Pangya: Fantasy Golf Review

Pangya: Fantasy Golf makes a name for itself in the world of video game golf by combining the familiar gameplay and item collection-based formula of Hot Shots Golf with a strange, anime-style story mode.

Anyone familiar with old school, pre-analog swing golf will be right at home with Pangya's gameplay. The swing works on the three-click mechanic, which feels accurate while still maintaining a degree of challenge for veteran players. The courses balance solid layouts with more fantastical elements like precarious islands and icebound bunkers. As you progress, you can learn new skills like power shots and top spin, which give you an added boost after your ball is done rolling. You can also buff your stats by buying new clubs, balls, and items with Pang, the game's internal currency (which is awarded for accurate shot making).

If all this sounds like a by-the-book golf game, you're absolutely right. Pangya isn't groundbreaking. The only unique element it offers is the lengthy cutscenes and myriad characters offered in the story mode. At times, it finds amusment, like when my golfer (a policeman that resembled a cross between the cop from the Village People and John Goodman's character from The Big Lebowski), developed a fervid desire for mass amounts of fried chicken. While it adds some much needed interest, the career structure is hugely flawed. Though there are four episodes, you can't advance past the first until you've beaten it with all eight characters! It's far too repetitive and laborious for a game with such a light, user-friendly tone.