Golf

Golf is one of the original Black Box NES releases and the game that introduced the three-press swing meter that almost every golf game since has used. Eighteen holes, one course, two players alternating.

The swing is the whole game. Press A once to start the power meter rising, again to set the power, and a third time to set the accuracy as the marker returns - overshoot either end and you slice into the rough. Wind, club selection and the lie all feed into the same meter, and the course itself is a single coherent design rather than a set of disconnected holes. Its Japanese Famicom release came first, and it is still the cleanest expression of the mechanic on the system.

• ▸The original three-press power and accuracy swing meter
• ▸Eighteen connected holes with wind and lie affecting each shot
• ▸Club selection from a full bag on every shot
• ▸Two-player alternating stroke play