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Overview
Tee Off, known in Japan as Golf Shiyōyo (or "Let's Play Golf", sometimes as Golf Shiyōyo: The Golf Game), is a 3D golf game developed by Bottom Up (Company) and published by either Bottom Up (Japanese version) or Acclaim (overseas version) for the Dreamcast (Platform) in Japan on December 9, 1999 and in both North America and Europe on January 12, 2000.
A cartoon-like golf game in the vein of Hot Shots Golf / Everybody's Golf / Minna no Golf, Tee Off brings the comical, simplistic type of golf game to the Dreamcast, with five fictional courses set around the world, and 15 playable characters with various strengths and weaknesses. Along with a single-player career mode (involving a championship to determine who is the best golfer in the world) and multiple one-round modes (for up to four players), the game features a bonus mode based on the Japanese lawn sport of gateball. It's notable for being the only golf game released for the system outside of Japan.
It later received an updated Japan-exclusive re-release on June 1, 2000, known as Golf Shiyōyo Kōryaku Pack (or "Golf Shiyōyo Strategy Pack"), adding online tournaments and updated physics. Following Bottom Up's acquisition by Softmax, the game received a Japan-only standalone expansion by Softmax on August 3, 2000, known as Golf Shiyōyo Course Data Shū: Adventure-hen (or "Golf Shiyōyo Course Data Collection: Adventure Chapter"), featuring five new courses set throughout the world (Canada, Egypt, Fiji, Mexico, and Nepal), which can be played with unlocked characters from the original game. It later received a Japan-only sequel with Golf Shiyōyo 2: Aratanaru Chōsen, and later received a licensed handheld spin-off for the Game Boy Advance (Platform) with Kurohige no Golf Shiyōyo (which features Kurohige from Tomy's Pop-up Pirate / Kurohige Kiki Ippatsu line of toys).
Gameplay
Game Modes
There are two main golf modes (World Tour and Free Round) and one bonus mode (G-Ball). The Japanese version also includes "Club House Express" in the main menu, which brings up the official web site in an in-game browser. The Kouryuaku Pack version also includes online multiplayer.
World Tour
Unavailable in the Course Data Shuu expansion.
A single-player career mode where players choose from 10 golfers and play through all five courses in the World Tour Tournament Golf championship, with the final ranking based on performance in all five. Players unlock new clubs, balls, and golfers based on their ranking.
Free Round
Includes a variety of single-round exhibition games:
- Stroke Play - Traditional rules of golf for up to four players.
- Point Tourney - Rather than scoring by strokes, players are instead scored by their performance on each hole (1 pt. for Bogey, 2 pts. for Par, 3 pts. for Birdie, 4 pts. for Eagle, and 5 pts. for Albatross). Players automatically give up the hole if they cannot score higher than a Double Bogey.
- Match Play - Players are split into two teams and each team scores a point on each hole if any of their balls have the lowest strokes for that hole. Games can be played in either 1v1 (Single), 2v2 (Four Some or Four Ball) 1v2 (Three Some or Best Ball 1vs2, or 1v3 (Best Ball 1vs3). Four Some and Three Some are unique in that teammates take turns hitting their team's one ball. As an option, players can enable a "Club Suspension Penalty Rule", in which winning a hole forces the losing team to suspend use of a chosen club for the remainder of the round.
G-Ball
Unavailable in the Course Data Shuu expansion.
A bonus mode based on the Japanese lawn sport of gateball, featuring a futuristic, virtual sci-fi theme. Two teams (with up to two players per team) race to clear their balls from the rectangular court (which can be flat or bumpy) by knocking them through a series of three gates in order, and then hitting the goal pole at the center. While it's played with larger balls and mallets, it functions similar to putting in the main game.
Each team has up to five balls, with players able to play with multiple balls, and balls remain on the field after each hit (unless they are cleared). The game has a set turn order, usually switching between teams and between each of their balls, and starts each ball in a designated "start zone". Players can extend their turn by passing through gates, and can knock into other balls on the field, allowing them to either knocking opposing balls into disadvantageous positions (such as out-of-bounds), or knock their team's balls into advantageous positions (such as through a gate).
There are some other rules to the game, such as that the first gate can only be cleared in one stroke (otherwise it's considered out-of-bounds) and cannot be out-of-bounds during that stroke. If a striker's ball knocks into another, the other ball is moved next to theirs for a "spark ball" shot, where the striker keeps their ball in place uses the energy distribution of the mallet to knock the other ball in any direction they choose (usually out-of-bounds for opposing balls and towards the gate for friendly balls).
By default, the game is timed, and if no team has all of their balls cleared when the timer elapses, teams are instead scored based on how many gates were passed through. The game, by default, includes a limited shot timer, and can optionally be arranged so that teams are score in multiple ways:
- Take Point - Steal points by hitting the opponent's ball.
- Miss Point - Lose points by fouls and out-of-bounds.
- Combo Point - Gain bonus points by touching two or more balls in the same shot.
- Out Point - Gain bonus points by knocking an opponent's ball out of bounds.
- Assist Point - Gain bonus points by knocking a friendly ball through a gate.
- Long Shot Point - Gain bonus points by launching a ball through a gate from a long distance in a single shot.
- Miracle Point - Gain bonus points by launching a ball through multiple gates in a single shot.
Courses
The original game came with five fictional courses to choose form:
- Japan Course
- Australia Course
- Africa Course
- Scotland Course
- USA Course
The Course Data Shuu expansion includes a different set of five courses:
- Canada Course
- Egypt Course
- Fiji Course
- Mexico Course
- Nepal Course
Golfers
There are 15 total golfers, each with their own unique playstyles. Only four are available at the start:
- Akio Saitou - A Japanese golfer with balanced stats.
- Julian Clement - A Scottish golfer that sacrifices shot power for excellent spin. Known as "Jurian" in the Japanese version.
- Katherine White - An American golfer with balance stats. Known as "Katharine" in the Japanese version.
- Christine Lamer - A French golfer that sacrifices shot power for excellent shot control.
The remaining golfers are unlockable:
- Deborah Whitaker - A Fijian golfer.
- Elizabeth Muler - A Swedish golfer.
- Jeena Shirey - A Zimbabwean golfer.
- Jose Estevez - A Spanish golfer.
- Kim Swyong - A Korean golfer.
- Leopold Jackson - An American golfer.
- Midori Takamine - A Japanese golfer.
- Nick Lancaster - An American golfer.
- Randy Wilde - An Australian golfer.
- Robert Duty - A British golfer.
- William Hauer - A South African golfer.
Each golfer has five attributes (from 1-10), including Power, Control, Spin, Luck, and Wise.
| Golfer | Power | Control | Spin | Luck | Wise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akio | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Christine | 2 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Deborah | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| Elizabeth | 8 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Jeena | 7 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Jose | 3 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 7 |
| Julian | 3 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 8 |
| Katherine | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| Kim | 6 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
| Leopold | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Midori | 4 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 3 |
| Nick | 5 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Randy | 9 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| Robert | 1 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 10 |
| William | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
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- Name
- Tee Off
- Release Date
- December 9, 1999
- Platform
- Dreamcast (Platform)
- Developer
- Publisher
- Genre
- Golf (Genre)
Sports (Genre) - Franchise
- Golf Shiyōyo (Franchise)
- Aliases
- Golf Shiyōyo: The Golf Game