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It's over nine years since Mario last graced the (monochromatic) greens of the original Game Boy classic Golf, and in the interim the game has never been bettered. With its sublime combination of faultless presentation, immediate pick-up-and-play accessibility and extraordinary depth, Golf was one of the seminal clutch of early Game Boy releases, so we here at Total Game Boy Color were more than a little excited at the prospect of Mario's first Game Boy Color appearance, particularly when we heard that Camelot, the developers of the excellent Mario Golf 64, had been given the task of cramming their superb new N64 game into one tiny 16 Megabit cartridge!

Astonishingly, Camelot has achieved the impossible and returned Mario and his chums to the miniature fairway with real class and all the fun and excitement of its big brother.

The chief innovation of the N64 version was its superb adventure mode, which brilliantly presented golf as a quest more akin to Zelda than a regular sports game, and the Game Boy version faithfully adopts the same ploy. Choosing from either Mario Luigi, or a custom built golfer, you start the game in the Marion Clubhouse, a cheerful complex of comfortable lounges where champions relax between matches, pundits mix with the players spouting advice, and a labyrinth of annexes lead to trophy and locker rooms. Everyone's got something to say, all of it useful, and as well as invitations to friendly matches from easy-going champs, there's a clutch of mini-golfing games tucked behind the clubhouse where you can practise your skills and pick up more tips from assorted club patrons.

The first priority for serious golfers, however, is to locate the Caddie Master who'll invite you to play in the Marion Club Tournament. Only by placing high in this 18-hole match will you win the experience points and status to take part in the next three courses (Palm, Dune and Links) in the hope of coming face to face with the golfing master himself, Mario...

On the green itself, presentation is crisp and gameplay is sublime. There are no fiddly menus to confuse your shot selection, and all the relevant info (wind direction, ball lie, distance to pin, par) is easily digested. Hitting the ball is simple enough: hit the A button once to start your swing, once again at the top of the bar to determine power then once more at the bottom to determine accuracy.

Whilst the interface is easy to learn, the degree of sophistication and skill attainable is what gives Mario Golf its extraordinary playability and longevity. There's a huge variety of skills and tricks to master to make every hole you play a real thrill, and mastering shot selection and the fine nuances of the sport is essential if you're to battle your way to the top of your profession. Even golf newbies will soon be immersed in the once impenetrable language of bogies and albatrosses, and gleefully scrolling through their score cards to plot their successes.

The adventure structure of Mario Golf bolsters an already faultless game. With each victory rewarding you with experience points and stars which can be alloted to enhance your golfer's profile, as well as the lure of playing more vexing courses, this is a sports sim like no other. The urge to play one more round or take on another club champion is irresistible, and like all the very best games, the key to this game's success lies in its apparent simplicity which belies extraordinary depth and sophistication of play. Book a long train journey somewhere just so you can sit and play this for hours on end, and then buy some new batteries and journey back. It doesn't matter whether or not you like golf. If you like great videogames, you'll love this.

Well, I've had this glued into my Game Boy for five days now, and it's proved the most furiously addictive game I've played since Zelda DX! The attention to detail and abundance of neat touches really impress, and the sheer depth is unbelievable.

I've never been too partial to the sport, but played the odd videogame version and enjoyed some mildly diverting fun, but this had me hooked in minutes, desperately trying to improve my stroke and pull off flash shots. And, whilst I loved the adventure mode it was the silly little games - like playing hole-in-one's at Windy Hole and unlocking secret mini-courses later in to the game - that impressed me the most.

This really is 100% fun, perfectly suited to the Game Boy. My only quibble is that there's no two-player game available, apart from the link-up mode. This is perfectly suited to long matches swapping between two players, and it seems terribly mean of Nintendo not to provide such an option, but then again, the CPU opponents are really good.

There are so many options initially, it can be a little bewildering, but whilst you might be tempted to get to grips with the sport via the Practice option, we recommend that you plunge straight into the adventure mode. Why?

Well, practising by yourself on the holes in all well and good, but if you select a Club match against a reigning champ, you can watch how a real pro plays each hazard, and you'll pick up invaluable tips which you can learn and modify at will. Since there's oodles of career opportunities to increase your experience and develop your golfer's profile, it makes every hole you play invaluable.

And don't forget, each course has three practice ranges, where pros will demonstrate increasingly sophisticated shots and invite you to try yourself. Not only will you be rewarded with Experience points if you pull off each shot, you'll also be much better equipped for those palm-sweating matches. Believe us, the shots you'll come to master will astound you and, more importantly, your opponent if you play a link-up game with a friend!

Graphics 80%
Clean and easy!

Sound 60%
Functional FX and optional ditties.

Playability 100%
Nintendo fine-tuned perfection.

Lastability 100%
It'll run, and run, and run...

Overall 97%
Golfing perfection you'll never leave at home!