by Camelot Software Planning and originally released in Japan on July 17, 1997 for the PlayStation. It was later released in North America on April 1, 1998 and Europe on June 1, 1998.

There are a variety of modes including Tournament, Training, Stroke Play, Match Play, and a Miniature Golf course. The game featured several characters; those not available from the start had to be unlocked for play by defeating them. A player could earn experience points for his character for winning tournaments and hitting a variety of shots. These points were used to open new courses. The game featured six different courses and a free moving game camera.

Alternate titles

• Minna no Golf – Japanese title
• Everybody's Golf – European title

Hot Shots Golf 2 (1999)

Hot Shots Golf 2 was developed by Clap Hanz, was released on July 29, 1999 in Japan, February 29, 2000 in North America and 2000 in Europe for the PlayStation.

While the game is very similar to the original, it does bring slight improvements. Like the game's 1997 release, there are several characters to choose from, and many more to be unlocked throughout the game. Each character has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, making character selection more than just choosing a skin. The character models themselves are more realistic looking as opposed to the big-headed anime style of the original.

Again, there are several different modes of play, from standards like Stroke, Match, and Tournament play, to the versus, through which new characters can be unlocked. Gameplay itself is a version of the standard '3 click' variety used by the majority of golf games.

This is the first game in the series to include guest characters from other games. They are Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal, Sir Daniel Fortesque from MediEvil, and Gex from the Gex video game series. They only appeared in the American and European versions.

It has since been re-released as a downloadable game for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable via PlayStation Network in North America on December 4, 2006.

Alternate titles

• Minna no Golf 2 – Japanese title
• Everybody's Golf 2 – European title

Hot Shots Golf 3 (2001)

Developed again by Clap Hanz, the third installment of Hot Shots Golf is the first entry on the PlayStation 2. It was released on July 26, 2001 in Japan and March 11, 2002 in North America. It was not released in Europe.

The overall look and feel of the game is pretty much the same as its predecessors, though refined visuals are a given. The same '3 click' system for hitting the ball is back. There are a number of different courses, characters, clubs, and ball types to choose from. New equipment can be purchased with experience points, which your characters earn by winning matches. Better equipment will ease up the game's difficulty a bit by providing greater accuracy, distance, and control. As an additional feature, the game has an international ranking system: With a password from the game you can post your scores on a website, where you can see how you measure up against everyone else out there. As of March 12, 2002, Hot Shots Golf 3 has sold over one million copies worldwide.^[1]

John Daly is an unlockable golfer in this game, which makes him the first real life golfer to ever appear in the series. He only appeared in the American release.

Alternate title

• Minna no Golf 3 – Japanese title

Hot Shots Golf Fore! (2003)

Fore! is the fourth game in the series, the third released in Europe; the third game developed by Clap Hanz and the second on PlayStation 2. It was released on November 27, 2003 in Japan, August 17, 2004 in North America and September 23, 2005 in Europe.

The new version contains more realistic physics and better graphics. In addition, the game introduced online play with the Network Adaptor. The developers also increased the overall number of characters from 15 to 24, added more caddies (10 in all) and boosted the number of courses from 6 to 15. Of these, 10 are new, while five are returning favorites from the previous game. The game also features an online Tournament mode where up to 32 players can compete against each other. the North American and European versions included online play while Japanese did not. This game has a few guest characters from other games. Jak, from the Jak and Daxter series, is a playable character, while Daxter is a caddy. Ratchet is also playable, while Clank is a caddy.

Alternate titles

• Minna no Golf 4 – Japanese title
• Everybody's Golf – European title

Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds (2007)

Developed for the PlayStation 3, Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds in the franchise was released in Japan on July 26, 2007. It sold over 150,000 copies during its first week on sale.^[2]

Alternate titles

• Minna no Golf 5 – Japanese title
• Everybody's Golf: World Tour – European title

Everybody's Putter Golf with Toro (2008)

SCEI and Clap Hanz released a spinoff to Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds for the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 3. Everybody's Putter Golf with Toro was released in Japan and Hong Kong on December 18, 2008.^[3] The game features Jasmine from Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds and stars Sony's Japanese mascot Toro, as well as his companion Kuro in a series of mini golf courses.

Alternate titles

• Minnya no Putter Golf – Japanese title
• Everybody's Putter Golf with Toro – Asian title

Hot Shots Golf World Invitational (2011)

Hot Shots Golf World Invitational is the latest game in the series, which was unveiled along with its console, the then unnamed PlayStation Vita, at the 2011 PlayStation Meeting. World Invitational borrows courses from Out of Bounds, and downloadable content is available through the PlayStation Store. Players are able to leave each other comments through the "Live Area" system. Clap Hanz is co-developed the game with Team Ninja. Players are able to view the golf course using PlayStation Vita's augmented reality feature.^[4]

Alternate titles

• Minna no Golf 6 – Japanese title
• Everybody's Golf – European title^[5]

Everybody's Golf 7 (TBA)

In a pre-Tokyo Game Show briefing in September 2014, Sony announced a version of Everybody's Golf for the PlayStation 4.^[6]

Spin-offs

Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (2004)

The first Hot Shots Golf game for the PlayStation Portable, released as a launch title in Japan and Europe on December 12, 2004 and September 1, 2005 respectively. It was released in North America on May 3, 2005. Players may also play this game wirelessly with up to 8 people.

The game features three modes. The single-player game offers gamers the chance to unlock characters and items by competing in tournaments or by stroke play. Training mode lets golfers practice their skills on various courses with no pressure. The wireless multiplayer mode allows up to eight players to play a course together in various head-to-head matches, real-time tournaments, or the new putting challenge.

The 10 new characters can be customized with more than 250 items of clothing, accessories, clubs, and balls for a unique style. Once players gain enough to go even further under par.

Alternate titles

• Minna no Golf Portable – Japanese title
• Everybody's Golf – European title

Minna no Golf Portable: Coca Cola Special Edition (2005)

Released on May 5, 2005 only in Japan, this exclusive version of the PSP game Minna no Golf Portable is a Coca-Cola branded special edition which features costumes for the characters in Coke's red-and-white colors, billboards with Coke branding, Coke "thought bubbles", Coke bottle-shaped golf clubs, and packaging designed around the Coke theme.

This game is rare beyond rare as far as Special Editions go: only 1,300 copies of the game were produced. Both the game and the Coke-branded PSP systems (which just have a logo, instead of being red-and-white PSPs) were to be given away as a prize package. To enter the contest, which ran between March 28 and May 31, 2005, contestants needed 10 Coke points and had to be in Japan. Prizes also included tickets to an exclusive club show with Japanese rock act HY and Shonen Jump manga figurines.^[7][8]

Minna no Golf Ba (2006)

At a PlayStation 3 press conference in March 2006, Sony announced they are preparing a second PSP golf game together with Clap Hanz. The game was released at the same time as the PSP GPS peripheral device in Japan in late November 2006.

The game uses the capabilities of the GPS peripheral to simulate real Japanese golf courses in the game. There are to be multiple volumes of the game, with the first volume including golf courses from the Chiba prefecture. The game is the first to take up two UMD discs: the first includes courses in southern Chiba, along with one special bonus course, while the second includes courses from northern Chiba.

Hot Shots Tennis (2006)

Hot Shots Tennis is the first spin-off to the Hot Shots Golf series, being a tennis game instead of golf. It was released on September 14, 2006 in Japan, April 13, 2007 in Europe, and July 17, 2007 in North America for the PlayStation 2.

The game has 14 characters, 5 umpires, and 11 tennis courts. There are 3 different modes to choose from, which are Challenge Mode, Tennis with Everybody, and Training Mode. In Challenge, you play against computer controlled opponents in order to unlock stuff like alternate costumes for characters and more courts to play on. In Tennis with Everybody, you can play matches with 1 to 4 players. The training mode lets you practice positioning and timing shots. You can choose from service, volley, smash and general practices in this mode.

Few of the characters from the previous games of the series (both American and Japanese) make cameo appearances on the courts (usually only in Singles matches). Suzuki and Gloria return as being playable characters.

Alternate titles

• Minna no Tennis – Japanese title
• Everybody's Tennis – European title

Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (2007)

SCEI and Clap Hanz released a sequel to Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee for PlayStation Portable. Released as Everybody's Golf Portable 2 in Japan on December 6, 2007, in Europe as Everybody's Golf 2 on May 28, 2008^[9] and in North America as Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 on June 3, 2008.^[10]

Notably, this title came with PSP System Software version 3.96 - the only place where this firmware version can be found as it was never released online.

Alternate titles

• Minna no Golf Portable 2 – Japanese title
• Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 – North American title
• Everybody's Golf 2 – European Title

Hot Shots Shorties (2009)

Hot Shots Shorties is a mini game collection spin-off to the Hot Shots Golf series. It was released on October 1, 2009 in Japan,^[11] December 22, 2010 in Europe,^[12] and January 4, 2011 in North America^[13] for the PlayStation Portable. While the game was released as a UMD and PlayStation Network download in Japan, and the rest of Asia, it was released as a PlayStation Network exclusive in North America and Europe. This release was split into four download packs based on colour with three games being included in the Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue packs.

The title is a 12-game mini game collection rather than a dedicated sports titles such as previous titles in the series. Mini games include book sorting, baseball, boxing, and vegetable fighting.^[14] Certain games can be played with Hot Shots Golf, and Hot Shots Tennis characters.

Alternate titles

• Minna no Sukkiri – Japanese title
• Everybody's Stress Buster – European title

Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip (2010)

At E3 2009, a PlayStation Portable version of Hot Shots Tennis was revealed. It was released on February 25, 2010 in Japan, April 30, 2010 in Europe, and June 29, 2010 in North America for PlayStation Portable.

Alternate titles

• Minna no Tennis Portable – Japanese title
• Everybody's Tennis – European title

PlayStation Home

Clap Hanz has released a space for the Hot Shots Golf series in the Asian, European, and Japanese versions of the PlayStation 3's online community-based service, PlayStation Home. The space is called the "Everybody's Golf Space" (Europe), the "Minna no Golf Lounge" (Japan) and the Asian version uses the North American name, the "Hot Shots Golf Lounge". The space features a Questionnaire (in Europe called A gift from Suzuki), which is a survey that rewards an EG Lawn Sofa, a video screen, a poster, seats for the avatars, and a Full Game Launching Support feature for Everybody's Golf 5. Game Launching is a feature that lets users set up a game in Home and launch directly into the game from Home. The space was released on December 11, 2008 in the Japanese version, March 26, 2009 in the Asian version, June 18, 2009 in the European version,^[15] and October 1, 2009 in the North American version.

References

Sources

• http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/psp/data/920797.html
• http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/hot-shots-golf-minna-no-golf-series/
• http://psp.ign.com/objects/735/735646.html

External links

• European official site for Everybody's Golf (4) and EG on PSP
• European official site for Everybody's Tennis
• Developer Clap Hanz official site