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WINNING SHOT (PCE)
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Publisher: Data East.
Developer: Data East. Released: March 1989 (JP). Genre: Golf. Posted 24th March 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
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1989 proved a busy year for golf on the PC Engine, with the system’s burgeoning library adding four such games, of which Winning Shot was the least flashy but most fun. Judged on appearances alone, it’s entirely unremarkable, perhaps explaining Data East’s decision not to release the game outside of Japan. All the same, I’ve developed a bit of a soft spot for this pleasant, accessible title. Certainly, it’s not the game you’d have marketed to sell the console to undecided buyers. However, those fortunate enough to own NEC’s diminutive console at the time could have done a lot worse.
As with a lot of its golfing contemporaries, playing options are fairly thin on the ground. Nevertheless, a single 18-hole course can be tackled across a trio of setups. There’s Stroke, which is ideal for practice or a quick game. Alternatively, you can tackle the multiplayer-only Match which, as the name suggests, allows you to battle a friend using matchplay rules, with the aim of winning the most holes. Handily, Winning Shot supports pass-the-pad multiplayer, negating the PCE’s issue of possessing only one controller port. Lastly, Tournament is a four-round event, with prize money up for grabs at the end of each day, based on your position on the leaderboard and a few additional incentives. The player is handed a lengthy password in between days, so if you plan on playing the rounds bit by bit, make sure you’ve got your Japanese characters down to a fine art!
Winning Shot may look underwhelming, but it's a lot of fun and deceptively addictive
On the surface, it doesn’t look particularly promising. The graphics are fairly poor, with everything from the simplistic sprites and crummy animations, to the basic, samey fairways lending Winning Shot more of an 8-bit vibe than a 16-bit one. Greens lack visual indicators of elevation change, instead leaving the player to estimate gradients via a single coloured arrow. Putts wobble unconvincingly along the grass, struggling to convey convincing diagonal movement. Even the palm tree attract screen looks naff, and there’s very little variety to liven things up.
Fortunately, it plays a lot better than it looks. Its simple, tight gameplay is a lot of fun and I found Winning Shot dragging me back repeatedly for attempts to improve my hi-scores. It’s far more accessible than most golf games of the late eighties, with the player needing only to focus on the power gauge, and not worry about timing the swing. Whilst this might turn away those seeking a weightier, more technical golfing experience, it makes things more palatable as a multiplayer experience, due to the ease of grasping the controls.
Fortunately, it plays a lot better than it looks. Its simple, tight gameplay is a lot of fun and I found Winning Shot dragging me back repeatedly for attempts to improve my hi-scores. It’s far more accessible than most golf games of the late eighties, with the player needing only to focus on the power gauge, and not worry about timing the swing. Whilst this might turn away those seeking a weightier, more technical golfing experience, it makes things more palatable as a multiplayer experience, due to the ease of grasping the controls.
LANGUAGE BARRIER: IMPORT INFO
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Like many PC Engine titles hailing from Japan, Winning Shot’s gameplay is largely unaffected by language. Key information, including clubs, scores, hole calls (such as birdie, bogey, etc.) and main menu options all appear in English, meaning jumping in for a quick round should prove relatively problem-free.
The biggest barrier this import-only title presents is in the Tournament mode, which sees an announcer giving a Japanese-text summary before and after each of the four days’ play. Though it might feel like you’re missing out on a lot of info, in reality a fair chunk of the dialogue details the prize money, as well as explaining bonuses attributed to longest drives and nearest-to-the-pin tees. After a couple of rounds, you’ll be able to decipher the numerics relating to these events, and though you may miss the odd observation, there’s nothing crucial. Golfer attributes and leaderboard names are shown in Japanese, though you’ll have no trouble working out where you place. Only the lengthy passwords, which employ a mixture of Japanese and English characters as well as numbers, can prove a little awkward.
The biggest barrier this import-only title presents is in the Tournament mode, which sees an announcer giving a Japanese-text summary before and after each of the four days’ play. Though it might feel like you’re missing out on a lot of info, in reality a fair chunk of the dialogue details the prize money, as well as explaining bonuses attributed to longest drives and nearest-to-the-pin tees. After a couple of rounds, you’ll be able to decipher the numerics relating to these events, and though you may miss the odd observation, there’s nothing crucial. Golfer attributes and leaderboard names are shown in Japanese, though you’ll have no trouble working out where you place. Only the lengthy passwords, which employ a mixture of Japanese and English characters as well as numbers, can prove a little awkward.
The course design is tricky enough that you’ll need plenty of practice to register a round under par, and with the swirling winds of the later Tournament rounds, WS is far from a push-over. Fairways require ever-greater precision, lined either with rough or bunkers, and one particularly fiendish hole has you having to clear a sheer rock face, something you’ll discover very quickly can’t be managed with a driver. To master the game, players will also need to develop a keen sense of direction, with many of the greens and fairways positioned at an angle to the tee. Additionally, judging the relative power and flight paths of the different clubs (the wedges can be especially tricky) proves a satisfying pursuit: laying up close to the pin, or clearing a tricky hole under par, leaves you with a glowing sense of accomplishment.
As can be the case with golf games, however, disaster is only one hole away, and in the case of Winning Shot, there are a few issues that risk promising rounds being hijacked. Whilst the ball’s traversal of fairways, roughs and bunkers behaves largely as you’d expect, trees can be a major problem. The ball has a nasty habit of wedging tightly to them, so you have to play backwards to escape. Attempting to drive through tends to produce a Velcro effect, pulling the ball back to where you hit it from, or ricocheting backwards, often bizarrely sizeable distances. Whilst in-theory there are spin options to help curve the ball around trees, they offer little help. On the back nine, some of the sand traps are so enormous that a full-power swing with the sand wedge still might not be enough to reach a fairway. The wind is also somewhat overcooked, sometimes seeing the ball retreat in the air, which would be rare in real life.
As can be the case with golf games, however, disaster is only one hole away, and in the case of Winning Shot, there are a few issues that risk promising rounds being hijacked. Whilst the ball’s traversal of fairways, roughs and bunkers behaves largely as you’d expect, trees can be a major problem. The ball has a nasty habit of wedging tightly to them, so you have to play backwards to escape. Attempting to drive through tends to produce a Velcro effect, pulling the ball back to where you hit it from, or ricocheting backwards, often bizarrely sizeable distances. Whilst in-theory there are spin options to help curve the ball around trees, they offer little help. On the back nine, some of the sand traps are so enormous that a full-power swing with the sand wedge still might not be enough to reach a fairway. The wind is also somewhat overcooked, sometimes seeing the ball retreat in the air, which would be rare in real life.
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Cute, infectious tunes prove a nice fit, accompanied by the occasional victorious blart for holing out under par. The sound effects are a bit of a drone, but you can’t have it all. Overall, Winning Shot makes for an endearing, enjoyable and surprisingly addictive slice of golfing action. It’s single course will take a while to master, whilst its intuitive gameplay is ideal for a quick blast. Whilst the quality of its presentation leaves a lot to be desired and a few more options wouldn’t have gone amiss, fun multiplayer setups undoubtedly prolong its shelf life. In simple terms, it’s a game you’ll appreciate more with extended play, and is well worth a go.
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VERDICT"Winning Shot overcomes poor presentation with pleasantly accessible, fun gameplay. Multiplayer possibilities and some deceptively challenging course design make for a surprisingly engaging round of golf." OVERALL: 7/10 |
OTHER FUN GOLF GAMES REVIEWED
Mario Golf (1999, Game Boy Color)
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Everybody's Golf (2012, PlayStation Vita)
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