I'm an unwavering fan of ClapHanz's golf series, and to me, not even Tiger Woods 09 can surpass their colorfully big-headed yet realistic playing take on the game. The most recent PSP version, Open Tee 2, was pretty much the pinnacle of portable golfing perfection. Tomy/Ntreev's Pangya: Fantasy Golf for the PSP, loosely based on Ntreev's PC MMO Pangya golf title, is a surprisingly good take on the Hot Shots Golf formula. It's almost hard to admit, but in a few respects, Pangya even improves upon it.
Nothing can replace my Hot Shots Golf. Once I got past the feeling of playing a game that may have somewhat ripped off my favorite series, I have to say I enjoyed it for what it was. Pangya: Fantasy Golf, as the name implies, is a golf or "Pangya" game that takes place in a more fantasy like setting; an anime and RPG inspired world to be more specific. Expect quirky characters, magical courses and most importantly, solid golfing action.
Pangya: Fantasy Golf utilizes the tried-and-true, traditional 3-click swing scheme. The odd exception being that the swing meter moves in reverse (right to left as opposed to left to right), which actually took me a few minutes to adjust to. The physics and movement of the ball in Pangya feel strikingly similar to that in HSG, so anyone familiar with ClapHanz's games will feel at home in the world of Pangya. Curves, top and backspins and special shots are handled a bit differently however, and there is a little less depth in terms of how the lie of your ball is handled which gives the game a more casual, arcade-like feeling. The cup size is also larger (by default), the swing meter is on the slow side, and greens are generally much easier to read even on the more difficult courses. I'm not crazy about how the limited camera controls work in terms of scoping out each hole, although it becomes less of an issue once you've played the courses a few times.
There are a variety of single player gameplay modes within the game, and one really nice aspect is how experience, Pang (currency), items and unlockables are shared across pretty much all of the primary modes. Earning Pang is as simple as playing the game. Unless you make a habit of hitting into the water or O.B., nearly every shot you make earns you some cash which can be used to buy anything from new costumes, to clubs and balls, to consumable upgrade potions and items. There's a good deal of strategy as a result, as there are a number of ways of equipping, customizing and powering up a character depending on the situation. You, as the player, also earn experience points just by playing and progressing through the modes, which will in turn rank you up and lead to more unlocked content.
Unlike Hot Shots Golf, Pangya is built around a storyline of sorts. Story Mode, the main single player game mode, actually plays out like a light RPG experience. You choose a character and play through several golfing "missions" broken into a few story episodes. These missions can consist of 1 vs 1 match play, a tournament, or sometimes just training or bits of dialog to push the story along. Upon completing an episode with a specific character, another character is unlocked along with the occasional item or upgrade, and so forth. When all characters successfully make it through an entire episode, the next episode and more of the story is then made available. It's not all that deep, but it's a cute idea, and I have to say the clever writing and the (textual) dialog scenes had me laughing quite a few times. Not many other games have a talking paper bag as an accessory and sidekick.
As mentioned earlier, on top of the Story Mode is a Hot Shots Golf-style License mode, a Free Round mode, as well as the ability to play Tournaments. There is also a full-featured multiplayer Network mode that unfortunately is for local ad-hoc play only. Coming from a company that made a name for themselves by creating an online golfing title, I would have expected some sort of internet play. But alas, unless you use the PS3's ad-hoc party application, there is none to be found. I was additionally a little surprised to see that there was no driving/practice range in the game. The ability to trying out clubs and practice special shots without having to play on an actual course would have been a helpful addition.
Visually, Pangya: Fantasy Golf is as bright and cheery as one would expect from the title. The characters and all their costumes are beyond cute, the courses themselves are attractive and fairly interesting, and he presentation is well thought out. In spite of the fantasy-based settings, some of the 9 courses and holes look a little too similar to one another and lack the really distinct designs and layouts found in the Hot Shots series. The courses are colorful of course, though I also expected the designs to be a little more non-typical than they are. Open Tee 2 is more attractive to me personally, as I still prefer the Hot Shots style. Overall, Pangya is silky smooth and a great looking PSP title, and very rarely anything other than eye-pleasing.
There isn't much in the way of voices or dialog for any of the characters in Pangya and the music and sound effects are as sugary sweet as the visuals. If you're having a bad day, the upbeat tunes will likely brighten up your mood a notch or two alone.
If you love the Hot Shots Golf PSP titles, and are itching for something similar, I can definitely recommend Pangya: Fantasy Golf. While being a little more casual feeling, it still has quite a lot of depth and variety, a lengthy single player campaign, and a ton of content to unlock. Fore... I mean Pangya!
